Walmart Wrestles With How to Respond to Active Shooters
Like most retailers, Walmart is accustomed to the everyday dealings of shoplifters. Now, it's confronting a bigger threat: active shooters. Three days after a man opened fire at one of its stores in El Paso, Texas, and left at least 22 dead, the nation's largest retailer is faced with how to make its workers and customers feel safe.

The discounter has long dealt with violent crimes at its stores across the country, including one that took place less than a week ago in Mississippi where a disgruntled employee killed two co-workers and wounded a police officer. In early November 2017, three customers were killed at a Walmart in Colorado in a random shooting by a lone gunman.

The El Paso store shooting, however, was the deadliest in the company's history, Walmart spokesman Randy Hargrove confirmed. No workers were killed but two are recovering from injuries.

Robert Moraca, vice president for loss prevention at the National Retail Federation, said he's fielded lots of calls from retailers around the country over the weekend, many of whom just wanted to go over their security protocols.

"We naturally have a heightened security awareness," he said. He noted that most retailers have active shooting training programs for workers so there's not "a lot of knee jerk reactions."

Walmart launched computer-based active shooter training in 2015 for all its employees and then in 2017, it made its workers take it on a quarterly instead of annual basis. Last month, Walmart started incorporating virtual reality technology in its active shooter training. The training focuses on three pillars: avoid the danger, keep your distance and lastly, defend.

In store locations with high crime, Walmart has off-duty policemen who patrol the parking lots. It also uses a wide variety of technology including towers that have surveillance cameras in its parking lots, Hargrove said.

But most of its efforts are focused on curbing shoplifting, including putting more unarmed greeters at the door. Hargrove noted that like with any catastrophic event, Walmart is reviewing its protocols.

Melissa Love, a 26-year-old store associate in Long Beach, California, said Walmart's active shooter training is inadequate and does not make her feel prepared. She said employees essentially watch a video and there is no chance to practice.

"It's kind of boring to be honest. It wasn't like you were going to learn anything," said Love, who has worked at Walmart for three years. "It's like, oh, we have to do this again, and nobody takes it seriously enough. You wouldn't know what to do if it actually happens." washingtonpost.com

A Walmart employee and customer helped 140 people escape in El Paso shooting
When gunshots rang out at an El Paso Walmart, Gilbert Serna yelled for everyone to follow him. He said he led nearly 100 people out the back of the store to safety before returning to the parking lot to help others.

"I was scared, I'm not going to lie, but I wasn't thinking about my own safety. I was thinking about everybody else's safety," Serna told CNN on Monday.

The father of two has worked at this Walmart store for almost 19 years. He was standing near the back of the store on Saturday when he heard a "code brown" announced over the two-way radio. It took him a moment to register what that meant - active shooter. Seconds later, he heard gunshots. The 36-year-old immediately signaled for customers and co-workers to follow him to the back room of the store. Through that room, Serna located the fire exit and led the large group out of the building.

"We were out in the open." Serna said. "I opened the shipping containers and told everyone to get in."

Instead of joining them safely inside the containers, Serna closed the door and went to check on more people who needed to escape. While Serna was leading people to safety at the back of the store, another person stepped in to help others. Serna didn't know it at the time, but a regular customer he recognizes was helping people elsewhere in the store.

After hearing three gunshots and seeing at least five people bleeding on the floor, Adria Gonzalez pulled her mother by her blouse and made it to a storage area at the Walmart. Gonzalez and her mother were shopping for their groceries and for a few school supplies they were planning to donate this week. They were walking by the meat counter when the shooting began, she said. The assistant teacher took off her pink hat and started waving it at people nearby, signaling a way out for those in the store, Gonzalez told CNN on Saturday.

"Let's go, let's go. Vamos, vamos," the 37-year-old said. "Let's go."

About 40 people followed her to the storage area near the meat counter, where they waited in silence. They waited until they could no longer hear any gunshots. Minutes later, the gunshots stopped. The group ran as they exited the building. Walmart employees were there trying to help people escape and picking people up in their cars, Gonzalez said. cnn.com

'I Had to Get Those Kids Out of There':
Soldier Whisked Kids to Safety During El Paso Shooting
When the little boy approached Army PFC Glendon Oakley in the El Paso store and said there was an active shooter at Walmart, he initially didn't believe him. The 22-year-old, who is stationed at nearby Fort Bliss, was buying a jersey at the time on Saturday morning.

"The guy at the register and I, we just looked at each other. This was a little kid. We didn't pay him any mind," he tells PEOPLE. But when Oakley left the store, he saw people running. Then he saw 10 or more children running without their parents. Then he heard gunshots. Oakley is trained on how to use his weapon, so he pulled out his weapon and began scooping up kids along with another man to whisk them to safety.

"I picked up four or five. The other guy got some more of them. We just carried those kids to get them safe," he says. "I wasn't thinking about myself. I was thinking about those kids. I did what I was trained to do."

Oakley eventually found police officers and set down the kids with the police. people.com

NY Times Columnist: 'Dear Walmart C.E.O.: You Have the Power to Curb Gun Violence. Do It.'

Gunman in El Paso shooting faces death penalty, federal domestic terrorism charges

Retail workers say they're scared to go to work after 2 shootings this weekend at a Texas Walmart and a bar in Ohio

Bulletproof Backpacks in Demand for Back-to-School Shopping

Sean Hannity Proposes Massive Armed Force To 'Surround' All Schools And Stores
 

NCR SmartAssist Uses AI to Detect Self-Checkout Theft,
Reduces Interventions by up to 70%

Artificial intelligence (AI) has a new frontier: the store checkout.

Video analytics technology, patented by StopLift Checkout Vision Systems, now part of NCR, helps determine what occurs during each transaction at the retail or supermarket checkout to immediately distinguish between legitimate and fraudulent behavior. NCR, the global leader in self-checkout technology with more than 250,000 installations worldwide, acquired StopLift in November 2018 and integrated the AI technology into its NCR SmartAssist solution.

Read more in today's Vendor Spotlight column.
 

RLPSA 2019 Conference: Exclusive Day 1 Video Recap

Amber Bradley takes us inside RLPSA's 40th annual conference in Nashville, Tenn. With amazing keynote speakers and valuable breakout tracks for Loss Prevention, Risk, and Safety professionals, just watch how AMPED UP attendees are at this year's show!

At Cannabis Shops, Face Recognition Is Already a Thing
Dispensaries are adopting in-store surveillance systems to protect profits. Experts warn it's a 'slippery slope' to discrimination.

The cannabis industry is embracing new technologies like facial recognition and advanced video analytics throughout the supply chain-from grow rooms and processing facilities to distribution centers and retail dispensaries. The companies behind the technology say it benefits cannabis businesses, employees, and consumers.

In Denver, Colorado, alone, there were 34 reported dispensary robberies in the first half of 2019.

Some tech companies see the risk of theft as an opportunity to sell facial recognition systems. Don Deason, VP of Sales for Blue Line Technology, claims his company's platform has significantly reduced cannabis robberies. It works like this: When customers approach the front door of a dispensary, audiovisual cues prompt them to look up at a camera. If they comply, the system records an image of their faces, and the front door opens. If they decline or their faces are obscured, by a mask for example, then access is denied.
 
The system is also used to deter robberies and mass shootings in convenience stores, schools, and office buildings.

Deason told Motherboard that as long as customers don't shoplift or cause a disturbance, "their information is deleted after 48 hours." However, if a store's management believes customers are misbehaving, they can tag each face with a unique number, and the system retains that information indefinitely. If tagged customers later return to the store, the system recognizes them and alerts employees of their arrival by email or text message. Deason said Blue Line encourages dispensaries not to confront tagged customers, but ultimately "store owners set the store security policy and procedures," and, "the security response varies based upon store policy."

Blue Line's platform also controls access to restricted areas of cannabis businesses such as grow houses, cutting rooms, and safes, serving as a replacement for keys and access cards. When paired with other devices such as RFID tags, which are affixed to cannabis products, face recognition systems can track cannabis as it changes hands from one employee to the next.

In addition to tracking employees and controlling access, facial recognition is used in dispensaries at the point of sale for age-verification. A Las Vegas based company called 420 Cyber markets its Badass Budtender kiosk as a replacement for human "budtenders" who check ID at the register. The kiosks can be equipped with facial recognition to ensure customers are of legal age.

Inside dispensaries, facial recognition can do far more. 420 Cyber markets what it calls "Video Active Security Monitoring" (VASM), which it says can determine whether customers carry concealed weapons, if there are warrants for their arrest, and whether their appearance matches "be on the lookout" (BOLO) alerts issued by police. It can reportedly recognize A-list celebrities if they happen to visit your store. vice.com

North American biometrics market forecast to surpass $11B by 2023
Consumer demand for a balance of convenience and security is driving businesses to adopt biometrics, and will increase the industry's revenues in North America from $4.6 billion to $11.1 billion by 2023, a CAGR of 19.3 percent, according to new market research from Frost & Sullivan.

The market will be boosted by the need to secure the proliferating network edge and IoT devices, which is leading to partnerships between biometrics and blockchain companies for identity management solutions, and the biometrics-as-a-service model is expected to advance in the government and commercial sectors, the "North American Biometrics Market, Forecast to 2023" says.

"Behavioral biometrics is poised to enjoy high uptake, especially in multi-factor authentication. Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning will be increasingly used to complement biometrics and enhance security," said Ram Ravi, Industry Analyst, for Industrial at Frost & Sullivan. "Besides, with smart connected devices shifting customer preferences towards alternate commerce channels, biometric market players are establishing a blockchain strategy to augment their offering." biometricupdate.com

Fed to Create Payments System to Speed Money Transfers
The Federal Reserve plans to develop a faster payments system for banks to exchange money, providing a public option to another real-time network built by big banks. The new system would allow bill payments, paychecks and other common consumer or business transfers to be available instantly and round-the-clock, a change from the government's current system that is closed on weekends and can at times take days to settle a transaction. The Fed said it anticipates that the new service will be available in 2023 or 2024, and will support payments of up to $25,000. wsj.com

Barneys New York files Ch. 11, will close most stores
Barneys New York on Monday said it has filed under Chapter 11 in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. The department store said it will close its: full-line stores in Chicago, Las Vegas and Seattle; five smaller concept stores; and seven Barneys Warehouse locations, according to a company press release.

Five full-line locations - on New York City's Madison Avenue and downtown, in Beverly Hills, San Francisco and at Copley Place in Boston - plus two Barneys Warehouse locations will remain open. Barneys.com and BarneysWarehouse.com will also continue "without disruption," the company said. retaildive.com

Hong Kong protests: Monday marks retailers' worst day yet

Perkins & Marie Callender's close 29 restaurants amid bankruptcy filing

Apparel retailer Avenue quietly closes some store locations

Whole Foods opening store-within-a-store party supplies concept

16 Regional Director of LP Jobs for Burger King Posted in IL, OH, PA, VA
- See them all in today's online job postings here

Robberies, Incidents & Thefts

Update: Oxford, OH: Suspects in Verizon store Armed Robbery
part of multi-state ring
Suspects in the robbery of an Oxford Verizon store last month are believed to be part of a group committing crimes in multiple states, police said. The robbery involved two men, both armed with Glock 9mm handguns, who around 3:40 p.m. July 26 held up the Verizon Wireless location at 4965 College Corner Pike. The men took products and cash, according to police. A day later, Oxford police released security photos of the suspects and asked for help in identifying them. On Monday, police said Oxford investigators are working with local, state, and federal partners throughout the Midwest to identify the suspects and file criminal charges against the two people in the store as well as any possible accomplices. journal-news.com
 

Pasco County, FL: Disbarred attorney accused of stealing from Home Depot Months after he allegedly set fire to a 47-foot yacht, a disbarred lawyer in New Port Richey has found himself in more legal trouble. The Pasco County Sheriff's Office said Joshua Stewart, 41, was busted shoplifting at a Home Depot store in Port Richey. According to reports, Stewart was suspended in 2015, and later disbarred for an unrelated felony charge. In October 2018, he allegedly set fire to a family's yacht. He faces charges of retail theft and drug possession. wfla.com

Elyria, OH: Suspect arrested for the AT&T Armed Robbery

 

Credit Card Fraud

Campbell, CA: Woman used stolen credit card to buy $4,200 in Gift Cards from multiple Safeway stores

Hoover, AL: Suspect wanted for Credit Card Fraud; attempted to purchase nearly $2,000 in merchandise

 

Sentencings