The No. 1 challenge facing the retail industry in recent years has been crime, according to Rachel Michelin, CEO of the California Retailers Association. The

A massive rise in retail theft is contributing to “shrinkage” at brick-and-mortar retailers, contributing to the growth of online sales. “The National Retail Federation estimates that

Roughly a million burglaries take place annually in the United States, 83,000 of which take place during the month of December.

Walmart CEO Doug McMillon issued a stark warning Tuesday: If theft does not slow down, the retailer will close stores across the country.

While shopping for decongestant at Walmart in Burbank, Michelle Krider ran into a frustrating sign of the times: The nasal spray was on a shelf,

Metal recyclers accused of orchestrating a multimillion-dollar, cross-country crime ring grew so successful trading catalytic converters that had been sawed from vehicles that they had

Manny Huizar is remembered as a big-hearted guy by customers and co-workers at the Safeway in San Jose, Calif., where he worked. Last week the 24-year-old was shot and killed by a thief in the liquor aisle. He’s another victim of California’s Prop. 47, which has effectively decriminalized shoplifting.

When Manny Huizar came home from his job on the overnight shift stocking shelves at a San Jose Safeway, he often showed his three brothers videos of him catching shoplifters as they tried to get away with baskets of liquor and groceries. A week ago Sunday, at 3:35 a.m., after a confrontation with a thief in the liquor aisle, Huizar was shot dead – a tragedy that comes amid a fraught time and fierce debate over crime in America’s cities.

In response to growing crime and lack of effective legislation to prevent it, a new coalition of business, neighborhood, and victims’ groups launched last week to impress upon lawmakers the importance of taking action.

Californians Against Retail and Residential Theft (CARRT) launched its campaign to raise lawmakers’ and the public’s knowledge of the growing theft problem in the state.

The escalation of organized “smash-and-grab” robberies in cities around the country has been costly. CNN reported in January that retailers across America say shoplifting is now 2% to 3% of their total sales, forcing the retailers to install new security systems, video cameras and security staff.

The cost of living was also a major focal point of a Wednesday event hosted by Californians Against Retail and Residential Theft, a new group composed largely of business associations that aims to educate lawmakers and the public about the “growing wave of theft” it says has been enabled by Proposition 47.