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Criminals have been given a “licence to shoplift” in the UK as police resources are spent elsewhere, warned the head of a major retailer. Dame Sharon White, the chairwoman of John Lewis & Partners, which operates department stores and the upmarket supermarket chain Waitrose in the UK has warned of increased criminality, including shoplifting and assaults on retail workers amid the cost of living crisis. She stated that assaults on employees at Waitrose had doubled since 2020. Citing research from the British Retail Consortium, Dame Sharon noted that there are 850 incidents of abuse or violence at retail stores in...

<p>The family of a shoplifter who was shot and killed last December by an off-duty Harris County sheriff's deputy has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the sheriff's deputy and the security company that hired him.</p> <p>Shelly Marie Frey was killed in the Dec. 6 shooting. The off-duty deputy, Louis Campbell, told investigators he feared for his safety when he shot into a car and struck her, saying the driver tried to run him over.</p>

When the Seattle City Council unanimously passed a ban on plastic bags and required businesses to charge a nickel for paper bags, city leaders believed it would be better all around. "I think we've gotten to a place where it's really going to work for the environment, businesses and the community in general," Councilman Mike O'Brien said at the time. But the bag ban is contributing to thousands of dollars in losses for at least one Seattle grocery store, and questions have been raised about the risk of food-borne illness from reusable bags that shoppers don't often wash.

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — Taking tips from the show “Cops,” an Anoka woman allegedly stole groceries and other items from a Kmart so that she could bake with her grandson, according to a complaint filed in Anoka County. Police said Carla Jean Jellison, 50, of Anoka, has been charged with one count of theft and one count of possession of shoplifting gear, as she was caught with her purse being lined aluminum tin foil on or about Jan. 19, 2012, in an effort to defeat the Anoka Kmart’s security sensors. According to the complaint, Kmart’s Loss Prevention Officer Brian Lundstrom witnessed...

Meet Lonneshia Shafaye Appling. The Georgia woman, 26, was so determined to shoplift beer, bacon, cheese, and chicken wings from a Piggly Wiggly that she punched, spit at, and pepper-sprayed store workers who confronted her as she tried to flee the supermarket Wednesday afternoon, according to cops.

She may be five foot and weigh 125lbs, but that didn't stop one mother chasing down three burly brothers, suspected of stealing from a Walmart store. The aptly named Monique Lawless, 42, from Alvin, Texas, ended up with a scratched face, broken lip and scrapes to her legs, after she launched herself onto the alleged thieves' car in an attempt to stop them. The young men drove off with Ms Lawless clinging onto the side door, but were later arrested at another Walmart nearby after an hour-long police chase. (snip) Ms Lawless, an engineering safety specialist at Boeing, had been...

Being a super hero is sometimes a thankless job. Just ask Spiderman and a handful of others who have both fought for and been chased by the law. As it turns out, even being just a regular hero isn't always all that it's cracked up to be. If you require proof, sit down for a chat with Roger Kline, a 51-year-old former Best Buy employee who was shown the door after he tackled a would-be laptop thief making a mad dash with stolen merchandise. According to a report in the Billings Gazette, Kline was a well-regarded employee and one of...

It is far past time for Wal-Mart to either get serious about store security or abandon the effort and pass the savings along to customers. I was hoping to avoid writing about my experiences at the Hutchinson Walmart as a security officer, something I enjoyed for 18 months before resigning to run for public office. My hesitation comes from not wanting to reveal security information that would be harmful to store operations or lead to even greater thievery. I have a deep respect and friendship with a number of Walmart's local managers and employees. I miss working with many of...

The two guys who are deaf were in the Clothing store XXI and apparently they were shopping, Staff must have seen them do something to suspect them of stealing, but that doesn't have any support or facts. Before I started filming. The Big Black dude in Jeans who mighta been a store detective jumps and tackles the large hispanic deaf guy. from there I remembered my new phone and turned on the camera, There was who looked to be the manager of XXI that said to turn off the camera because they didn't want to get exposed for harassing and...

Poor people who are desperate for cash have been advised to go forth and shoplift from major stores - by an Anglican priest. The Rev Tim Jones said in his Sunday sermon that stealing from successful shops was preferable to burglary, robbery or prostitution. He told parishioners it would not break the eighth commandment 'thou shalt not steal' because it 'is permissible for those who are in desperate situations to take food that they might not starve'. But his advice was roundly condemned by police and the local Tory MP. Father Jones, 42, was discussing Mary and the birth of...

Poor people who are desperate for cash have been advised to go forth and shoplift from major stores - by an Anglican priest. The Rev Tim Jones said in his Sunday sermon that stealing from successful shops was preferable to burglary, robbery or prostitution. He told parishioners it would not break the eighth commandment 'thou shalt not steal' because it 'is permissible for those who are in desperate situations to take food that they might not starve'. 'I would ask that they do not steal from small family businesses, but from large national businesses, knowing that the costs are ultimately...

Some people just can't wait to open their Christmas presents. That apparently was the case with a short and very fast thief who went to a store in Murray, grabbed a present and made a clean getaway. At Smith's Food & Drug in Murray, a popular place these days is the manager's office, where they have the surveillance video. "You had to see to believe it, but it happened. So, it's crazy," said Tracy Jacobson, with Smith's Food & Drug. A suspicious character entered through the front door. "I've never seen him shop in here before; new customer, didn't even...

A court hearing into shoplifting charges against Winona Ryder that began with an irked judge ordering the Oscar-nominated actress to court was interrupted on Monday when she was apparently injured during a media scrum outside the courthouse. In a bizarre twist to an already strange day, Ryder's attorney told Superior Court Judge Elden Fox that his famous client could not go on with the hearing, which had already been postponed four times, because she needed medical attention. Attorney Mark Geragos told Fox that Ryder, in trying to return to court amid a crush of television cameras and reporters, was struck...