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Axis celebrates two wins from SIA's New Product Showcase Awards
AXIS
C8210 Network Audio Amplifier and AXIS Live Privacy Shield recognized as
innovative solutions for network audio migration and real time privacy
safeguards.
 Axis
Communications and its goals to continually innovate and meet market needs were
recently recognized by SIA with two 2020 New Product Showcase Awards (NPS). The
awards, honoring new innovative security products, were presented virtually on
July 9 in partnership with ISC West.
Axis won the
"Communications and Networking Solutions"
category for the
AXIS
C8210 Network Audio Amplifier and the
"Video Surveillance Advanced Imaging
Technologies" category for the
AXIS Live Privacy Shield.
Read more here.
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See the full list of award winners here.
RILA AP Conference
August 21st is Just Around the Corner!
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You Submitted Your Proposal?
Get involved and share your latest learnings, out-of-the-box strategies, new
initiatives, and outstanding case studies with the AP community.
The AP Steering Committee has opened the
call for proposals. We're looking for fresh content, actionable takeaways,
and real insights. If you have new and exciting initiatives, unique viewpoints
or creative approaches-we want to hear from you!
Submit your session proposal
Reuters Facial Recognition Deep Dive - Politicized & Generalized - Slowing
Evolution
Rite Aid deployed facial recognition systems in hundreds of U.S. stores
 Rite
Aid quietly added facial recognition systems to 200 stores across the United
States over about eight years, in one of the largest rollouts of such technology
among retailers in the country, a Reuters investigation found.
In the hearts of New York and metro Los Angeles, Rite Aid deployed the
technology in largely lower-income, non-white neighborhoods, according to a
Reuters analysis. And for more than a year, the retailer used state-of-the-art
facial recognition technology from a company with links to China and its
authoritarian government.
In telephone and email exchanges with Reuters since February, Rite Aid confirmed
the existence and breadth of its facial recognition program. The retailer
defended the technology's use, saying it had nothing to do with race and was
intended to deter theft and protect staff and customers from violence. Reuters
found no evidence that Rite Aid's data was sent to China.
Last week, however, after Reuters sent its findings to the retailer, Rite Aid
said it had quit using its facial recognition software. It later said all the
cameras had been turned off.
Among the systems used by Rite Aid was one from DeepCam LLC, which worked with a
firm in China whose largest outside investor is a Chinese government fund. Some
security experts said any program with connections to China was troubling
because it could open the door to aggressive surveillance in the United States
more typical of an autocratic state.
reuters.com
 Editor's
Note: While biometric security is quickly advancing in a number of
different channels and in a number of industries, the news media really isn't
educated enough and lacks access to critical detail that's needed to be able to
objectively evaluate the application of this technology.
Labeling theft trend data applications as discriminatory and calling out
isolated individual exceptions and older resolved exceptions as current general
rules resembles the typical headline seeking journalism and standardized
response to over generalized security measures that actually hurts industry
development and community relations/goodwill.
Certainly, the China connection of one provider may be a concern, as any
connection to China for a security provider in the U.S. today is a major
question in today's market.
But separate from that, the lack of process and program detail, application
safeguards, and individual training standards leaves a void in the article that
short of literally publishing them, does in fact raise questions. Couple that
with the sensitivity to reputation concerns and the article once again hurts
industry development and may slow evolution. When in fact it's use would make
stores safer.
N.M.'s New ORC Unit to Assist Retailers
New Mexico Attorney General Launches ORC Unit
 "There's
an organized criminal activity element even in our backyard that we need to
attack," said New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas.
Crime rings have operated in plain sight in Albuquerque for years, often
targeting big box retailers. Previously, the crimes were treated as petty
shoplifting offenses but now New Mexico's top prosecutor is changing his
approach, considering it organized crime.
Attorney General Balderas said his office has launched a brand new unit to
tackle retail organized crime.
 "It's
a big deal. Albuquerque is one of the most dangerous, violent crime-ridden
cities in the nation," said Balderas. "This high level criminal activity was
falling through the cracks... I'm convinced that criminals were working together
in a very sophisticated way, but we were identifying them as petty shoplifting
criminals and quite frankly, these are individuals that are draining our
economy, they're putting safety at risk for New Mexico families and
consumers."
"We're really trying to crack down because we've seen that retail shops are
being used as a tool for additional criminal activity," said Attorney
General Balderas, adding that his office is making this type of crime a
priority while tackling it from both ends.
"For instance, now retail centers will allow our law enforcement to become
undercover, better understand their operations, better understand where they're
being exploited," said Balderas. "What we're finding is that sometimes they
didn't realize one of their employees was organizing with another criminal
element... we are now investigating using many more tools available to us
because retail centers are partnering with us."
One of those partners: The Home Depot.
"Organized retail crime is a growing problem for all retailers," said Christina
Cornell, a spokesperson for The Home Depot - which has been especially vocal in
its effort to stop this type of organized crime.
As for Attorney General Balderas, he's confident these strong retail
partnership will make a difference with Albuquerque's crime crisis.
"Ultimately we are trying to make Albuquerque a safer place, and we're also
trying to reduce crime across the board," said Balderas.
kob.com
"The $5B 'American Scheme' Mall"
Megamalls Like Mall Of America And American Dream Face Mega Problems
Triple Five Miss Third $7M Monthly Payment
on Mall of America
Megamalls are having mega problems. The two largest U.S. malls - Minnesota's
Mall of America and New Jersey's American Dream mall - are struggling, with
the company that owns both recently skipping a third straight payment $7
million monthly payment on the Minnesota property.
Owner, Triple Five Group, which is really just one family - the Ghermezian
family. The patriarch of the family, Jacob Ghermezian, (1902 - January 3, 2000)
moved from Iran to Canada with his four sons in 1964. The four sons,
Eskandar, Nader, Raphael and Bahman, grew the family rug business into a large
real estate and construction company.
The family's estates include the
West
Edmonton Mall in Edmonton, Alberta and the largest in the world at
5.3 million sq.-ft., and the
Mall of
America in Bloomington, Minnesota.[3][4] and many other businesses. In
2011, the family's
Triple
Five Group acquired the troubled Xanadu Meadowlands project in New Jersey,
they renamed the project
American Dream. The mall opened on October 25, 2019.
Now, Wells Fargo has confirmed Triple Five missed the April and May payments on
its $1.4 billion mortgage for its other mega property, the Mall of America in
Minnesota. That mall was used as collateral to fund the East Rutherford complex,
which is seen as an economic engine for the region.
cbslocal.com
pymnts.com
Read Full Story - Too Big to Fail?
Can Miami Support the Biggest Mall in North America?
What's Happening With American Dream Miami
The biggest Mall in North America - 6.2 million sq.-ft.
Get the Update
Read the full story here
Protests
Portland Protests Continue - Feds Won't Leave
US Attorney: Feds will stay in Portland until attacks end
Federal militarized officers will remain in Portland until attacks on the
U.S. courthouse cease, a top official said Monday after a night of violence.
And more officers may soon be on the way.
"It is not a solution to tell federal officers to leave when there continues to
be attacks on federal property and personnel. We are not leaving the building
unprotected to be destroyed by people intent on doing so," U.S. Attorney Billy
Williams told a telephonic news conference.
Local and state officials said the federal officers are unwelcome. The mayor of
Portland and five other cities appealed Monday to Congress to make it illegal
for the federal government to deploy militarized federal agents to cities that
don't want them.
Early Monday, U.S. agents repeatedly fired tear gas, flash bangs and
pepper balls at protesters outside the federal courthouse in downtown Portland.
Some protesters had climbed over the fence surrounding the courthouse, while
others shot fireworks, banged on the fence and projected lights on the building.
Federal agents have made 83 arrests and they refuses to say how many are there.
Some protesters have accused Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler of hypocrisy for
speaking out against the federal presence because, under his watch, Portland
police have used tear gas and other riot-control weapons on protesters,
including peaceful ones.
inhomelandsecurity.com
More federal agents dispatched to Portland as protests rise in other cities
The U.S. Marshals Service decided last week to send more deputies to Portland,
according to an internal email reviewed by The Washington Post, with personnel
beginning to arrive last Thursday night. The Department of Homeland Security is
also considering a plan to send an additional 50 U.S. Customs and Border
Protection personnel to the city, according to senior administration officials
involved in the federal response who spoke on the condition of anonymity to
describe internal deliberations.
But as a policing tactic, it has failed to suppress the protests. The escalation
has been followed by larger, better-equipped and more-aggressive crowds, and -
as the new reinforcements showed - it exhausted federal resources before it
exhausted the protesters.
There is growing concern among federal law enforcement officials that some
individuals in the crowds outside the courthouse have gotten more aggressive in
recent days, and that the number of federal agents on site may not be sufficient
to handle them. Protesters have injured federal agents with large
commercial-grade fireworks while others aimed lasers at their eyes, leading to
several injuries, DHS officials said.
washingtonpost.com
COVID Update
US: Over 4.4M Cases - 151K Dead - 2.1M Recovered
Worldwide:
Over 16.7M Cases - 658K Dead - 10.3M Recovered
Private Industry Security Guard Deaths: 154+
Law
Enforcement Officer Deaths: 67
*Red indicates change in total
deaths
All spikes aren't equal
Much of the world is now coping with a coronavirus resurgence
The number of new daily cases has risen more than 20 percent in both Europe and
Canada over the past week. It's up about 40 percent in Australia and Japan. Hong
Kong reported 145 cases yesterday, its highest one-day count yet and the
sixth straight day of more than 100 new cases.
All of these increases are worrisome reminders that crushing the virus is not a
one-time event, at least not until a vaccine is available. It involves constant
vigilance.
As countries take steps toward more normal functioning - reopening schools,
workplaces and restaurants, for instance - they will often spark new outbreaks,
which in turn will require more tests, quarantines and even limited lockdowns.
And yet all of these places are in a very different situation from the United
States.
Even with the recent surges, the outbreaks elsewhere are much more contained and
manageable than in the U.S. The U.S. has had about 15 times as many confirmed
new cases, per capita, as Canada over the past week and 12 times as many as Hong
Kong or Europe.
Much of the U.S. is responding less aggressively, even though its outbreak is
more severe. Until that changes, many parts of the U.S. reopening - schools, pro
sports and more - are likely to suffer setbacks, epidemiologists say.
nytimes.com
After Reopening, Coronavirus-Hit States Chart Their Own Paths to Close Up Again
New public-health analyses show majority of
states don't meet CDC's criteria for lifting restrictions
States are relying on their own public-health indicators when deciding whether
to reclose portions of their economies to try to stop rising coronavirus
infections that many attribute to the reopening of shops, bars and restaurants.
As they weigh whether or not to reimpose bans on large gatherings and restaurant
dining, states are largely going at it alone-much as they did during the lifting
of restrictions earlier in the summer.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the spring issued reopening
guidelines, which few states followed, but hasn't provided guidance on when to
crack down after reopening. The CDC's criteria included a downward trend in new
Covid-19 cases over 14 days, a decrease in the rate of positive tests and
availability of intensive-care beds.
"The White House Coronavirus Task Force is providing tailored recommendations
weekly to every governor and health commissioner for their states and counties,"
White House spokesman Judd Deere said. The administration is allowing local
governments to take the lead on reopening policies, "as local leaders are
best positioned to make on-the-ground decisions for their communities," he
added.
New analyses from a coalition of public-health experts and crisis-response
specialists show the overwhelming majority of states don't meet the CDC's
criteria for lifting restrictions. The group's online dashboard,
covidexitstrategy.org, tracks state-level data on the spread of the disease,
using the CDC's reopening criteria.
wsj.com
What the C's Read
#wearyourmask
Masks: A Flashpoint
We are now living in an age of having to
learn how to tell an unmasked stranger to put on or pull up a mask.
 The
confusion, debate and politics surrounding wearing a mask or face covering rages
on and retailers are front and center as the United States grapples with
flattening the Covid-19 curve and protecting states from having to shut down a
second time.
A Need for Clear Direction
Several mask-related issues have emerged and remain to be resolved. One, the
need for a national policy for the U.S. to slow the coronavirus spread
across 50 very different states with a trickle-down to retailers and other major
industries. This week the Trump administration seemed to be taking Covid-19 more
seriously including recognizing that it may go on longer than expected or
projected and that wearing masks does indeed help stop the spread of the virus
and protect individuals. It even went so far as to say wearing masks is
patriotic.
The second issue is having a clear retail mask mandate on a national level.
Everyone working on the retail floor is risking potential exposure to Covid-19.
They are frontline workers and need to be protected. And then there is the issue
of the customer. There is no shortage of stories in the media of consumers who
have an aversion to wearing masks and end up in altercations with staff or other
consumers - from coughing on each other to peeing in a store (I can't make this
stuff up). No matter how you look at it, retail workers are in a tough spot.
Need for Training
It certainly begs the question: What is the chain of command if a
customer does not want to comply? Is it the same as having a difficult customer?
How does it escalate through the store staffing system? It's not a crime not to
wear a mask but if it is the store's policy, what ultimate control does the
store have over the customer? Turn them away?
There is also an emerging vigilante issue. If consumers are policing each
other, the "citizen's arrest," becomes a thorny ethical dilemma infringing on
personal freedom. We are now living in an age of having to learn how to tell
an unmasked stranger to put on or pull up a mask. Some retailers have said they
will not actively enforce the policy but let the signage passively speak for
itself. CVS relies on customers to obey requirements; if they don't, "health
ambassadors," security or that greeter who takes your temperature suggests other
methods of shopping like curbside pickup.
All of these scenarios bring us full circle: Retailers need a consistent
message that should come from a national mandate that requires enforcement,
otherwise it will be meaningless. This very notion goes against the American
sense of personal freedom and has become politicized. Yet, where does personal
freedom stand on the health and safely of a nation - or even more specifically,
a local community? This is the real sticking point of the individual versus the
demands of the group. No one wants to live in a police state, which is why the
mask issue is such a hot button. Ultimately retailers need a clearer sense of
direction to keep their employees and customers safe.
therobinreport.com
Through the retail lens: Face coverings
The positive impact mask mandates have on
retailers staying open
Mara Devitt, senior partner at retail consultancy McMillanDoolittle, has more
than 30 years of experience consulting for retailers. Devitt is also a member of
the National Retail Federation's Associate Member Council. She spoke with
NRF about the challenges and opportunities for retailers in enforcing mask
mandates.
As you advise clients around the globe, what are you telling them about
mask mandates?
Both government and regulatory agencies have been providing conflicting
direction since the beginning of the pandemic. This has unfortunately confused
the public, and that made it tougher for retailers to respond. Our advice has
been to be consistent. Masks are something we can actively do to protect
employees.
Our survey showed 74 percent of customers agree it is incumbent upon retailers
to provide a safe environment for employees. We also found a clear link between
trust, employee care and customer care. Companies perceived as taking better
care of their employees correlated with higher trust with consumers, with those
shoppers feeling they were taken better care of by those retailers
It seems as if we've had a spate of retailers instituting mask policies in
the last few weeks. Why the watershed now?
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Many retailers have taken this as an indication that it is time to take clear
and consistent action in their organizations.
What risks does this create, since masks have become something of a
political football?
What we've been telling our clients is that they need to stay true to their core
values. It's important for retailers to make it clear to customers how they do
business with their customers and why.
What about the security issues? We've seen fights break out, or employees
be berated. How can a retailer protect everyone in these situations?
Retail is detail and preparation is key. First of all, retailers need to define
policies that are clear, and those policies must be consistently communicated
both internally and externally. The implications of these policies on how we
sell to and serve our customers must be similarly considered with training and
support provided to our teams as they implement the policies.
Finally, retailers must double down on training. This situation reminds us how
challenging that retail front-line service job really is. Part of retail reality
is that we commonly have to deal with customers who might be having a bad day
and taking it out on our store team. In today's stressful environment, these bad
days are becoming more frequent. Our customer service standards and training
about how we deal with unhappy customers really need to be confirmed now.
Retailers need to do a refresher so it is perfectly clear how and when a
situation is escalated, when to involve a manager, when to get outside
assistance from local law enforcement, etc.
nrf.com
Another Tool in the Tool Shed - Fighting COVID's Spread
Businesses Installing Coronavirus-Killing Light Technology
CDC Recommends Use of UVGI
 America's
biggest public utility is backing a decades-old technology that could zap
the virus pathogens out of the air in public places to help limit the spread
of the infection.
The Tennessee Valley Authority is offering financial aid for schools,
restaurants, nursing homes and other buildings with public places to
install ultraviolet germicidal irradiation lights in air ducts to minimize
the spread of airborne microorganisms such as COVID-19.
The technology uses UV-C light, which is a short wavelength ultraviolet light
much like concentrated sunlight for disinfection.
TVA had been developing a program to promote UVGI lights to help fight influenza
and other airborne illnesses in the next year and decided last month to expedite
the roll-out to aid in the battle against the coronavirus. Ultra-violet light
has proven to kill viruses for more than a century.
To help purify the air from the virus without exposing humans to harmful
intense ultra-violet light, the UVGI lights are installed within metal air ducts
and kill the virus as the air is circulated into heating or air conditioning
units.
The vendors of the UVGI lights indicate that about 96% of the virus is killed
in the first pass through an air duct and over 99% is killed over time as
the system continues to operate. In a typical business environment, there are
about six recirculations of air in a typical hour of HVAC operation, Snyder
said.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends the use of
Ultraviolet Germicidal Irradiation (UVGI) as one of the effective technologies
to minimize the spread of airborne microorganisms.
The technology is not a total solution, however, since the virus can
still be spread directly from one person to another through being too close to
one another or sharing virus-contaminated tools, pencils, papers or other
materials.
govtech.com
Surprised the Crowd Didn't React
Walmart Bans Swastika Masks Wearing Minnesota Couple For 1 Yr.
 A
Minnesota man and woman who wore face masks with swastikas on them in an
incident captured on video have been banned from Walmart stores nationwide for
at least a year.
"You can't be American and wear that mask" a person can be heard saying. "We
literally had a war about this."
The masked woman can be heard saying, "If you vote for Biden you're gonna be in
Nazi Germany.
Marshall police Capt. Jeff Wenker told the Associated Press the two were issued
no-trespass notices but police did not cite or arrest them. Walmart told USA
TODAY the no-trespass notices last at least a year and apply to all Walmart
stores.
Walmart statement: "We strive to provide a safe and comfortable shopping
environment for all our customers and will not tolerate any form of
discrimination or harassment in any aspect of our business," Walmart said.
Gov. Tim Walz tweeted a link to a news report about the Walmart incident from
the Star Tribune of Minneapolis and said what happened was "disgraceful,
plain and simple." "Thank you to the bystanders who stood up to this
unacceptable, hate-fueled behavior," he said.
usatoday.com
Stripping Down JC Penney to 250 Stores
Sycamore Partners offers $1.75B for JCPenney with plan to grow Belk
 The
private equity firm that backed out of a deal to buy Victoria's Secret in the
midst of the coronavirus pandemic appears poised to win an auction to buy
JCPenney out of bankruptcy, The Post has learned.
Big Apple-based Sycamore Partners has offered $1.75 billion to buy the
118-year-old department store chain with plans to merge it with Belk.
Sycamore owns Belk, as well as retailers Talbots, Staples, The Limited.
Also in the running for JCPenney is Saks Fifth Avenue owner Hudson's Bay
Company, which offered $1.7 billion, and mall operators Simon Property and
Brookfield Property, which have teamed up with a $1.650 billion offer, sources
said.
The Sycamore plan involves rebranding some 250 JCPenney stores to Belk stores
in markets where the two retailers don't overlap. The rest of the JCPenney
locations would be liquidated, the source said
Plano, Texas-based JCPenney operated 850 stores when it filed for bankruptcy
protection on May 15. In June, it announced plans to close at least 154 stores
permanently.
Belk CEO Lisa Harper would run the combined entity. While Sycamore isn't
interested in keeping the JCPenney brand, it would acquire the rights to the
name and could sell the intellectual property at a later date, a source said.
nypost.com
93% of Malls Gone
From 3,000 to 200 in 20 Years
Malls Seek to Evolve as the Pandemic Hastens a Retail Overhaul
"As more department stores become vacant, we do need to re-envision the future
of mall properties," "Will it be 100 percent retail? No, but its success still
comes down to location."
The number of malls has declined to less than 1,000
today from 3,000 at the turn of the century, according to Nick
Egelanian, president of SiteWorks, a shopping center and retail consultant in
Annapolis, Md. And, he predicts, only about 200
of the strongest malls with the best locations will be left by the end of the
decade, if not sooner.
"The true mall of the future will incorporate a mix of uses," he said, "and the
retail will be downsized: If it has 2 million square feet today, it may only
need 1 million square feet tomorrow. But it's going to be painful getting there,
and the ones that survive are going to need a lot of capital."
I don't think the success of malls is a question of apocalypse or death. I think
it's really an evolution."
"There may not be any time in the last 100 years when so many 100-acre sites
located at that perfect intersection have been available for redevelopment
within such a short period of time," he suggested. "They will have value for
many uses and could be big economic generators for their communities."
nytimes.com
Work Your Own Schedule
Who Wouldn't Like It?
'Windowed Work' Improves Productivity, Satisfaction
Of all the significant workplace components being transformed by the coronavirus
pandemic, the traditional 9-to-5 workday will likely experience the most change.
For many employees, flexible schedules have become common during the health
crisis, and new research from global staffing firm Robert Half suggests workers
are happy about it. Nearly 80 percent of the 1,000 office workers surveyed said
their job allows for the ability to break up their day into blocks of business
and personal time-referred to as "windowed work"-while working from home.
Employees can self-schedule fluid workdays (and nights) around child care and
schooling, online meetings, personal errands, and focused time on the job. Of
those respondents, 73 percent reported that the arrangement has led to greater
productivity.
shrm.org
Dick's Sporting Goods Closed on Thanksgiving Day
Tailored Brands Says Bankruptcy Likely
Papa Johns to Hire 10,000
Quarterly Results
McDonald's Q2 Global comp's down 23.9%, U.S. comp's down 8.7%, revenue down
30.5%
LVMH Q2 sales down 38%, first half 2020 global revenue down 27%
Senior LP & AP Jobs
Market
Director Asset Protection job posted for Stop & Shop in Quincy, Mass.
 The
primary purpose of this position is to provide protection of company assets by
organizing the investigation and distribution of information. The AP Director is
responsible to ensure Brand needs are met through staffing and development of
their respective AP team. The incumbent works closely with the Operations Lead &
Shrink Lead to ensure programs that positively impact profits and reduce shrink
are executed effectively and provide required results. In addition, the
incumbent partners with the Investigations Lead regarding large-scale ORC
investigations.
brassring.com
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The
Snowflake-Taylor Police Department in northeastern Arizona said a
"quick-thinking and brave" Walmart employee helped disarm a man after that man
walked into the store on Monday morning and held an unknown number of employees
at gunpoint. At approximately 4:45 a.m., authorities received multiple 911 calls
stating that a man with a gun had entered a Walmart Garden Center where
employees were preparing to open the store for the day, police said. Police said
the suspect, later identified as Solomon Dominguez, 52, then held employees at
gunpoint inside the store. He also called 911 and demanded to speak to an
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