One of the repercussions of the recession is the cutback in retailers hiring extra holiday employees to help manage the busy shopping season. This cutback was first seen in 2008 and as a result, for the first time in six years, theft in retail stores increased 1.4 percent from 2007 and $36.3 billion was stolen, according to the University of Florida's National Retail Security Survey (NRSS) of 103 major U.S. store chains.
In response, leading U.S. retailers are using some of the newly developed anti-theft devices, but the losses for 2009 are not expected to be any better. However, "Retail crime is not a victimless crime," said Lee Pernice, a retail security expert with ADT Security Service. "We all get hurt because there's less merchandise on shelves and retailers push up their prices."
Poll: If you see someone shoplifting, do you report it to the store's personnel? See also: Stores' holiday-time hazard: Shoplifters
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The FBI is offering a $5,000 reward for information leading directly to the arrest of Marlon J. Larry, 35, for armed bank robbery. Larry is wanted for the June 27, 2007 robbery of a bank in Kansas City, Missouri during which he forced his way into the bank by hitting the manager over the head with a handgun. He is considered armed and dangerous. 
A 15-year-old Missouri girl sat quietly in court as her attorney entered a not guilty plea to first-degree murder and armed criminal action in connection with the death of 9-year-old Elizabeth Olten. Alyssa Bustamante was shackled and wearing a green juvenile detention jump suit during the hearing.
A man suspected of killing his two daughters and both of their mothers has been found in a vehicle the victim of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. Tyrone Adair's body was found after a witness called police to report a SUV parked off a country road about 15 miles from Madison.