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RILA AP Conference: Day 2 Snapshots

Check out more RILA content here
& see pictures below

RILA keynote, Illinois AG Kwame Raoul	Oscar Arango & Paul Jaeckle discuss leadership
Checkpoint's innovative booth	Siffron displays solutions

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Retailers, Show Your Support!

Minn. Bill Creates New Organized Retail Theft Crime
Minnesota Senate approves $200 million public safety bill

The measure would boost spending to law enforcement agencies to help them recruit more officers and stiffen penalties for violent and repeat criminal offenders.

The Minnesota Senate on Monday, April 25, voted 48-19 to advance a public safety plan that would put up more money for recruiting police officers and stiffen penalties for violent offenders in the state.

The roughly $200 million plan would boost funding to local law enforcement agencies to help them recruit and retain more officers and bring on additional equipment, set new criminal penalties for carjacking, organized retail theft and fleeing a police officer, and put in place tougher penalties for those who commit repeat offenses, especially for violent crimes.

It would also make public prosecutors' charging decisions and judges' sentencing decisions in an effort that GOP lawmakers said would help to make sentences for violent offenders more uniform around the state. They said Twin Cities area county attorneys had recently made sentencing decisions that they felt broke with the Legislature's intent and they sought to make more specific what lawmakers expected of them.

“This is not a time to build bigger bureaucracies, this is a time to react to the criminal threat that is endangering our citizens,” the bill’s author, Sen. Warren Limmer, R-Maple Grove, said. “It’s time to let the people know what’s really going on. I keep hearing from citizens almost every day, ‘Why aren’t they prosecuting?’”

During the more than four-hour debate, DFL lawmakers said the proposal didn't do enough to prevent causes of crime and disagreed that harsher penalties would deter violent crime in Minnesota. duluthnewstribune.com

RELATED: Minnesota Senate passes 'tough on crime' public safety package

Mall Shooting Puts Violence Prevention Policies in Spotlight
U.S. Department of Labor Investigation of Boise Mall Shooting Finds Security Company Exposed Officers to Dangers of Workplace Violence

OSHA cites Professional Security Consultants Inc. after unarmed officer fatally shot

A federal investigation has determined that Professional Security Consultants Inc. – a Los Angeles-based security company that provides officers for shopping malls, schools, hotels, hospitals, office buildings and gated communities – repeatedly exposed its employees at the Boise Towne Square mall to workplace violence hazards and failed to follow its own procedures for interacting with armed individuals to enforce the mall’s code of conduct.

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration initiated an inspection following the fatal shooting of an unarmed security officer on Oct. 25, 2021. OSHA cited the company for not instituting controls to protect security workers from hazards likely to cause death or serious physical harm. the agency proposed penalties totaling $14,502.

“Professional Security Consultants’ policies and procedures did not effectively address the risk of gun violence, a recognized hazard in the security services industry,” said OSHA Area Director David Kearns in Boise. “Every worker has the right to a safe and healthful workplace. This employer must provide enhanced safeguards and training to ensure workers have the knowledge and tools to better protect themselves against assault.”

In its citation, OSHA provided Professional Security Consultants Inc. with recommendations for developing a workplace violence prevention program. They included training for security personnel; increased high-visibility signage; and procedures for identifying, tracking and communicating information on high-risk people, persons of interest and habitual offenders of the mall’s firearms prohibition.

Headquartered in Los Angeles, Professional Security Consultants also provides security consulting, executive protection and event planning services. It employs about 2,900 workers.

Learn more about preventing workplace violence. dol.gov

Cracking Down on NYC Shoplifters
NYC Mayor Eric Adams on his approach to crime: '60 Minutes' Interview
Mayor Adams has been trying to help the city make a turn since he took over 114 days ago. Tens of thousands of small businesses here have disappeared since the pandemic, unemployment is nearly twice the national average, and major crime is up 43% from this time last year.

Adams got to city hall by winning a hotly contested Democratic primary in which he promised to restore "law and order." He's described himself as "the face of the new Democratic party," and people all over the country will be watching to see how he addresses rising crime, new COVID outbreaks, and the serious economic damage caused by the pandemic.

Adams supports social and educational programs designed to steer young people away from crime. But he's also called for a police crackdown on low-level offenses like public drinking and shoplifting and taken steps to clear homeless encampments and stop people from sleeping in the subway. He's deployed new uniformed police units that he says have been specially trained to confiscate illegal guns in high-crime neighborhoods without repeating the abuses of "stop and frisk" policies under Mayors Rudy Giuliani and Michael Bloomberg. New York's last mayor, Bill de Blasio, disbanded the plainclothes units that did a lot of this work.

Adams said, "We've moved 1,800 guns off the streets of our city since I've been elected. 1,800. And so we're putting in place the foundation of dealing with the immediate needs of violence, but we're also stopping the pipeline that causes children to get involved in violence." cbsnews.com

Law Enforcement Officers Being Targeted Amid Crime Spike
Police officers are targets of violence as crime spikes across U.S., FBI chief says
A police officer was killed almost every five days in 2021, FBI Director Christopher Wray said in a recent interview. “Violence against law enforcement in this country is one of the biggest phenomena that I think doesn’t get enough attention,” Wray told CBS News in an interview that aired Sunday night.

“Some of it is tied to the violent crime problem as a whole,” Wray said, adding that he was alarmed at how many officers who died while on duty last year “were killed through things like being ambushed or shot while out on patrol.

Nationwide, 142 officers died in the line of duty in 2021, not including those whose deaths were attributed to medical conditions, according to data compiled by Officers Down. That was up from 103 the previous year.

"The spike in violence against law enforcement, both nationwide and locally, should be alarming to all,” Parrish said in a social media post. “Our men and women put on their uniform each with the idea of serving to make our community a safer and better place. I pray for our officers daily. This is just an example where a regular workday can turn tragic for those wearing the badge.”

OFFICERS KILLED IN THE LINE OF DUTY

2022: 40 in the U.S. | 2021: 142 in the U.S. | 2020: 103 in the U.S.

Note: Does not include those whose deaths were attributed to medical conditions, including the coronavirus
ajc.com

'Violent Crime Impact Team'
DC unveils partnership targeting violent crime
After a weekend that saw several people injured in separate shootings across D.C., including a “sniper-type setup” that sent the Van Ness area to shelter in place Friday, the mayor and the police chief unveiled a partnership with local and federal law enforcement called the Violent Crime Impact Team.

The partners include the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the Drug Enforcement Agency; the U.S. Marshals Service; and the Secret Service. The aim is to “reduce violent crime by using more intelligence-driven operations and enhance our investigative abilities through federal agency partnerships,” a news release from the mayor’s office said.

During a Monday news conference, Mayor Muriel Bowser said that the partnership was put together based on what is being experienced by the community and comes at a time when D.C. police resources are more scarce than ever before.

“We cannot allow people to terrorize our communities with guns,” Bowser said. “Our message is clear — we will continue to offer people in our city a better path forward, but if people choose to engage in violence, then they will be held accountable.” wtop.com

Cities Want to Return to Prepandemic Life. One Obstacle: Transit Crime.

US: 82.7M Cases - 1M Dead - 80.5M Recovered
Worldwide: 510.9M Cases - 6.2M Dead - 464.1M Recovered

Former Senior Loss Prevention Executive
Know of any fallen LP exec? Let's remember & recognize.

Private Industry Security Guard Deaths: 354  
Law Enforcement Officer Deaths: 760
*Red indicates change in total deaths

End of the Pandemic?
The US is out of the Covid-19 pandemic phase, Fauci says
The United States is out of the Covid-19 pandemic phase, said Dr. Anthony Fauci, President Joe Biden's chief medical adviser and the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

"We are certainly, right now, in this country, out of the pandemic phase," Fauci said on PBS NewsHour Tuesday. "Namely, we don't have 900,000 new infections a day and tens and tens and tens of thousands of hospitalizations and thousands of deaths. We are at a low level right now. So, if you're saying are we out of the pandemic phase in this country? We are."

Covid-19 cases in the US have tumbled dramatically over the past couple of months as the Omicron wave receded. cnn.com

Nearly 60% of the U.S. Has Had COVID
More than half of Americans have been infected with the virus at least once, the C.D.C. says

But officials caution that people should not presume they have protection against the virus going forward

The common perception that nearly everyone in America seemed to have acquired the Omicron variant last winter may not have been far from the truth. By February 2022, nearly 60 percent of the population had been infected with the coronavirus, almost double the proportion seen in December 2021, according to data released on Tuesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“By February 2022, evidence of previous Covid-19 infections substantially increased among every age group,” Dr. Kristie Clarke, the agency researcher who led the study, said at a news briefing.

While some studies suggest that prior infection offers a weaker shield against the virus than vaccines do, the resulting antibodies should provide a reasonable degree of protection against severe illness, at least in the short term. The gains in population-wide immunity may explain why the new surge that is roaring through China and many countries in Europe has been muted in the United States so far. nytimes.com

Post-COVID Retail Recovery?
Does Increased Leasing Activity Signal Recovery for Retail Sector?
Retail properties of all types, from grocery-anchored centers to enclosed super regional malls, have experienced a burst of leasing activity over the past 12 to 18 months. And even the most pessimistic real estate experts contend that the deal flow reflects the retail industry’s recovery.

Preliminary data for the first quarter indicates that retail tenants absorbed 91 million sq. ft. nationally during the prior year-long period, according to Marcus & Millichap. The real estate firm says March 2021 to March 2022 was the strongest 12-month span in terms of absorption in nearly five years.

“The leasing activity that our team is seeing signals a larger retail recovery,” says Paul Chase, executive vice president of retail agency leasing for JLL. “Retailers have gotten smarter throughout the pandemic.”

The firm’s fourth quarter 2021 United States Retail Outlook reports an increase in occupied retail space totaling 76.1 million sq. ft., a meaningful reversal from the negative 28 million sq. ft. posted in 2020.

“Retail leasing activity is incredibly strong at our properties,” says Daniel Goldware, senior vice president of leasing for Trademark Property Company, which owns 17 mixed-use properties totaling about 10.7 million sq. ft. across the country including the high-profile Galleria Dallas and First Street Napa. “The pandemic proved that the physical store is more valuable than ever.” wealthmanagement.com

230K Preventable Deaths?
More than 230,000 U.S. COVID deaths were preventable, analysis finds
Roughly 234,000 COVID deaths since last June could have been prevented with a primary series vaccination, according to a newly updated Kaiser Family Foundation analysis. The deaths account for 60% of total adult COVID deaths since June and a quarter of the nearly 1 million fatalities since the pandemic began.

The big picture: The researchers say COVID-19 vaccines remain highly effective in preventing hospitalization and death — even in the face of new, highly contagious variants like Omicron. CDC estimates that in February and March, unvaccinated people were 10 times more likely to die from COVID-19 than people were vaccinated with at least the primary series. axios.com

Biden administration expands availability of COVID antiviral pill