Tales in the U.S. and UK abound of an in-store retail crime wave of looting from coast to coast, with flash mobs sweeping through vulnerable stores, anti-social and increasingly violent behavior from organized criminals, and the city of San Francisco all but closing up shop. The crime being highlighted by retailers isn't a symptom of desperation among the hardest hit by the economic downturn, people forced to steal essentials. Instead, retailers have blamed organized gangs and a breakdown in civil behavior for some of the financial problems they are facing. A sense of lawlessness is the last thing that embattled landlords need, with fears that more retailers might opt to close the doors on what they view as high-risk locations. However, things aren't quite what they seem. Shoplifting is clearly a problem for retailers, made more public by social media. Incidents of violence toward shop workers are shocking and not to be underplayed. But some retail analysts and researchers have argued that local crime statistics conflict with this narrative and questioned whether this is less a worsening crime spree and more a case of “theftwash” to cover up performance issues. The issue came to a head on Sept. 26, when retail industry body the National Retail Federation published a damning survey on retail crime; Target closed nine stores, citing shop theft; and a slew of Philadelphia stores, including Apple, Lululemon… Read Full Story | 
