How prevalent is violence targeted at retail workers?
- Two people face murder charges in connection with separate retail stabbings
- Store assaults were 7% lower in the first half of 2023 compared to 2022
- Violence is a concern, shouldn't deter shoppers entirely, one expert says
Police tape is seen inside of a the Macy’s retail location after reports of an alleged stabbing at the department store, Monday, Dec. 4, 2023, in Philadelphia. Philadelphia police say a man stabbed two security guards, killing one and injuring the other. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
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(NewsNation) — High-profile violent altercations in retail stores over the course of a week led to the deaths of a security guard and Kroger worker and injured another employee, highlighting safety concerns during the nation’s busiest shopping season.
Two guards were stabbed at a Philadelphia Macy’s on Monday after security stopped a man from stealing merchandise, city police told the Associated Press. He allegedly returned and stabbed two guards, killing one of them and critically injuring the other.
Meanwhile, police in Fort Wayne, Indiana, arrested a man in connection with the fatal stabbing death of a local Kroger employee Thursday, NewsNation’s affiliate WANE reported.
Both men are charged with murder.
While police suspect both stabbings may have been targeted, some of the violence impacting employees is the result of what’s been dubbed “organized retail crime,” or large-scale theft aimed at reselling stolen goods for a profit, according to the National Retail Federation (NRF).
Last year, 81% of people who responded to an NRF security survey said organized retail crime offenders had grown more violent.
Businesses that specifically track shoplifting events involving violence also similarly reported increases of about 35% on average, according to the survey.
Tracking shoplifting isn’t an exact science, however, and the trade agency recently revised an April report that attributed nearly half of overall inventory loss to organized crime.
A separate Council on Criminal Justice (CCJ) report from November examined 24 major U.S. cities and found shoplifting incidents were up 16% compared with the first half of 2019.
Excluding New York City’s incidents, which appeared to be driving the increase, showed a 7% decrease across the other cities surveyed.
Store assaults were also 7% lower in the first half of 2023 compared to the first half of 2022, according to the CCJ report. Still, they were 8% higher for the same period compared to 2019. Values for 2023 were only available through June.
Confronting a suspected thief is often discouraged because it can be dangerous, said John Hassard, a loss prevention and security expert with Robinson Forensic.
Instead, he said the best method of prevention is also the best way to increase sales: good customer service.
“If somebody’s trying to steal and some annoying salesperson is trying to sell him something, the person may not steal,” Hassard said. “So you may find your store harder to steal from than the one down the street.”
As for customers, they should make decisions based on their comfort, but headlines of violence in stores shouldn’t deter them from doing their holiday shopping entirely, Hassard said.
“We should be free to go in reasonable places,” he said. “Risk management is a part of everybody’s life, for sure. Christmas shopping implies not going to a poorly lit store in a high-crime neighborhood late at night. That would probably enter most people’s risk management decision-making.”