Last-Ditch Effort to Scuttle RIAA File Sharing Verdict
By David Kravets August 31, 2009 | 4:05 pm | Categories: RIAA Litigation, The Courts, intellectual property
Jammie Thomas-Rasset
Much of Jammie Thomas-Rasset’s legal arguments following this summer’s $1.92 million Recording Industry Association of America file sharing jury verdict against her don’t have much weight or precedent.
Clearly, that a jury in June ordered her to pay $80,000 for each of the 24 music tracks she infringed on Kazaa is outrageous and shocks the conscience – and there’s no rational relationship between the amount of harm suffered by the recording industry and the award granted.
Thomas-Rasset wass the nation’s first sharing defendant to go before a jury. The RIAA has filed more than 30,000 lawsuits targeting individuals, and most have settled out of court.
That said, in their latest court papers, (.pdf) Thomas-Rasset’s legal team again is sticking to the argument that the whopping jury award is a due process violation – all in a bid perhaps to secure a third trial. (The first ended in a $222,000 judgment against the Minnesota woman, but a mistrial was declared after the judge conceded he gave faulty jury instructions)
Still, it is true that the U.S. Supreme Court and the lower courts have repeatedly reduced lofty jury awards based on so-called due process breached. But those were punitive damages awards, not statutory damages awards.
Those punitive damage reductions, including the Exxon Valdez oil spill disaster, do not apply to Thomas-Rasset’s case – although Thomas-Rasset’s defense team suggests there’s always a first.
Punitive damages are the amount a jury awards to punish conduct of an offender. Up until recently, there generally has been no limit. But the Supreme Court has suggested that punitive damages should be limited to about no more than 10 times the amount of actual damages a jury awards.
Higher ratios, the courts have said, are due process breaches because defendants have no notice ahead of time about the lofty financial consequences of their actions.
But the law is crystal clear when it comes to the Copyright Act, the law under which the RIAA sued Thomas-Rasset. Juries can award up to $150,000 per violation. Punitive damages do not fall under the Copyright Act.
One of the only points in Thomas-Rasset’s brief that makes a compelling argument is that the Copyright Act, when amended in 1999, didn’t conceive of non-commercial cases the RIAA has been bringing the past six years.
“The notion that Congress decided that the award of statutory damages in this case was somehow appropriate or tailored to ensure deterrence is a fiction that the plaintiffs would have this court adopt. The Congress that enacted the statutory-damages provision of the Copyright Act could not have had the kinds of illegal but non-commercial music downloading here at issue in mind,” defense attorney K.A.D. Camara argues in recent briefs.
It’s true: There’s no doubt that a $1.92 judgment over $24 worth of music provides the clearest example yet of the abuses made possible by the 1976 Copyright Act, which Congress modified in 1999, at the behest of Hollywood and the recording industry, to carry a maximum penalty for a single infringement of up to $150,000.
That statutory penalty was intended to bankrupt large-scale commercial pirating operations, like organized DVD and CD bootleggers — not to put individuals like Thomas-Rasset in debt for the rest of their lives.
Still, the RIAA is crying foul.
After Thomas-Rasset refused to settle out of court, the industry is now demanding that Thomas-Rasset pay up. The RIAA is also seeking U.S. District Judge Michael Davis to issue an injunction barring her from future file sharing.
“Plaintiffs’ evidence showed that defendant knew what she was doing was wrong, that she did it anyway, and then lied about it for years. Through two trials, defendant still shows no remorse whatsoever for her actions and has made it clear that she has no intention of ever satisfying any portion of the judgment against her,” Timothy Reynolds, the RIAA’s attorney, wrote (.pdf) Davis.
Judge Davis of Minnesota could rule on the retrial and injunction issue any time.
Last-Ditch Effort to Scuttle RIAA File Sharing Verdict | Threat Level | Wired.com
Monday, August 31, 2009
Thursday, August 27, 2009
How antishoplifting tag is made - Background, Raw materials, The manufacturing process
Antishoplifting Tag
Background
Ronald Assas' frustration with shoplifters came to a head the day he watched a man slip two bottles of wine under his shirt and run out of an Akron, Ohio, supermarket. Assas, the store manager, sprinted out the door in pursuit of the thief. Unable to catch the man and unsure what he would have done if he had caught him, Assas returned to the store. He commented that anyone who could figure out a way to deter such thieves would make a fortune. One of those who heard his remark was his cousin, Jack Welch. Welch was already working on electronic tagging of products, and he took up Assas' challenge. Several weeks later, Welch returned to the store with a 2 ft (61 cm) square of cardboard with a large foil tag taped to it, along with some bulky boxes filled with electronic components he had assembled in his garage. He showed Assas how an alarm would sound if someone tried to carry the tag out the door between the boxes. A couple of years later, Assas founded Sensormatic Electronics Corporation, which still holds a 65% share of the worldwide electronic security market.
Since they were first marketed in 1966, antishoplifting tags have become so popular that a billion dollars worth of them were manufactured last year to combat thefts that cost retailers 10 billion dollars a year. Using the tags is one of the most effective deterrents available to store owners. Some tags are hard tags or buttons that are attached to merchandise with pins that can be removed only with a special tool; these tags can be reused repeatedly by the merchant. Other tags look like thick, plastic labels; these are not removed from the merchandise during purchase, but they are electronically deactivated so the product can be taken from the store without activating the alarm. Tags of this type are disposable, although they can be reactivated if the purchased item is returned to the store for exchange or refund.
Within the retail industry, the devices are generally known as security tags or Electronic Article Surveillance (EAS) tags. The technology favored for modern tags involves a set of gates that transmits pulses of a low-range radio frequency. Inside each security tag is a resonator, a device that picks up the transmitted signal and repeats it. The set of gates also contains a receiver that is progranmned to recognize whether it is detecting the target signal during the time gaps between the pulses being broadcast by the gates. Sensing a signal during these intervals indicates the presence of a signal being resonated (rebroadcast) by a security tag in the detection zone. When this occurs, the gates sound an alarm; in some systems, the alarm sound is accompanied by a flashing light.
For the first 20 years of their history, security tags used swept radio frequency (swept-RF) technology, which relied on a semiconductor diode to retransmit a high-frequency radio signal from the detection gates. Although the tags worked reasonably well, they had certain limitations. For instance, the older devices could be defeated by placing tagged merchandise in foil-lined pouches that could block the microwave signals, and they were not very reliable when used to tag metal or foil-wrapped products. Furthermore, widely spaced antenna gates (more than 4.5 ft[l.4 m]) were not effective, and false alarms could result when the deactivation process failed.
In the mid-1980s, acousto-magnetic technology was developed to overcome certain limitations of the swept-RF devices. These systems operate with low frequency radio waves that are not blocked by metal foil wrappings. Tags contain coils of an appropriate magnetic metal that resonates in response to the interrogation signal. Although these types of systems are somewhat more costly than those using the older technology, they work more reliably over wider detection zones.
Hard tags that are commonly attached to clothing items are difficult to remove without damaging the product. Several innovations have been introduced over the years to make security tags more effective. For example, ink tags, which were developed in the early 1980s, contain small vials of dye that break if the tag is forcibly removed from the garment. The resulting spillage not only spoils the tagged apparel, but it stains the thief s hands for easy identification. Another design causes a tag to sound a loud alarm if it is tampered with.
Disposable, label-style security tags are becoming increasingly popular, particularly when the tags are inserted inside the product or its packaging by the manufacturer. This "source tagging" makes the devices less accessible for tampering or premature removal, as well as eliminating the time spent by retail clerks to attach and remove tags.
Raw Materials
Hard tags are formed from durable plastic, and the pin used to attach the tag to the product is made of nickel-plated steel. Disposable tags are formed from more flexible plastic, such as polypropylene. Conductive and non-conductive components of the resonator units include such materials as copper, aluminum, cellulose acetate, acrylic, and polyester.
The Manufacturing
Process
The following description applies generically to reusable hard tags; details may vary among manufacturers. Disposable security tags are manufactured in a similar manner, except that the resonator is sealed inside a flexible plastic envelope, which may be backed with adhesive.
The case
1 The plastic casing for the tag is vacuum formed or injection molded. In the former process, plastic that has been softened by heat is drawn into a mold by creation of a vacuum. In the latter, semi-molten plastic is squirted under pressure into a cooled mold, where it hardens quickly.
The resonator
2 There are several ways a resonator can be made. One technique involves laminating copper or aluminum coils onto a web of nonconductive material. This is done by passing the adhesive-coated base web between rollers that apply a spiral-shaped mask of non-sticky material, after which the web passes through a dryer to set the mask. A thin, flat strip of metal is then laminated to the uncoated (sticky) portion of the base web. The laminated strip subsequently passes between a backup roller and a cutting roller, which cuts through the metal but not the base web, disconnecting the individual metal coils from one another. This masking and laminating process is repeated, adding a layer of web with metal spirals atop the first layer so that the two layers of spirals are face to face, separated by a layer of dielectric (nonconductive) material. Finally, the laminated strip is cut into individual resonators that can be inserted into security tags.
Another type of resonator is made by winding insulated (encased in plastic) copper wire into a flat spiral of about a dozen loops, with the ends of the wire connected through a diode. One company makes a button-shaped tag that can operate with a very small-diameter coil because the wire is spiraled into a cone shape.
The lock
3 After the resonator is inserted into the security tag's plastic casing, the locking mechanism is installed. This usually consists of a clutch that will accept and lock a metal pin that can be inserted through a... ->> Continue Reading Full Article Here
Background
Ronald Assas' frustration with shoplifters came to a head the day he watched a man slip two bottles of wine under his shirt and run out of an Akron, Ohio, supermarket. Assas, the store manager, sprinted out the door in pursuit of the thief. Unable to catch the man and unsure what he would have done if he had caught him, Assas returned to the store. He commented that anyone who could figure out a way to deter such thieves would make a fortune. One of those who heard his remark was his cousin, Jack Welch. Welch was already working on electronic tagging of products, and he took up Assas' challenge. Several weeks later, Welch returned to the store with a 2 ft (61 cm) square of cardboard with a large foil tag taped to it, along with some bulky boxes filled with electronic components he had assembled in his garage. He showed Assas how an alarm would sound if someone tried to carry the tag out the door between the boxes. A couple of years later, Assas founded Sensormatic Electronics Corporation, which still holds a 65% share of the worldwide electronic security market.
Since they were first marketed in 1966, antishoplifting tags have become so popular that a billion dollars worth of them were manufactured last year to combat thefts that cost retailers 10 billion dollars a year. Using the tags is one of the most effective deterrents available to store owners. Some tags are hard tags or buttons that are attached to merchandise with pins that can be removed only with a special tool; these tags can be reused repeatedly by the merchant. Other tags look like thick, plastic labels; these are not removed from the merchandise during purchase, but they are electronically deactivated so the product can be taken from the store without activating the alarm. Tags of this type are disposable, although they can be reactivated if the purchased item is returned to the store for exchange or refund.
Within the retail industry, the devices are generally known as security tags or Electronic Article Surveillance (EAS) tags. The technology favored for modern tags involves a set of gates that transmits pulses of a low-range radio frequency. Inside each security tag is a resonator, a device that picks up the transmitted signal and repeats it. The set of gates also contains a receiver that is progranmned to recognize whether it is detecting the target signal during the time gaps between the pulses being broadcast by the gates. Sensing a signal during these intervals indicates the presence of a signal being resonated (rebroadcast) by a security tag in the detection zone. When this occurs, the gates sound an alarm; in some systems, the alarm sound is accompanied by a flashing light.
For the first 20 years of their history, security tags used swept radio frequency (swept-RF) technology, which relied on a semiconductor diode to retransmit a high-frequency radio signal from the detection gates. Although the tags worked reasonably well, they had certain limitations. For instance, the older devices could be defeated by placing tagged merchandise in foil-lined pouches that could block the microwave signals, and they were not very reliable when used to tag metal or foil-wrapped products. Furthermore, widely spaced antenna gates (more than 4.5 ft[l.4 m]) were not effective, and false alarms could result when the deactivation process failed.
In the mid-1980s, acousto-magnetic technology was developed to overcome certain limitations of the swept-RF devices. These systems operate with low frequency radio waves that are not blocked by metal foil wrappings. Tags contain coils of an appropriate magnetic metal that resonates in response to the interrogation signal. Although these types of systems are somewhat more costly than those using the older technology, they work more reliably over wider detection zones.
Hard tags that are commonly attached to clothing items are difficult to remove without damaging the product. Several innovations have been introduced over the years to make security tags more effective. For example, ink tags, which were developed in the early 1980s, contain small vials of dye that break if the tag is forcibly removed from the garment. The resulting spillage not only spoils the tagged apparel, but it stains the thief s hands for easy identification. Another design causes a tag to sound a loud alarm if it is tampered with.
Disposable, label-style security tags are becoming increasingly popular, particularly when the tags are inserted inside the product or its packaging by the manufacturer. This "source tagging" makes the devices less accessible for tampering or premature removal, as well as eliminating the time spent by retail clerks to attach and remove tags.
Raw Materials
Hard tags are formed from durable plastic, and the pin used to attach the tag to the product is made of nickel-plated steel. Disposable tags are formed from more flexible plastic, such as polypropylene. Conductive and non-conductive components of the resonator units include such materials as copper, aluminum, cellulose acetate, acrylic, and polyester.
The Manufacturing
Process
The following description applies generically to reusable hard tags; details may vary among manufacturers. Disposable security tags are manufactured in a similar manner, except that the resonator is sealed inside a flexible plastic envelope, which may be backed with adhesive.
The case
1 The plastic casing for the tag is vacuum formed or injection molded. In the former process, plastic that has been softened by heat is drawn into a mold by creation of a vacuum. In the latter, semi-molten plastic is squirted under pressure into a cooled mold, where it hardens quickly.
The resonator
2 There are several ways a resonator can be made. One technique involves laminating copper or aluminum coils onto a web of nonconductive material. This is done by passing the adhesive-coated base web between rollers that apply a spiral-shaped mask of non-sticky material, after which the web passes through a dryer to set the mask. A thin, flat strip of metal is then laminated to the uncoated (sticky) portion of the base web. The laminated strip subsequently passes between a backup roller and a cutting roller, which cuts through the metal but not the base web, disconnecting the individual metal coils from one another. This masking and laminating process is repeated, adding a layer of web with metal spirals atop the first layer so that the two layers of spirals are face to face, separated by a layer of dielectric (nonconductive) material. Finally, the laminated strip is cut into individual resonators that can be inserted into security tags.
Another type of resonator is made by winding insulated (encased in plastic) copper wire into a flat spiral of about a dozen loops, with the ends of the wire connected through a diode. One company makes a button-shaped tag that can operate with a very small-diameter coil because the wire is spiraled into a cone shape.
The lock
3 After the resonator is inserted into the security tag's plastic casing, the locking mechanism is installed. This usually consists of a clutch that will accept and lock a metal pin that can be inserted through a... ->> Continue Reading Full Article Here
How Anti-shoplifting Devices Work - Acousto-magnetic System
Acousto-magnetic System
The newer acousto-magnetic system, which has the ability to protect wide exits and allows for high-speed label application, uses a transmitter to create a surveillance area where tags and labels are detected. The transmitter sends a radio frequency signal (of about 58 kHz) in pulses, which energize a tag in the surveillance zone. When the pulse ends, the tag responds, emitting a single frequency signal like a tuning fork. While the transmitter is off between pulses, the tag signal is detected by a receiver. A microcomputer checks the tag signal detected by the receiver to ensure it is at the right frequency, is time-synchronized to the transmitter, at the proper level and at the correct repetition rate. If all these criteria are met, the alarm occurs.
HowStuffWorks "Acousto-magnetic System"
The newer acousto-magnetic system, which has the ability to protect wide exits and allows for high-speed label application, uses a transmitter to create a surveillance area where tags and labels are detected. The transmitter sends a radio frequency signal (of about 58 kHz) in pulses, which energize a tag in the surveillance zone. When the pulse ends, the tag responds, emitting a single frequency signal like a tuning fork. While the transmitter is off between pulses, the tag signal is detected by a receiver. A microcomputer checks the tag signal detected by the receiver to ensure it is at the right frequency, is time-synchronized to the transmitter, at the proper level and at the correct repetition rate. If all these criteria are met, the alarm occurs.
HowStuffWorks "Acousto-magnetic System"
09/01/97 SENSORMATIC: THE ALARMS ARE STILL GOING OFF
BusinessWeek, 9/01/1997
SENSORMATIC: THE ALARMS ARE STILL GOING OFF
Faced with fraud charges, the security company began an overhaul 18 months ago. Yet profits keep plunging
In 1994, Sensormatic Electronics Corp. was on top of the world. The Boca Raton (Fla.) maker of retail and commercial security systems boasted annual revenue growth of 20% or more for 30 consecutive quarters as its stock soared to 37 5/8. Sales, then $487 million, reached $1 billion this year.
Yet insecurity might better describe the company these days. Its stock has slumped below 13. Sensormatic is embroiled in a Securities & Exchange Commission investigation and a shareholder class action stemming from questionable accounting practices that surfaced two years ago. The California Public Employees' Retirement System in February placed Sensormatic on its list of the 10 worst-performing companies and said, ''its success is uncertain.''
NEW SHOCK. Now, 18 months into a major overhaul, the bad news keeps getting worse. A new management team, led by Chief Executive Robert A. Vanourek, has faltered in delivering earnings growth and restoring credibility. The latest shock came on Aug. 14, when Sensormatic suspended dividends, announced a $65 million after-tax charge to revamp its troubled European division, and cut 1,200 jobs, 19% of its workforce. Including the charge, the company reported a $21.4 million loss in fiscal 1997 ended June 30, after posting a $97.7 million loss in 1996, including a $118 million restructuring charge. More troubling: Excluding the write-off, net income plummeted to $13.2 million in 1997 from $20.5 million in 1996. Revenues rose only 3.1%, to $1.02 billion.
Vanourek attributes the poor results to investments in infrastructure and training and legal expenses rather than pricing pressures in the dogfight it faces with its chief competitor, Checkpoint Systems Inc. in Thoroughfare, N.J. ''We could have had higher earnings if we had not gone with the reinvestment program,'' says Vanourek, who joined Sensormatic in October, 1995, as president and became CEO last August. He concedes past problems, especially Sensormatic's structural shortcomings: poor or nonexistent financial and management controls, aging computer systems, and runaway expenses. ''The job is certainly more challenging than anyone anticipated in 1995,'' he says. But he insists the company can achieve 15% annual growth by 2000.
''BLACK HOLE'' IN BRITAIN. Vanourek must also cope with fallout from the tenure of Ronald G. Assaf, Sensormatic's founder and former CEO, who remains board chairman. After the accounting irregularities surfaced in 1995, an Ernst & Young report said that company officials, including Assaf, knew that ''out-of-period'' revenue--recorded after the reporting deadline--was being recorded improperly, requiring a restatement of 1995 third-quarter results. Computer clocks had been reset to make it appear revenues had been recorded on time. And shipments to warehouses were counted as sales. Assaf says amounts involved were ''immaterial.''
Internal probes revealed other accounting and reporting problems, especially in Britain, which an internal memo termed a ''multimillion pound black hole.'' Such actions as counting revenue twice for products shipped through two warehouses overstated profits by at least $7.2 million included in 1996 writedowns. The class action, filed in 1995, contends that accounting irregularities enabled Sensormatic to maintain its growth while Assaf, other senior executives, and some board members profited by selling shares. While conceding the out-of-period shipments, the company and individual defendants, including Assaf, have denied any fraud.
While much of the shareholder suit is sealed, some public documents raise questions about how far knowledge of the improper accounting extended. Former Chief Financial Officer Michael E. Pardue, who resigned in March, 1995, months before the accounting problems became public, testified in an SEC deposition he had mentioned the out-of-period shipments to longtime board members James E. Lineberger and Jerome M. LeWine. Both Lineberger and LeWine, through company counsel, dispute Pardue's testimony and deny any prior knowledge. The two remain directors. Pardue could not be reached for comment, but in replying to the suit he denied wrongdoing.
Vanourek and new CFO Garrett Pierce are reorganizing financial systems and striving to clean up Sensormatic's image. They recruited two new directors with solid reputations: former Time Inc. CEO J. Richard Munro and Wayland R. Hicks, former CEO of Nextel Communications Inc., who joined in June.
Some of Sensormatic's harshest critics give the new team some credit. ''To a decent degree, they've cleaned up the accounting,'' says analyst Howard A. Rosencrans of HD Brous & Co. He is a skeptic on the company's long-term viability, given the competition from Checkpoint. Checkpoint has recently ratcheted up pressure with retail store tags that undercut Sensormatic's price--under 2 cents vs. less than 1 cents for Checkpoint.
Vanourek acknowledges the Aug. 14 moves hurt. But he is unperturbed. He has been through worse, he recalls, as CEO at Dallas-based Recognition Inc. That company was the target of a Justice Dept. probe as a former CEO faced charges, later dismissed, of influencing a postal service contract. Although the company was nearly out of cash, he turned it around. ''I've been through high growth, no growth, federal issues, lawsuits--they have kind of prepared me for what we have today--this is now showtime.'' Given Sensormatic's travails, it should attract a big audience.
By Gail DeGeorge in Boca Raton, Fla.
09/01/97 SENSORMATIC: THE ALARMS ARE STILL GOING OFF
SENSORMATIC: THE ALARMS ARE STILL GOING OFF
Faced with fraud charges, the security company began an overhaul 18 months ago. Yet profits keep plunging
In 1994, Sensormatic Electronics Corp. was on top of the world. The Boca Raton (Fla.) maker of retail and commercial security systems boasted annual revenue growth of 20% or more for 30 consecutive quarters as its stock soared to 37 5/8. Sales, then $487 million, reached $1 billion this year.
Yet insecurity might better describe the company these days. Its stock has slumped below 13. Sensormatic is embroiled in a Securities & Exchange Commission investigation and a shareholder class action stemming from questionable accounting practices that surfaced two years ago. The California Public Employees' Retirement System in February placed Sensormatic on its list of the 10 worst-performing companies and said, ''its success is uncertain.''
NEW SHOCK. Now, 18 months into a major overhaul, the bad news keeps getting worse. A new management team, led by Chief Executive Robert A. Vanourek, has faltered in delivering earnings growth and restoring credibility. The latest shock came on Aug. 14, when Sensormatic suspended dividends, announced a $65 million after-tax charge to revamp its troubled European division, and cut 1,200 jobs, 19% of its workforce. Including the charge, the company reported a $21.4 million loss in fiscal 1997 ended June 30, after posting a $97.7 million loss in 1996, including a $118 million restructuring charge. More troubling: Excluding the write-off, net income plummeted to $13.2 million in 1997 from $20.5 million in 1996. Revenues rose only 3.1%, to $1.02 billion.
Vanourek attributes the poor results to investments in infrastructure and training and legal expenses rather than pricing pressures in the dogfight it faces with its chief competitor, Checkpoint Systems Inc. in Thoroughfare, N.J. ''We could have had higher earnings if we had not gone with the reinvestment program,'' says Vanourek, who joined Sensormatic in October, 1995, as president and became CEO last August. He concedes past problems, especially Sensormatic's structural shortcomings: poor or nonexistent financial and management controls, aging computer systems, and runaway expenses. ''The job is certainly more challenging than anyone anticipated in 1995,'' he says. But he insists the company can achieve 15% annual growth by 2000.
''BLACK HOLE'' IN BRITAIN. Vanourek must also cope with fallout from the tenure of Ronald G. Assaf, Sensormatic's founder and former CEO, who remains board chairman. After the accounting irregularities surfaced in 1995, an Ernst & Young report said that company officials, including Assaf, knew that ''out-of-period'' revenue--recorded after the reporting deadline--was being recorded improperly, requiring a restatement of 1995 third-quarter results. Computer clocks had been reset to make it appear revenues had been recorded on time. And shipments to warehouses were counted as sales. Assaf says amounts involved were ''immaterial.''
Internal probes revealed other accounting and reporting problems, especially in Britain, which an internal memo termed a ''multimillion pound black hole.'' Such actions as counting revenue twice for products shipped through two warehouses overstated profits by at least $7.2 million included in 1996 writedowns. The class action, filed in 1995, contends that accounting irregularities enabled Sensormatic to maintain its growth while Assaf, other senior executives, and some board members profited by selling shares. While conceding the out-of-period shipments, the company and individual defendants, including Assaf, have denied any fraud.
While much of the shareholder suit is sealed, some public documents raise questions about how far knowledge of the improper accounting extended. Former Chief Financial Officer Michael E. Pardue, who resigned in March, 1995, months before the accounting problems became public, testified in an SEC deposition he had mentioned the out-of-period shipments to longtime board members James E. Lineberger and Jerome M. LeWine. Both Lineberger and LeWine, through company counsel, dispute Pardue's testimony and deny any prior knowledge. The two remain directors. Pardue could not be reached for comment, but in replying to the suit he denied wrongdoing.
Vanourek and new CFO Garrett Pierce are reorganizing financial systems and striving to clean up Sensormatic's image. They recruited two new directors with solid reputations: former Time Inc. CEO J. Richard Munro and Wayland R. Hicks, former CEO of Nextel Communications Inc., who joined in June.
Some of Sensormatic's harshest critics give the new team some credit. ''To a decent degree, they've cleaned up the accounting,'' says analyst Howard A. Rosencrans of HD Brous & Co. He is a skeptic on the company's long-term viability, given the competition from Checkpoint. Checkpoint has recently ratcheted up pressure with retail store tags that undercut Sensormatic's price--under 2 cents vs. less than 1 cents for Checkpoint.
Vanourek acknowledges the Aug. 14 moves hurt. But he is unperturbed. He has been through worse, he recalls, as CEO at Dallas-based Recognition Inc. That company was the target of a Justice Dept. probe as a former CEO faced charges, later dismissed, of influencing a postal service contract. Although the company was nearly out of cash, he turned it around. ''I've been through high growth, no growth, federal issues, lawsuits--they have kind of prepared me for what we have today--this is now showtime.'' Given Sensormatic's travails, it should attract a big audience.
By Gail DeGeorge in Boca Raton, Fla.
09/01/97 SENSORMATIC: THE ALARMS ARE STILL GOING OFF
1999 Marks Significant Milestone as Baby Kidnappings from Hospitals Decrease to Zeroal Philanthropist Turns His Attention to Global Efforts to Reunite Missing Children with their Families
Coordinated Response to Infant Abductions from
Healthcare Facilities Pays Off
1999 Marks Significant Milestone as Baby Kidnappings
from Hospitals Decrease to Zero
Alexandria, Virginia -- Officials with the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) joined colleagues from the healthcare, nursing and security industries today to announce victory in the fight to reduce the incidence of infant abduction from hospitals. Since 1983, when NCMEC began tracking the crime, 1999 now marks the first year that not a single report of a newborn kidnapping was reported from a hospital nationwide. NCMEC has worked aggressively with the Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses (AWHONN), the National Association of Neonatal Nurses(NANN), the International Association for Healthcare Security & Safety (IAHSS), Mead-Johnson Nutritionals and Sensormatic Electronics Corporation to combat the problem, which had consistently averaged as many as a dozen cases annually.
NCMEC has dedicated the last decade to combating the problem by working to raise awareness about the crime and ways to prevent it. In the last ten years, John Rabun, NCMEC's vice president and chief operating officer, has devoted much of his career to this effort, providing site assessments to 766 hospitals nationwide and training over 50,000 hospital personnel, nursing and hospital security associations and law enforcement officials in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. “These cases are difficult to solve, and are emotionally devastating to new parents and the healthcare professionals who are charged to care for newborns,” said Rabun. “By educating the people on the front line, we’ve driven potential abductors out of healthcare facilities entirely. Of course, our goal is to see that this trend continues,” he added, “and we credit AWHONN, NANN, IAHSS, Mead-Johnson and Sensormatic for their tireless support in collaboratively helping to decrease these statistics so dramatically.”
"Mead Johnson is committed to infant health and safety." said Jerry McCabe, sr. vice-president, global medical sales, Mead Johnson Nutritionals. "We are delighted to be involved with NCMEC and Safeguard Their Tomorrows to provide necessary tools for parents and healthcare professionals to help prevent the nightmare of infant abduction."
NCMEC tracks cases of infant abduction from hospitals and homes and has distributed over 232,000 updated copies of its popular For Healthcare Professionals: Guidelines on Prevention of and Response to Infant Abductions™ since its first printing in 1989. In conjunction with the Mead-Johnson Nutritionals program Safeguard Their Tomorrows I and II™, NCMEC continues to provide a three-hour, nationally-accredited training program on infant security for healthcare professionals to ensure these cases remain a crime of the past.
NCMEC is a private, nonprofit organization that works internationally as a resource center and clearinghouse for information on child victimization issues. Since it was established in 1984, it has played a role in reuniting over 50,000 missing children with their families. For more information about NCMEC, visit its Web site at www.missingkids.com or call its toll-free hotline, 1-800-843-5678.
1999 Marks Significant Milestone as Baby Kidnappings from Hospitals Decrease to Zeroal Philanthropist Turns His Attention to Global Efforts to Reunite Missing Children with their Families
Healthcare Facilities Pays Off
1999 Marks Significant Milestone as Baby Kidnappings
from Hospitals Decrease to Zero
Alexandria, Virginia -- Officials with the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) joined colleagues from the healthcare, nursing and security industries today to announce victory in the fight to reduce the incidence of infant abduction from hospitals. Since 1983, when NCMEC began tracking the crime, 1999 now marks the first year that not a single report of a newborn kidnapping was reported from a hospital nationwide. NCMEC has worked aggressively with the Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses (AWHONN), the National Association of Neonatal Nurses(NANN), the International Association for Healthcare Security & Safety (IAHSS), Mead-Johnson Nutritionals and Sensormatic Electronics Corporation to combat the problem, which had consistently averaged as many as a dozen cases annually.
NCMEC has dedicated the last decade to combating the problem by working to raise awareness about the crime and ways to prevent it. In the last ten years, John Rabun, NCMEC's vice president and chief operating officer, has devoted much of his career to this effort, providing site assessments to 766 hospitals nationwide and training over 50,000 hospital personnel, nursing and hospital security associations and law enforcement officials in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. “These cases are difficult to solve, and are emotionally devastating to new parents and the healthcare professionals who are charged to care for newborns,” said Rabun. “By educating the people on the front line, we’ve driven potential abductors out of healthcare facilities entirely. Of course, our goal is to see that this trend continues,” he added, “and we credit AWHONN, NANN, IAHSS, Mead-Johnson and Sensormatic for their tireless support in collaboratively helping to decrease these statistics so dramatically.”
"Mead Johnson is committed to infant health and safety." said Jerry McCabe, sr. vice-president, global medical sales, Mead Johnson Nutritionals. "We are delighted to be involved with NCMEC and Safeguard Their Tomorrows to provide necessary tools for parents and healthcare professionals to help prevent the nightmare of infant abduction."
NCMEC tracks cases of infant abduction from hospitals and homes and has distributed over 232,000 updated copies of its popular For Healthcare Professionals: Guidelines on Prevention of and Response to Infant Abductions™ since its first printing in 1989. In conjunction with the Mead-Johnson Nutritionals program Safeguard Their Tomorrows I and II™, NCMEC continues to provide a three-hour, nationally-accredited training program on infant security for healthcare professionals to ensure these cases remain a crime of the past.
NCMEC is a private, nonprofit organization that works internationally as a resource center and clearinghouse for information on child victimization issues. Since it was established in 1984, it has played a role in reuniting over 50,000 missing children with their families. For more information about NCMEC, visit its Web site at www.missingkids.com or call its toll-free hotline, 1-800-843-5678.
1999 Marks Significant Milestone as Baby Kidnappings from Hospitals Decrease to Zeroal Philanthropist Turns His Attention to Global Efforts to Reunite Missing Children with their Families
Protecting People and Property
Going to the mall may very well be one of America's national pastimes. The experience of browsing, buying or just hanging out is one all customers expect to be positive. Likewise for retailers and the shopping centers they inhabit.
This scenario, however, is easily and frequently disrupted since, as trends indicate, certain kinds of crime are on the rise across the nation. That's why security has become such an important element in the day-to-day operations of shopping centers.
Unfortunately, if consumers don't feel their shopping experience is a safe one, that means trouble for the shopping center. Even frequent employee turnover can be linked to an unprotected environment where grounds, parking areas or halls can be a source of alarm. Burglaries, assaults and theft inside or outside shopping centers are enough to make a customer turn away for good.
Sensing the opportunity, Boca Raton, Fla.-based Sensormatic Electronics Corp. stepped in to fill shopping center owners' and managers' needs and to consolidate its role as industry leader in the arena of security technologies.
With safety and security playing a critical role in the day-to-day operation of a shopping center's business, there's a growing need for integrated security products and systems like the ones made by Sensormatic Electronics.
Securing a mall One user and fan of the company's products is The Mall at Cortana, a 1.6 million sq. ft. shopping center in Baton Rouge, La. From the time the mall opened in 1976, until the early 1990s when a whole shopping district had evolved around it, no dramatic safety measures had been necessary. But in 1995, that all changed. The mall installed a comprehensive security system that included closed-circuit television (CCTV) - and Sensormatic's VM96 camera control system.
"Management and the mall's owners decided that because of the trends in rising crime, it was time to re-evaluate security," recalls Percy Singleton Jr., the mall's security director. "So, we started looking for companies that were the trend-setters, that had the technology and the experience of dealing with closed-circuit camera systems. No doubt about it, Sensormatic was one of the better companies." Its products, he adds, are "user friendly, and whenever we've had a problem, there's been technical support."
With the camera system in place at The Mall at Cortana, monitoring indoor and outdoor facilities, and other steps taken by the center, such as a security information booth inside the mall and bicycle patrols, incidents dropped tremendously. "These measures do work," states Singleton. And they make economic sense.
"It's very hard to measure what you would have lost had you not had these systems in place," he continues. "But, in talking to shoppers and tenants, we know we've saved a tremendous amount of money over the years as a result of purchasing the Sensormatic system."
Cutting-edge security Key to the success of Sensormatic's crucial retail/shopping center operations is the development of new technologies. The company is constantly upgrading systems to allow for more security in shopping environments.
"Since 1996, we've had double-digit increases every year. We experienced an 85% jump in revenue in just the past three years," says Pete Schmidt, product sales support manager of CCTV for Sensormatic's North America Retail division. "CCTV has evolved, stepping out of its box to become a management tool for running a business."
Forget about the old, cumbersome and ever-so-obvious cameras of yesteryear (although, interestingly enough, some customers still prefer them, precisely for their conspicuous look). Now, CCTV systems can perform numerous functions never imagined a short time back, from identifying a purse snatcher in seconds to viewing numerous properties from a single remote location. The advantages are endless. Who set off the alarm after hours? Has new signage been installed properly? CCTV aids in traffic studies, problem detection and alarm operations.
"In the past two years, there has been an incredible increase in the use of CCTV," affirms Schmidt.
Alarming statistics There is good reason for the growing trend toward advanced CCTV systems, especially when safety issues are raised. According to a recent survey by the United States Department of Justice, more than 750,000 violent crimes (rape, robbery and assault) have occurred in parking lots and garages across the nation.
Other studies indicate that more than 40% of security lawsuits against retail and mall owners were filed due to parking lot crimes, with one in three cases resulting in a judgment against the owner. Average size of the settlement? $1.2 million. That's where the capabilities of CCTV and other Sensormatic products come in.
"People want to feel safe where they shop, and malls don't need adverse publicity, even if it's a thing they can't control," says Schmidt. "This has fueled the growth of CCTV."
System integration There are a number of security technology providers in the marketplace. But, as Sensormatic product and support manager Lisa Ciappetta explains, "Sensormatic has a distinct advantage over others."
"For the most part, all of our competitors have variations of similar systems," she says. "But we are a one-stop shop - a manufacturer and designer all in one. We design our own systems and integrate them together. Plus, we have a system that is unique in the industry, our Intellex[superscript]r Digital Video Recorder with Smart Search."
The Intellex product is a PC-based surveillance camera system that uses digital technology instead of a videotape to store images on a hard disk. This makes it easier to search through the stored images for suspicious activity. In seconds, the user can locate the events selected and save hours normally spent searching manually through analog VCR tapes. Images from as many as 16 cameras can be displayed and recorded to one Intellex unit and monitor at a time, and even saved on the small digital tapes known as DATs. With these, there is no loss of data over time because, unlike VCR tapes, there is no degeneration. Intellex also sets another standard by allowing the user to view live video while simultaneously recording events to the hard drive.
Ciappetta explains that the groundbreaking Intellex was developed by Sensormatic's Video Products Division, in California, and released in 1997. Since then, government facilities, embassies and banks have embraced it. And there is more in store for the future.
"In the future, you will be able to control CCTV cameras over the Internet," states Don Taylor, Sensormatic's director of market planning for the North America Retail business unit, also based in Boca Raton. "Our customers want this capability, and we will deliver it."
Many of the company's product-development efforts are customer driven and fill a specific need. An example of a customer need addressed by Sensormatic is the development of a smaller, less obvious outdoor SpeedDome[superscript]r camera for professional surveillance.
"It was clear that there was an issue with regard to safety in parking lots," says Taylor. "Retailers and mall operators wanted a smaller product, less obtrusive, easier to install and cheaper. We went back to our product companies and successfully developed a dome according to those characteristics."
Now in its 33rd year of business, Sensormatic continues to offer solutions that maintain its competitive edge.
"People can't believe what this technology can do," says Mary Martin, softgoods market manager for Sensormatic. "When we go to trade shows, for example, and demonstrate our products, they are really an eye-opener."
Security equals peace of mind But besides the wonders Sensormatic products can accomplish, Martin believes there's one major factor that convinces shopping center management it makes sense to be secure. "Peace of mind. That's what everyone is looking for, from mall owners to customers," she says. "A facility that cares about safety is a facility that cares about shoppers, because it makes thei r environment a safe one."
Technological and social issues come into play when dealing with security and safety. From a technological standpoint, says Taylor, it is crucial to make products smarter. On the social front, a problem arises with employee turnover, a growing phenomenon in this economy.
"So, we have to make our products easier to use. We have to be able to control our systems, our cameras, from a remote location, bypassing areas where there is no manpower to do that," he says. "That's one of our challenges."
Societal shifts The type of social atmosphere that exists now is dramatically different from that of even 10 or 15 years ago. A recognition for safety in shopping areas is becoming even more ingrained from the start in construction plans. With the expansion of malls into massive entertainment centers, elements of risk and safety increase.
Of course, with bigger problems, shopping center management wants bigger solutions, such as more effective, faster and accessible security technology. Sensormatic is providing these solutions today, along with the only nationwide direct service operation in the industry.
Sensormatic was able to put to use its most advanced security systems at the 1996 Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta. The company came on board to plan, develop, integrate and install the electronic security system. As a result, the Games had the largest amount of multimedia surveillance equipment in the world to cover miles of grounds and facilities. Equipment in-cluded: microprocessor-controlled SpeedDome[superscript]r cameras to instantly capture events, whether crowd movements or shoplifting; Sensormatic's VRS-2000[superscript]r, which integrated security, building and communication functions; and Sen-sorLink[superscript]tm, providing phone-line video transmission systems.
"Our successful Olympics installation clearly shows that our technology is the best in the industry," says Martin. "It keeps getting smaller and more sophisticated, and it is user friendly. The bottom line always is to take security to the next level and make the systems better."
Luckily, shopping center owners and managers won't have to wait too long for many of these options. It's just a matter of time before their use becomes more widespread.
Protecting People and Property
This scenario, however, is easily and frequently disrupted since, as trends indicate, certain kinds of crime are on the rise across the nation. That's why security has become such an important element in the day-to-day operations of shopping centers.
Unfortunately, if consumers don't feel their shopping experience is a safe one, that means trouble for the shopping center. Even frequent employee turnover can be linked to an unprotected environment where grounds, parking areas or halls can be a source of alarm. Burglaries, assaults and theft inside or outside shopping centers are enough to make a customer turn away for good.
Sensing the opportunity, Boca Raton, Fla.-based Sensormatic Electronics Corp. stepped in to fill shopping center owners' and managers' needs and to consolidate its role as industry leader in the arena of security technologies.
With safety and security playing a critical role in the day-to-day operation of a shopping center's business, there's a growing need for integrated security products and systems like the ones made by Sensormatic Electronics.
Securing a mall One user and fan of the company's products is The Mall at Cortana, a 1.6 million sq. ft. shopping center in Baton Rouge, La. From the time the mall opened in 1976, until the early 1990s when a whole shopping district had evolved around it, no dramatic safety measures had been necessary. But in 1995, that all changed. The mall installed a comprehensive security system that included closed-circuit television (CCTV) - and Sensormatic's VM96 camera control system.
"Management and the mall's owners decided that because of the trends in rising crime, it was time to re-evaluate security," recalls Percy Singleton Jr., the mall's security director. "So, we started looking for companies that were the trend-setters, that had the technology and the experience of dealing with closed-circuit camera systems. No doubt about it, Sensormatic was one of the better companies." Its products, he adds, are "user friendly, and whenever we've had a problem, there's been technical support."
With the camera system in place at The Mall at Cortana, monitoring indoor and outdoor facilities, and other steps taken by the center, such as a security information booth inside the mall and bicycle patrols, incidents dropped tremendously. "These measures do work," states Singleton. And they make economic sense.
"It's very hard to measure what you would have lost had you not had these systems in place," he continues. "But, in talking to shoppers and tenants, we know we've saved a tremendous amount of money over the years as a result of purchasing the Sensormatic system."
Cutting-edge security Key to the success of Sensormatic's crucial retail/shopping center operations is the development of new technologies. The company is constantly upgrading systems to allow for more security in shopping environments.
"Since 1996, we've had double-digit increases every year. We experienced an 85% jump in revenue in just the past three years," says Pete Schmidt, product sales support manager of CCTV for Sensormatic's North America Retail division. "CCTV has evolved, stepping out of its box to become a management tool for running a business."
Forget about the old, cumbersome and ever-so-obvious cameras of yesteryear (although, interestingly enough, some customers still prefer them, precisely for their conspicuous look). Now, CCTV systems can perform numerous functions never imagined a short time back, from identifying a purse snatcher in seconds to viewing numerous properties from a single remote location. The advantages are endless. Who set off the alarm after hours? Has new signage been installed properly? CCTV aids in traffic studies, problem detection and alarm operations.
"In the past two years, there has been an incredible increase in the use of CCTV," affirms Schmidt.
Alarming statistics There is good reason for the growing trend toward advanced CCTV systems, especially when safety issues are raised. According to a recent survey by the United States Department of Justice, more than 750,000 violent crimes (rape, robbery and assault) have occurred in parking lots and garages across the nation.
Other studies indicate that more than 40% of security lawsuits against retail and mall owners were filed due to parking lot crimes, with one in three cases resulting in a judgment against the owner. Average size of the settlement? $1.2 million. That's where the capabilities of CCTV and other Sensormatic products come in.
"People want to feel safe where they shop, and malls don't need adverse publicity, even if it's a thing they can't control," says Schmidt. "This has fueled the growth of CCTV."
System integration There are a number of security technology providers in the marketplace. But, as Sensormatic product and support manager Lisa Ciappetta explains, "Sensormatic has a distinct advantage over others."
"For the most part, all of our competitors have variations of similar systems," she says. "But we are a one-stop shop - a manufacturer and designer all in one. We design our own systems and integrate them together. Plus, we have a system that is unique in the industry, our Intellex[superscript]r Digital Video Recorder with Smart Search."
The Intellex product is a PC-based surveillance camera system that uses digital technology instead of a videotape to store images on a hard disk. This makes it easier to search through the stored images for suspicious activity. In seconds, the user can locate the events selected and save hours normally spent searching manually through analog VCR tapes. Images from as many as 16 cameras can be displayed and recorded to one Intellex unit and monitor at a time, and even saved on the small digital tapes known as DATs. With these, there is no loss of data over time because, unlike VCR tapes, there is no degeneration. Intellex also sets another standard by allowing the user to view live video while simultaneously recording events to the hard drive.
Ciappetta explains that the groundbreaking Intellex was developed by Sensormatic's Video Products Division, in California, and released in 1997. Since then, government facilities, embassies and banks have embraced it. And there is more in store for the future.
"In the future, you will be able to control CCTV cameras over the Internet," states Don Taylor, Sensormatic's director of market planning for the North America Retail business unit, also based in Boca Raton. "Our customers want this capability, and we will deliver it."
Many of the company's product-development efforts are customer driven and fill a specific need. An example of a customer need addressed by Sensormatic is the development of a smaller, less obvious outdoor SpeedDome[superscript]r camera for professional surveillance.
"It was clear that there was an issue with regard to safety in parking lots," says Taylor. "Retailers and mall operators wanted a smaller product, less obtrusive, easier to install and cheaper. We went back to our product companies and successfully developed a dome according to those characteristics."
Now in its 33rd year of business, Sensormatic continues to offer solutions that maintain its competitive edge.
"People can't believe what this technology can do," says Mary Martin, softgoods market manager for Sensormatic. "When we go to trade shows, for example, and demonstrate our products, they are really an eye-opener."
Security equals peace of mind But besides the wonders Sensormatic products can accomplish, Martin believes there's one major factor that convinces shopping center management it makes sense to be secure. "Peace of mind. That's what everyone is looking for, from mall owners to customers," she says. "A facility that cares about safety is a facility that cares about shoppers, because it makes thei r environment a safe one."
Technological and social issues come into play when dealing with security and safety. From a technological standpoint, says Taylor, it is crucial to make products smarter. On the social front, a problem arises with employee turnover, a growing phenomenon in this economy.
"So, we have to make our products easier to use. We have to be able to control our systems, our cameras, from a remote location, bypassing areas where there is no manpower to do that," he says. "That's one of our challenges."
Societal shifts The type of social atmosphere that exists now is dramatically different from that of even 10 or 15 years ago. A recognition for safety in shopping areas is becoming even more ingrained from the start in construction plans. With the expansion of malls into massive entertainment centers, elements of risk and safety increase.
Of course, with bigger problems, shopping center management wants bigger solutions, such as more effective, faster and accessible security technology. Sensormatic is providing these solutions today, along with the only nationwide direct service operation in the industry.
Sensormatic was able to put to use its most advanced security systems at the 1996 Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta. The company came on board to plan, develop, integrate and install the electronic security system. As a result, the Games had the largest amount of multimedia surveillance equipment in the world to cover miles of grounds and facilities. Equipment in-cluded: microprocessor-controlled SpeedDome[superscript]r cameras to instantly capture events, whether crowd movements or shoplifting; Sensormatic's VRS-2000[superscript]r, which integrated security, building and communication functions; and Sen-sorLink[superscript]tm, providing phone-line video transmission systems.
"Our successful Olympics installation clearly shows that our technology is the best in the industry," says Martin. "It keeps getting smaller and more sophisticated, and it is user friendly. The bottom line always is to take security to the next level and make the systems better."
Luckily, shopping center owners and managers won't have to wait too long for many of these options. It's just a matter of time before their use becomes more widespread.
Protecting People and Property
Theft Rising at U.S. Wal-Mart Stores
By ANNE D'INNOCENZIO and MARCUS KABEL, The Associated Press
June 14th, 2007
Shoppers at Wal-Mart stores across America are loading carts with merchandise maybe a flat-screen TV, a few DVDs and a six-pack of beer and strolling out without paying. Employees also are helping themselves to goods they haven't paid for.
The world's largest retailer is saying little about these kinds of thefts, but its recent public disclosures that it is experiencing an increase in so-called shrinkage at its U.S. stores suggests that inventory losses due to shoplifting, employee theft, paperwork errors and supplier fraud could be worsening.
The hit is likely to rise to more than $3 billion this year for Wal-Mart Stores Inc., which generated sales of $348.6 billion last year, according to retail consultant Burt Flickinger III.
Flickinger and other analysts say the increase in theft may be tied to Wal-Mart's highly publicized decision last year to no longer prosecute minor cases of shoplifting in order to focus on organized shoplifting rings.
Former employees also say staffing levels, including security personnel, have been reduced, making it easier for theft to occur. And a union-backed group critical of the retailer's personnel policies contends general worker discontent is playing a role.
Wal-Mart declined to offer any explanations for the rise in losses, but denied it has cut security staff and said employee morale is rising rather than falling.
Although Wal-Mart declined to reveal any details, analysts suspect Wal-Mart which for years had a theft loss rate that was half that of its peers is getting closer to the industrywide average.
Theft is a big problem for all retailers, costing them $41.6 billion last year, according to a joint study released Tuesday by the National Retail Federation and the University of Florida.
The study found that the theft rate as a percentage of sales ticked upward slightly to 1.61 percent of sales in 2006 from 1.60 percent in 2005.
Whatever the cause, such theft which late founder Sam Walton once called one of retailers' top profit killers adds one more challenge when Wal-Mart is already struggling with sluggish sales at its established stores due to an overall economic slowdown as well as its own stumbles in its home and apparel merchandising strategies.
Eduardo Castro-Wright, president and CEO of Wal-Mart's U.S. store division, briefly acknowledged the theft problem in a mid-May conference call with analysts.
He cited shrinkage as well as increased markdowns and higher inventory for dragging down first-quarter profit margins.
"We are concerned about shrinkage and are investigating the cause and are taking steps to correct it," Castro-Wright said. Company officials won't comment on those countermeasures.
The company also said in a June 1 filing with federal securities regulators that the gross profit margin for its Wal-Mart Stores segment fell by 0.1 percentage points in the first quarter due in part to "higher inventory shrinkage."
John Simley, a Wal-Mart spokesman, declined to elaborate. He would say only that the company's theft losses as a percentage of sales is "better than our industry peer groups."
Analysts say it's significant that the company has publicly disclosed that theft is becoming a problem. "It is getting to the point of being material," said Richard Hastings, vice president and senior retail sector analyst at Bernard Sands.
Securities regulations require companies to alert shareholders to significant corporate developments that could affect the value of their holdings.
Such pilferage as a percentage of sales has been declining since the mid-1990s as retailers have invested in new technology such as closed circuit TVs, according to Richard Hollinger, professor of criminology at the University of Florida.
About 47 percent of the dollars lost came from employee theft, while shoplifting accounted for about 32 percent, according to the National Retail Federation report. Administrative errors account for 14 percent, while supplier fraud accounts for 4 percent. The remaining 3 percent is unaccounted for.
In one of the more brazen employee thefts, a man wearing dark clothing and a ski mask entered a Port Clinton, Ohio, Wal-Mart store in January at midnight unnoticed by employees and stole $45,000 from the store safe. The store's night manager, Dana Walker, 30, was later arrested for the crime. He became a suspect because he knew the combination to the safe, police said.
The company's vociferous critic WakeUpWalMart.com, funded by the United Food and Commercial Workers which has for years tried to organize the retailer's workers, publicized the company's decision last year to relax its zero-tolerance policy on shoplifting. The new policy seeks prosecutions of first-time offenders only if they are between ages 18 to 65 and steal at least $25 worth of merchandise.
That change may have emboldened some folks to shoplift, said Mark Doyle, president of Jack L. Hayes International, a retail consultancy on loss prevention.
WakeUpWalMart.com and some former employees said Wal-Mart may also have been trying to appease complaints by some police departments that its stores tied up police with too many shoplifting calls. Wal-Mart has denied that.
Wal-Mart also may have been spooked by worries about lawsuits from wrongful death, unlawful imprisonment and other legal issues related to aggressively chasing down shoplifters.
In March, Wal-Mart agreed to pay $750,000 to the family of a suspected shoplifter who suffocated to death as loss prevention workers held him down in a parking lot outside a store in Atascocita, Texas.
The shoplifter died in August 2005 in a parking lot, according to published reports.
The change in policy came at the same time the company began using more part-time workers in part because of a new scheduling system that matches staffing more closely to peak shopping hours and shifting security personnel, analysts and critics say.
That has left the discount chain without an experienced and loyal staff to monitor what's strolling out its back and front doors, analysts and some former employees supplied by WakeUpWalMart.com said.
"The business is being run by bean counters. I am shocked at the Spartan level of staffing," said Flickinger, managing director of Strategic Resources Group.
He added, "There are also morale issues. Workers feel that the company is taking care of itself."
While Wal-Mart denies that it has cut anti-theft jobs overall, it said it has adjusted staffing to put more personnel in stores in high-crime areas and fewer in stores with less trouble.
However, Dan Meyer, a former district loss prevention supervisor for several Wal-Mart stores in New Jersey, disputes that. Meyer, who said he accepted a buyout last fall after almost 12 years with the company, said Wal-Mart reduced the number of loss prevention staff in each store last year and redesigned their jobs in a way that was less active and more administrative.
"That's why shrinkage is up," he said.
Meyer said he averaged 13 apprehensions a month during most of his time at Wal-Mart. That number dropped to three to four a month in the months before he left last October. Meyer said his totals dropped because there were fewer security staff and less support from his managers for aggressively rooting out theft.
WakeUpWalMart.com has linked rising theft to its claims that the company offers skimpy pay and benefits. Wal-Mart also faces a class-action lawsuit alleging female workers were passed over for men in pay and promotions.
"I am not the type to steal, but because we are so mistreated, when I saw things I just didn't do anything," said Gina Tuley, a former Wal-Mart bakery worker, who quit her job at the Seagoville, Texas, store in March. A big complaint was that her hours had been cut, reducing her take-home pay.
Wal-Mart defends its pay as competitive and its health care coverage as better than most retailers, and has denied gender discrimination.
Simley said an April survey of employees that showed rising job satisfaction suggests Tuley's attitude does not represent most Wal-Mart associates.
Even so, several former associates said in interviews that their bonuses have declined because of the rise in inventory losses.
Wal-Mart's Simley disputes these claims, saying theft reduction was dropped from the bonus formula about a dozen years ago. It was Walton's idea to tie associates' bonuses to their stores' pilferage levels to give them a vested interest in keeping theft in check.
Tuley said her bonus last year was $300, down from $800 the previous year.
Still, she said, "People would walk out with bags of merchandise ... I heard the alarms go off and people wouldn't even look," she added.
Theft Rising at U.S. Wal-Mart Stores
June 14th, 2007
Shoppers at Wal-Mart stores across America are loading carts with merchandise maybe a flat-screen TV, a few DVDs and a six-pack of beer and strolling out without paying. Employees also are helping themselves to goods they haven't paid for.
The world's largest retailer is saying little about these kinds of thefts, but its recent public disclosures that it is experiencing an increase in so-called shrinkage at its U.S. stores suggests that inventory losses due to shoplifting, employee theft, paperwork errors and supplier fraud could be worsening.
The hit is likely to rise to more than $3 billion this year for Wal-Mart Stores Inc., which generated sales of $348.6 billion last year, according to retail consultant Burt Flickinger III.
Flickinger and other analysts say the increase in theft may be tied to Wal-Mart's highly publicized decision last year to no longer prosecute minor cases of shoplifting in order to focus on organized shoplifting rings.
Former employees also say staffing levels, including security personnel, have been reduced, making it easier for theft to occur. And a union-backed group critical of the retailer's personnel policies contends general worker discontent is playing a role.
Wal-Mart declined to offer any explanations for the rise in losses, but denied it has cut security staff and said employee morale is rising rather than falling.
Although Wal-Mart declined to reveal any details, analysts suspect Wal-Mart which for years had a theft loss rate that was half that of its peers is getting closer to the industrywide average.
Theft is a big problem for all retailers, costing them $41.6 billion last year, according to a joint study released Tuesday by the National Retail Federation and the University of Florida.
The study found that the theft rate as a percentage of sales ticked upward slightly to 1.61 percent of sales in 2006 from 1.60 percent in 2005.
Whatever the cause, such theft which late founder Sam Walton once called one of retailers' top profit killers adds one more challenge when Wal-Mart is already struggling with sluggish sales at its established stores due to an overall economic slowdown as well as its own stumbles in its home and apparel merchandising strategies.
Eduardo Castro-Wright, president and CEO of Wal-Mart's U.S. store division, briefly acknowledged the theft problem in a mid-May conference call with analysts.
He cited shrinkage as well as increased markdowns and higher inventory for dragging down first-quarter profit margins.
"We are concerned about shrinkage and are investigating the cause and are taking steps to correct it," Castro-Wright said. Company officials won't comment on those countermeasures.
The company also said in a June 1 filing with federal securities regulators that the gross profit margin for its Wal-Mart Stores segment fell by 0.1 percentage points in the first quarter due in part to "higher inventory shrinkage."
John Simley, a Wal-Mart spokesman, declined to elaborate. He would say only that the company's theft losses as a percentage of sales is "better than our industry peer groups."
Analysts say it's significant that the company has publicly disclosed that theft is becoming a problem. "It is getting to the point of being material," said Richard Hastings, vice president and senior retail sector analyst at Bernard Sands.
Securities regulations require companies to alert shareholders to significant corporate developments that could affect the value of their holdings.
Such pilferage as a percentage of sales has been declining since the mid-1990s as retailers have invested in new technology such as closed circuit TVs, according to Richard Hollinger, professor of criminology at the University of Florida.
About 47 percent of the dollars lost came from employee theft, while shoplifting accounted for about 32 percent, according to the National Retail Federation report. Administrative errors account for 14 percent, while supplier fraud accounts for 4 percent. The remaining 3 percent is unaccounted for.
In one of the more brazen employee thefts, a man wearing dark clothing and a ski mask entered a Port Clinton, Ohio, Wal-Mart store in January at midnight unnoticed by employees and stole $45,000 from the store safe. The store's night manager, Dana Walker, 30, was later arrested for the crime. He became a suspect because he knew the combination to the safe, police said.
The company's vociferous critic WakeUpWalMart.com, funded by the United Food and Commercial Workers which has for years tried to organize the retailer's workers, publicized the company's decision last year to relax its zero-tolerance policy on shoplifting. The new policy seeks prosecutions of first-time offenders only if they are between ages 18 to 65 and steal at least $25 worth of merchandise.
That change may have emboldened some folks to shoplift, said Mark Doyle, president of Jack L. Hayes International, a retail consultancy on loss prevention.
WakeUpWalMart.com and some former employees said Wal-Mart may also have been trying to appease complaints by some police departments that its stores tied up police with too many shoplifting calls. Wal-Mart has denied that.
Wal-Mart also may have been spooked by worries about lawsuits from wrongful death, unlawful imprisonment and other legal issues related to aggressively chasing down shoplifters.
In March, Wal-Mart agreed to pay $750,000 to the family of a suspected shoplifter who suffocated to death as loss prevention workers held him down in a parking lot outside a store in Atascocita, Texas.
The shoplifter died in August 2005 in a parking lot, according to published reports.
The change in policy came at the same time the company began using more part-time workers in part because of a new scheduling system that matches staffing more closely to peak shopping hours and shifting security personnel, analysts and critics say.
That has left the discount chain without an experienced and loyal staff to monitor what's strolling out its back and front doors, analysts and some former employees supplied by WakeUpWalMart.com said.
"The business is being run by bean counters. I am shocked at the Spartan level of staffing," said Flickinger, managing director of Strategic Resources Group.
He added, "There are also morale issues. Workers feel that the company is taking care of itself."
While Wal-Mart denies that it has cut anti-theft jobs overall, it said it has adjusted staffing to put more personnel in stores in high-crime areas and fewer in stores with less trouble.
However, Dan Meyer, a former district loss prevention supervisor for several Wal-Mart stores in New Jersey, disputes that. Meyer, who said he accepted a buyout last fall after almost 12 years with the company, said Wal-Mart reduced the number of loss prevention staff in each store last year and redesigned their jobs in a way that was less active and more administrative.
"That's why shrinkage is up," he said.
Meyer said he averaged 13 apprehensions a month during most of his time at Wal-Mart. That number dropped to three to four a month in the months before he left last October. Meyer said his totals dropped because there were fewer security staff and less support from his managers for aggressively rooting out theft.
WakeUpWalMart.com has linked rising theft to its claims that the company offers skimpy pay and benefits. Wal-Mart also faces a class-action lawsuit alleging female workers were passed over for men in pay and promotions.
"I am not the type to steal, but because we are so mistreated, when I saw things I just didn't do anything," said Gina Tuley, a former Wal-Mart bakery worker, who quit her job at the Seagoville, Texas, store in March. A big complaint was that her hours had been cut, reducing her take-home pay.
Wal-Mart defends its pay as competitive and its health care coverage as better than most retailers, and has denied gender discrimination.
Simley said an April survey of employees that showed rising job satisfaction suggests Tuley's attitude does not represent most Wal-Mart associates.
Even so, several former associates said in interviews that their bonuses have declined because of the rise in inventory losses.
Wal-Mart's Simley disputes these claims, saying theft reduction was dropped from the bonus formula about a dozen years ago. It was Walton's idea to tie associates' bonuses to their stores' pilferage levels to give them a vested interest in keeping theft in check.
Tuley said her bonus last year was $300, down from $800 the previous year.
Still, she said, "People would walk out with bags of merchandise ... I heard the alarms go off and people wouldn't even look," she added.
Theft Rising at U.S. Wal-Mart Stores
Wal-Mart Struggling With Rising Loss From Shoplifting
By ANNE D'INNOCENZIO and MARCUS KABEL, The Associated Press
June 14th, 2007
Shoppers at Wal-Mart stores across America are loading carts with merchandise maybe a flat-screen TV, a few DVDs and a six-pack of beer and strolling out without paying. Employees also are helping themselves to goods they haven't paid for.
The world's largest retailer is saying little about these kinds of thefts, but its recent public disclosures that it is experiencing an increase in so-called shrinkage at its U.S. stores suggests that inventory losses due to shoplifting, employee theft, paperwork errors and supplier fraud could be worsening.
The hit is likely to rise to more than $3 billion this year for Wal-Mart Stores Inc., which generated sales of $348.6 billion last year, according to retail consultant Burt Flickinger III.
Flickinger and other analysts say the increase in theft may be tied to Wal-Mart's highly publicized decision last year to no longer prosecute minor cases of shoplifting in order to focus on organized shoplifting rings.
Former employees also say staffing levels, including security personnel, have been reduced, making it easier for theft to occur. And a union-backed group critical of the retailer's personnel policies contends general worker discontent is playing a role.
Wal-Mart declined to offer any explanations for the rise in losses, but denied it has cut security staff and said employee morale is rising rather than falling.
Although Wal-Mart declined to reveal any details, analysts suspect Wal-Mart which for years had a theft loss rate that was half that of its peers is getting closer to the industrywide average.
Theft is a big problem for all retailers, costing them $41.6 billion last year, according to a joint study released Tuesday by the National Retail Federation and the University of Florida.
The study found that the theft rate as a percentage of sales ticked upward slightly to 1.61 percent of sales in 2006 from 1.60 percent in 2005.
Whatever the cause, such theft which late founder Sam Walton once called one of retailers' top profit killers adds one more challenge when Wal-Mart is already struggling with sluggish sales at its established stores due to an overall economic slowdown as well as its own stumbles in its home and apparel merchandising strategies.
Eduardo Castro-Wright, president and CEO of Wal-Mart's U.S. store division, briefly acknowledged the theft problem in a mid-May conference call with analysts.
He cited shrinkage as well as increased markdowns and higher inventory for dragging down first-quarter profit margins.
"We are concerned about shrinkage and are investigating the cause and are taking steps to correct it," Castro-Wright said. Company officials won't comment on those countermeasures.
The company also said in a June 1 filing with federal securities regulators that the gross profit margin for its Wal-Mart Stores segment fell by 0.1 percentage points in the first quarter due in part to "higher inventory shrinkage."
John Simley, a Wal-Mart spokesman, declined to elaborate. He would say only that the company's theft losses as a percentage of sales is "better than our industry peer groups."
Analysts say it's significant that the company has publicly disclosed that theft is becoming a problem. "It is getting to the point of being material," said Richard Hastings, vice president and senior retail sector analyst at Bernard Sands.
Securities regulations require companies to alert shareholders to significant corporate developments that could affect the value of their holdings.
Such pilferage as a percentage of sales has been declining since the mid-1990s as retailers have invested in new technology such as closed circuit TVs, according to Richard Hollinger, professor of criminology at the University of Florida.
About 47 percent of the dollars lost came from employee theft, while shoplifting accounted for about 32 percent, according to the National Retail Federation report. Administrative errors account for 14 percent, while supplier fraud accounts for 4 percent. The remaining 3 percent is unaccounted for.
In one of the more brazen employee thefts, a man wearing dark clothing and a ski mask entered a Port Clinton, Ohio, Wal-Mart store in January at midnight unnoticed by employees and stole $45,000 from the store safe. The store's night manager, Dana Walker, 30, was later arrested for the crime. He became a suspect because he knew the combination to the safe, police said.
The company's vociferous critic WakeUpWalMart.com, funded by the United Food and Commercial Workers which has for years tried to organize the retailer's workers, publicized the company's decision last year to relax its zero-tolerance policy on shoplifting. The new policy seeks prosecutions of first-time offenders only if they are between ages 18 to 65 and steal at least $25 worth of merchandise.
That change may have emboldened some folks to shoplift, said Mark Doyle, president of Jack L. Hayes International, a retail consultancy on loss prevention.
WakeUpWalMart.com and some former employees said Wal-Mart may also have been trying to appease complaints by some police departments that its stores tied up police with too many shoplifting calls. Wal-Mart has denied that.
Wal-Mart also may have been spooked by worries about lawsuits from wrongful death, unlawful imprisonment and other legal issues related to aggressively chasing down shoplifters.
In March, Wal-Mart agreed to pay $750,000 to the family of a suspected shoplifter who suffocated to death as loss prevention workers held him down in a parking lot outside a store in Atascocita, Texas.
The shoplifter died in August 2005 in a parking lot, according to published reports.
The change in policy came at the same time the company began using more part-time workers in part because of a new scheduling system that matches staffing more closely to peak shopping hours and shifting security personnel, analysts and critics say.
That has left the discount chain without an experienced and loyal staff to monitor what's strolling out its back and front doors, analysts and some former employees supplied by WakeUpWalMart.com said.
"The business is being run by bean counters. I am shocked at the Spartan level of staffing," said Flickinger, managing director of Strategic Resources Group.
He added, "There are also morale issues. Workers feel that the company is taking care of itself."
While Wal-Mart denies that it has cut anti-theft jobs overall, it said it has adjusted staffing to put more personnel in stores in high-crime areas and fewer in stores with less trouble.
However, Dan Meyer, a former district loss prevention supervisor for several Wal-Mart stores in New Jersey, disputes that. Meyer, who said he accepted a buyout last fall after almost 12 years with the company, said Wal-Mart reduced the number of loss prevention staff in each store last year and redesigned their jobs in a way that was less active and more administrative.
"That's why shrinkage is up," he said.
Meyer said he averaged 13 apprehensions a month during most of his time at Wal-Mart. That number dropped to three to four a month in the months before he left last October. Meyer said his totals dropped because there were fewer security staff and less support from his managers for aggressively rooting out theft.
WakeUpWalMart.com has linked rising theft to its claims that the company offers skimpy pay and benefits. Wal-Mart also faces a class-action lawsuit alleging female workers were passed over for men in pay and promotions.
"I am not the type to steal, but because we are so mistreated, when I saw things I just didn't do anything," said Gina Tuley, a former Wal-Mart bakery worker, who quit her job at the Seagoville, Texas, store in March. A big complaint was that her hours had been cut, reducing her take-home pay.
Wal-Mart defends its pay as competitive and its health care coverage as better than most retailers, and has denied gender discrimination.
Simley said an April survey of employees that showed rising job satisfaction suggests Tuley's attitude does not represent most Wal-Mart associates.
Even so, several former associates said in interviews that their bonuses have declined because of the rise in inventory losses.
Wal-Mart's Simley disputes these claims, saying theft reduction was dropped from the bonus formula about a dozen years ago. It was Walton's idea to tie associates' bonuses to their stores' pilferage levels to give them a vested interest in keeping theft in check.
Tuley said her bonus last year was $300, down from $800 the previous year.
Still, she said, "People would walk out with bags of merchandise ... I heard the alarms go off and people wouldn't even look," she added.
Wal-Mart Struggling With Rising Loss From Shoplifting
June 14th, 2007
Shoppers at Wal-Mart stores across America are loading carts with merchandise maybe a flat-screen TV, a few DVDs and a six-pack of beer and strolling out without paying. Employees also are helping themselves to goods they haven't paid for.
The world's largest retailer is saying little about these kinds of thefts, but its recent public disclosures that it is experiencing an increase in so-called shrinkage at its U.S. stores suggests that inventory losses due to shoplifting, employee theft, paperwork errors and supplier fraud could be worsening.
The hit is likely to rise to more than $3 billion this year for Wal-Mart Stores Inc., which generated sales of $348.6 billion last year, according to retail consultant Burt Flickinger III.
Flickinger and other analysts say the increase in theft may be tied to Wal-Mart's highly publicized decision last year to no longer prosecute minor cases of shoplifting in order to focus on organized shoplifting rings.
Former employees also say staffing levels, including security personnel, have been reduced, making it easier for theft to occur. And a union-backed group critical of the retailer's personnel policies contends general worker discontent is playing a role.
Wal-Mart declined to offer any explanations for the rise in losses, but denied it has cut security staff and said employee morale is rising rather than falling.
Although Wal-Mart declined to reveal any details, analysts suspect Wal-Mart which for years had a theft loss rate that was half that of its peers is getting closer to the industrywide average.
Theft is a big problem for all retailers, costing them $41.6 billion last year, according to a joint study released Tuesday by the National Retail Federation and the University of Florida.
The study found that the theft rate as a percentage of sales ticked upward slightly to 1.61 percent of sales in 2006 from 1.60 percent in 2005.
Whatever the cause, such theft which late founder Sam Walton once called one of retailers' top profit killers adds one more challenge when Wal-Mart is already struggling with sluggish sales at its established stores due to an overall economic slowdown as well as its own stumbles in its home and apparel merchandising strategies.
Eduardo Castro-Wright, president and CEO of Wal-Mart's U.S. store division, briefly acknowledged the theft problem in a mid-May conference call with analysts.
He cited shrinkage as well as increased markdowns and higher inventory for dragging down first-quarter profit margins.
"We are concerned about shrinkage and are investigating the cause and are taking steps to correct it," Castro-Wright said. Company officials won't comment on those countermeasures.
The company also said in a June 1 filing with federal securities regulators that the gross profit margin for its Wal-Mart Stores segment fell by 0.1 percentage points in the first quarter due in part to "higher inventory shrinkage."
John Simley, a Wal-Mart spokesman, declined to elaborate. He would say only that the company's theft losses as a percentage of sales is "better than our industry peer groups."
Analysts say it's significant that the company has publicly disclosed that theft is becoming a problem. "It is getting to the point of being material," said Richard Hastings, vice president and senior retail sector analyst at Bernard Sands.
Securities regulations require companies to alert shareholders to significant corporate developments that could affect the value of their holdings.
Such pilferage as a percentage of sales has been declining since the mid-1990s as retailers have invested in new technology such as closed circuit TVs, according to Richard Hollinger, professor of criminology at the University of Florida.
About 47 percent of the dollars lost came from employee theft, while shoplifting accounted for about 32 percent, according to the National Retail Federation report. Administrative errors account for 14 percent, while supplier fraud accounts for 4 percent. The remaining 3 percent is unaccounted for.
In one of the more brazen employee thefts, a man wearing dark clothing and a ski mask entered a Port Clinton, Ohio, Wal-Mart store in January at midnight unnoticed by employees and stole $45,000 from the store safe. The store's night manager, Dana Walker, 30, was later arrested for the crime. He became a suspect because he knew the combination to the safe, police said.
The company's vociferous critic WakeUpWalMart.com, funded by the United Food and Commercial Workers which has for years tried to organize the retailer's workers, publicized the company's decision last year to relax its zero-tolerance policy on shoplifting. The new policy seeks prosecutions of first-time offenders only if they are between ages 18 to 65 and steal at least $25 worth of merchandise.
That change may have emboldened some folks to shoplift, said Mark Doyle, president of Jack L. Hayes International, a retail consultancy on loss prevention.
WakeUpWalMart.com and some former employees said Wal-Mart may also have been trying to appease complaints by some police departments that its stores tied up police with too many shoplifting calls. Wal-Mart has denied that.
Wal-Mart also may have been spooked by worries about lawsuits from wrongful death, unlawful imprisonment and other legal issues related to aggressively chasing down shoplifters.
In March, Wal-Mart agreed to pay $750,000 to the family of a suspected shoplifter who suffocated to death as loss prevention workers held him down in a parking lot outside a store in Atascocita, Texas.
The shoplifter died in August 2005 in a parking lot, according to published reports.
The change in policy came at the same time the company began using more part-time workers in part because of a new scheduling system that matches staffing more closely to peak shopping hours and shifting security personnel, analysts and critics say.
That has left the discount chain without an experienced and loyal staff to monitor what's strolling out its back and front doors, analysts and some former employees supplied by WakeUpWalMart.com said.
"The business is being run by bean counters. I am shocked at the Spartan level of staffing," said Flickinger, managing director of Strategic Resources Group.
He added, "There are also morale issues. Workers feel that the company is taking care of itself."
While Wal-Mart denies that it has cut anti-theft jobs overall, it said it has adjusted staffing to put more personnel in stores in high-crime areas and fewer in stores with less trouble.
However, Dan Meyer, a former district loss prevention supervisor for several Wal-Mart stores in New Jersey, disputes that. Meyer, who said he accepted a buyout last fall after almost 12 years with the company, said Wal-Mart reduced the number of loss prevention staff in each store last year and redesigned their jobs in a way that was less active and more administrative.
"That's why shrinkage is up," he said.
Meyer said he averaged 13 apprehensions a month during most of his time at Wal-Mart. That number dropped to three to four a month in the months before he left last October. Meyer said his totals dropped because there were fewer security staff and less support from his managers for aggressively rooting out theft.
WakeUpWalMart.com has linked rising theft to its claims that the company offers skimpy pay and benefits. Wal-Mart also faces a class-action lawsuit alleging female workers were passed over for men in pay and promotions.
"I am not the type to steal, but because we are so mistreated, when I saw things I just didn't do anything," said Gina Tuley, a former Wal-Mart bakery worker, who quit her job at the Seagoville, Texas, store in March. A big complaint was that her hours had been cut, reducing her take-home pay.
Wal-Mart defends its pay as competitive and its health care coverage as better than most retailers, and has denied gender discrimination.
Simley said an April survey of employees that showed rising job satisfaction suggests Tuley's attitude does not represent most Wal-Mart associates.
Even so, several former associates said in interviews that their bonuses have declined because of the rise in inventory losses.
Wal-Mart's Simley disputes these claims, saying theft reduction was dropped from the bonus formula about a dozen years ago. It was Walton's idea to tie associates' bonuses to their stores' pilferage levels to give them a vested interest in keeping theft in check.
Tuley said her bonus last year was $300, down from $800 the previous year.
Still, she said, "People would walk out with bags of merchandise ... I heard the alarms go off and people wouldn't even look," she added.
Wal-Mart Struggling With Rising Loss From Shoplifting
Integrated Solutions for Retailers Magazine - Law Enforcement, Loss Prevention Professionals Honored At NRF Conference
2009 NRF Law Enforcement Retail Partnership Award
NRF’s Law Enforcement Retail Partnership Award is presented each year to individuals in the law enforcement industry who have gone above and beyond the call of duty to support the retail industry in its fight against retail fraud, organized retail crime and other major incidents that affect the retail industry. NRF presented this year’s award to Detective David Hill, Montgomery County Maryland Police Department and Special Agent Philip Soto, United States Secret Service.
In May of 2008, Detective David Hill received a tip from a local retailer about one customer routinely purchasing high-end merchandise with multiple gift cards. By working with Special Agent Philip Soto, Hill uncovered that the credit cards being used to purchase the gift cards were still in the possession of the original owners, tipping them off that there was a potential skimming case in existence.
This case was a partnership between Montgomery County Police Department, the United States Secret Service and several retailers, including Target and Wal-Mart.
“Detective Hill’s initiative to start working the case after a hunch from one of his existing retail contacts shows the significance of the partnerships he’s developed in the retail community,” said NRF Vice President of Loss Prevention Rhett Asher. “Special Agent Soto’s perseverance in connecting the dots between the bankers and retailers and later ensuring the suspects were prosecuted shows his dedication to the retail industry.”
“The tenacity, investigative skills and dedication to this case highlight both Detective Hill and Special Agent Soto’s absolute commitment to the business community, retail industry and Greater Washington metro Area,” continued Asher. “While thousands of people were victimized, many others were spared due to the persistence and determination of Detective Hill and Special Agent Soto in resolving this case.”
Integrated Solutions for Retailers Magazine - Law Enforcement, Loss Prevention Professionals Honored At NRF Conference
NRF’s Law Enforcement Retail Partnership Award is presented each year to individuals in the law enforcement industry who have gone above and beyond the call of duty to support the retail industry in its fight against retail fraud, organized retail crime and other major incidents that affect the retail industry. NRF presented this year’s award to Detective David Hill, Montgomery County Maryland Police Department and Special Agent Philip Soto, United States Secret Service.
In May of 2008, Detective David Hill received a tip from a local retailer about one customer routinely purchasing high-end merchandise with multiple gift cards. By working with Special Agent Philip Soto, Hill uncovered that the credit cards being used to purchase the gift cards were still in the possession of the original owners, tipping them off that there was a potential skimming case in existence.
This case was a partnership between Montgomery County Police Department, the United States Secret Service and several retailers, including Target and Wal-Mart.
“Detective Hill’s initiative to start working the case after a hunch from one of his existing retail contacts shows the significance of the partnerships he’s developed in the retail community,” said NRF Vice President of Loss Prevention Rhett Asher. “Special Agent Soto’s perseverance in connecting the dots between the bankers and retailers and later ensuring the suspects were prosecuted shows his dedication to the retail industry.”
“The tenacity, investigative skills and dedication to this case highlight both Detective Hill and Special Agent Soto’s absolute commitment to the business community, retail industry and Greater Washington metro Area,” continued Asher. “While thousands of people were victimized, many others were spared due to the persistence and determination of Detective Hill and Special Agent Soto in resolving this case.”
Integrated Solutions for Retailers Magazine - Law Enforcement, Loss Prevention Professionals Honored At NRF Conference
Involuntary Medical Servitude - Maria Martins - Mises Institute
Mises Daily by Maria Martins Posted on 8/26/2009 12:00:00 AM
The very idea of government acting to control any aspect of the practice of medicine should ignite passionate resistance on the part of physicians everywhere. The new proposals to expand the role of government will deal a deathblow to a profession already under siege. Now is the time to accurately name what is being proposed and have the courage to stop it. It is difficult to believe that in the United States, a country founded on the principles of life and liberty, the outright subjugation of a profession by the government would even be considered.
As doctors, we took an oath. We created the profession of medicine and claimed our standard required us to use our own best judgment at all times for the greater benefit of our patient. We claim we base our treatments on "the evidence."
It requires freedom and an independent mind to evaluate the evidence. The evaluation process is the art of medicine. You cannot legislate integrity and competence into doctors whose minds and judgment have been regimented to follow "best practice" guidelines.
It is a betrayal of our duty to our patient to use any consideration of some greater social good defined by the government to alter the best course of action for the patient. Our customer rightly expects us in the doctor-patient relationship to have his welfare as our absolute priority. It is immoral to use "average number of years of life a procedure would buy" — or any other government-inspired social utility — as a justification to limit the options we offer our patient. An attorney would be considered unethical if he used consideration of the greater good of society to influence his representation of an accused murderer.
The state needs us. When politicians say that healthcare must be formed into a mold of their own design, they are admitting their inability to persuade MDs to use their plan voluntarily. Who will provide the care and carry out the directives of any of the proposed healthcare plans? That coverage would be "universal" is touted, but the fact that there are a finite number of physicians is never mentioned.
Medical care is not a right. Medical care is a service provided by doctors and others to individuals who want to purchase it. A patient presents to the doctor with a request for care. The fact that the patient has a serious condition — even a life threatening one — does not entitle him, as his right, to the services of the doctor. To claim that he does means that doctors and others who provide these services have no rights, or that society can deliberately ignore these rights for the "greater good."
It is immoral for a professional organization to participate in, or to lend legitimacy to, any attempt by the government to control how care is defined and who will provide it. If doctors will be prevented by the government from offering their services outside of a government plan, this is further confirmation that coercion is at work. Indeed, if doctors are prevented by law to work outside of the plan — as is the case already in Canada, North Korea, and Cuba — it will mean the wholesale corruption of the profession of medicine.
"The coverage and types of policies available today are limited by government requirements, not by the free market."
What is a right? The concept of a right defines freedom to act within the boundaries of the rights of others. It is contradictory to claim that a person has a right to a good or service that requires, for its fulfillment, the violation of someone else's rights. If the exercise of a patient's so-called "right" to healthcare imposes obligations on taxpayers to pay for it and healthcare practitioners to provide it, then it is not a right, but an attempt to enslave one part of the population for the benefit of another part.
In reality, these types of so-called "rights" are offered to groups of Americans by politicians in exchange for votes. Claims of humanitarian concerns are merely a fig leaf over a naked power grab by the state. The fact that some physicians may willingly participate in their own enslavement does not alter this fact.
There is no free market today in the American healthcare system. Supply and demand is a law describing the relationship between the patients' demand for goods — healthcare services — and the finite number of doctors, nurses, hospitals, and medicines that supply them.
It is a fact that the number of physicians has not kept pace with the increase in population. Yet this is not for lack of people willing to work as doctors. Even today, there are many more applicants to medical school than can be placed in the limited number of slots. Government rules and the abuse of government power by special interest groups such as the AMA are responsible for the mismatch between doctors and the population requesting services. The AMA and specialty groups use government, for instance, to restrict doctors in one state from practicing in another. No such arbitrary rule applies to nurses; nor should they apply to physicians.
Not all healthcare services require an MD. By using the force of government, the AMA has been able to restrict the scope of practice of physician assistants (PAs) and nurse practitioners (NPs). When, more recently, PAs have been granted greater responsibility, it was not due to their sudden increase in skill, but to a successful battle against entrenched interests with political power.
Healthcare centers such as hospitals, offices, and clinics have been severely restricted by burdensome "certificates of need," operating licenses, and other government requirements. All of these have stifled the development of innovative ways to deliver care. A free market would encourage innovation and customization of care, such as home visits to the elderly and telephone checks of pacemakers.
To claim that any government plan now proposed could give people more choices requires that the listener ignore the fact that a vast destruction of options has already occurred and that one's choice is limited to what is left.
Insurance companies are not the villains. No insurance company today has the power to limit the availability of care. An insurance policy for healthcare is a contract between an individual and the policyholder to provide payment for care. It cannot ration care. The coverage and types of policies available today are limited by government requirements, not by the free market.
Special-interest practitioners such as acupuncturists and massage therapists have lobbied the government to force insurance companies to include their services as a condition of doing business in a given state. It is simply not possible to buy mere catastrophic or chronic-illness policies, because state governments vary only in how many mandates they require, not whether there are any.
$25 $19
Imagine how expensive auto insurance would be if the only policy you could buy due to government decree was one covering tire rotation, oil changes, windshield wiper replacement, etc., as well as liability? It is ludicrous to blame the insurance companies for the resulting — and inevitable — increase in the number of people choosing not to purchase any insurance.
If the day comes when the government adopts the fundamental changes in medicine now being proposed, the physician's only choices will be to obey the protocols, to ignore them and risk sanctions, or to quit the profession.
Choose a form of practice that permits the honest delivery of care. There is no amount of money that will compensate you in the future for your lack of courage today. State clearly, "I will not participate." Withhold the sanction of the victim.
Maria Martins, MD, has had a full-time career practice of emergency medicine for 22 years. She is licensed to practice medicine in New York, Pennsylvania, and California. Send her mail. See Maria Martins's article archives. Here is a youtube of the author speaking at a town hall meeting. Comment on the blog.
Involuntary Medical Servitude - Maria Martins - Mises Institute
The very idea of government acting to control any aspect of the practice of medicine should ignite passionate resistance on the part of physicians everywhere. The new proposals to expand the role of government will deal a deathblow to a profession already under siege. Now is the time to accurately name what is being proposed and have the courage to stop it. It is difficult to believe that in the United States, a country founded on the principles of life and liberty, the outright subjugation of a profession by the government would even be considered.
As doctors, we took an oath. We created the profession of medicine and claimed our standard required us to use our own best judgment at all times for the greater benefit of our patient. We claim we base our treatments on "the evidence."
It requires freedom and an independent mind to evaluate the evidence. The evaluation process is the art of medicine. You cannot legislate integrity and competence into doctors whose minds and judgment have been regimented to follow "best practice" guidelines.
It is a betrayal of our duty to our patient to use any consideration of some greater social good defined by the government to alter the best course of action for the patient. Our customer rightly expects us in the doctor-patient relationship to have his welfare as our absolute priority. It is immoral to use "average number of years of life a procedure would buy" — or any other government-inspired social utility — as a justification to limit the options we offer our patient. An attorney would be considered unethical if he used consideration of the greater good of society to influence his representation of an accused murderer.
The state needs us. When politicians say that healthcare must be formed into a mold of their own design, they are admitting their inability to persuade MDs to use their plan voluntarily. Who will provide the care and carry out the directives of any of the proposed healthcare plans? That coverage would be "universal" is touted, but the fact that there are a finite number of physicians is never mentioned.
Medical care is not a right. Medical care is a service provided by doctors and others to individuals who want to purchase it. A patient presents to the doctor with a request for care. The fact that the patient has a serious condition — even a life threatening one — does not entitle him, as his right, to the services of the doctor. To claim that he does means that doctors and others who provide these services have no rights, or that society can deliberately ignore these rights for the "greater good."
It is immoral for a professional organization to participate in, or to lend legitimacy to, any attempt by the government to control how care is defined and who will provide it. If doctors will be prevented by the government from offering their services outside of a government plan, this is further confirmation that coercion is at work. Indeed, if doctors are prevented by law to work outside of the plan — as is the case already in Canada, North Korea, and Cuba — it will mean the wholesale corruption of the profession of medicine.
"The coverage and types of policies available today are limited by government requirements, not by the free market."
What is a right? The concept of a right defines freedom to act within the boundaries of the rights of others. It is contradictory to claim that a person has a right to a good or service that requires, for its fulfillment, the violation of someone else's rights. If the exercise of a patient's so-called "right" to healthcare imposes obligations on taxpayers to pay for it and healthcare practitioners to provide it, then it is not a right, but an attempt to enslave one part of the population for the benefit of another part.
In reality, these types of so-called "rights" are offered to groups of Americans by politicians in exchange for votes. Claims of humanitarian concerns are merely a fig leaf over a naked power grab by the state. The fact that some physicians may willingly participate in their own enslavement does not alter this fact.
There is no free market today in the American healthcare system. Supply and demand is a law describing the relationship between the patients' demand for goods — healthcare services — and the finite number of doctors, nurses, hospitals, and medicines that supply them.
It is a fact that the number of physicians has not kept pace with the increase in population. Yet this is not for lack of people willing to work as doctors. Even today, there are many more applicants to medical school than can be placed in the limited number of slots. Government rules and the abuse of government power by special interest groups such as the AMA are responsible for the mismatch between doctors and the population requesting services. The AMA and specialty groups use government, for instance, to restrict doctors in one state from practicing in another. No such arbitrary rule applies to nurses; nor should they apply to physicians.
Not all healthcare services require an MD. By using the force of government, the AMA has been able to restrict the scope of practice of physician assistants (PAs) and nurse practitioners (NPs). When, more recently, PAs have been granted greater responsibility, it was not due to their sudden increase in skill, but to a successful battle against entrenched interests with political power.
Healthcare centers such as hospitals, offices, and clinics have been severely restricted by burdensome "certificates of need," operating licenses, and other government requirements. All of these have stifled the development of innovative ways to deliver care. A free market would encourage innovation and customization of care, such as home visits to the elderly and telephone checks of pacemakers.
To claim that any government plan now proposed could give people more choices requires that the listener ignore the fact that a vast destruction of options has already occurred and that one's choice is limited to what is left.
Insurance companies are not the villains. No insurance company today has the power to limit the availability of care. An insurance policy for healthcare is a contract between an individual and the policyholder to provide payment for care. It cannot ration care. The coverage and types of policies available today are limited by government requirements, not by the free market.
Special-interest practitioners such as acupuncturists and massage therapists have lobbied the government to force insurance companies to include their services as a condition of doing business in a given state. It is simply not possible to buy mere catastrophic or chronic-illness policies, because state governments vary only in how many mandates they require, not whether there are any.
$25 $19
Imagine how expensive auto insurance would be if the only policy you could buy due to government decree was one covering tire rotation, oil changes, windshield wiper replacement, etc., as well as liability? It is ludicrous to blame the insurance companies for the resulting — and inevitable — increase in the number of people choosing not to purchase any insurance.
If the day comes when the government adopts the fundamental changes in medicine now being proposed, the physician's only choices will be to obey the protocols, to ignore them and risk sanctions, or to quit the profession.
Choose a form of practice that permits the honest delivery of care. There is no amount of money that will compensate you in the future for your lack of courage today. State clearly, "I will not participate." Withhold the sanction of the victim.
Maria Martins, MD, has had a full-time career practice of emergency medicine for 22 years. She is licensed to practice medicine in New York, Pennsylvania, and California. Send her mail. See Maria Martins's article archives. Here is a youtube of the author speaking at a town hall meeting. Comment on the blog.
Involuntary Medical Servitude - Maria Martins - Mises Institute
A Market for Criminal Skills - Jeffrey A. Tucker - Mises Institute
Here I was returning a rental car to the dealer, and some confusion set in about the keys. The attendant asked for them back, and I handed them over even as I was pulling bags and things out of the car. The attendant hopped in the driver's seat to check the mileage, and left the keys in the car. He shut the door, I shut another, even as one more bag remained insider. But there was a hitch: the car was now locked.
We all looked at each other with a sense of: what were we thinking? Now the car was locked, and it was the only set of keys. This isn't one of those old fashioned cars that were easy to crack open. No sir, this was a new car with all the security features we've come to expect. It surely couldn't be broken into.
I was imagining that we would have to throw a brick through the window, and we would be arguing for weeks about liability.
Then something amazing happened. The attendant, who didn't look like a pillar of the community, called over some of his rough-looking buddies—authentic archetypes of street thugs—and gave them a special signal. They reached into their little bag of tricks and pulled out four little items:
A business card
A crowbar
A squeegee stick
A clothes hanger
I watched with intense interest, and then astonishment. One person slid the business card between the top of the door and the car. Another stood next to him and began to work the crowbar between the card and the door until it began to move outward. He gave it a bit of a twist, and a third person made the gap wide with the squeegee stick. The tools moved here and there until they locked into place and a clean gap separated the door frame and the car body.
Next, one person bent the clothes hanger in a curved way, and put a loop at the bottom. He inserted it and with surgeon-like precision, he lifted the lock. The door opened right up, the tools were removed, and all was well. The car alarm did not sound, and there was not a single scratch on the car. No evidence remain that the car had been hacked.
Total time that it took to open this door: about 20 seconds.
The operation was a marvel, and it proved to me something I did not know: namely, that cars only appear to be locked. In the hands of these guys, every car was only superficially secure.
The owner of the rental place came over to see what had been happening, and he too was rather shocked. "If one of my cars ever turns up missing," he said in a gruff way, "I'll know who took it!" Then he smiled and winked: "Good job, men."
Now, it is possible that these skill was one learned on the job. Possible, but doubtful. They were too accomplished at it. And one confirmed to me that this was the first time in memory that a set of keys had ended up being locked in the car.
So what do we have here? A skill gained from, mostly likely, years spent doing things they should not have been doing, now put to service in a way that is beneficial and profitable to the human community of civilized people.
It's hardly the only example. We can think of the number of computer hackers now serving large companies to the benefit of everyone, or toughs who might otherwise be hurting people who play sports, or people with a penchant for guns and violence now serving as security guards or bouncers. There are many ways in which skills associated with criminality can serve a productive purpose.
Imagine a world without market-based opportunities to serve. These people would be social parasites instead of producers who are valued by others for their contribution. The more the division of labor expands, and capital is accumulated in a context of the freedom to trade, the more opportunities there are for civilizing what would otherwise be destructive impulses.
There are the effects of markets that are impossible to quantify but they have a grand impact on the culture in turning people away from crime and toward peaceful forms of human engagement.
They can also teach us a few things about security holes that exist in the world we inhabit. In the same way that a hacker can provide a good test against holes in program code, the crowbar kids at the rental place showed me something important: if you are worried about the security of your automobile, you need to do more than lock your car.
_______
Jeffrey Tucker is editor of Mises.org. tucker@mises.org. Comment on the blog.
You can receive the Mises Dailies in your inbox. Go here to subscribe or unsubscribe.
A Market for Criminal Skills - Jeffrey A. Tucker - Mises Institute
We all looked at each other with a sense of: what were we thinking? Now the car was locked, and it was the only set of keys. This isn't one of those old fashioned cars that were easy to crack open. No sir, this was a new car with all the security features we've come to expect. It surely couldn't be broken into.
I was imagining that we would have to throw a brick through the window, and we would be arguing for weeks about liability.
Then something amazing happened. The attendant, who didn't look like a pillar of the community, called over some of his rough-looking buddies—authentic archetypes of street thugs—and gave them a special signal. They reached into their little bag of tricks and pulled out four little items:
A business card
A crowbar
A squeegee stick
A clothes hanger
I watched with intense interest, and then astonishment. One person slid the business card between the top of the door and the car. Another stood next to him and began to work the crowbar between the card and the door until it began to move outward. He gave it a bit of a twist, and a third person made the gap wide with the squeegee stick. The tools moved here and there until they locked into place and a clean gap separated the door frame and the car body.
Next, one person bent the clothes hanger in a curved way, and put a loop at the bottom. He inserted it and with surgeon-like precision, he lifted the lock. The door opened right up, the tools were removed, and all was well. The car alarm did not sound, and there was not a single scratch on the car. No evidence remain that the car had been hacked.
Total time that it took to open this door: about 20 seconds.
The operation was a marvel, and it proved to me something I did not know: namely, that cars only appear to be locked. In the hands of these guys, every car was only superficially secure.
The owner of the rental place came over to see what had been happening, and he too was rather shocked. "If one of my cars ever turns up missing," he said in a gruff way, "I'll know who took it!" Then he smiled and winked: "Good job, men."
Now, it is possible that these skill was one learned on the job. Possible, but doubtful. They were too accomplished at it. And one confirmed to me that this was the first time in memory that a set of keys had ended up being locked in the car.
So what do we have here? A skill gained from, mostly likely, years spent doing things they should not have been doing, now put to service in a way that is beneficial and profitable to the human community of civilized people.
It's hardly the only example. We can think of the number of computer hackers now serving large companies to the benefit of everyone, or toughs who might otherwise be hurting people who play sports, or people with a penchant for guns and violence now serving as security guards or bouncers. There are many ways in which skills associated with criminality can serve a productive purpose.
Imagine a world without market-based opportunities to serve. These people would be social parasites instead of producers who are valued by others for their contribution. The more the division of labor expands, and capital is accumulated in a context of the freedom to trade, the more opportunities there are for civilizing what would otherwise be destructive impulses.
There are the effects of markets that are impossible to quantify but they have a grand impact on the culture in turning people away from crime and toward peaceful forms of human engagement.
They can also teach us a few things about security holes that exist in the world we inhabit. In the same way that a hacker can provide a good test against holes in program code, the crowbar kids at the rental place showed me something important: if you are worried about the security of your automobile, you need to do more than lock your car.
_______
Jeffrey Tucker is editor of Mises.org. tucker@mises.org. Comment on the blog.
You can receive the Mises Dailies in your inbox. Go here to subscribe or unsubscribe.
A Market for Criminal Skills - Jeffrey A. Tucker - Mises Institute
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