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The U.S. Crime Surge
The Retail Impact

Retail Mass Shootings & Federal ORC Crackdown

500 Supermarket Shootings - 137 Deaths Since 2020
Since 2020, there have been about 500 shootings at major supermarket chains in America, study finds

12 large chains have experienced a combined 137 firearm-related deaths since 2020.

Supermarkets have become a battleground as the United States continues to grapple with mass shootings. And some gun-control advocates are challenging companies to do more.

When a white supremacist gunman murdered 10 people at a Tops Friendly Market in Buffalo, New York last month, the store became just the latest retailer to experience a deadly mass shooting. In recent years, mass shootings have also occurred at King Soopers in Boulder, Colorado, a Weis Markets in Eaton Township, Pennsylvania, and a Walmart in El Paso, Texas.

But even beyond these high-profile mass shootings, supermarkets have long been the target of gun violence, according to exclusive data from gun-control advocacy group Guns Down America. By analyzing media reports, the group found that nearly 500 incidents involving firearms have happened in large grocery chains in the past two years.

It found a total of 448 incidents and 137 deaths across 12 large national retailers. Guns Down America estimated that the numbers come out to four shootings a week at large supermarket chains.

Walmart — the largest retailer in the United States — saw the most violence, including 310 gun incidents, and 89 firearm-related deaths. Kroger saw 36 gun incidents and 16 deaths. Ahold Delhaize's Food Lion and Stop & Shop saw a combined total of 29 incidents and eight deaths. Safeway experienced 22 incidents and seven deaths, Publix saw 16 incidents and five deaths, and Aldi had nine incidents and four deaths.

Volsky said that the numbers were "artificially low" because many gun incidents never "make it into the news." Most of the deaths were homicides, although there were a few suicides included as well. The shooting incidents included escalating disagreements between armed parties, armed robberies, and random shootouts.

Volsky said businesses are left with traumatized employees and customers, higher turnover and insurance rates and the lingering perception that the shopping environment isn't safe. businessinsider.com

Leveraging Surveillance to Prevent Retail Mass Shootings
Video provides the tools for operational efficiency and risk mitigation
Mitigating loss is a primary objective of retailers everywhere. Historically, this has meant taking preventive actions against shrinkage, employee theft, and Organized Retail Crime (ORC). Today, retailers are confronted with a new threat as a rise in active shooter incidents has presented new challenges.

These incidents are not isolated to retail, however, and it is a growing nationwide trend of both random and directed attacks making the daily news. The pandemic has also escalated tensions among store-going consumers, while simultaneously seeing the proliferation of self-checkouts, another asset retailers need to effectively manage.

Video Moves Beyond Surveillance

With mass shootings on the rise, shopper and worker safety is at the forefront of every discussion by end users in the physical security market. Video surveillance serves multiple capabilities beyond security and safety and has tapped into new intelligence including active shooter detection.

Layering technology and culling data from camera streams can augment detection and provide early warning of potential breaches and events, tracking suspicious activity such as intruders breaking glass or other predictive behavior by leveraging violence detection analytics throughout the premises.

Video management software helps retailers assess the harbingers of violence, identify the presence of firearms and configurations of weaponry, as well as detect shots fired. Using video surveillance and cameras tied to analytics quickly creates enhanced critical situational awareness – while next-steps are delivered to users in a formulated response approach. Coupled with protocols and tools to address active shooters and armed criminal violence, these analytics can provide preventive measures for retailers. securitytoday.com

Mass Shootings in the U.S. So Far in 2022

Since the start of 2022, there have been at least 230 mass shootings, leaving 256 dead and 996 injured.



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Feds Launch New ORC & Smash-and-Grab Crackdown
ICE launches push to crack down on organized retail crime amid surge in smash-and-grab attacks on stores

Officials said the rise in organized retail crimes is a national problem

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on Wednesday announced a new initiative to crack down on organized retail crime amid a surge in violent "smash-and-grab" attacks in stores across the country.

"It’s a crime that’s occurring out in our streets that’s becoming large enough where the federal government is announcing its involvement," Thomas Welch, unit chief for ICE Homeland Security Investigation’s (HSI) financial crimes unit in Washington D.C., said at a news conference.

The initiative involves a partnership between ICE HSI and the Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists (ACAMS) to issue a report to highlight red flags that retailers, law enforcement, the public and financial institutions can look for.

They include structured deposits, large purchase of gift cards, high dollar wire transfers, and large purchases of lighter fluid and heat guns. The report urges greater collaboration between law enforcement, retails and financial institutions to share information and coordinate actions.

The announcement comes as a number of incidents have been caught on camera showing thieves raiding stores, clearing out store shelves and fleeing with massive quantities of merchandise -- often shoving past helpless employees in the process.

In 2019, nearly $70 billion of merchandise was taken from retailers in such operations, and that doesn’t include the harm inflicted on staff and customers, officials said Wednesday. Since then, the problem has gotten worse.

Officials who spoke at a press conference Wednesday said that the launch marked just a first step in a broader effort, and a sign that the federal government was recognizing this as a serious problem and that it wants to help retailers, state and local law enforcement and financial institutions stamp it out.  foxnews.com

NYC's Gun Violence 'Scourge'
Mayor Eric Adams taps ‘gun violence czar’ amid spate of NYC bloodshed
Mayor Eric Adams has appointed a “gun violence czar” to tackle a scourge of Big Apple shootings that is only expected to worsen as the summer heat approaches, a high-ranking police official told The Post on Thursday.

Adams tapped Andre T. Mitchell — the founder of a Brooklyn anti-violence group Man Up!, which has previously come under scrutiny from city investigators — for the role. The New York Times on Wednesday first reported that Mitchell will serve in the position, which is sometimes named “gun violence prevention chair” and he will reportedly not be paid in that role.

“Like so many cities across the nation, New York City is facing a gun violence epidemic, and like many of these cities, the sea of gun violence in our city does not have a single point of origin. It flows from many rivers, each contributing to the problem. Mayor Adams has been focused on damming these many rivers, concentrating efforts on intervention and prevention,” said spokesman Fabien Levy.

“We will continue to roll out programs in the days, weeks, and months ahead to remove guns from our streets, protect our communities, and create a safe, prosperous, and just city for all New Yorkers.” nypost.com

On the Hunt for Solutions to Mass Shootings
Learn from the red flags that keep recurring time and again since Columbine.

Ammunition laws under scrutiny following Uvalde, other mass shootings


Rising Theft & Crime at the Center of Upcoming DA Recall Race

Voters Blaming Progressive DAs for Theft & Murder Surge
San Francisco's Recall Highlights Pushback Against Progressive Prosecutors

Conservatives have targeted District Attorney Chesa Boudin, blaming him for the city's theft and murder rates. It's a sign that a public weary of crime may be growing dubious about reform.

Gov. Gavin Newsom survived a recall last fall, but things might play out differently for San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin, who faces a recall vote on June 7.

Various groups — including a Republican billionaire, tech investors and realtors — have indeed poured millions of dollars into the effort to drive him from office. “We’re not dealing with a grass-roots movement,” Boudin complained earlier this year. “We’re dealing with a small number of wealthy individuals, many of whom are national Republican major donors.”

Boudin points out that crime overall has dropped on his watch and remains lower than most other major cities. Still, there are enough high-profile crimes — including dramatic rises in car theft, highly publicized shoplifting and, most importantly, homicides — to make him vulnerable. Polls suggest voters are ready to turn him out. It's not even close.

Boudin is part of a generation of progressive prosecutors who see their role not just as sending offenders to prison, but addressing the underlying roots of crime. As crime rates — particularly homicides — have shot up since the start of the pandemic, their approach has come under increasing attack. “The crime rate of course is going to increase when you’re not doing the basic blocking and tackling of prosecuting crimes," says Zack Smith, a legal fellow at the conservative Heritage Foundation. “It creates a culture of lawlessness in many of these cities, and the result is what we’re seeing, an increase in crime.”

There are still plenty of traditional prosecutors who measure success by the sheer number of rapists and murderers they put away. But an increasing number of counties have elected prosecutors who aim not only to fight crime but avoid contributing to mass incarceration, for instance by not prosecuting low-level drug offenses.

These progressive prosecutors, elected in recent years in jurisdictions including Boston, Chicago, Denver, Philadelphia and St. Louis, have all encountered pushback. Police unions invariably complain about their approach, while some have seen career prosecutors resign. In Boudin’s case, dozens of prosecutors have either quit or been fired, with some joining the recall campaign against him. governing.com

DA Recall Election a Pivotal Moment for Criminal Justice Movement
San Francisco district attorney could lose his job in blow to national movement

Boudin's fight has become a test case for criminal justice reformers — and their foes.

District Attorney Chesa Boudin is a leader of the national movement for criminal justice reform. He could soon become a cautionary tale about its vulnerabilities.

A well-funded recall campaign looks poised to unseat Boudin next week. Its outcome will echo across midterm elections, shaping the elected officials who determine how alleged crimes should be prosecuted amid the nation’s oscillating debate over public safety.

“There’s no question that if the recall in San Francisco will be successful, it will be the playbook going forward nationally for those who want to roll back criminal justice reform,” said Anne Irwin, whose California-based organization Smart Justice has spent money to defend Boudin and elect other progressive prosecutors.

The campaign has become a sort of Rorschach test for how San Franciscans — and Americans — interpret rising anxiety about crime. The recall’s supporters see a reckless and incompetent prosecutor who has undermined public safety by prioritizing defendants, seeking lesser charges or avoiding jail time with pretrial diversion programs. Boudin and his backers warn that entrenched interests are exploiting fear and spreading misinformation to throttle a burgeoning national movement away from harsh sentences and over-incarceration.

Less than three years ago, San Francisco voters defied the city’s political establishment and channeled a growing criminal justice movement by making Boudin — a former deputy public defender and son of two Weather Underground members convicted of felony murder and robbery for assisting with the getaway-van in a botched armored truck robbery — the city’s top prosecutor. Now polls suggest he is likely to lose his job. politico.com

Boudin’s Victim Services Division Gets Failing Grade with 50% Turnover
Facing recall, Boudin says he puts victims first. Advocates dispute that
The complaints coming from inside Boudin’s office are proof that while the recall may turn on political disagreements over how to prosecute crime, that tension isn’t the whole story. There are deeper concerns about the district attorney’s management style and the performance of his office — concerns that former prosecutors also have raised.

It would be valuable to hear Boudin’s answers to his employees’ complaints, but his spokesperson said his schedule was too full to do an interview.

The Victim Services Division is composed of people akin to social workers who seek to connect victims or victims’ family members to services like therapy and financial help, such as paying for funerals. It’s made up of 42 people, and 20 have left since the beginning of Boudin’s tenure — compared with seven people who left in the same time period at the start of Gascón’s tenure.  sfchronicle.com

San Francisco DA Chesa Boudin - and opponents - hit the streets ahead of recall

New poll of Chesa Boudin recall shows closer, but still bleak, race for SF DA

 

COVID Update

587.8M Vaccinations Given

US: 86.1M Cases - 1M Dead - 82.3M Recovered
Worldwide: 533.6M Cases - 6.3M Dead - 504.6M Recovered

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

Private Industry Security Guard Deaths: 358  
Law Enforcement Officer Deaths: 774
*Red indicates change in total deaths

Is the Covid pandemic finally nearing its end?
COVID’s behavior in highly vaccinated countries may offer clues to the future
More than two years on from the realisation that we are dealing with a novel pandemic, we are still nervously wondering what comes next. In the UK, Covid infection rates appear to have fallen to their lowest level since the summer of 2021, as has the number of deaths the virus is causing, but we know that new variants are still likely to emerge. So when will the end of this pandemic come, and what might it look like?

The expectation is that eventually the disease will reach endemic levels, meaning immunity in the population will balance out the reproduction of the virus, resulting in a stable level of infection year on year. That stability could include regular, repeatable fluctuations such as seasonality, but we won’t know that stability has been achieved unless the same pattern of infections is observed for more than one consecutive year. theguardian.com

Some Stores Keeping COVID Rules in Place
Luxury stores still limiting crowds post-COVID — and won’t admit why
COVID-19 is waning, but shopping for a Louis Vuitton bag, a Chanel suit or a pair of Gucci loafers increasingly means standing in line outside a boutique — and luxury brands have been conspicuously tight-lipped on why.

Most elite labels leaned into “appointment shopping” during the height of the pandemic, citing the need for social distancing. But as the threat from the virus recedes, some including Cartier and Harry Winston continue to impose the new policy.

They also have failed to convince shoppers and experts alike of their reasoning — if they bother to explain themselves at all. Major brands including Louis Vuitton, Chanel and Cartier didn’t respond to calls and emails from The Post about their persistent use of stanchions in front of store entrances, where queued-up shoppers are quizzed by “greeters” about prospective purchases before entering.

According to experts, roped-off customers can mostly thank a relentless epidemic of smash-and-grab robberies rather than social distancing for ramped-up crowd controls nationwide, including in New York, Chicago, Miami, San Francisco and Seattle. Theft got so bad last year that Beverly Hills hired two private security firms to patrol Rodeo Drive. nypost.com

Retail Workers Face Higher Risk of COVID Death
COVID mortality rate five times higher among labor, retail and service workers, study reveals
A University of South Florida epidemiology associate professor discovered associations between COVID mortality rates and socioeconomic position, gender, ethnicity and race that reveal an urgent need to implement population-based infection control efforts, especially for those in low socioeconomic positions.

The study, published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, analyzed nearly 70,000 adults, ages 25 to 64, who died from COVID-19. The team found 68% of COVID-19 deaths the first year of the pandemic were low SEP adults employed in labor, service and retail jobs that require on-site attendance and prolonged close contact with others.

“If we were to immediately heed the calls to return to ‘normal’ and stop worrying about community spread of the virus, there are certain subsets and members of our community that are going to suffer way more so than other members – and these people have already borne the disproportioned brunt of this pandemic,” Salemi said.

As a result, Salemi says the most urgent implication of this study points to immediate actions needed to protect the working class from infection by strengthening federal and state labor laws, empowering the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration, adopting safety and health hazard policies and allowing unions to organize for greater protections for worker safety. usf.edu

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Will This Trigger U.S. OSHA Inspections?
Three quarters of fire doors fail inspections according to UK's FDIS

A UK fire door inspection organisation has warned of a “tragedy waiting to happen”

The Fire Door Inspection Scheme (FDIS)’s data, based on more than 100,000 fire door inspections carried out by its approved inspectors in 2021, found that 75% of fire doors failed to meet the required standards, putting lives at risk in the event of a fire.

In 2019, FDIS found that 76% of the fire doors it inspected were condemned as not fit for purpose, indicating that there has not been much improvement since its previous inspection data.

Given that these buildings’ fire doors are subject to higher use and traffic than other building types, regular inspection and maintenance is key to ensuring they remain fit for purpose throughout their lifespan, highlights the FDIS.

Louise Halton, FDIS Scheme Manager, said: “With the vast majority of fire doors in the UK failing inspections, it’s sad to say that a tragedy is simply waiting to happen, especially so in buildings that are home to vulnerable residents. But this situation is entirely preventable and, at this stage, still reversible. A fit for purpose fire door can save lives, so now is the time for all of those responsible for fire safety to urgently inspect fire doors in their buildings and act immediately if faults are identified."

The most common reasons for inspection failure – which can be a result of one or multiple issues – were excessive gaps between the door and the frame (77%), care and maintenance issues (54%), and issues over smoke sealing (37%). In almost a third (31%) of cases, inspections failed due to improper installation – meaning those doors were never fit to perform the task of holding back fire and smoke.  ifsecglobal.com

Editor's Note: Remember, some things start across the pond and if it proves correct it, just may.

Massive Security Undertaking Across the Pond
Queen's Platinum Jubilee security fears as 'fixated' fanatics could disrupt celebrations
Thursday marks the beginning of a four-day-long celebration of Queen Elizabeth II’s 70 years on the throne. The weekend will include the Trooping the Colour parade and a concert featuring Elton John plus Queen and Adam Lambert. Britons across the nation are also expected to hold street parties and other celebrations.

However, Philip Grindell, a former Metropolitan Police detective and founder/CEO of Defuse Global, an organisation which protects and advises some of the UK’s most recognizable public figures, told Express.co.uk that the Jubilee may be threatened by a number of “fixated” individuals.

The security expert said that there will be a “huge security protocol” around these individuals as they sometimes attempt to “disrupt royal events or gain entry to them”. Mr Grindell said these individuals are known to an organisation called FTAC, which stands for the Fixated Threat Assessment Centre.

FTAC is a joint police/mental health unit which was set up in October 2006 by the Home Office, the Department of Health and the Metropolitan police to assess and manage the risk to members of the Royal Family, politicians and public figures from obsessive individuals.

Mr Grindell said that many of these people have “significant” mental health issues and are known to “the police officers that work around the palaces and the protection officers that work closely with the Royal Family”. 

According to The Mirror, there are currently 170 figures known to be harassing the Royal Family. Some 10 are logged at the highest danger level, while 128 of them pose a moderate risk and 32 pose a low risk. express.co.uk

Retailers Wage War on Inflation
Facing Inflation-Weary Shoppers, Grocers Fight Price Increases

Kroger and other supermarket chains ask vendors to justify higher prices while some seek different suppliers

Supermarkets and distributors are pushing back on higher prices from food makers, as escalating inflation drives more consumers to rethink their spending.

Kroger Co. and other grocery chains said they are asking brands to prove why higher prices are necessary before accepting them, and warning manufacturers that they will stop carrying products if food companies won’t negotiate prices. Some companies said they are switching to new meat suppliers with cheaper products, and are delaying price changes for items like canned goods.

“We don’t just accept cost increases,” said Don Clark, chief merchandising officer of Giant Eagle Inc. The Pennsylvania-based grocer has been warning some manufacturers looking to impose price changes that higher price tags could push consumers to skip purchases. In other situations, the company paused stocking new items because of cost increases.

U.S. inflation increased 8.3% in April from a year ago, according to the Labor Department, and remains near a four-decade high. Retailers generally have been passing price increases along to consumers, and executives have said that for months shopper demand has remained strong.

Industry executives said that is starting to change, as consumers increasingly look for ways to stretch their dollars. Big retailers, including Walmart Inc. and Target Corp., said in recent weeks that their profits are taking a hit, too, as some consumers move away from big-ticket purchases. Food makers including Kellogg Co. have said they need to protect their margins as transportation, ingredients and other costs rise. wsj.com

White House Continues Battling Formula Shortage
Biden administration sourcing 380,000 pounds of baby formula from Australia as part of 'Operation Fly Formula'

The delivery is expected to include 380,000 pounds of Bubs Australia infant formula and approximately 4.6 million 8-ounce bottles.

The Biden administration announced Wednesday it is acquiring more than 4 million 8-ounce bottles and 380,000 pounds of infant formula from Australia to be delivered to the United States by next week to address the ongoing baby formula shortage gripping the nation.

The move is part of President Biden’s "Operation Fly Formula," which was launched last month to speed up the import of infant formula and to begin sending more formula to stores across the U.S.

The president on Wednesday said the administration is sourcing two flights, facilitated by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to transport Bubs Australia infant formulas from Melbourne, Australia, to Pennsylvania on June 9 and California on June 11.

The delivery is expected to include 380,000 pounds of Bubs Australia infant formula and approximately 4.6 million 8-ounce bottles. The administration said additional deliveries of Bubs Australia formula will be announced in the coming days. foxnews.com

Amazon To Be Largest Retailer by 2024
Study: The top five U.S. retailers by 2026 will be…

E-commerce is shaking up the upper ranks of the top retailers in the United States.

Amazon will overtake Walmart to become the largest retailer in the United States by 2024, and add more than $294 billion in U.S. sales between 2021 and 2026, according to an annual report by Edge by Ascential.

The report predicts that the top three retailers in the United States by 2026 will be Amazon, Walmart and Costco, with 14.9%, 12.7% and 4.4% of the retailer market share, respectively. The Home Depot and The Kroger Co. round out the top five.

Edge by Ascential’s “2022 United States Retail Landscape and Go-to-Market Planning Report” also forecasts that e-commerce will continue to be the largest driver of U.S. retail growth and will top $1 trillion by the end of 2022. E-commerce will account for 30.5% of total retail sales by 2026, according to the report. chainstoreage.com

Circle K and Couch-card to install self-checkouts in 10K stores
Coming To Stores: A New Type Of Self-Checkout Where No Scanning Is Required
Alimentation Couche-Tard said it will install more than 10,000 touchless self-checkout machines in over 7,000 stores over the next three years under its Circle K and Couche-Tard convenience banners. The machines from Mashgin boast a 99.9 percent accuracy rate. forbes.com

LPF Announces LPC & LPQ Professionals for May
The Loss Prevention Foundation would like to recognize and congratulate the following individuals who successfully completed all of the requirements set forth by the board of directors to be LPQualified (LPQ) and/or LPCertified (LPC). View Full List Here

Biden Says U.S. Will Airlift Baby Formula From Europe

Lidl to drop prices as inflation rages on

Job openings dipped from record highs in April amid ongoing labor shortage