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Deadly 2020 Spikes in Retail Violence
An Analysis by Tony D'Onofrio, Global Retail Influencer
 The
Wall Street Journal recently reported a sharp rise in deadly violence in
major USA cities. Their analysis of crime statistics among the nation's 50
largest cities found that reported homicides increased 24% so far this year.
Similar to the urban increase in homicides, retail experienced spikes in
violence in the first half of the year.
According to the just published
D&D Daily quarterly crime reports, through the first six months of the year,
total violent incidents are up 20%. For the second quarter 2020, they are up an
astounding 46%.
More alarming are the spikes in fatalities.
Through mid-year, fatalities
are up 22% and for Q2, up 45%.
Of the 253 total
fatalities, 28% were suspects, 40% were customers, 26% were associates, and 6%
were law enforcement / security personnel.
Associates deaths are up 94% and security personnel fatalities are up 133% from
the previous year. Watch
Tony's video here
Mid-Year 2020's Retail Violent Fatalities by
Category
Protests & Civil Unrest
Wave of Police Chief Resignations Continue
Rochester, NY: Police Chief, Entire Command Staff Step Down
Following Death of Daniel Prude
 Rochester, N.Y., Police Chief La'Ron Singletary said in announcing his
retirement that the events of the past week "are an attempt to destroy my
character and integrity."
The chief and entire command staff of the police department in Rochester, New
York, resigned on Tuesday - among other department changes - as outrage
continued over the death of Daniel Prude, a Black man with mental health issues
who died after having been put in a "spit hood" and restrained by officers in
March. The chief will remain in charge of the department through the end of the
month.
"The members of the Rochester Police Department and the Greater Rochester
Community know my reputation and know what I stand for," Singletary, a 20-year
veteran of the force, said in his resignation letter. "The mischaracterization
and the politicization of the actions that I took after being informed of Mr.
Prude's death is not based on facts, and is not what I stand for."
nbcnews.com
Dallas, TX: Police Chief Resigns in Wake of Policing Protests
 U. Reneé Hall, the police chief in Dallas, abruptly announced her
resignation on Tuesday amid eroding support on the City Council stemming from
her department's handling of protests over the policing of African-Americans.
Her resignation, which becomes effective on Nov. 10, follows a wave of police
chief resignations in other cities during a tumultuous summer that has brought
intense scrutiny on American law enforcement. Chief Hall, who is
African-American, is the first woman to lead the Dallas department and
has held the position since 2017.
City Council members delivered a sharp critique of her leadership during
widespread protests in Dallas following George Floyd's death at the hands of
Minneapolis police officers in May. Some council members found fault with the
fact that the report emphasized protesters who targeted the police with violence
but failed to discuss some of the harsh measures employed by officers against
the demonstrators.
nytimes.com
Capitol Heights, MD: Protesters rally at Popeye's over viral altercation
between woman and security officer
 Protesters
surrounded a Popeye's restaurant in Capitol Heights after a 24-year old woman
alleged she was assaulted and maced by a security guard working in the
restaurant Saturday night.
"With all the Police brutality occurring currently I feel violated, embarrassed,
and disrespected," says Stephanie Samuels, who claims she was attacked after an
encounter with a private security guard in the store.
After the incident, Black Lives Matter DC announced on Twitter calls for a
protest demanding changes and showing support for Samuels. "Hold this security
company accountable and don't allow men with guns who kill Black people to
protect your chicken," the tweet reads. "It's not safe for Black people in the
community."
wusa9.com
Fayetteville, NC: Police charge 55 with looting, civil unrest
after George Floyd marches
Arrest warrants have been issued for 55 people charged with looting and civil
unrest on the night of May 30 in Fayetteville following marches for racial
justice and police reform prompted by the death of George Floyd, according to
Fayetteville police.
After peaceful marches in the daytime, looters broke down the doors of the
Walmart Supercenter and ransacked the store, stealing inventory all night long.
Most of the arrest warrants charge people with breaking into and stealing
property at the Walmart store, according to a list of charges provided by the
Police Department.
Many are charged with felony breaking and entering, felony larceny after
breaking and entering, felony conspiracy, inciting a riot and trespassing during
an emergency. About 40 of the 55 people charged have been arrested so far.
fayobserver.com
Portland Night 103: Protesters march through downtown Portland, 11 arrests
Portland parents concerned by effects of tear gas after riot
Rochester, NY: Officer hospitalized as Daniel Prude protests escalate
Philadelphia: City's deadline passes for protesters to vacate homeless
encampments
Couple Seen In Viral Video Of Clash With Pittsburgh Protesters Speaks Out
COVID Update
US: Over 6.5M Cases - 194K Dead - 3.8M Recovered
Worldwide:
Over 27.7M Cases - 903K Dead - 19.8M Recovered
Private Industry Security Guard Deaths:
186
Law
Enforcement Officer Deaths: 101
*Red indicates change in total
deaths
Top Performing Brands on COVID-19 Safety:
Whole Foods maintains industry lead on COVID-19 safety, report finds
Panda Express leads food and beverage
industry
Whole Foods ranked first among 33 brands for its COVID-19 health and safety
practices in the
second report this year from research firm Ipsos based on mystery shopper
visits to more than 5,700 U.S. stores. The grocer also
took the top spot in the first version of the Ipsos index, which came out in
June.
Whole Foods outperformed competitors in the grocery industry on several
categories, including having health & safety related signage, store cleanliness,
compliance with employees wearing protective gear, barriers to enforce
distancing and availability of sanitizing options.
● Employees at 76% of Whole Foods stores
visited were seen actively cleaning high touch areas, as compared to an industry
average of 59%
● Associates at a 100% of Whole Foods stores visited were observed to be
wearing masks properly, and 98% of customers were observed to comply with
the mask policy.
● 99% of Whole Foods stores had some sort of social distancing enforced
in store, including closing every other check-out lane, closure of self-serve
food & beverage stations, etc.
Trader Joe's, ShopRite, and Costco also received high
marks in the index, which measured restaurant and financial services
locations, as well.
Read more about Whole Foods' COVID-19 response on their corporate
website
here.
COVID Impact: UK Retail Jobs
Bloodbath
UK: High street bloodbath sees 125,000 job cuts since start of 2020
A staggering 125,515 retail
jobs have been cut &13,867 shops shuttered for good since the start of the year,
new data shows.
Equates to nearly 15,700 job
cuts each and every month.
The total 125,000 jobs axed in the retail sector
do not include those lost in
the leisure and hospitality industry,
which is suffering its own employment cull.
BRC chief executive Helen Dickinson said: "Coronavirus
is continuing to have a devastating effect on many retail businesses,
with shopping malls and town centre shops suffering significantly lower
footfall.
There's a concerted effort to force the UK Government to
extend the current one-year
business rates holiday.
In response to the jobs crisis in retail, the UK Government has
announced a series of attempts
to get the public shopping and spending. "Without action, the recent job losses
we've seen across the industry may be just the tip of the iceberg."
talkingretail.com
Union Pres. Says Kick Them Out
UFCW: Grocers Should Kick Out Maskless Shoppers
The president of the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW)
says grocery stores should be kicking out shoppers who refuse to put on a mask.
Marc Perrone
spoke with CBS MoneyWatch about how the virus is affecting food and other
essential workers.
"I don't think that our workers ought to be the mask police," Perrone said. "The
management in the store, quite honestly, they're the ones that control the keys,
they're the ones that should say something to the consumer. And if they have a
customer that's being unruly,
they always have the ability to call the police and ask the police to show up."
Last week, according to the union, there were at least
103 grocery worker deaths from
the coronavirus, and more than 14,300 employees infected
by or exposed to COVID-19.
UFCW represents 1.3 million workers in the health care, grocery, meatpacking,
food-processing, retail and other industries.
progressivegrocer.com
As COVID-19 risk dips, Orange County, CA., gets OK to reopen indoor restaurants,
movie theaters
Orange County received some much-anticipated and welcome news in its battle
against the coronavirus on Tuesday as it officially moved into the
second stage of California's
four-tiered, color-coded reopening system.
The reclassification allows for more businesses - including movie theaters,
restaurants and places of worship - to ease restrictions and open in limited
capacity
Four
other counties also moved from Tier 1 (purple) to Tier 2 (red) on Tuesday:
Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Amador and Placer.
Orange joins San Diego as the only counties in Southern California not
classified as having "widespread risk" under the
state's COVID-19
monitoring system.
Seven other counties are being monitored for potential tier changes, but Gov.
Gavin Newsom cautioned against complacency as well as the potential for spread
due to the Labor Day weekend. It will take roughly two weeks to learn whether
the combination of
Labor Day weekend activity and the state's new reopening guidelines leads to
a new surge in COVID-19 cases.
latimes.com
NYC indoor dining will return on Sept. 30 at 25% capacity: Gov. Cuomo
The reopening comes with a host of restrictions- diners must get their
temperature checked before entering restaurants, wear a mask inside, and at
least one member of each party must provide contact information for contact
tracing if there's an outbreak at the eatery.
nypost.com
DA's Abandoning Retail Crime Prosecutions
Growing numbers of district attorneys are out to undermine the law
One reason for the surging, often protracted violence in US cities is the rise
of a host of progressive prosecutors who actually tilt against law and order.
The trend is most glaring in places known for their left-wing politics,
like Portland and San
Francisco, but extreme
leftists have also taken over as district attorneys in cities like
Chicago and Boston.
In Contra County, Calif., outside San Francisco, DA Diana Becton will now
consider looters' "needs" when weighing criminal charges. At Politico, she and
four other black, female DAs (from Chicago, Boston, St. Louis and Durham)
actually slammed the very criminal-justice system they were elected to enforce -
ludicrously claiming it was "constructed to control Black people and people of
color" and that it's now doing just that.
The Bay City's DA is Chesa Boudin, the son
of Brink's robbery cop-killers who was raised by radical Weather Underground
leaders Bill Ayers and Bernardine Dohrn. He, too, has adopted rules making it
harder to prosecute suspects.
Chicago's State's
Attorney Kim Foxx, who
vowed to cut the jail population, dropped 35 percent more felony cases than her
predecessor over three years.
nypost.com
CEO's Being Held
Accountable
"Substantial Probability of Conviction" For Fraud
Volkswagen's Ex-CEO Is Ordered to Stand Trial Over Emissions Scandal
Five years after Volkswagen admitted to
rigging millions of diesel-powered vehicles
to cheat emissions tests,
the former CEO Martin Winterkorn was ordered Wednesday to
face trial on charges of
defrauding customers in
a case that could shed new light on one of Germany's largest corporate scandals.
Volkswagen carried out
the deception for nearly a decade until a group of post-graduate students in
2014 measured emissions
from several diesel vehicles for a research project and discovered that
Volkswagen's diesel engine emitted much higher levels of nitrogen oxide
particles during normal driving than during treadmill tests.
In September 2015, the U.S. government made the accusation public and charged
Volkswagen with violating U.S. law, including defrauding the U.S. government and
U.S. consumers. Volkswagen pleaded guilty to the charges and
has paid more than $30 billion in fines, penalties and compensation for
consumers.
Mr. Winterkorn became aware of the full extent of the deception as early as May
25, 2014, but did
nothing in his role as CEO to end the practice
and bring it to the attention
of the authorities.
wsj.com
Responding to the Violence
Nationwide
Operation Legend Update - Over 2,000 Arrests, 587 Weapons Seized Since July 8
In Chicago, there has
been a 50 percent decrease in homicides
in the first seven weeks of the operation, when compared to the five weeks prior
to the operation's launch.
Launched first in Kansas City, MO., on July 8, 2020, the operation was expanded
to Chicago and Albuquerque on
July 22, 2020; to Cleveland, Detroit, and Milwaukee on
July 29, 2020; to St. Louis and Memphis on
August 6, 2020; and to Indianapolis on
August 14, 2020.
justice.gov
Fires Up and Down the West Coast
'Unprecedented' Wildfires Burn Through Parts Of Oregon
As Thousands Forced To Evacuate Along West Coast
 It comes as Labor Day weekend saw an escalation in wildfires across California,
Oregon and parts of Washington. Thousands of people across the West Coast are on
standby to evacuate, while some have already been evacuated.
The West Coast is battling a record fire season, with an unprecedented 2.2
million acres burned as 25 fires have raged across California alone, but the
peak could still be ahead. Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency
across several counties on Sunday.
Dry conditions and record temperatures, including 121 F in Los Angeles county
over the weekend, have fuelled the fires. Some 14,000 firefighters are battling
to contain the fires, but the devastation is adding to another plight already
faced by the state, which has seen the highest number of coronavirus infections
(more than 740,000) in the U.S..
forbes.com
Aggressive winds feared as California battles biggest wildfire season
California's
record-breaking fire season could get much worse in the coming days as
powerful winds heighten the danger of more blazes while firefighters continue to
struggle with destructive conflagrations across the state. Intense
Diablo winds are forecast for parts of Northern California this week, with
Pacific Gas & Electric Co. saying it would shut off power to numerous
communities in hopes of avoiding new fires potentially sparked by downed power
lines.
latimes.com
Hobby Lobby boycott 2020: Calls for boycott over 'USA Vote Trump' display
Hashtag #BoycottHobbyLobby started trending after
Twitter user Kari Brekke shared a photo on Twitter Sunday of a display of
decorative letters arranged to read "USA Vote Trump" and the caption "In a Hobby
Lobby." As of 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, the tweet was liked more than 46,500 times and
retweeted 12,100 times.
Eric Schiffer, chairman of the Los Angeles-based firm Reputation Management
Consultants, told USA TODAY that the trending hashtag "creates
a reckless war with customers
on the left who want to see Biden in the White House and Trump dressed in orange
in shackles."
"The virtual boycott is
possible but unlikely to last long
unless Hobby Lobby doubles down," Schiffer said, adding "the damage for some
shoppers will be done and those Trump haters will buy their yarn with others."
usatoday.com
Under Armour Cuts 600 HQ Jobs
UPS to Hire 100,000 For The Holidays
Quarterly Results
Lululemon Q2 comp's up 2%, digital up 157%,
American Eagle Q2 sales down 15%
Senior LP & AP Jobs
Market
Director - Security Operations job posted for Salesforce in Seattle, WA
 The
Director, Security Operations leads the Tableau Security Operations teams in
working cross functionally with our business, technical, and product security
teams to refine and implement our strategy. Ensure the Tableau security
monitoring, detection and response postures are robust and exceed all applicable
standards.
salesforce.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com
Editor's Note:
Keith White, former EVP for Gap Inc., was recently named Global Chief Security &
Safety Officer for Salesforce.
Read about his appointment
here.
Re-Posted
Job
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.
linkedin.com
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An Industry Perspective From
35,000 Feet
Study: COVID's Impact on CSO's - "Changed Their Roles Significantly"
The Chief Security Officer (CSO) in the Post-COVID-19 World: Lessons Learned
from Security Leaders
The upheaval caused by the outbreak has highlighted the need for a strong, agile
security leader in organizations of all sizes to protect organizations and
maintain business continuity. Raines International, in conjunction with The Lake
Forest Group (LFG), spoke with numerous Chief Security Officers and leaders in
the security field to discuss how the pandemic has affected the position.
While protecting staff's health and wellness may have previously fallen under
human resources, health, safety, and environmental, or corporate social
responsibility departments, since the pandemic started,
nearly all of the security
leaders that were interviewed for the report have assumed handling virus-related
concerns and procedures as they saw their roles change significantly.
"Many security leaders assumed responsibility for ensuring that workers knew how
to transition to work-from-home and coordinated company-wide directives for
COVID-19 response plans. Other organizations including government contractors
balanced security needs by having employees focus on administrative or training
tasks during remote work and instituting alternate in-office days to work with
classified information," according to the report.
The report says executives need to
prepare for rises in domestic
violence and addiction issues,
as well as preparing to identify the warning signs of these and other issues.
"Possible solutions include frequent video conferencing to physically lay eyes
on employees and increased support for resource groups that employees can
access. This challenge
presents an opportunity for progressive business leaders to thoughtfully prepare
procedures for handling the inevitability of domestic stressors spilling into
the workplace, since the definitive line between home and place of business has
considerably blurred," the report states.
securitymagazine.com
Editor's Note:
While not retail specific, this thought leadership article brings together the
thoughts, impact, and future developmental needs COVID is having on the security
industry and on business as a whole and speaks to the need for security leaders
to understand the opportunity and responsibility this watershed event presents
to all of us. Broadening our vision and successfully integrating a positive
security culture based on a safe and secure workplace while minimizing risk by
"balancing the rigidity of security needs with the reality of the workforce."
Just an overall well written article that inspires reflection. -Gus Downing
Read the full report
here.
Cyber Chiefs Calculate Data Breach Costs to Explain Risks to Executives
New tools aim to help cybersecurity
professionals quantify threats
As corporate cybersecurity leaders gain prominence within companies, new tools
are cropping up to help them calculate the cost of potential data breaches in
terms they can discuss with chief financial officers and other executives.
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the financial fallout from a data breach can help chief information security
officers convey the importance of such an incident in language that executives
and board members understand, but the fast-changing nature of cyberattacks can
make that calculation difficult, experts say.
CISOs need to present cyber threats to executives and board members in terms
similar to other, familiar business risks, but those are easier to quantify. It
is difficult to predict the effects of cyber risks because every cyberattack and
companies' technology infrastructure differ, experts say. Plus, tools to help
with these calculations don't take into account reputational harm or customer
response after an incident.
New models,
such as one developed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, aim to
aggregate data from a large pool of companies and provide cybersecurity leaders
with more granular information about the possible losses their companies could
incur from a breach. The U.K. government also is collecting data from a range of
companies, and market research firm Ipsos MORI is developing a tool on behalf of
the country's Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport that helps assess
costs.
wsj.com
Russian National Indicted For Conspiracy To Introduce Malware Into A Computer
Network
Egor Igorevich Kriuchkov, 27, a citizen of Russia, attempted to recruit an
employee of a company located in Nevada, with the purpose of introducing
malicious software into the company's computer network, extracting data from the
network, and thereafter extorting ransom money from the company under the threat
of making the extracted data public. Kriuchkov faces a statutory maximum
sentence of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
justice.gov
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Member Exclusive Event
RH-ISAC Organized Retail Crime (ORC) Working Group Meeting
- Fri, September 11 at 1:00 PM EST
 Please
join the RH-ISAC Organized Retail Crime (ORC) Working Group for our monthly
meeting to discuss best practices and mitigation methods for threats that fall
under the umbrella of traditional ORC activity or fraud related activity that
has both a physical and digital component.
The audience for this working group includes RH-ISAC core members who have a
tactical or operational based activities associated with loss prevention or
fraud. This could include analysts and fraud practitioners from either security,
loss prevention, asset protection and/or other departments within the member
organization.
Contact
membership@rhisac.org if you'd like to join this meeting or have any
questions.
Pennsylvania: Three Charged In $20,000 Wawa Fuel Theft Scheme
 Three
people were arrested in what law enforcement alleged was a scheme to use fake
credit cards to steal diesel fuel from Wawa stores in the region. Juan
Zeledon-Urena, 42, Jose Varela-Mata, 35 and Paulo Pena, 43, have been charged
with corrupt organizations, identity theft, theft by unlawful taking, receiving
stolen property, and access device fraud. The Pennsylvania Attorney General's
Office alleged Tuesday that the three were involved in stealing 7,000 gallons of
diesel fuel from Wawa stores between August 2019 to November 2019. The group
used fraudulent credit cards were made with the personal information of 44
people to get the fuel. The stolen fuel was transported in bladders in the bed
of pickup trucks and then sold to third-parties, authorities said.
In total, the crew is
accused of stealing $20,000 in fuel, authorities said.
The thefts allegedly occurred at Wawas in Bucks, Delaware, Montgomery, and
Philadelphia counties.
levittownnow.com
Coral Springs, FL: Police Puts the Brakes on Man's Shoplifting Spree at multiple
Targets
 A
man was charged with grand theft after an investigation by Coral Springs Police
connected him to shoplifting crimes across multiple Target locations. For two
months, the Coral Springs Police Department had teamed with both of the Target's
located in Coral Springs to identify and arrest Michael John Roberts, 28, of
Coconut Creek for a string of retail thefts. The interest in locating and
apprehending Roberts began back on May 25, when the Coral Springs Police
Department received a call from Target about a man that had left the store
without paying for a cart full of expensive items. Once an investigation was
launched, police began reviewing store security cameras. They saw Roberts
placing three Dyson air
purifiers and a Dyson vacuum in his cart, bypassing all point of sale, and
exiting the store for a total value of just under $2000.
Target theft prevention
employees told police
they also suspected
that Roberts was responsible for additional thefts at other Target stores in the
area.
At that time, police
opened a broader investigation that eventually led to his capture.
coralspringstalk.com
Lehigh County, PA: Feds allege pawnbrokers sold stolen electronics online and
laundered proceeds
Two Lehigh County pawnshop owners who allegedly offered bargains on stolen
electronics and other high-end consumer goods face money laundering conspiracy
and other charges. Rolland Houle, 41, of Upper Macungie Township and Jason
Brody, 42, of Allentown were indicted last week in U.S. District Court in
Scranton on charges of conspiracy to commit mail fraud, mail fraud and money
laundering conspiracy. Both pleaded not guilty and were released without bail
pending trial.
mcall.com
Northbrook, IL: Lord & Taylor reports 3 men in Grab & Run
An employee at Lord & Taylor, 1400 block of Lake Cook Road, called police at
2:39 p.m. Aug. 31 to report they were alerted by a customer that three men in
their 20s, were observed running out of the store with armloads of purses. The
men were seen getting into a waiting vehicle then leaving the area.
patch.com
Oak Bluffs, MA: Shoplifter hits 6 stores, totaling $770 of stolen merchandise
near Martha's Vineyard
Las Vegas, NV: Metro Police seek man who stole power tools from Lowe's at
knifepoint
Bedford, IN: Man arrested at Walmart for switching UPC labels on High priced
merchandise
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