ASIS International And SIA Partner To Launch Security LeadHER Event Advancing Women In Security

ASIS International and the Security Industry Association (SIA), the member associations for the security industry, have announced a partnership to launch a new event designed to showcase women in security.

The event, titled Security LeadHER, will be held at the Hilton Nashville Downtown Hotel in Nashville, Tennessee, and will kick off with a reception on June 12 with conference programming taking place on June 13. This conference will bring together security professionals committed to advancing, connecting, and empowering women in the security profession.

Beginning on Feb. 1, Security LeadHER invites visitors to submit a proposal to present and share their expertise at the first-ever SIA and ASIS International conference dedicated to the advancement of women in the global security industry, designed to empower women in security and their allies while exploring global security topics, answering widespread questions and discovering practical ideas driving the current most successful women in security.

Learn more here
 

Gatekeeper Systems' Cart Retrieval Solution in the News
Gatekeeper's LP solution makes the news - along with other retail anti-theft measures

Inside Target’s anti-theft measures from tether displays to Gatekeeper Systems' cart retrieval solution

Target has revealed several creative security strategies as department stores across the country face rising reports of shoplifting.

The extreme anti-theft measures come after Michael Fiddelke, Target's chief financial officer, admitted suffering major financial losses exacerbated by shoplifting.

In November 2022, Fiddelke reported that organized retail theft cost Target $400 million in their third quarter. The retail industry leader emphasized that direct actions would be taken to prevent shoplifting in the future.

Insider took a deeper look into some of the new security measures that have been implemented at their local Target location. One photograph shows a video game display tethered to the wall, keeping customers from removing it without staff assistance.

Security tags have even hit the beauty section, with fake eyelashes and press-on nails receiving extra protection.

Target has even gone as far as to protect its shopping carts. The retailer has purchased Gatekeeper Systems, a robot that automatically retrieves loose carts.

Target isn't the only department store to test out new security measures ahead of rising prices and reports of shoplifting. Stores such as Walmart, Lowe's and Kroger have also tested out new surveillance systems as they face the looming 'retail apocalypse.'  the-sun.com


Major Retailers Investing in Anti-Theft Measures Inside & Outside Stores
Meet Walmart’s 'lot cop' after mobile surveillance installed as anti-theft measure amid surge in self-checkout stealing

Retail giants have taken extreme measures to combat shoplifting in some stores, including locks on products and increased surveillance.

In an effort to deter potential thieves, one Walmart in Kentucky installed a mobile surveillance "lot cop" in the parking lot. The surveillance extends into the store as well, with signs warning customers that security cameras are in use and that reducing theft helps keep prices low, Business Insider reported.

Leaders of major retailers across the country, including Walmart CEO Doug McMillon, have expressed concerns that if theft does not decrease, stores will have to close or prices will have to rise. Theft prevention experts have noted that organized retail crime has skyrocketed, exacerbating the problems retailers are facing.

To combat this, Walmart, like many other retailers, has implemented various security measures. Some items, such as those in the beauty and electronics departments, are locked behind glass doors and can only be retrieved by employees.

Other items are locked in plastic boxes and must be removed at checkout. The retailer also uses spider wrap alarms on items throughout its stores, which will sound if an item is stolen. Additionally, household electrical fuses are hung on twist-release displays, making it harder to take several at once.

Target also uses a cart retrieval system made by Gatekeeper Systems to protect its shopping carts, as an estimated two million shopping carts are stolen each year at a cost of $800 million to retailers.

Home Depot, another major retailer, uses locks and non-working units to display items like nail guns and locks higher-priced power tools in merchandise cages.

Some battery packs locked in cages are also tagged with RF devices. The store has less intense anti-theft measures for items like leaf blowers, using traditional locks to keep them safe. the-sun.com


Business Owners Call for Bipartisan ORC Legislation
Senator Cortez Masto sponsoring legislation to crack down on organized small business theft
Senator Cortez Masto is sponsoring a legislation to crack down on small business organized theft. Though this legislation has not passed yet, it’s supported by the senator.

Senator Cortez Masto explains, the goal of the legislation is to help federal law enforcement better coordinate with state and local industry partners to tackle organized theft "So I have legislation working with our retail establishments and working with Senator Grassley bipartisan legislation, to actually help address the issue of organized retail crime and give our law enforcement more tools that they need to address it."

Senator Cortez Masto visited many of the Reno Public Market small business owners to speak about their experiences with theft occurring within their stores.

Even the developers of the Reno Public Market have noticed theft, more recently noticing people have taken to stealing tip jars off the counter tops.

Senator Cortez Masto tells us the legislation would be an opportunity to bring law enforcement together to address organized retail crime within small businesses.

"It's a peace of mind for our small businesses but it's also going to let the criminal element know that we're coming after them. We're going to do everything we can to give the tools to law enforcement to stop this," explains Senator Cortez Masto. 2news.com


New Mexico Rolls Out New ORC Measures
Proposed bills would tackle retail crime in New Mexico
A state lawmaker is pushing bills to address the recent rise in shoplifting. Representative Bill Rehm, a Republican from Albuquerque, has joined four colleagues in sponsoring House Bill (HB) 55.

HB 55 would create a new criminal charge for organized retail theft. If approved, the charge would target shoplifting rings that hit stores on two or more occasions. It would also change the severity of the charges based on the dollar amount stolen from stores over an entire year, instead of on a case-by-case basis.

Representative Rehm and fellow Republican Randall Pettigrew have also introduced HB 57. It’s a bill that would give retailers immunity from lawsuits when they use “reasonable force” to detain a suspected shoplifter until police arrive.

Rehm said state law currently allows stores to detain shoplifters, but many times suspects sue, claiming they were injured while they were held. This would protect retailers from those tort claims.

If the state doesn’t crack down on shoplifting, Rehm fears retailers may try to leave the state. The Organized Retail Theft Bill is expected to go before a House Committee Friday. The Retailer Tort Immunity Bill is scheduled to be heard in committee later this month. krqe.com


Mass Shootings in the U.S.: A Symptom of Nationwide Despair
We Profiled ‘Signs of Crisis’ in Mass Shootings. Here's What We Found.
These events have become more frequent and more deadly over time. One-third of all the mass shootings in our study occurred in the last decade. This is no coincidence. The killings are not just random acts of violence but rather a symptom of a deeper societal problem: the continued rise of “deaths of despair.”

Nearly all the killers we profile are men. Many were socially isolated from their families or their communities and felt a sense of alienation. Most chose not to ask for help when confronted with hardship, like a breakup or being fired from their job.

They chose mass shootings as a way to seize power and attention, forcing others to witness their pain while attempting to end their lives in a way that only they controlled. These are public spectacles of violence intended as final acts.

Whether it’s self-inflicted, or comes at the hands of police officers or after life in prison, a mass shooting is a form of suicide. This is something that separates mass shootings from other crimes and is why traditional preventive measures like increased armed security or harsh criminal sentences will do little to stop them.

In order to prevent future tragedies we must treat the underlying pathologies that feed the shooters’ despair. Mass shootings must no longer be written off as “inexplicable” episodes of “unthinkable” violence. Our communities and governments need to find ways to reduce social isolation more broadly and improve access to mental health care and substance abuse treatment. nytimes.com


Retail theft on the rise, Washington AG tells industry reps and law enforcement

Store employees use chatroom to help catch shoplifting suspects

Editorial: Legislative package has sensible measures to address rampant property and violent offenses

US: 104.1M Cases - 1.1M Dead - 101.2M Recovered
Worldwide: 674.8M Cases - 6.7M Dead - 647M Recovered

Private Industry Security Guard Deaths: 362  
Law Enforcement Officer Deaths: 830

Businesses Will 'Have to Wait Years' for the Remote Work Era to Wind Down
All bosses ‘secretly’ want workers back in the office—but they’ll have to wait years, major business group leader says
As the return to office debate rages on, many bosses have made it clear that they want their staff back at work in person.

Some employees, though, have resisted return-to-office requests, insisting that they can do their jobs just as well from home—which is unsurprising, given that one in four workers would rather get a root canal than go back to working in the office full time.

But according to Tony Danker, director-general of the Confederation of British Industry—the U.K.’s biggest business group, which represents 190,000 companies—most workers will eventually have no choice but to work from their company’s headquarters.

However, he conceded that it was unlikely companies across the globe would suddenly be demanding their workers return to full-time office work, and speculated that the debate around working patterns would continue for some time.

“I just don't think that's going to happen overnight,” he said. “I think we are all coping with this...but we're going to be talking about this for a few years.” yahoo.com


The Global Ripple Effects of China's COVID Explosion
How China’s COVID Crisis Could Spawn a Disastrous Virus ‘Leap’
China’s COVID disaster is entering a critical phase. The BA.5.2 subvariant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus is spreading essentially unchecked through a population of 1.4 billion people with weak COVID immunity. And as the virus is spreading, it’s mutating—fast.

If the rest of the world’s experience with the same form of COVID is any indication, one of two things will happen in China in the coming weeks and months. The virus could settle down on a genetic level and produce a succession of subvariants closely related to BA.5.2—ones that the Chinese population’s slowly increasing immunity should be able to handle. Or, the unrestrained transmission and runaway mutations will lead to a genetic breakthrough for SARS-CoV-2.

In that case, we might see the first new major variant since Omicron appeared more than a year ago. That’s the worst-case scenario. “The worry is that new variants, or Omicron subvariants, will be created that are more immune-evasive and will be able to infect those outside of China." thedailybeast.com


FDA Experts Are Still Puzzled Over Who Should Get Which Covid Shots and When

CDC urges people with weak immune systems to take extra precautions

Nationwide Protests Break Out After Police Footage Released
Mostly peaceful protests held across U.S. after release of Tyre Nichols footage
Numerous mostly peaceful protests were held across the U.S. following Friday's release of body camera footage of the killing of Tyre Nichols. All five officers involved in Nichols' arrest were fired and charged with second-degree murder, assault and kidnapping earlier this week.

In Memphis, where Nichols died, a group of demonstrators gathered at a downtown park and then took to the streets, shutting down the I-55 bridge over the Mississippi River between Memphis and West Memphis.

Officials shut down Grand Central Station in anticipation of protests in New York City, where demonstrators had gathered in Times Square. A protest and march in Boston halted traffic.

A protest in downtown Los Angeles became tense when a small group protesters gathered outside of Los Angeles Police Department headquarters, which was blocked by police in riot gear, according to the Los Angeles Times. Protesters tore town a protective barricade around the building, but there were no immediate reports of arrests.

Other small, but mostly peaceful protests, were also held in Washington, D.C., in Seattle, Detroit and Atlanta, as well as in other cities.

Officials had been preparing for nationwide protests in the days leading up to the release of the footage.

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp declared a state of emergency this week, and members of the National Guard can be seen in Atlanta, attempting to curb protesters. People could also be seen protesting outside the White House hours after Biden urged citizens "not to resort to violence or destruction."

Also on Friday, White House officials also spoke with mayors in more than a dozen major cities — such as Los Angeles, Philadelphia and Chicago — to brief them on federal assistance.

Nichols' family, including his mother, RowVaughn Wells, and his stepfather, Rodney Wells, asked protesters to remain peaceful. "I don't want us burning up cities, tearing up our streets, because that's not what my son stood for," Wells said at a vigil for her son on Thursday. npr.org  latimes.com


Civil Unrest Alert From Private Officer International
Security Officers Assaulted as Tense Protests Break Out Across U.S.
The release of the violent attack on Tyre Nichols by Memphis police that eventually caused his death has sparked hundreds of protests and violent riots across our nation once again. These violent protests have already led to dozens of assaults on law enforcement and three confirmed assaults on security officers.

Dozens of buildings have been set afire, and some major interstates were shut down on Friday night and Saturday by armed and unarmed rioters. Violent attacks are being reported in dozens of cities and some Governors have already either put their National Guard on standby or activated them.

Confirmed reports of security officer assaults were reported in Arkansas, Tennessee, and New York City.

ALERT: During the previous riots, protestors converged on malls and caused them to be shut down, often assaulting mall security and employees. Attacks on police stations including the firebombing of buildings and police vehicles, courthouses, and federal buildings have occurred during previous riots.

NOTICE: It is absolutely imperative that you add additional armed security personnel to high-value targets, shopping malls, and downtown businesses which are already experiencing arson, vandalism, and burglaries.

DO NOT allow unarmed security officers to patrol downtown businesses or entertainment districts, retail businesses, police precincts or police stations, courts, or known possible targets.

- From Private Officer International


Memphis disbands specialized police unit after fatal beating

Protester charged with punching cops had previous brush with law: NYPD