Violence, Crime & Protests

112 Security Officer Deaths in 2021, Including 53 Murders by Gunfire
23 Security Officers Charged in Excessive Use-of-Force Incidents
During the last 19 days, twenty-three private security officers have been charged in excessive Use of Force incidents, including three cases of alleged murder and an incident where an armed security officer commanded his dog to bite a man who had been calling him obscene names.

Kevin Lawton, Gregory Livingston, and Marcus D Johnson are all charged with second-degree murder in three different fatal shootings that the security officers were involved in. The cases of two other fatal shootings involving private security officers this past weekend is in the hands of the district attorney’s office which may decide to either charge the shooters or send their cases to a grand jury for an indictment.

A Securitas security officer was arrested after chasing a man from an apartment complex while shooting at him and an Allied Universal security officer was charged felony aggravated assault after knocking a man unconscious and punching in the head while he was laid out at a SEPTA light rail station. A NYC security officer was arrested for stabbing his supervisor five times during a confrontation at the New York University.

During this time, private security officers fatally shot 9 persons. All incidents occurred while the security officer was working and on duty. This year, thirty-three security officers have been charged in fatal shootings. As of today, there have been 53 Security Officers Murdered by Gunfire and 112 on-duty security officer deaths. privateofficerbreakingnews.blogspot.com

'Alarming Robbery Trend' in Oakland, Calif.
Oakland leader urges Newsom to declare state of emergency over violent crime
The president of the Oakland Chinatown Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday called on Gov. Gavin Newsom to declare a state of emergency in the wake of robberies and assaults in Oakland.

In a letter, Carl Chan urged the governor to declare the emergency and to send California Highway Patrol and other state law enforcement authorities to Oakland. Chan was joined by members of the Oakland Chinatown Blue Angels Volunteer Patrol Team and Oakland City Councilmember Loren Taylor at the news conference.

The event followed a robbery and shooting in Chinatown on Saturday that reportedly left two Good Samaritans injured. The attack was part of what the Police Department in a Facebook post Monday called “an alarming trend in robberies.”

Some Oakland Chinatown merchants have already turned to armed private security guards in response to unease over violence and robberies in the neighborhood.

Homicides spiked to 78 as of Aug. 8, compared with 54 by the same date last year and 49 by that date in 2019, police data shows. The numbers of assaults with a firearm and carjackings were roughly double the mid-2019 tally, although robberies of all categories were on par with pre-pandemic numbers.

But some Oakland politicians and community members say more policing won’t address the issue, arguing instead that the city needs better social services and needs to focus on violence prevention. sfchronicle.com

Progressive Prosecutor Turning Blind Eye to Low-Level Offenders?
Chicago’s top prosecutor Kim Foxx defends policy amid wave of violence
Chicago’s top prosecutor Kim Foxx defended her policy of prioritizing resources away from low-level offenses after records revealed the man suspected of killing Officer Ella French was on probation.

“There are thousands of people who are on probation every single year,” Foxx said. “What we saw with Ella French was tragic, but for the thousands of others who are on probation who do not pick up a gun, who do not kill in cold blood, to suggest that probation is not the answer I think is a bit short-sighted.”

“Ella French died trying to protect the very neighborhoods that Kim Foxx has littered with criminals because she feels it’s the right human thing to do,” said John Catanzara, president of the Chicago Fraternal Order of Police.

“Kim Foxx has never tried a murder case,” Catanzara said. “She wouldn’t even know the inside of a courtroom if she fell into it. She’s just a political hack, who literally uses race to get reelected. She has no competency.”

Foxx defended her office amid a wave of violence in the city. “I came into office in 2016, which was an incredibly violent year in Chicago, the most violent we’ve seen in 20 years,” she said. “And in 2017, 2018 and 2019, those violent crime numbers went down, homicides went down.”

From 2019 to 2020, homicides were up 50%.

“We’re in a global pandemic, unlike anything we’ve seen in any of our lifetimes, which led to a terrible economic downturn, people being confined to their homes,” Foxx said. “The issues related to gun violence are connected to economic disinvestment, are connected to poverty, are connected to a lack of access to educational resources.” newsnationnow.com

A Crisis Of Violence In Chicago
Looking At Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s Record On Crime
CBS 2 dug into city crime data in the three years prior to Lightfoot taking office. In 2016, 4,321 people were shot in Chicago. Three years later that number dropped to 2,664. With 1,657 fewer victims, that was a 38% drop.

But as 2019 gave way to 2020, the first full year for the new mayor, the trend line was about to reverse sharply. In Chicago in 2020, 4,135 people were shot — nearly 1,500 more victims than the year prior and a jump of 36%. Through July of 2021, Chicago has seen 2,528 people shot. That is 10% more than the same stretch last year.

In an interview she gave last month to The New York Times podcast “SWAY,” Lightfoot frames these trend reversals as a result of the pandemic. “Prosecutor, courts, jails reatreated. Our Cook Court system for crime trials still hasn’t fully reopened,” she said.

And Chicago is not alone. In the first half of 2021 New York has seen a 99% jump in shootings compared to pre-pandemic 2019. Nationally, the Council on Criminal Justice says the nation has seen a 42% jump in homicides in the first hall of 2021 as compared to 2019. chicago.cbslocal.com

$6M Crime-Fighting Plan
Houston, Harris County leaders introduce $6 million proposal to reduce crime

The proposal from Harris County Commissioner Rodney Ellis would focus on "health-based strategies" to address root causes of violence.

As law enforcement continues to fight a violent crime surge in Houston and Harris County, local leaders are adding health-based strategies focused on prevention.

The Harris County Violence Interruption Program proposed by Harris County Commissioner Rodney Ellis adds the healthcare system as an additional "crime-fighting tool," Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo explained at a news conference on Monday.

Healthcare workers will identify early warning signs of potential gun violence and attempt to address them before it's too late.

"The program will enlist community leaders to help us fight back at the neighborhood level," Hidalgo said. "Basically, to try and stop violence before it happens."

The initiative also includes the Holistic Alternative Responder Team (HART) made up of healthcare workers trained to respond to non-violent calls dealing with issues like mental health, substance abuse and homelessness.

She said the $5 million HART initiative will free up law enforcement to focus on violent crime. Ellis said Denver's HART members answered 30% of police calls over a six-year period.

He said Harris County joins cities -- including New York, San Francisco and Chicago -- in adding health-based interventions to address crime. khou.com

Tracking Criminals Using Facial Recognition & Social Media
How police monitor social media to find crime and track suspects
Police are scrolling through social media to find crime and check up on potential suspects, raising concerns about surveillance in an increasingly online world.

Monitoring public posts on platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram is a common way police departments across the country collect information about individuals or specific types of activities. Representatives of the Michigan State Police and Detroit Police Department said officers manually search public posts and also feed social media photos to facial recognition algorithms that hunt for similarities between millions of faces collected in police databases.

If your privacy settings are set to “public,” bet on law enforcement being able to access your profile. There are some basic things people can do to protect their online privacy, like setting your profile to “private,” turning off location sharing, restricting which friends can tag you in photos and limiting the amount of personal information shared on your profile.

A July report to Detroit’s Board of Police Commissioners showed social media photos were used in 35% of facial recognition investigations this year. The images were used to search for matches in the DPD database and identify possible suspects.

Civil rights groups worry that the implications of social media monitoring can be disproportionately used against minorities, activists and young people.

Facial recognition technology also remains controversial because flawed algorithms sometimes misidentify people with darker skin. Facial recognition software caused the wrongful arrest of at least two Black men in Michigan.

Critics argue that collecting the faces of millions of Americans, including many who didn’t commit a crime, opens more people up to being misidentified. However, law enforcement groups say facial recognition technology is a valuable crime-fighting tool when used correctly. mlive.com

Nashville, TN: Community 'violence interrupters' work to stem rising crime

Tucson seeing significant increase in youth committing violent crimes

Providence police officials say city is seeing a spike in violent crime

Fort Wayne, IN: Violent crime down 46% in first half of year, sexual assault up 57%

I’ve heard about defunding – but this is ridiculous
And they’re complaining about response times!
 

US: 37M Cases - 635.2K Dead - 30M Recovered
Worldwide: 205.7M Cases - 4.3M Dead - 184.6M Recovered

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

Private Industry Security Guard Deaths: 285  
Law Enforcement Officer Deaths: 336
*Red indicates change in total deaths

The American South Has Turned into One Giant COVID Hot Spot

Worst Outbreak in the Country
Florida hospitals are overrun as state fights one of the worst outbreaks in the U.S.

Hospitals across Florida are now being pushed to the limit as the state fights one of the worst Covid-19 outbreaks in the nation, fueled by the delta variant.

Dr. David Wein, an emergency medicine physician at Tampa General Hospital in Florida, said the Covid-19 outbreak there is the most severe he and his colleagues have witnessed since the pandemic began.

Hospitals across Florida are now being pushed to the limit with ICU beds filling up and providers struggling to find enough staff to care for patients as the state fights one of the worst Covid-19 outbreaks in the nation, fueled by the highly contagious delta variant.

Florida’s surge in cases comes as Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis continues to resist calls from the Biden administration and state advocacy groups to enforce mask mandates and other pandemic-related measures to help contain the massive outbreak. He signed an executive order and law in May that lifted all Covid restrictions across the state and permanently blocked local officials from enacting new ones starting July 1.

“Everyone is working at full capacity and then some, and it feels like we’ve been that way for a long time,” Wein said Tuesday in a phone interview. He added the hospital was beginning to run low on nurses. “It’s hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel right now.” cnbc.com

No Mask or Vaccine? No Service
Philly Businesses Ordered to Require Masks or Vaccines for Customers

“The science is clear: these measures will protect Philadelphians and save lives,” Mayor Jim Kenney said

Philadelphia businesses must now require masks or proof of vaccination from employees and customers, while large outdoor events with no seating will also need to implement masks as the city updates its coronavirus guidance.

Businesses that require all staff and customers be fully vaccinated will not be subject to the masking rule, Acting Health Commissioner Dr. Cheryl Bettigole announced Wednesday. The new guidelines, which took effect at midnight Thursday, come as COVID-19 infections rise again across the country, driven largely by the more transmissible delta variant and a struggle to get people vaccinated.

Businesses that opt for requiring proof of vaccination will need to check vaccine cards – either the paper card issued by vaccine providers or a photo of said card – at the door, Bettigole said. Business owners who choose the proof of vaccine option will be subject to fines if they do not check customers’ status.

The city will put out guidance to show workers how to check someone’s vaccination card, Bettigole said. nbcphiladelphia.com

COVID Forces More Store Closures
Saraland, Fairhope Walmart stores closed due to COVID-19
Two area Walmart stores, one in Saraland and one in Fairhope, Ala., are temporarily closed for cleaning. This is a corporate response to rising COVID-19 cases in the area, according to news releases from Walmart.

Walmart issued a separate news release for each closure, but the language in each is nearly identical, with changes to reflect the two locations. Walmart said in the releases the cleaning is part of their effort to “assist health officials working against the pandemic.”

What Walmart calls a “third party specialist” will sanitize the stores. Walmart offers vaccinations to customers at no charge. On reopening, both stores will welcome walk-ins. Customers can also schedule vaccinations online. While the vaccines are free, Walmart asks customers to bring health insurance cards with them.

Walmart is following CDC guidance about masks. This includes asking “fully vaccinated people wearing masks in public indoor settings in counties with substantial or high transmission.” wkrg.com

Retailers Continue to Update Mask Policies
These grocery stores, retailers, restaurants updated mask mandates due to delta variant

Some retailers, grocery stores and markets have updated mask policies to help prevent the spread of the virus and outbreaks.

Here are the grocers, retailers and restaurants that are following CDC guidelines:

Aldi: Face coverings and physically distancing are required for unvaccinated customers and employees, and where required by state or local jurisdictions. In areas with a substantial or high risk of transmission, Aldi requires face coverings for employees and it is strongly encouraged for customers, regardless of vaccination status.

Costco: Follows face mask regulations of state and local jurisdictions. Will also recommend customers wear masks inside locations in communities where COVID-19 transmission is high or substantial.

Kroger: "Strongly encouraging" all individuals, including those who are vaccinated, to wear a mask when in its stores and facilities. Kroger's current guidelines require unvaccinated employees to wear a mask and request that customers also do so.

Meijer: Encouraging its team members and customers to wear face coverings whether they are vaccinated or not.

Sam's Club and Walmart: The nationwide warehouse club store and grocer/retailer is requiring indoor mask-wearing, including fully vaccinated people in areas of substantial or high transmission.

Target: Recommends face coverings for unvaccinated team members and guests at all stores across the country. Also follows CDC’s guidance requiring face coverings for team members and "strongly recommends" them for all guests in areas with a substantial or high risk of transmission.

McDonald's: The burger chain giant is asking every customer who enters its restaurants to wear a mask or face covering under the CDC guidance. McDonald's staff is also required to wear a mask or face covering.

Starbucks: "In alignment with the updated guidance from the CDC, Starbucks strongly recommends customers wear facial coverings while visiting our stores, regardless of vaccination status," according to its website. Starbucks will also require customers to wear masks while in our stores, where it's mandated by local law. Employees at all company-operated stores are required to wear a mask or facial covering during their shift, regardless of whether they are vaccinated or not. freep.com

White House Asks Businesses to Step Up Vaccine Requirements
Biden Urges Businesses to Require Covid-19 Vaccine for Workers

President meets with the CEOs of United Airlines and Kaiser Permanente

President Biden met Wednesday with the chief executives of United Airlines Holdings Inc. and Kaiser Permanente in a bid to encourage more companies to follow their lead and require workers to get vaccinated against Covid-19.

Howard University President Wayne Frederick and Diane Sumpter, a small business leader from South Carolina, attended the virtual meeting alongside United CEO Scott Kirby and Kaiser Permanente CEO Gregory Adams, the White House said.

A White House official said the participants reflected four sectors—large corporations, small businesses, healthcare providers, and colleges and universities—that the administration sees as pillars in inoculating the U.S. against the virus.

Mr. Biden has asked the private sector to help accelerate vaccination against Covid-19. Two weeks ago, he announced new requirements for federal workers to either get vaccinated against the virus or get tested regularly, and he called on businesses to take a similar approach.

The White House reached out to business groups such as the Chamber of Commerce, National Association of Manufacturers and Business Roundtable before Mr. Biden announced the vaccine requirements for federal workers, the White House official said, and those associations praised the policy change. wsj.com

Mask Wars Heat Up - Again
Hundreds of anti-maskers threaten police and health workers during protest over mask policy

With the Delta variant surging and mask mandates returning, anti-mask protests are heating up across the country

Hundreds of anti-maskers surrounded and threatened police as well as masked health care workers after the a Tennessee county school board voted to require masks in elementary schools through September.

“We know who you are,” one man shouted outside the Williamson County School Board meeting near Nashville. “The police are on our side!” Others yelled “we will not comply,” and “there’s a special place in hell for you!”

It’s happening at school boards and campuses across America right now. In Texas, districts like Dallas, Fort Worth, San Antonio and Austin now require masks on campus, which defies Gov. Greg Abbott’s ban on mask mandates.

A state ban on mask mandates isn’t faring well in the courts in Arkansas either. It was temporarily blocked last week by a state judge who said the prohibition violated the state’s constitution. Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson of Arkansas now says he regrets signing the ban, but lawmakers decided against reversing course during a special session last week.

Masks are a key coronavirus-prevention tool that doesn’t pose health risks for kids older than toddler age and are most effective when worn by a larger number of people, public health experts say. The Centers for Disease Control has again recommended them for schools. newsnationnow.com

Restaurant Reservations Down
People are starting to shun restaurants as the Delta variant spreads

The new wave of infections could stall recovery for the hard-hit restaurant industry.

The surging Delta variant is pushing Americans away from restaurants in some of the worst-hit states for COVID-19, a trend that might curb economic recovery for the badly hit industry, CNN reported.

In five of some of the worst-hit states for COVID-19, restaurant reservations on OpenTable fell to 80% of 2019 levels in the past week, marking a U-turn from July, when bookings on the platform were 10% above 2019 levels.

The restaurant industry has been devastated by the pandemic, with around 17% of US restaurants permanently closing ther doors since the virus began spreading. Now, the recovery brought about by climbing vaccination rates and other policies may be hamstrung by the rise of the highly contagious new variant. businessinsider.com

More and More Breakthrough Cases Popping Up
Breakthrough Cases May Be a Bigger Problem Than You’ve Been Told

McDonald’s Requiring Vaccines For Corporate Office Staff; Delaying HQ Reopening

Portland Now Has 24 Bars That Will Request Proof of Vaccination at the Door

See the Data on Breakthrough Covid Hospitalizations and Deaths by State
 
F.D.A. to Authorize Third Vaccine Dose for People With Weak Immune Systems
 

Global Forecasts and Retail Trends to Watch in the 2nd Half of 2021

By Tony D'Onofrio, Global Retail Influencer & Prosegur's CEO & Managing Director, Global Retail Business Unit

While dealing with the Delta variant and continuing to recover from the COVID-19 health crisis, the hot days of August is a good time to ponder the economic and retail predictions for the balance of 2021.

The global economy is quickly recovering from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, with growth likely to approach 6% in 2021 and continue at 4.6% in 2022. However, while the global economic recovery from the COVID-19 recession has shown strong rebound effects, global output is still expected to remain as much as 2% below the pre-pandemic forecast up until 2023.

Brick-and-mortar sales generated over $18.5 trillion in the United States in 2020. After the past few months, I predict that we will see similar exciting changes across the retail industry starting in advanced economies. The USA National Retail Federation (NRF) raised their 2021 forecast in June and predicted that this year will be the fastest retail growth year since 1984. On the other side of the world, in an equally important large economy, China retail sales are projected to increase 14.7% in 2021.

The Steady Recovery of the Global Economy in 2021

In July, Euromonitor updated their 2021-2023 global GDP Forecast. Strong continued growth is projected in USA, China, developing and advanced economies.

Read more here

Leaving One Retail Job for Another?
Retail Workers Are Quitting At A Record Pace. But Stores Are Rapidly Hiring, Too
Retail workers are still quitting at a record rate. But they appear to be going to other retail jobs: Stores are actually hiring on an unprecedented scale, reaching 1.1 million new hires in June.

The story you hear a lot about in retail is devastation from the pandemic - major chains going bankrupt, lots of people losing jobs. But lately something quite different has been happening. At the same time that retail workers are quitting at a record rate, stores are hiring on an unprecedented scale.

Historically, we know that the top destination for most people leaving retail is a different job in retail. And this is the thing that jumped out at me from the new Labor Department data that we got this week. It shows retailers hired over 1.1 million new workers in June, a record hiring spree.

A lot of it is the giants that thrived during last year, like Walmart, Target, various grocery stores. And here's the thing that you might not realize. New stores are actually opening in the pandemic. We've heard a lot about bankruptcies and shuttered shops you mentioned, and there are still thousands of stores closing. But a good part of the year, the number of openings was greater than the number of store closures.

Quite a few retailers are expanding - lots of discount stores like Dollar General and Burlington, also Footlocker, Aldi, Sephora. Many stores are sort of reinventing their spaces, turning them into hubs for deliveries or shipments, for example. Or in Sephora's case, they struck a deal with Kohl's to have stores inside stores.

Compared to earlier predictions, fewer stores are closing than forecast, and more stores are opening. npr.org

More Supply Chain Disruptions
Fast food chains taking extra precautions to avoid shortages amid supply chain disruptions and increased sales

McDonald's say it is keeping an eye on a tight supply of straws and paper bags.

A tightening of key supplies like paper bags and straws is adding to pressure faced by fast food chains. McDonald's told franchisees to limit orders of bags and straws after high usage during the COVID-19 pandemic, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Fast food restaurants' supply chains are under immense pressure right now, and bags and straws are just the latest issues. Drive-thrus became the primary way restaurants served customers for much of the pandemic, necessitating more paper bags than usual. McDonald's, Taco Bell, Starbucks, and other major chains all relied on drive-thrus over the last year, and invested heavily in them, which paid off as sales at McDonald's were above 2020 and 2019 so far this year.

Other fast food supply chains have faced bumps, too. In April, more than a dozen baristas told Insider that Starbucks stores were experiencing shortages of cups, flavored syrups, and baked goods. In June, Insider reported on an internal memo that Starbucks was putting 25 items on temporary hold because of supply chain issues.

Popeyes took precautions to avoid shortages ahead of the chicken nugget launch this summer. The chain spent six months stockpiling frozen chicken to meet demand curb supply issues, a spokesperson told Insider.

Chipotle, Chick-fil-A, Starbucks, and Popeyes all told Insider that they aren't experiencing straw or bag shortages right now. businessinsider.com

Truckers Finally Get Support & Safer Roads They Need to Keep U.S. Moving
Senate Approves Truck Equipment Mandates, Dispatcher Oversight Measure
The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, is the first major infrastructure package passed by the Senate chamber in decades. It injects $550 million of new funding into expanding and maintaining roads and bridges and a five-year reauthorization of the U.S. DOT’s highway and motor carrier safety programs.

"The bill also contains significant measures to grow and strengthen trucking’s essential workforce.”

Among the truck-centric provisions included in the Senate bill:

● New regulations for rear and side underride guards
● Regulatory guidance on how truck brokers and truck dispatchers operate
● Mandates for automatic emergency braking in new trucks
● Establishment of a truck leasing task force

“Passage of this bipartisan infrastructure bill is a groundbreaking step toward revitalizing America’s decaying roads and bridges, supporting our supply chain and economy with the foundation they need to grow, compete globally and lead the world. The bill also contains significant measures to grow and strengthen trucking’s essential workforce.”  freightwaves.com

Retail Executives Meet with Kamala Harris
Harris to meet with CEOs on Biden's child care proposals
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris will meet with the chief executives of seven companies including Microsoft Corp on Thursday to discuss the Biden administration's child care proposals as the White House seeks broad support for its agenda.

The heads of Etsy Inc, AirBnB Inc, Gap Inc , Chobani, Seventh Generation and Patagonia will also attend, a White House official said.

They and Harris will discuss how childcare provisions in Build Back Better, Biden's agenda for the economy's post-pandemic recovery, "will lower costs for families, help businesses and grow the economy," the official said.

On Wednesday, Biden met with business and education leaders including the heads of United Airlines and health care provider Kaiser Permanente to discuss efforts to address ways to get more people vaccinated against COVID-19. news.trust.org

Hudson's Bay Announces Separation of Physical and Online Store Businesses

Wendy’s makes deal to open 70 ghost kitchens

How Dying Retail Locations Find New Life As Thriving Mixed-Use Communities

Why Retail Sales Models Still Require a Human Touch

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