Retail theft News

New York State Mandates Panic Buttons for Large Retailers

New York Governor Kathy Hochul on Thursday signed a new law requiring retailers to boost safety protections for store workers, including requiring major chains to add panic buttons in all New York State locations. Unions representing retail workers had pushed …

Virginia County Police Report Some Success Against High-End Theft Rings

It took seven people, 15 seconds and a fire extinguisher. With that, a seven-person crew from Pennsylvania made off with more than $60,000 in luxury goods from the Chanel store in the posh Tysons Galleria mall in northern Virginia back …

Reuters: Walmart Opposes New York Plan to Add Panic Buttons to Stores

Retail giant Walmart says it is against putting panic buttons in stores – a move that the New York legislature wants to require under a new law aimed at keeping retail workers safe. On Friday, the New York State Senate …

‘Smash-and-Grab’ Robberies Fuel New Laws, but Critics Question the Need

Even before Virginia lawmakers passed a tough new law against organized retail crime earlier this year, Bradley Haywood, a public defender in Arlington, Virginia, challenged the rationale. The idea that retailers in the state had lost billions to organized theft …

Target Closes Nine NYC, West Coast Stores to Stop Losses From Rising Theft

Target Corp. is closing nine stores in four states to stem losses from rising retail theft. One Manhattan location will be shuttered, along with two in Seattle, three in Northern California and three in Portland, Oregon, Target said in a …

Thieves Swarm Luxury Malls in Southern California and Other Areas, Driving Retail Crime to $100B

It took just minutes for more than 20 thieves, clad in hoods and masks, to swarm the Nordstrom store in the Westfield Topanga shopping center and make off with $300,000 of handbags and other luxury items. A security guard was …