Solink® Announces Integration with Hanwha to Advance AI Technology of Security Cameras

Collaboration Helps Customers Increase the Value Provided by their Security Cameras While Offering Integration with POS to Streamline Business Metrics

OTTAWA, June 20, 2022 – Solink, a modern, cloud-based video security company for businesses, today announced that Solink is now integrated with Hanwha cameras and all edge-based AI Video Analytics (IVA) including AI video analytics. This integration enables Solink to capture any Hanwha IVA data and turn it into a searchable and reportable Event within the Solink platform, augmenting the standard Hanwha offering. This integration will offer customers a single view of their business by providing video details aligned with foot traffic and transaction data in real-time.

Solink provides a complete video security solution to commercial retailers, restaurants and other businesses, allowing owners and operators to easily manage security in their business. Through this integration with Hanwha, Solink allows users of Hanwha cameras to go beyond simply seeing numbers of visitors in a location. This gives customers the ability to track a business’s foot traffic and pair that with transaction data from the POS to measure and track conversion rates (ie. per hour, per day), which is ideal for any business with a retail footprint.

Read more here
 

Summer 2022 Weekend Shooting Analysis
America's Crime & Violence Surge Continues

Most Deadly Weekend of Big City Shootings Since Memorial Day Weekend

438 Shootings - 155 killed - 460 Injured in 15 Big Cities Over Last 4 Weekends
The D&D Daily's Big City Weekend Violence Study - Memorial Day to Labor Day

The Daily's study analyzes weekend shooting data in 15 major U.S. cities from Memorial Day Weekend through Labor Day Weekend 2022

Starting Memorial Day Weekend, the D&D Daily began compiling and analyzing data from 15 major U.S. cities to get a snapshot of summer gun violence.

This past weekend, from June 17th through June 19th, there were 101 shootings recorded in these same cities, resulting in 34 deaths and 94 injuries.

The chart below shows the totals for each of the past four weekends dating back to Memorial Day weekend.

The D&D Daily will continue to track this data throughout the summer to capture the weekend violence trend in our nation's big cities as warm weather typically brings about more crime and violence.

Click here to see the list of incidents per city and follow along each week as this spreadsheet will be updated every Monday. docs.google.com

Read more coverage about America's crime & gun violence epidemic in the section below
 

The U.S. Crime Surge
The Retail Impact

NYC's Plan to Target Repeat Shoplifters & Smash-and-Grab Robbers
Manhattan DA Bragg to fight shoplifting surge by going after repeat offenders
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg is rolling out a plan to cut shoplifting and smash-and-go robberies, the president of a top business group said Sunday.

The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office — which has faced blowback over Bragg’s progressive prosecution policies — will now focus on targeting repeat offenders, Kathy Wylde, president of Partnership for New York City, said on Cats Roundtable on WABC 770 AM.

“They’re going to be focusing on a much closer working relationship with the NYPD to aggressively identify those folks who have high rates of recidivism,” she continued, “you know, it’s a relatively small number of relatively well-organized people who are committing most of these robberies that have so much increased in the recent years.”

Partnership for NYC — a non-profit that reps more than 300 business leaders — has worked with Bragg and small business owners on a plan to combat shoplifting since January, Wylde said. The DA’s office has previously come under fire for not requesting bail for some repeat shoplifting suspects.

Part of Bragg’s plan includes “focused deterrence,” Wylde said, explaining that pre-trial detention will be requested for accused thieves who have prior felony convictions, multiple open cases and a history of skipping out on court dates.

With the help of retailers, Wylde said Bragg’s prosecutors will also work to aggregate numerous misdemeanors charges to become a felony. She called on merchants to keep records, with the help of security cameras, to keep track of offenders and how much they are swiping.

When asked if someone like a serial shoplifter who has been arrested more than 100 times would be locked up, Wylde replied, “That’s right.” “Now, if the store keeper is able to keep the records and have the camera shots, [the district attorney] will be able to aggregate repeat offenses,” Wylde explained.

Manhattan prosecutors are also targeting fencing operations, Wylde said, noting one case pursued by the New York Attorney General’s Office where a 47th Street pawn shop owner raked in stolen good purchased for pennies on a dollar and then resold at a higher price. nypost.com

Mass Murderers Targeting More Grocery Stores
Lessons From Buffalo Grocery Store Mass Shooting

The time for grocers to prepare for the next catastrophe is now

Before 2017, there was just one mass shooting at a grocery store in the United States, according to The Violence Project, a nonpartisan research center, and CNN. That was in 1999, when a man randomly killed four people at a Las Vegas Albertsons store.

In the last three years, however, shooters have killed five people at a kosher market in Jersey City, N.J.; two people at a Publix in Palm Beach, Fla.; 23 people at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas; 10 people at a King Soopers in Boulder, Colo.; and now 10 people at a Tops market in Buffalo.

While the motivations for these shootings may have been different, the locations depict an undeniable new trend: Mass murderers are increasingly targeting grocery stores. If we’re to learn any lesson from Buffalo, it’s that this won’t be the last time one of our most beloved American institutions, the neighborhood supermarket, is attacked.

Seeking ‘a Safe Way Forward’

While it would be impossible to predict or stop every grocery store shooting, food retailers should do more to protect customers and employees, both physically and emotionally. The National Grocers Association (NGA) and the National Retail Federation (NRF) both publish excellent guides on active-shooter preparedness.

After the Buffalo shooting, Leslie Sarasin, CEO of FMI – The Food Industry Association, wrote in a blog post that the grocery industry “must work together to find new solutions and strategies to help mitigate growing levels of violence in our facilities and empower our employees with the tools they need to respond when necessary.”

Nobody knows when the next disaster will happen, but grocers can be better prepared to protect employees both physically and psychologically to meet any crisis and come through it stronger as an organization. The time to act is now, before the next catastrophe occurs. progressivegrocer.com

Florida's New Retail Theft Law
Attorney General Moody's Priority Legislation Combating Organized Retail Theft Signed by Governor
Attorney General Ashley Moody is thanking Gov. Ron DeSantis for signing priority legislation to help Florida prosecutors dismantle organized retail theft rings. During the 2022 Florida Legislative Session, Attorney General Moody worked with lawmakers to pass Senate Bill 1534 to provide more tools to prosecute members of organized retail theft rings. Prior to the start of session, retail theft escalated dramatically in large cities outside of Florida—with major incidents occurring during the holiday shopping season in locations like Los Angeles and San Francisco.

Attorney General Ashley Moody said, “We continue to be proactive in making sure organized retail theft rings do not have a free pass to pillage retailers in Florida. While prosecutors in other states may turn a blind eye to these massive retail crimes, in Florida we enforce the law to protect our citizens and visitors. This new law will help us continue this important work and enhance public safety. I want to thank Gov. DeSantis and state lawmakers who fought for this important legislation to help us build a Stronger, Safer Florida.”

Florida Retail Federation President and CEO Scott Shalley said, “Under the leadership of Attorney General Moody, Florida continues to lead the nation in the fight against organized retail crime. We thank Governor DeSantis and the Legislature for supporting and protecting Florida retailers.”

The new law, that takes effect Oct. 1, creates second-degree and third-degree felony retail theft crimes based on multiple retail thefts occurring in a limited time period in different merchant locations. Under the new law, someone who steals 20 or more items, through five or more separate thefts within a certain period, can be charged with a second-degree felony. A person who steals 10 or more items, through at least five thefts within a certain period, can be charged with a third-degree felony.

In December 2021, Attorney General Moody launched the Florida Organized Retail Crime Exchange—a statewide task force and database to help spot trends, identify suspects and take down massive, organized retail theft rings. It also bridges the gap between law enforcement, prosecutors and retailers to work together and share information on theft incidents statewide. For more information on FORCE, click here. einnews.com

9 Mass Shootings This Weekend Alone
At least 6 dead, 42 injured in weekend mass shootings across US
A family barbecue, a park gathering and a nightclub were among the settings for at least nine mass shootings that broke out across the country between Friday and early Monday, marking the fourth consecutive weekend U.S. law enforcement officers have responded to multiple incidents, each involving four or more victims shot.

The shootings this weekend have left at least six people dead and 42 injured in nine cities, according to the Gun Violence Archive, a site that tracks shootings across the country. The website defines a mass shooting as a single incident involving four or more victims, which differs from the FBI's definition as a single incident in which four or more people, not including the suspect, are killed.

The string of consecutive weekend mass-casualty incidents began over the Memorial Day holiday, when at least 17 shootings left a total of 13 dead and 79 injured in cities across the country. The three-day holiday was followed by a weekend that saw at least 11 mass-casualty shootings that left 17 dead and 62 injured across the nation.

Last weekend, at least 10 mass-casualty shootings nationwide killed 10 people and injured 42. abcnews.go.com

Summer of Record-Breaking Violence Coming?
Five major US cities already on track to break their 2021 homicide totals
Five major US cities are already on track to break their steep 2021 homicide figures — suggesting a particularly violent summer ahead.

This year’s homicide numbers for Los Angeles, Washington DC, Baltimore, Milwaukee and Atlanta have all surpassed the rates reached at the same time in 2021, according to the data, first reported by Fox News.

Milwaukee has been the city with the largest spike, recording 96 homicides as of June 17 — a 25% increase compared to its 77 figure recorded this time last year. In Washington DC, there have already been 93 homicides compared to the 82 in its first six months of 2021, or a 13% jump.

Atlanta’s rate has increased more than 13% compared to last year, too, with 68 homicides across the city as of June 11 compared to 60 for the same period in 2021.

Meanwhile, Baltimore has experienced a nearly 8% increase, or a jump from 142 incidents for the period last year to 153 so far in 2022. And Los Angeles has had a 7% spike, with 151 incidents in the same time frame last year and 162 homicides so far in 2022.

The latest figures follow a spate of deadly violence across the country over the weekend, including multiple shooting slayings. nypost.com

2 killed, 5 injured in drive-by shooting at family barbecue in San Antonio

At least 1 killed, 8 injured in shooting on Harlem street

 

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COVID Update

592.2M Vaccinations Given

US: 88M Cases - 1M Dead - 83.9M Recovered
Worldwide: 544.9M Cases - 6.3M Dead - 520.3M Recovered

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

Private Industry Security Guard Deaths: 359   Law Enforcement Officer Deaths: 784
*Red indicates change in total deaths

Has America Turned the Page on COVID - Finally?
Covid Cases Surge, but Deaths Stay Near Lows

Most Americans now carry some immune protection, experts said, whether from vaccines, infection or both.

For two years, the coronavirus killed Americans on a brutal, predictable schedule: A few weeks after infections climbed so did deaths, cutting an unforgiving path across the country. But that pattern appears to have changed. Nearly three months since an ultra-contagious set of new Omicron variants launched a springtime resurgence of cases, people are nonetheless dying from Covid at a rate close to the lowest of the pandemic.

The spread of the virus and the number of deaths in its wake, two measures that were once yoked together, have diverged more than ever before, epidemiologists said. Deaths have ticked up slowly in the northeastern United States, where the latest wave began, and are likely to do the same nationally as the surge pushes across the South and West. But the country remains better fortified against Covid deaths than earlier in the pandemic, scientists said.

Because so many Americans have now been vaccinated or infected or both, they said, the number of people whose immune systems are entirely unprepared for the virus has significantly dwindled. nytimes.com

COVID's Permanent Impact on the Workplace
Some COVID-inspired workplace shifts to be permanent
Workplace shifts that already were in progress got turbocharged under the pandemic, forcing employers to re-examine their workspaces and how they best can serve employees. Stakeholders and employees now have a greater voice, are resisting returning to the office full-time and have begun seeking more incentive and purpose in their work, said Daniel Olberding, associate vice president at CannonDesign, during remarks at George Mason University’s Arlington campus.

As a result, companies have had to accelerate their timeline for cultural change and embrace the future of work, he said. “People are brushing up their résumés,” Olberding said. “Expectations are really high. The emphasis is on equity.”

“At the core were equity and flexibility,” he said, adding that now only the organization’s chief executive officer and chief financial officer will have dedicated space. Instead of a one-size-fits-all approach, employers must continually evolve, said Olberding. sungazette.news

CDC recommends COVID vaccines for children 5 years old and younger

 

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Retail's Global Facial Recognition Expansion
Biometrics deployments for retail & hospitality increasing globally
Businesses across Australia, South and North America, and Asia are in the spotlight for their efforts to encourage the adoption of biometric technologies for a wide range of retail and hospitality applications, from loss-prevention to menu customization.

Éxito to implement facial recognition in Colombian stores

Colombian retail group Éxito will deploy facial recognition technologies to enable buyers to pay using biometric authentication. The announcement was made by the company’s president Carlos Mario Giraldo at the Tech Day event in Bogotá.

Giraldo said the company’s upcoming steps, which heavily involve facial recognition, will require investments of roughly 150,000 million Colombian pesos (roughly US$37.45 million). The so-called ‘Smile ID’ project, currently being tested in the country, will be reportedly extended to other brands this year.

Raydiant’s facial analysis technology can ‘predict’ food preferences

The company, which raised $30 million in a Series B funding round in February, says its mission is to modernize the brick-and-mortar tool stack so that “brands can thrive in our new experience-driven world.” Raydiant’s technology is the fruit of a partnership with Sightcorp and uses cameras and artificial intelligence (AI) to analyze people’s faces and suggest food preferences based on age, gender, attention, and even mood.

Taisho Pharmaceutical deploys facial recognition vending machine in Tokyo

The machine has a built-in facial recognition system designed to prevent users from bulk buying medicine, and pharmacists stationed inside the drugstore nearby will be notified through a device when a customer selects nonprescription medicine via the vending machine. Taisho said it will use the trial to assess issues arising during testing in the hope of installing the vending machines in regions that do not have many drugstores. biometricupdate.com

Recession Fears Hitting All Industries
Inflation and recession fears are squeezing some industries more than others

Shoppers are feeling the pressure as inflation pushes up prices for gas, groceries and a range of other goods and services.

People still appear willing to shell out to travel, go to the movies and have a drink or two, even as surging prices and fears of a recession have them pulling back in other areas.

How people spend their money is shifting as the economy slows and inflation pushes prices higher everywhere including gas stations, grocery stores and luxury retail shops. Other industries have long been considered recession proof and may even be enjoying a bump as people start going out again after hunkering down during the pandemic.

People’s desire to get out and socialize again is also boosting products like lipstick and high heels that were put away during the pandemic. That recently helped sales at retailers including Macy’s and Ulta Beauty, which last month boosted their full-year profit forecasts.

Luxury brands such as Chanel and Gucci are also proving to be more resilient, with wealthier Americans not as affected by climbing prices in recent months. Their challenges have been more concentrated in China of late, where pandemic restrictions persist.

But the fear is that this dynamic could change quickly, and these retailers’ short-term gains could evaporate. More than eight in 10 U.S consumers are planning to make changes to pull back on their spending in the next three to six months, according to a survey from NPD Group, a consumer research firm. cnbc.com

First Unionized Apple Store
Apple workers in Maryland vote for company’s first unionized store in U.S.

The tally was 65 votes in favor and 33 opposed out of approximately 110 eligible employees.

Employees at an Apple store in Towson, Maryland voted Saturday to join a union, a significant achievement for organized labor. The Towson store is the first unionized Apple store in the U.S.

The vote is a defeat for Apple, which has opposed unionization efforts, and could energize workers at the company’s other retail locations to move forward with organizing.

The tally was 65 votes in favor and 33 opposed. Approximately 110 employees were eligible to vote to join the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers. Voting started on Wednesday and ran through Saturday evening.

The National Labor Relations Board still needs to certify the votes. That could take around a week. Apple is required to bargain with the union over working conditions after the vote is certified, according to the NLRB. cnbc.com

Group of Trader Joe’s Workers Seeks to Unionize
In a first for that retailer, Trader’s Joe's is facing an organized labor push. Workers at a Trader Joe’s store in Hadley, Mass., recently filed a union petition, according to media reports.

Lego to open first US factory in Virginia - 1,700+ jobs

Starbucks’ North American head to leave the company as chain shakes up leadership
 

Senior LP & AP Jobs Market

VP Loss Prevention job posted for The Exchange in Texas
Oversees investigations involving incidents of pilferage, fraud, waste, abuse, misconduct, accidents and other issues involving senior executives. Develops strategic direction of LP programs. Directs the implementation of program modifications and procedures to increase effectiveness. Promotes/supports OSHA, environmental and LP programs. Builds and develops a high performance organization. sjobs.brassring.com

Director - Field AP & Risk Management job posted for REI in Seattle, WA
The Director, Asset Protection & Risk Management Field Operations is responsible for the leadership, oversight and execution within REI Stores and Experiences (adventure travel) to protect the co-op’s people, product and profitability. This role collaborates with leaders in their own and other divisions to drive operational execution, continuous improvement, education and creation/modification of asset protection & risk management field operations best practices. rei.jobs
 

Last week's #1 article --

Retailers Among 12 Most Dangerous Companies
The 12 Most Dangerous Companies of 2022: Amazon, Dollar General & Starbucks Make List of Most Dangerous Companies of 2022

National COSH is back with an all-new list of companies for its annual compilation of the Dirty Dozen.

After shelving its annual compilation of the country's "Dirty Dozen" employers last year during the pandemic, the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health (National COSH) is back with an all-new list of companies who, according to National COSH, "put workers, families and communities at risk." Actually, the list isn't quite all-new, as Amazon has now appeared on it three times.

"The Dirty Dozen are companies that needlessly expose workers to preventable hazards, leading to preventable illnesses, injuries and fatalities," explains Jessica Martinez, co-executive director of National COSH. ehstoday.com