As crime and retail theft increase throughout California, more shops are closing while others are fleeing the state. For one California entrepreneur, the state’s wave of increased theft in recent years was almost enough for her to forgo her dream of helping cancer patients rediscover their beauty and confidence through wigs sold at her now-closed…

Retailers in California are joining forces with online marketplaces and the state’s top law enforcement agency to stop the spread of retail theft in the state. A statement (pdf)—signed by Attorney General Rob Bonta and a group of 12 retailers and online companies—released June 20 highlights the threats to public safety and the economy due…

Lululemon CEO Calvin McDonald defended the firing of two employees who confronted three masked thieves robbing a Georgia store and called the police, with McDonald saying that company policy is for staff to “let the theft occur” and not try to intervene. “We have a zero-tolerance policy that we train our educators on around engaging…

An East Coast grocery chain confirmed that it is attempting to keep its stores open in the midst of rampant retail theft and crime across the United States. Giant Food, which operates more than 160 locations in several states, is now restricting location entrance points, boosting store security, having fewer high-dollar items on its shelves,…

Several industry groups in the United States warned that brazen retail theft has increased despite their efforts to bolster loss prevention and increase security for employees. According to an executive with the National Retail Federation, described as the world’s largest trade organization, the loss of inventory due to retail theft reached $100 billion last year….

Organized retail crime (ORC) is on the rise and its perpetrators are becoming more violent, according to a report by the National Retail Federation (NRF) published on April 13. The NRF report, “Organized Retail Crime: An Assessment of a Persistent and Growing Threat,” was conducted in partnership with global risk advisory firm K2 Integrity. ORC…

SANTA ANA, Calif.—One man pleaded not guilty April 13, and another man is scheduled to be arraigned Friday in an alleged retail theft ring that operated out of Los Angeles, Orange, and San Diego counties for about two years and netted more than $76,000. Luis Alberto Delasancha, 31, pleaded not guilty to 25 counts of…

Walmart announced in February that it will close its last two stores in the city of Portland, Oregon, by March 24. Though the retailer did not say whether relentless shoplifting was a factor in shuttering the locations, Walmart CEO Doug McMillon warned last year that an uptick in retail theft could lead to store closures…

The California Highway Patrol (CHP) Border Division continues to crack down on organized retail theft after uncovering an organized group of thieves last month, operating in part, in Anaheim. Anaheim resident Yolando De La Rosa, 49, and Jesus Ortiz, 48, of Lynwood were booked in Orange County jail Feb. 24 on charges of organized retail…

Eight suspects have been arrested for allegedly stealing about $1 million worth of merchandise primarily from Apple stores, state Attorney General Rob Bonta announced Feb. 9. The alleged retail theft operation occurred between August 2022 and January 2023—in several counties across the state, including Yolo, Monterey, Alameda, Santa Clara, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco, Orange,…