Top D&D Daily Partners Recognized at 2021 Secure Campus Awards

The Secure Campus Awards honor the outstanding achievements of security industry manufacturers whose products are considered particularly noteworthy in their ability to improve campus security.

Security & Personal Safety Smartphone Applications
Gold: ADT, SoSecure

Artificial Intelligence
Platinum: Hanwha Techwin America, PNB-A9001

Parking Management
Platinum: Genetec Inc., Genetec Security Center
Gold: Genetec Inc., Security Center AutoVu

Video Surveillance Hardware
Platinum: Axis Communications, Inc., AXIS P3715-PLVE Network Camera

Video Surveillance Software
Platinum: Salient, CompleteView VMS

Click here to see the full list of winners


Immediate LP Solutions to Protect Your Profits, Employees & Yourself!

Loss prevention (LP) and asset protection (AP) professionals can now reduce employee losses with Product Protection Solution’s (PPS) TotalLP app! When retail companies paid over $64 million in losses due to strain injuries from 2016-2018 (according to the 2019 Retail Risk Report) preventing this loss before it occurs is crucial!

The updated app gives users access to a physical and mental self-assessment and performance-based physical therapy videos. LP/AP professionals can provide their employees with these resources to help them avoid strain and other injuries.

Physical injuries not only impact the bottom line but also affects employee lost time. The average employee lost time due to a physical injury is 24 days. Users will be able to take a self-assessment to discover if they are susceptible to potential at-risk injuries. Then they will be educated on preventing those injuries.

Read more in the Vendor Spotlight column below


ISCPO Welcomes InstaKey Security Systems as Another Great Partner

The International Supply Chain Protection Organization (ISCPO) welcomed InstaKey Security Systems as another great partner. InstaKey is a mechanical key system manufacturer unlike any other. They are on a mission to partner with organizations to better secure facilities while helping to save time and money in the process of ongoing lock and key maintenance and rekeys. Where other manufacturers aim to sell more brass, InstaKey saves their clients money through a managed KeyControl Program centered around user-rekeyable locks, restricted, serialized keys, and key tracking software.  Learn more here


Panasonic i-PRO Partners with Genetec Inc. on New Cloud-Based Digital Evidence Management System

Provides Law Enforcement Agencies with a Cost-Effective and Secure Solution

Panasonic i-PRO Sensing Solutions Corporation of America, a global leader in advanced sensing technologies, is partnering with Genetec Inc. (Genetec), a leading technology provider of unified security, public safety, operations, and business intelligence solutions, to offer a cloud-based digital evidence management system (DEMS) for law enforcement customers. CloUDE Powered by Genetec is a new solution that offers the added versatility and option of storing video evidence and data in the cloud versus on-site, which is much more convenient and cost-effective. Read more here
 

Protests & Violence

NYPD's 'Goon Squad' Manual Sheds Light on Mishandling of 2020 Protests
Manual Teaches Officers to "Violate Protesters' Rights"

Internal NYPD documents shed new light on the Strategic Response Group, or SRG, the heavily militarized police unit behind the crackdown on George Floyd protesters.

Despite its visibility, little is publicly known about the SRG and how its specialized officers are trained to respond to protests. Even the frequently cited number of 700 SRG officers is an estimate; the NYPD will not confirm the unit’s headcount.

Now a series of internal documents obtained by The Intercept shed new light on the police unit behind some of the most brutal repression of protests in the wake of George Floyd’s killing. The Intercept is publishing three of the public records with this story, including the SRG’s guidelines and manuals for its field force operations and bike squads.

The documents offer a comprehensive overview of how the SRG operates. They outline the unit’s responsibilities during routine assignments to precincts across the city, to which its officers are dispatched in response to spikes in crime and during special mobilizations, including to protests. The documents provide instructions regarding “mass arrest” procedures, guidelines for officers equipped with Colt M4 rifles, and directions for plainclothes, “counter-surveillance” officers tasked with shadowing tactical teams in the field.

Marked as “law enforcement sensitive” and bearing destruction notices, the documents also detail a variety of formations and maneuvers for bike squads and teams of officers on foot and in vehicles. Some of the maneuvers described in detail are variations of what the NYPD refers to as “encirclement,” the police’s name for what demonstrators call “kettling,” a technique civil rights advocates have long denounced as leading to police abuses.

Over the last months, a series of scathing reports by independent agencies condemned the NYPD’s response to the protests. The reports, which underscored the department’s lack of preparedness and officers’ poor training, contributed to a narrative that has become frequent in the wake of police abuses: that officers would have better handled such situations with better training — and thus more resources.

That narrative is complicated by the internal documents reviewed by The Intercept. Many of the policies laid out in the documents were not followed last summer or during more recent police crackdowns on protests. But the documents also raise questions about the content of police training on protest response itself. While paying lip service to protesters’ constitutional rights, the documents do little to explain how those rights should be protected, offering instead page after page of instructions on how to circumvent them. theintercept.com

Chauvin - "Then Stop Yelling" Told Floyd
Derek Chauvin Trial Focuses on Police Use of Deadly Force
Police officials and experts in recent days have testified that Chauvin used excessive force in his arrest of George Floyd

“At the time of the restraint period Mr. Floyd was not resisting,” Sgt. Stiger said. “He was in the prone position, he was handcuffed, he was not attempting to evade, he was not attempting to resist, and the pressure that was being caused by the body weight could cause positional asphyxia which could cause death.”

Mr. Stiger also said he did not believe that officers were distracted by people yelling nearby, and pointed to a verbal exchange between Messrs. Chauvin and Floyd to show that Mr. Chauvin was listening when Mr. Floyd was saying, “Everything hurts” and “please, please I can’t breathe, officer.”

“Then stop talking, stop yelling,” Mr. Chauvin is heard saying, according to body-camera footage. “It takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk.”

Wednesday’s testimony comes after several days of testimony from police officials and experts who have said that Mr. Chauvin used excessive force in restraining Mr. Floyd. That included testimony on Monday from Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo who said that Mr. Chauvin violated multiple policies when he restrained Mr. Floyd on May 25. wsj.com

The World is Watching
The power of televising Derek Chauvin’s trial
The trial of Derek Chauvin wasn’t going to be broadcast. Minnesota trials never are. It took a pandemic and a decision by Judge Peter Cahill to change that over the objections of the prosecution. Attorney General Keith Ellison’s office argued that televising the hearings live might intimidate the witnesses, making them hesitant to testify. A coalition of news outlets, the defense, and, ultimately, Cahill disagreed.

Members of the public usually have the right to observe courtroom proceedings. It’s typically also safe for a crowd to gather peacefully in a courtroom, or in an overflow room with closed-circuit TVs. But we’re not living in normal times, and this is not a normal trial.

In requesting the change to the Minnesota court system’s standard procedures, news outlets argued that “given the enormous public interest in this trial, the limitations imposed by the pandemic, and the options created by modern technology, meaningful access equates to remote access.” Essentially, they said Chauvin’s trial is not just about what happened in Minnesota. It’s about what is happening across America. vox.com

Restaurant owners clash with police in Rome lockdown protest
 

Mass Shootings

The Contagious Nature of Mass-Shootings Fueled by Desire for Fame
After three deadly gun rampages, survivors and experts fear what comes next
Authorities laid out a harrowing sequence: A 21-year-old white supremacist was believed to have posted a 2,300-word screed online in August 2019, saying the mass shooting he was planning was inspired by another shooter who had earlier killed 51 people in New Zealand mosques. Minutes later, authorities say, Patrick Crusius stormed into a Walmart in Texas, killing 23 people, most of them the Latinos he said he had targeted.

Such cases have helped establish what experts say is the contagious nature of mass shootings: When one high-profile event takes place, another is likely to follow.

That is why recent events have them worried. Over the past three weeks, 22 people have died in three major mass shootings in the United States, according to a Washington Post database that tracks those events.

Gary Slutkin, an epidemiologist who studies mass shootings and intervention methods, said that to understand the contagious nature of these high-profile events, it helps to think of it like a disease.

For mass shooters, he said, exposure often comes from hanging out in online chat rooms where people discuss and glorify past mass shooters. Susceptibility might come from a perceived grievance — something they believe is unfair in their life — coupled with past trauma, like being bullied, he said. Continue reading

Mass Shooting Incidents Up 115% Since 2014

How Many Mass Shootings Have There Been in 2021 So Far?
It Depends How You Count

According to the Gun Violence Archive, there have been 131 mass shootings so far this year - but not all organizations define "mass shooting" the same way

Three massage parlors in Atlanta, a grocery store in Colorado and an office in California were all sites of deadly mass shootings in March 2021. Twenty-two lives were lost during these tragedies, leading to renewed calls for action to prevent gun violence.

Campaigners often cite mass shooting statistics. So, how regular are mass shootings and how many have there been in 2021? It depends how you count. There is not a single universally accepted definition of a mass shooting.

The Violence Project defines "mass shootings" as those in which "four or more victims are murdered with firearms—not including the offender(s)—within one event, and at least some of the murders occurred in a public location or locations in close geographical proximity."

The Gun Violence Archive defines "mass shootings" as involving "a minimum of four victims shot, either injured or killed, not including any shooter who may also have been killed or injured in the incident."

U.S. law, as set by Congress, does not offer a specific definition of a "mass shooting."

After the 2012 massacre at Sandy Hook, however, Congress moved to define "mass killings" as incidents in which three or more people are killed in a single incident. newsweek.com
 

The Violence Project's Mass Shooter Database

The Violence Project is a nonprofit, nonpartisan research center dedicated to reducing violence in society and using data and analysis to improve policy and practice.

Click here or the map below to access the data (registration required)

Background Checks Set Record Highs in Three Consecutive Months
Going All Guns Nationwide

4.7M Gun Background Checks Soar to Record High in March - 4.3M in Jan.
Background checks for firearm sales reached a record high in March as the U.S. saw multiple mass shootings.

According to FBI data, the bureau conducted nearly 4.7 million background checks, breaking the record high that was just set in January, another month that was marked with violence and turmoil.

March's background checks represent a 36% increase from February, which saw about 3.44 million checks. Additionally, nearly 1 million more background checks took place last month than in March 2020.

Illinois had the most background checks conducted last month, with more than 1.4 million. The state is followed by Kentucky, which saw 330,476 checks.

Of the top 10 days for most background checks, six were in March 2021, according to FBI data, including the top three days. Following deadly mass shootings in Atlanta and Boulder, Colorado, gun sales soared and five of the top days occurred following either one or both shootings.

Demand has far outrun supply for guns and ammunition since the pandemic began, as anxieties about the public health crisis, civil unrest after George Floyd’s killing and the 2020 election, ran high. al.com usnews.com

Atlanta Gun Shop Selling Five Times Normal Rate of 100 Guns a Day
After 40 years in the gun industry Jay Wallace, owner of Georgia Adventure Outdoors, said “We’re selling five times that amount right now. Our staff is pushed to the limits. There are more firearms being sold right now probably than ever before.” “People more than ever are feeling personally responsible. They feel like it’s at their doorsteps and they’ve never experienced that before.”

“License firearms retail is an essential business and have remained open, because it’s how people exercise a fundamental constitutional right. I don’t think even in this time of crisis we should be surrendering our constitutional rights,” Keane said. foxnews.com

Officer Down Memorial Page
March, 2021 - Line of Duty Deaths Up 105% Over 2020
16 LODD this month - 86 LODD year to date, 46 from COVID-19
 

COVID Update

169M Vaccinations Given

Senior LP & AP Jobs Market

Director AP - Investigations Operations job posted for Target
in Brooklyn Park, MN
This role within the AP team means leading a team that develops the Assets Protection investigations process and program strategy. Your team will be responsible for developing and coordinating Assets Protection investigations training, tools and resources. You will work closely with the field and headquarters teams, Stores/DC Assets Protection, Store Operations, Merchandising, Supply Chain, Inventory Accounting, Shortage Research and Analysis and other internal partners. Your team will also serve as a liaison to external partners including the Loss Prevention Research Council, RILA, NRF, ORCAs and other industry associations. jobs.target.com

Director, Safety & Loss Prevention job posted for food & beverage
distributor in Laurel, MD
Ajilon is working with a distinguished food and beverage distributor who serves many hotels, restaurants and grocers across the Mid Atlantic to identify an experienced Director of Safety and Loss Prevention to join their team. In this role, you will lead a team of three across four site locations to effectively executive and initiate company-wide strategies to manage safety and loss prevention. To be considered for the role, candidates must have experience in the food and beverage industry, strong knowledge and command of OSHA laws and at least 10 years of experience in employee safety protocols, policies and strategies. ajilon.com