The 2022 SDM 100: Navigating the High Seas

By Karyn Hodgson, SDM Magazine

Facing headwinds on several fronts, SDM 100 companies in 2021 had to get creative to move forward. By the numbers it appears most of them were able to manage uncertainties and succeed - and some turned their sails to take advantage of new circumstances.

Every year SDM 100 survey asks a few open-ended questions such as, "What was your company's most significant accomplishment last year?" "Describe the market for security systems sales in the past year compared with the previous year," and "What issues and trends do you think will have the greatest impact on your business in the coming year?" This year, one particular phrase came up again and again in all three of those answer sections: supply chain issues and how they were dealing with them.

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Buffalo Grocery Store Mass Shooting Fallout & Updates

How the Shooter Studied the Store to Plan His Attack
Store guard confronted Buffalo suspect during March visit, online account says

Shooter also planned to shoot up 'another large superstore' in addition to Tops

Two months before Payton Gendron allegedly killed 10 people at a supermarket in Buffalo, he was confronted by a security guard at the store during a trip on which he compiled detailed plans of the location, according to a document posted online last month by a writer who identified himself as Gendron.

The encounter with the guard at the supermarket was described within a 589-page document posted online on April 29. The document refers to the supermarket as "attack area 1" and describes two more Buffalo locations as other attack areas to "shoot all blacks" during an apparent reconnaissance trip that spelled out the travel paths to each one, timing needed for each shootout and the estimate that more than three dozen people would be fatally shot in all.

The document contains numerous photos of Gendron and uses a handle Gendron used on other social media platforms. The messages contain many images of his activities and reference several events in his personal life, such as a speeding ticket, that The Washington Post has confirmed.

Several images, including detailed sketches of the Tops store layout, were included alongside the written account of the March 8 visit. It noted that there were "many blacks" at the cashier's area of the store. In all, 53 Black people and six White people were inside the store during the March trip, the account said. Police have said they are investigating the shootings as a racially-motivated hate crime.

The security guard involved in the confrontation during the March visit was one of two Black guards present and armed that day, according to the account, which noted the guards' locations and movements. Authorities said a security guard fired at the shooter during the May 14 attack at the store, but that the suspect was protected by body armor and allegedly returned fire, killing the guard.

Buffalo Police Commissioner Joseph Gramaglia said in media interviews on Monday that authorities believed the gunman intended to continue his attack at additional locations, telling CNN this was based on "some documentation."

Gramaglia told CNN that the suspect had spoken "about possibly going to another store," after Tops, potentially turning his fire on "another large superstore." "He was going to get in his car and continue to drive down Jefferson Avenue and continue doing the same thing," Mr. Gramaglia said. washingtonpost.com nytimes.com

Gunman Targeted & Studied Security Guard Post & Camera Blind Spots
They Were at Tops When the Shooting Started. This Is How They Survived.
Much has been discovered and will be learned in the weeks ahead about the massacre and the man who the authorities say perpetrated it. But this is a story about the men and women who were at work that day at an uncommonly beloved supermarket - one that functions like a family - and what they did when that place became the scene of a massacre.

The store opened 19 years ago and became a neighborhood hub and gathering place in what had been a food desert. Regular customers greeted workers by name, and employees were known to hang out after their shift, catching up with friends.

This very community is what drew the gunman. An avowed racist, he selected this Tops after researching predominantly Black ZIP codes and drove hundreds of miles here from his nearly all-white hometown.

By the time Saturday arrived, the man knew the store - where the security officer usually stood, where the cameras had blind spots. He'd drawn a map of the interior and plotted his assault through the aisles. He'd been inside before, according to people who remembered noticing him, the white stranger. Ashley Marks, a cashier who likes to joke with customers, was sure she rang up his two Red Bulls days earlier.

On Saturday morning, he walked inside and fired, over and over. He shot women old enough to be his grandmother. Ms. Brown, the cashier with the new baby, was helping customers in the self-checkout lanes when the shooting began, and she dove between two taller cash registers. Beside her, a new manager named Chris took a bullet in the knee. nytimes.com

Suspect Kicked Out of Tops Night Before Mass Shooting Attack
Buffalo gunman was kicked out of Tops the night before mass shooting
Shonnell Harris Teague, an operations manager at Tops, told ABC News she saw the suspect sitting on a bench outside of the store for several hours Friday, the day before the shooting. He had camper bag on his back and was dressed in the same camouflage he wore Saturday, she said.

He entered the store that evening, but he appeared to be bothering customers so she asked him to leave, which he did, Teague said. The next day she was fleeing out the back door of the store as the gunman shot people in the aisles.

"I see him with his gear on and his gun and how it was all strapped on. ... I (saw) all the other bodies on the ground," she said. "It was just a nightmare." democratandchronicle.com

Victims of the Tops Mass Shooting
Tops identifies associates wounded in shooting at Buffalo, N.Y., store
Four of the victims were store employees, including a security guard who confronted the shooter and was killed, The Buffalo News reported. The Buffalo Police Department has identified the alleged shooter as 18-year-old Payton Gendron and taken him into custody. He was arraigned on first-degree murder charges on Saturday.

Store associates wounded in the shooting were Christopher Braden, 55, of Lackawanna, N.Y.; Zaire Goodman, 20, of Buffalo; and Jennifer Warrington, 50, of Tonawanda, N.Y., Tops reported on Monday. The security guard killed in the shooting - Aaron Salter, 55, of Lockport, N.Y. - was a retired Buffalo Police officer that hired by Tops through an outside agency, Allied Security Co., the supermarket chain said. supermarketnews.com

Workplace Violence Prevention & Response
Timely Article Following Buffalo Mass Shooting

Understanding Workplace Violence Prevention & Response
Each year, an average of nearly 2 million U.S. workers report having been a victim of violence at work, according to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). And the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics puts the number of annual workplace homicides at about 400.

What can employers do to protect their workers from becoming victims of workplace violence? The ultimate goal is to deter disgruntled insiders or nefarious outsiders from violence by making your company a hard target. A secondary goal is to make sure your company and workforce are prepared for violence so you can minimize casualties and respond quickly in the event of a violent incident. If you can save a life-or many-the return on investment will be well worth it.

Compliance

The federal Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Act includes a general duty clause requiring employers to "furnish to each of his employees employment and a place of employment which are free from recognized hazards that are causing or are likely to cause death or serious physical harm to his employees." According to OHSA's Enforcement Procedures and Scheduling for Occupational Exposure to Workplace Violence, "employers may be found in violation of the General Duty Clause if they fail to reduce or eliminate serious recognized hazards.

How To Prepare for Workplace Violence

Preparing for any type of workplace violence is key. Larger companies with robust security departments have the advantages of resources and trained personnel who manage the security effort. But for smaller companies with little or no security measures in place, the responsibility often falls on the general counsel or the head of human resources. See How to Prepare Your Workforce for Violent Incidents.

As the FBI's Critical Incident Response Group points out in Workplace Violence: Issues in Response, there is no one-size-fits-all plan that employers can download and implement. Every employer will need a plan that is tailored to its particular circumstances and that considers company culture, physical layout, resources, management styles and other factors.

Create a Workplace Violence Prevention Plan: shrm.org

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   Click here to see more of the Daily's coverage of the Buffalo mass shooting


California Crime & Progressive DA Recall Efforts
 
CA Gov. Funding 'New Responses to Retail Theft'
Abortion, inflation & crime: How Newsom would spend record-setting CA surplus
Newsom's January budget plan committed $285 million to public safety programs that included new responses to retail theft across California. latimes.com

Crime Top Issue in CA Recalls
California DAs Face the Voters

On June 7, voters will cast ballots for district attorney in every California county except Los Angeles.

Occurring during the summer primary when voter turnout is typically low, the off season elections could nonetheless determine how far the criminal justice pendulum swings in a moment of pandemic-stewed uncertainty. sfchronicle.com

Mayor Picks SF DA Boudin's Replacement If He's Recalled
Who would replace S.F. Progressive District Attorney Chesa Boudin if he's recalled?
But unlike the recall effort against Gov. Gavin Newsom, voters won't get a say in Boudin's potential replacement. That power falls on Mayor London Breed, a moderate Democrat who has exchanged barbs with Boudin and other progressives over the city's criminal justice strategies. If he's removed, Breed will likely choose a successor who will roll back some of the policies intended to keep people out of jail, but that are held up by critics as too permissive to criminals.

But he also has plenty of support from the city's progressive arm. sfchronicle.com

   In Case You Missed It: SF's Economic Elite Is Gunning for Chesa Boudin

   LA & SF DAs Facing Recalls - Voters Have Had Enough

US: 84.3M Cases - 1M Dead - 81.3M Recovered
Worldwide: 523.3M Cases - 6.2M Dead - 493.3M Recovered

Former Senior Loss Prevention Executive
Know of any fallen LP exec? Let's remember & recognize.

Private Industry Security Guard Deaths: 358   Law Enforcement Officer Deaths: 767
*Red indicates change in total deaths

COVID Cases, Hospitalizations & Deaths

The Return of NYC's Mask Mandate?
NYC moves from 'medium' to 'high' COVID alert level: officials
New York City has moved from a "medium" COVID-19 alert level to a "high" alert level, the five boroughs' health commissioner said Tuesday. The city's health commissioner, Dr. Ashwin Vasan, made the announcement in a statement released Tuesday morning.

While officials have not imposed any new mandates, the city is urging New Yorkers to wear "high quality" masks in public indoor settings and "crowded outdoor spaces," the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene said in a press release.

New Yorkers should "consider avoiding higher-risk activities (such as crowded indoor gatherings) and any gatherings should be limited to small numbers," the release added. The city is also continuing to advise New Yorkers to get vaccinated and boosted, the release noted.  ny1.com

Post-COVID Return to Work Failing to Gain Traction
At Tech Companies, the Rebellion Against the Return to the Office Is Getting Serious

Companies requiring in-person work are facing pushback. Those with looser policies find that flexibility makes recruitment easier. 'I will find somewhere else to work.'

After months of return-to-work starts and stops, many tech companies, including Alphabet Inc.'s Google, Apple Inc. and Microsoft Corp., are telling remote workers it's finally time to come back for good, or at least show up part of the week. Employees who fled the Bay Area and other high-cost tech hubs earlier in the Covid-19 pandemic-or who just prefer to work from home-now face hard choices: move back, try the super commute, or hold out for a concession or new job elsewhere.

How the emerging power struggles play out will be a telling indicator of how much leverage remote-work converts in other sectors have as more employers call staff back to offices. A competitive job market, plus the relative ease with which businesses adjusted to work-from-home over the past two years, has emboldened many professionals to try to say goodbye to offices permanently.

Two-thirds of the workforce said they would find a new job if required to return to the office full-time, according to a survey of more than 32,000 workers by ADP Research Institute. Of those who quit their jobs in 2021, 35% cited wanting to move to a different area, according to the Pew Research Center. wsj.com

Managers, Be Ready
Remote work or back to the office? The calculation just shifted again

Managers who rely on old assumptions about how jobs get done are going to be badly disappointed.

Here's what's happening: many knowledge workers have now spent plenty of time working remotely and have proved (to themselves at least) that they can be as effective at home as they are in the office.

What's more, that shift to remote working has improved the work-life balance for many (but not all) by giving them a bit more flexibility. This has not gone unnoticed.

On top of that, cutting out all that travel is good for both their bank balances and the environment. And as the cost of living squeeze continues, all of this will be at the front of workers' minds when managers ask them to be back in the office full time. zdnet.com

As NYC eyes high COVID alert upgrade, city to distribute 16.5M COVID tests

Victim Impact Statements - Follow-through is the key to success

More than 40% of Victim Impact Statements are never returned by retailers.

Do not lose your restitution opportunities!

It is fair to say that without an organized program for collecting and responding to Victim Impact Statements, most retailers are missing an opportunity to inform jurisdictions of their full loss. Retailers may not be awarded restitution from a loss suffered in their stores, warehouses and/or corporate locations if they do not respond to official requests. Without having a central location for jurisdictions to send Victim Impact Statements, they will most likely be sent to the location where the theft occurred; where they may sit unanswered or worse yet, be discarded. Victim Impact Statements are deadline driven and normally require research and follow through. Each year thousands become stale due to lack of response or are rejected as incomplete. While the basic information may be the same, each jurisdiction has its own set of rules and expectations for completion. Knowing the nuances required by each jurisdiction can make the difference to the restitution awarded.

The Zellman Group has a long-standing relationship with thousands of Courts and Department of Corrections across the country. This relationship ensures smooth communication between all parties. Our centralized process ensures every Victim Impact Statement arrives from the jurisdiction of offense to our firm. Zellman processes all Victim Impact Statements well within deadlines and manages all follow-up. Our process ensures that our retail partners will recover substantially more money with very little expense.

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The Zellman Group, LLC is a full-service Loss Prevention provider located in Greenvale, NY. Contact us at info@zellmangroup.com or at 516-625-0006.