Bob Maples’ Post

As holiday shopping kicks into high gear, the stress of the season can sometimes lead to unexpected situations, like a shoplifting charge. While many may view shoplifting as a “victimless” crime, the reality is far from it. Police regularly investigate and prosecute these cases, and the long-term impact on your life can be significant. At Chieppor & Egner LLC, we understand the stress of criminal charges. As former prosecutors, we have in-depth experience with retail theft cases across Pennsylvania, allowing us to identify weaknesses in the evidence against you and push back against a “simple win” for the prosecution. Reach out to learn more! 🔗 https://lnkd.in/gNYjn5a9 #ChiepporEgnerLaw #DedicatedDefensePA #LancasterLawyers #TrustedAttorneysPA #LancasterLegalAdvice #YourRightsOurFight #DefenseWithDedication #PersonalizedLegalCare #LegalSupportPA #CriminalJusticeChampions #LancasterCountyLaw #ShopliftingCharge #Shoplifting #RetailTheft

🚨** Solving Retail Crime is Not Difficult ** 🚨 Everyday of the week MY LOCAL BOBBY catch between 20-40 shopifters or pick pockets, across all its beats in London, the suburbs, Ipswich and Milton Keynes. Sadly the law does not allow us to prosecute offences under £200, (hopefully this will change tomorrow in the King’s Speech). In every case we serve a Trespass Notice. Should that offender then commit further crime on that beat we look to prosecute for a Burglary offence, providing there is sufficient evidence. The prospect of a conviction for Burglary is a significant deterrent. The risk of getting caught by MY LOCAL BOBBY and prosecuted has seen dramatic reductions in offending across all our beats. Our retail communities regularly highlight that they finally feel ‘Safe’ at work and going to and from work. This is not rocket science. You simply have to enforce the law. That also means retailers have to step up and share CCTV and evidence. Without that there can never be a successful enforcement strategy and the shops may as well have signs up stating ‘take what you like’. #creatingsafercommunities #eliminatingthefearofcrime #brokenwindows

A new anti-shoplifting proposition passed with 70% of the vote in California on Tuesday night. It will undo several of the provisions set in a 2014 law that downgraded the punishment for various petty crimes like shoplifting and drug possession. The new law will increase those punishments in an effort to curb shoplifting and the spread of drugs like fentanyl. In this piece by Danny Parisi, we speak to Juan Pellerano-Rendón of Swap, and Abdi Soltani of ACLU.

𝐃𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐢𝐧 𝐒𝐞𝐚𝐥: 𝐂𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐚 𝐆𝐢𝐫𝐥𝐬 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐖𝐚𝐲 In a plot twist straight out of Mean Girls: Retail Edition, three shoplifting California teens got a crash course in criminal justice—and local geography—when they learned that Orange County isn't playing games under the newly passed Proposition 36. Stealing beauty products may have seemed like a victimless crime until those Ugg boots carried them into felony territory. Set to the tune of Nancy Sinatra’s These Boots Are Made for Walkin’, Seal Beach Police Department’s bodycam compilation delivered a performance as polished as the stolen Ulta products. The moral of the story? The $950 felony threshold from Proposition 47 is no more, and Orange County isn’t rolling out the red carpet for repeat offenders. While one alleged thief exclaimed, "It’s a felony?" her friend provided the CliffsNotes: “B***h, new laws.” Turns out, Proposition 36 isn't just tough on crime—it’s tough on your weekend plans. As Seal Beach PD eloquently summarized: "Don’t Steal in Seal." Somewhere, Nancy Sinatra is slow-clapping, and aspiring shoplifters everywhere are Googling “felony shoplifting laws near me.” --- 𝑻𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒍𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒘𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒏 𝒃𝒚 𝑪𝒉𝒂𝒕𝑮𝑷𝑻—𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒂𝒖𝒔𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒚 𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒑 𝒂𝒕 𝒓𝒆𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒓𝒆𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒘𝒆’𝒗𝒆 𝒂𝒍𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒚 𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒏 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒋𝒐𝒃𝒔, 𝒂𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒈𝒏𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒃𝒍𝒚 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝑼𝒍𝒕𝒂 𝒑𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒔. https://lnkd.in/gxuDkiGJ

🚨 Viral video shows an Indian-origin man assaulting a woman over a parking dispute at Costco, Burlington, Ontario. The shocking incident has sparked outrage & racist backlash online. Police were seen at the scene, but arrest details remain unclear. #Burlington #ViralVideo #BreakingNews #Costco #JusticeMatters #HindustanHerald #heraldnews #hindustan #herald #heraldbreakingnews #heraldlatestnews #newsupdate #currentaffairs #breakingnews #newsalert #headline #topnews #newsflash #latestupdate #ParkingEtiquette #OntarioNews #SocialMediaNews #RoadRage #IndianCommunity #RespectEveryone #Accountability

Code 9 Security® is delighted to share another successful prosecution of a prolific shoplifter sentenced to an 8-week custodial sentence for 3 shoplifting offences. This prosecution is a significant win for #OpPurchase and the fight back against retail crime. It is a natural consequence of the continuing work of Matthew Barber, the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Thames Valley, and Thames Valley Police to tackle crime in retail and our communities more generally. Our colleagues work tirelessly to deter, detect, intercept, and prosecute those who threaten our clients and their interests. At the same time, we commit to creating, maintaining, and nurturing a sense of community. While distinct, these two objectives are intrinsically aligned and sit at the heart of our business. This unwavering commitment to these objectives allows us to support and positively contribute to the successful prosecution of offenders, reduce crime and the fear of crime, and restore and renew confidence in our communities and shared values. If you would like to learn more about how our colleagues can deter, detect, intercept, and prosecute those who threaten your business and erode the values of your community, we would love to hear from you. #retailcrime #fightback #shopsafe #crime #shoplifting #retail #community #prosecution #security #business #hampshire #thamesvalley #wiltshire *** 📞 03332 420 620 📨 enquiries@code9security.com 🖥 www.code9security.com Code 9 Security® | Protecting What Matters™ Specialists in Intelligence-led Security Strategies for Business and Government Organisations

From shopkeepers to reluctant vigilantes: Small business owners like Neha Patel in Shoreham-by-Sea are taking security into their own hands. With 97.6% of reported shoplifting incidents going unsolved in some areas, is this a sign of a failing justice system? We explore the challenges faced by independent retailers, including: - Frequent theft of high-value items like alcohol and meat - Aggressive and sometimes violent shoplifters - Lack of police response to reported incidents - Financial strain from constant losses Retailers are adopting creative - sometimes risky - solutions such as: - Using baseball bats and hidden hammers for protection - Installing chain locks on alcohol fridges and protective boxes around tills - Forming WhatsApp groups to alert each other about shoplifters - Personally confronting and chasing thieves What support do you think these businesses need from law enforcement and the government to avoid these dangerous self-help measures? #SmallBusiness #LawEnforcement

New laws are now in place to protect WA retail workers from repeat shoplifters and violent attackers. 🔒 Individuals who attack retail staff on duty can face up to 7 years in prison, or 3 years and a $36,000 fine. If the offender is armed or with others, the penalty can rise to 10 years' imprisonment. A recent survey by the Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees' Association (SDA) revealed a 56% increase in reports of physical violence against retail workers compared to two years ago. These higher penalties aim to deter those who seek to intimidate, harm, or exploit retail workers. You can report acts of violence to the WA Police on 131 444 or at your local police station.

I remember when various people criticised Daniel Craig as James Bond before Casino Royale even came out, and then had egg on their face when he turned out to be the best Bond ever ( ... this may generate more discussion than the point I want to make ...) - but assault is already an offence and the lowest form of assault has a maximum sentence of 6 months, so how does having a separate offence of assaulting a shop worker with a maximum sentence of 6 months improve things? There will be an administrative burden (at the minimum, creating CCCJS and HO codes and adding them to every police crime system in the country, the CPS and courts systems, testing to make sure the offences can cross the interface) and potential for specific case law (for example, defining a "shop worker") which will add to the cost and complexity of policing and prosecuting such matters. Surely if there was a genuine interest in making things better it would have been faster, cheaper, and more effective to have it added as an aggravating factor in the sentencing guidelines? BBC News - Assault of shop workers to be made specific criminal offence https://lnkd.in/egsAn8eV

There has got to be some honesty in this conversation. The police service is ‘creaking’. There is a recruitment and retention crisis in policing that is going to become worse in 2025. Policing priorities are not focussed on retail crime and never will be. In London, highly experienced detectives are having to be reassigned from specialist pro active teams, tackling serious and organised crime, drugs, knife, gun and gang crime, to try and bolster local Borough investigations of high harm offences, such as rape, sexual offences and domestic violence. Investigating and arresting shoplifters is not going to solve the current failure in police response targets. There are other options available with proven success but retailers refuse to consider or invest in them. It’s time for ‘honesty’ and less propaganda from certain senior cops looking for a cosy high paid retirement job in the retail security sector.