ADT Acquires Commercial Systems Integrator Access Systems Integration (ASI)
ADT Inc. (NYSE: ADT), the leading provider of monitored security and interactive home and business automation solutions in the United States and Canada, today announced the completed acquisition of Access Systems Integration (ASI).

Founded in 2000 and headquartered in Eatontown, NJ, Access Systems Integration is a regional systems integrator specializing in design, delivery, installation and servicing of electronic security systems including enterprise-level access control, video and visitor management solutions, perimeter security, security operation command centers, among other solutions. adt.com

New Forensic Reporting Platform for Retail Now Available
Through CONTROLTEK-VuTeur Partnership
CONTROLTEK, an emerging leader in retail product protection, has partnered with VuTeur, the most effective forensic reporting platform on the market, to provide retailers with advanced threat detection and emergency management protection using real time location technology. VuTeur's incident management software delivers access control authentication using secure credentialing methods without the need for bulky or expensive equipment.

"Retailers can establish zones and watch lists, as well as leverage real-time location system (RTLS) monitoring to create a custom layer of security for their stores and facilities," said Jana Rankin, co-founder of VuTeur. "We are excited to partner with CONTROLTEK and take a large step forward in helping retailers get better insight into what is happening in their environment in real time." controltekusa.com

RILA Blog
Q&A: RILA's SVP of Retail Operations Talks Rising to the Challenge of Industry Transformation
RILA recognizes that ubiquitous internet access, changing consumer values, preferences, and lifestyles, coupled with the desire for increased on-demand shopping, have led to unprecedented disruption in virtually every industry; retail perhaps more than any other. America's retailers are transforming, and their supply chain and asset protection operations are helping lead the way. RILA is committed to helping our communities of supply chain and AP executives meet consumer needs with knowledge and innovative solutions.

We recently sat down with RILA's Senior Vice President of Retail Operations Lisa LaBruno who oversees Retail Operations to learn more about how the industry is evolving and how our member companies are rising to the challenge.

Q. Tell us a little about your role at RILA.

LL: As RILA's Senior Vice President of Retail Operations, I oversee supply chain, asset protection, and digital. I'm over-simplifying but essentially our team works closely with functional leaders in these areas to identify and solve common priority challenges they are facing. In doing so, we help member companies enhance their organizational efficiencies and we advance the retail industry.

Q. What are some of the topline goals and/or challenges for retail AP executives?

LL: AP teams are working to proactively identify and mitigate losses in the multi-channel environment in which their companies are operating (e.g. buy on line, pick up in store). Also, social engineering is a growing problem. New and sophisticated criminal schemes are rearing their ugly heads every day and AP practitioners are working very hard to stay ahead of these criminal perpetrators, particularly those who target the most vulnerable consumers. Last, AP teams are reporting an increase in shoplifting in urban areas across the country, fueled by a variety of factors including the opiate crisis, increases in state felony thresholds, overcrowded jails, reduction in law enforcement resources, and legal challenges to diversion programs.

Q. What is RILA's role in helping members meet these challenges?

LL: Our team drives collaboration to solve common industry problems. RILA's membership is comprised of the retail industry's thought leaders. Our team taps into that brain trust to address the most pressing challenges retailers are facing. We do that in a variety of ways, including face-to-face meetings, facility visits led by member companies, benchmark studies, research projects and of course, our annual conferences. And, we recognize the important role our solution and service provider partners play in this process, especially our high-level committee sponsors including IBM, Intel, JDA, Profitect, and Zebra Technologies.

Q. One surprise from your seat.

LL: Not too long ago, supply chain, AP and other functional areas operated in silos, essentially operating independent of each other. Over the past few years, the lines have blurred. Today, there's a lot of overlap between supply chain, asset protection and digital. In many instances, they need to work together to ensure their company's success. It's been interesting to watch these relationships mature and exciting to witness the collaborative spirit develop among these groups.

Q. What's got you most excited?

LL: Total Retail Loss! In October 2016, RILA in partnership with Professor Adrian Beck published the Beyond Shrinkage: Introducing Total Retail Loss report, the culmination of two years' research work focused on helping the retail industry develop a more overarching definition and typology of the full range of losses it experiences. Since then, the TRL concept has received critical acclaim across the globe, and early adopters are reporting significant benefit. This month, we launched TRL 2.0 to examine the experiences of those who have adopted TRL and the challenges of those seeking to adopt it, and to understand how TRL needs to evolve to take account of its exposure to the 'real' retail world. rila.org

Call for Speakers for RILA AP Conference 2019
RILA Seeks Retail and AP Experts to Share Knowledge at the Leading Retail AP Conference in the U.S.

RILA's Asset Protection Steering Committee - comprised of senior asset protection executives - identified topics, reflecting the industry's most exciting opportunities and pressing challenges. We're looking for retail speakers with experience in any of these areas to help lead a 45-minute breakout session (inclusive of Q&A). You don't have to be an expert on the entire topic and you don't have to go it alone! You can team-up with an internal colleague or a peer at another retailer. If you don't see a topic on the list that moves you, submit a speaker proposal on another priority topic that your industry peers would want to hear about - we're open to your ideas!

Hurry! The call for speakers closes on August 31, 2018 at 5 p.m. ET. For more information, to view topics and apply, click here

Walmart LP Officer Found Liable for 'Malicious Abuse of Process'
Jury grants $1.5 million verdict to Silver City, NM woman in lawsuit
A jury recommended earlier this month that $1.5 million in damages be paid to a Silver City woman in a lawsuit against Walmart, and the retail giant plans to ask for a review of the evidence.

Shaydle Mendoza was shopping at Silver City's Walmart in July 2013 when her complaint states she was detained by the store's "loss prevention officers" and then arrested for shoplifting. Mendoza spent a night in county jail and paid a $500 non-refundable bond for her release. The charge was later dropped.

After the Sixth Judicial District Attorney's office dismissed her case, Mendoza said she contacted the store the following December asking whether she was allowed to shop there. The complaint states that she got permission from the store to return, but when she did she was arrested once again, this time for trespassing.

Mendoza's complaint further states that the incidents led to a loss of income after her employer ran a background check that showed she had been charged with shoplifting and trespassing.

Mendoza filed suit in 2014, naming Walmart Stores East, the store's general manager, and a dozen loss prevention officers as defendants.

After deliberating late into the evening of Aug. 10, a jury of 12 found that Walmart loss prevention officer Robert Bencomo had probable cause to believe Mendoza was concealing merchandise and detained her in a reasonable manner in the July incident.

The jury found, however, that Bencomo "intentionally inflicted emotional distress" on Mendoza when she returned to the store in December, and found him liable for malicious abuse of process. The jury also found that Bencomo intentionally destroyed video evidence in order to defeat a potential lawsuit by Mendoza. lcsun-news.com

Good workplace relationships key to preventing shoplifting
Shoplifting is reduced when staff take "psychological ownership" of the problem - which depends on good workplace relationships, a University of Otago study has found.

PhD student Balkrushna Potdar has completed a pilot study interviewing employees, and the next step involved gathering more data from 1000 supermarket employees around New Zealand.

"We wanted to see if there was evidence to show that good relationships between employer and their staff would mean more proactive prevention of theft."

Most shop staff interviewed said they had witnessed customer crime or some kind of "deviant behaviour". This ranged from customers grazing on food before reaching the check-out, switching bar-codes at self-service check-outs, and pocketing goods.

The staff in the survey had notified security staff, and said they did so because it affronted their values, or felt it was their duty. stuff.co.nz

Rebuilding and Refocusing After Workplace Violence Occurs
Jana Monroe was CSO at Southern California Edison on December 16, 2011, when a gunman opened fire inside a Southern California Edison office building in Irwindale, California. The gunman, Andre Turner, killed two employees, and wounded two others, before committing suicide.

"For two years after that incident we rebuilt and reframed our corporate culture [towards active shooter policies]," Monroe says. "But the most immediate action items included things that people didn't read about in the media, including providing Uber rides, food and water to many employees, as 3,000 were evacuated from the building. Our corporate executives attended the funerals of the victims and provided security to the victim's families for five days. After that, we formed a panel that included HR, Legal, Ethics and Compliance, Corporate Security and Psychologists who spoke to employees to determine the culture that was in place. From there, we put in place new policies, procedures and training to mitigate a shooting incident from occurring again and to be prepared if another incident should occur."

Now CSO at Herbalife, Monroe has implemented a threat assessment team that consists of Corporate Security, Legal, HR, and Ethics and Compliance executives. "As an enterprise we have solid policies and procedures in place to protect our employees," she says.

"Anonymous reporting is the number one technology that enterprise security should have," adds Rodnie Williams, SVP Risk Management, Omnigo, and an enterprise security consultant. "'Telling on someone' is not cool, but when you provide the ability to report it anonymously, it removes barriers. You also need to take into account how this new generation of workers share, deliver and consume content and information - they use mobile first. Anonymous reporting can work across multiple issues, such as mental health, in addition to working well across verticals and industries." securitymagazine.com

Vegas hotel room checks raise privacy, safety concerns at Def Con, Black Hat
Vegas hotel security group going way beyond visually inspecting rooms & on security execs
The October 2017 mass shooting in Las Vegas involving a guest at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino led to new policies at Caesars Entertainment hotels, one of which includes disregarding guests' Do Not Disturb signs and checking the room once every 24 hours - a policy attendees at Def Con 26 and Black Hat USA 2018 felt the full brunt of during their events last week.

Caesars Entertainment issued a statement, claiming, "The checks involve only a visual review of the bedroom, bathroom and additional sitting area (if any) to ensure there are no issues which require further attention. Drawers, suitcases, and other personal items are not inspected by our security officers who are clearly identifiable to guests."

If that were true and you could tolerate that form of security theater and privacy invasion, then that might be the end of the story. Except Black Hat and Def Con attendees who stayed at the Mandalay Bay, Luxor, Caesars Palace, Flamingo, Aria, Cromwell, Tuscany, Linq, Planet Hollywood, or Mirage said hotel security officers showed nothing to verify their identify, actually did more than a visual inspection (such as by photographing and filming rooms), went so far as to confiscate items, and some claim they even riffled through their bags. csoonline.com



ACFE: Report to the Nations
2018 Global Study on Occupational Fraud and Abuse
Among the various kinds of fraud that organizations might be faced with, occupational fraud is likely the largest and most prevalent threat. Occupational fraud1-fraud committed against the organization by its own officers, directors, or employees-constitutes an attack against the organization from within, by the very people who were entrusted to protect its assets and resources. acfe.com



Fewer Organizations Referring Fraud to Law Enforcement
Over the past decade, fewer and fewer fraud cases were referred to law enforcement. In the 2018 ACFE Report to the Nations, a study of 2,690 cases of occupational fraud investigated by Certified Fraud Examiners (CFEs) between January 2016 and October 2017, 58% of cases were referred to law enforcement. The number has slowly been declining since 2008 when the rate was 69% of cases being referred to law enforcement. Interestingly, the rate of fraud cases that resulted in a civil suit has remained relatively steady over the same period, hovering around 23%.

When looking at why organizations do not refer fraud to law enforcement, the top reasons cited were a fear of bad publicity (38%), internal discipline considered sufficient (33%) and concern it would be too costly (24%). "While our data doesn't point to a specific explanation for this trend, we think it is worth highlighting because of the negative consequences it can have when fraudsters are not prosecuted," said John Warren, J.D., CFE, vice president and general counsel of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) and one of the report's co-authors. "This enables them in many cases to move on to other employers and repeat their crimes."

Other findings include that the typical employee fraud case causes a loss of $130,000 and lasts 16 months. Losses caused by male fraudsters were 75% larger than losses caused by female fraudsters, and internal control weaknesses facilitated nearly half of the frauds. securitymagazine.com

Trump pushes to study an end to quarterly earnings reports
to help business do 'even better'
President Donald Trump on Friday advocated for a possible end to the long-held quarterly earnings reports for publicly traded companies, saying it would boost business and in turn help create jobs.

In a morning tweet, the president said he had spoken to "business leaders" for their ideas on growth and they believed filing earnings reports every three months was one obstacle for growth. One idea would be to report every six months.

The issue of how reporting hamstrings corporate executives is not a new one. CEOs have complained often about the process in which companies try to meet the expectations placed on them by Wall Street analysts, and markets move on the results. cnbc.com

LinkedIn Groups Are Changing
If you rely on LinkedIn Groups to communicate with members, it might be time to re-evaluate. LinkedIn announced it is relaunching Groups and rolling it into its main app with new features in tow, while also nixing previous capabilities.

What's leaving LinkedIn Groups: the ability for Group administrators to pre-moderate comments; sending Group posts or announcements as emails to the entire community.

What's coming to Groups: threaded replies; Group conversations that will appear in-stream on your newsfeed; the ability to post media, such as videos and gifs; pinned notifications to members' feeds

But is the trade-off worth it? Maggie McGary, CEO and chief community strategist at McGary Associates, says no. The removal of features over a short period of time highlights the lack of say community managers have when they don't control the platform.  associationsnow.com

ASIS International Webinar Addresses SAFETY Act and the MGM Lawsuit
ASIS International, the world's largest association for security management professionals, today announced it will hold a free webinar, The SAFETY Act and the MGM Lawsuit: What It Means for You and your Organization, on Tuesday, August 21 at 11:00 am ET.

Led by Brian Finch, partner, Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman, the 60-minute ASIS webinar will review why the Act was created, protections afforded to ASIS certified professionals and their employers - as well as those who use ASIS Standards and Guidelines - and potential implications of the MGM case. asisonline.org

Amazon in Running to Acquire Landmark Movie Chain

Bon-Ton properties hit the selling block


Quarterly Results
Nordstrom Q2 full-price location comps up 4.1, Rack up 4%, e-commerce up 23% (34% of total sales), sales up 7%
Dillard's Q2 comp's up 1%, net sales up 2.8%