TMA Opens Virtual Attendance Option for its 2022 OPSTech

August 22, 2022, McLean, VA – Beginning today, security industry professionals have the option to register to take part virtually in The Monitoring Association’s (TMA) 2022 OPSTech educational sessions that are being delivered in-person Sept. 11-16, 2022 in Charlotte, NC. The full, five-day program features operations, technology, and video tracks. Registrants attending the meeting in-person will also have the opportunity to take part in roundtable discussions and networking events, as well as a private tour of CPI Security’s new, state-of-the-art monitoring center.

Go to https://tma.us/events/2022-ops-tech/ for detailed meeting information, including program agenda, hotel reservations, and registration.
 

Perfect Storm for Retail Theft
Theft prevention in unattended retail

Solutions to help owners and operators stay one step ahead in securing and protecting their assets

Fewer employees on-site and intense financial pressures on consumers are the perfect combination for potential theft. According to the National Retail Federation’s 2021 Retail Security Survey, 57% of businesses cited the pandemic and its aftermath for a rise in organized retail crime, while 50% blamed the virus for an increase in shoplifting.

“We learned from micro market operators that their biggest challenges were theft and lack of labor resources to deal with it effectively,” said Mac Bolak, the founder and chief executive officer of Panoptyc. “If there’s no one there on the premises, people feel more inclined to take things when they think no one is watching. Operators were also dealing with outdated camera systems that couldn’t be reviewed remotely, meaning they had to drive potentially long distances to retrieve footage manually. So, we came up with a solution to help fill the gap."

Utilizing technology to catch thieves in unattended locations is a powerful tool, but for many people, theft prevention often begins and ends with the type of locks installed on the machines.

Many of the headlines these days involve historically high gasoline prices, making service stations a prime target for theft. “Many gas pumps still rely on a generic lock with thousands of duplicate keys in circulation,” Morahan explained.

To address security concerns at unattended or remote locations, Dalton recommends encrypting data before sending it over any wireless connection. “In the event that unauthorized access is gained, OptConnect has data usage triggers that will set off internal protocols within the system to contact customers,” he said. “Our technical teams will then investigate the high data usage.”

With the country in an era of economic uncertainty, one thing is for sure: Criminals are constantly looking for ways to enrich themselves at the expense of others. vendingmarketwatch.com

Retail Locations the #2 Mass Killing Location Type
Mass killings database reveals trends & details in every US event since 2006

High profile public shootings in the US are only a portion of the country's mass killings AP, USA TODAY and Northeastern University analysis shows.

The horror and tragedy of mass shootings in American schools, churches, grocery stores and other public places capture the nation's attention. But these are only part of the larger violence of mass killings - deaths by guns, knives, fires, vehicles and other weapons in public and in private - that plague the U.S., research shows.

The number of mass killings in 2022 is about average compared with previous years despite recent shootings that captured public attention. The number of victims is somewhat higher than average but still below previous highs.

Cases in which someone shoots strangers in a public place usually get the most attention. But fatal public shootings are a small fraction of all mass killings. There has been a spike in these types of killings over the past few years, but the rate of occurrence has remained relatively flat since the mid-2000s.

As the chart below shows, residences make up the vast majority of mass killings. But commercial and retail locations rank second and open spaces rank third. usatoday.com

Violence Project Database of Mass Shootings
NY Times: What Are the Real Warning Signs of a Mass Shooting?
While some mass shootings are committed by people with diagnosed mental illnesses, a life crisis is a better predictor of violence, researchers say.

Blaming mass murder on mental illness is a time-honored impulse, used by law enforcement and politicians alike.

Yet America’s mass killers fit no single profile and certainly no pattern of insanity — many, if not most, had never been diagnosed with a serious psychiatric disorder. But psychologists say there is a wide divide between a clinical diagnosis and the type of emotional disturbance that precedes many mass killings.

The real problem, those experts say, is that mental illness is not a useful means to predict violence. Jillian Peterson, a co-founder of the Violence Project, a research center that has compiled a database of mass shootings from 1966 on and studied perpetrators in depth. “In many cases, it doesn’t really matter. It’s not the main driver.”

Instead, many experts have come to focus on warning signs that occur whether or not actual mental illness is present, including marked changes in behavior, demeanor or appearance, uncharacteristic fights or arguments, and telling others of plans for violence, a phenomenon known as “leakage.”

Perpetrators are driven by a complex array of factors that can include a desire for fame, radicalization on the internet and childhood trauma, and experts say the means of intervention should be just as broad. Four out of five of the perpetrators in the project’s database, Dr. Peterson said, showed signs of crisis — defined as a period when one’s circumstances overwhelm one’s coping mechanisms, shortly before carrying out their crimes. nytimes.com

Federal 'Ghost Gun' Crackdown
What are ‘ghost guns’? A federal crackdown is coming on untraceable firearms, and dealers are rushing to sell them

Online dealer GhostGuns.com saw an uptick in sales for ghost gun kits when the rule was first announced in early April

With new federal regulations set to take effect on so-called ghost guns next week, businesses that sell the untraceable firearms are racing to offload inventory.

The new regulations from the Biden administration are set to take effect Wednesday and will substantially curb the proliferation of ghost guns by requiring those who sell them to abide by the same rules and regulations as traditional gun sellers in the U.S.

The weapons are assembled from kits and do not carry serial numbers. Authorities say they attract criminals and extremists. Their parts can be bought online or at a store as do-it-yourself kits, and their purchase doesn’t require a background check. They can be assembled into working firearms in as little as 30 minutes.

A spokesperson for the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said the new rule will “play a key role in preventing convicted felons, domestic abusers, and other prohibited persons from acquiring these firearms.” It will also allow the bureau “to trace these guns when used in crimes.”

Under the new regulations, manufacturers and dealers of ghost guns must be federally licensed, parts used to make the weapons will need serial numbers and purchasers must undergo a background check. cnbc.com

'Unintended Shootings' are a Bigger Threat Than Mass Shootings
Editorial: This gun problem is bigger than school shootings — and easier to prevent
Although unintentional shootings make up only about 2% of gun deaths nationally and in South Carolina, that’s still more deaths than those high-profile shootings at schools and in other public spaces. And injuries caused by unintentional shootings far surpass all other types of gun injuries — 61% in South Carolina and 58% nationally, according to Everytown.

Our fixation on school shootings and other mass shootings reflects our general tendency to take deaths and injuries more seriously when they’re concentrated, intentional and spectacular, and it skews our policy debates toward solutions that do little to address the more frequent cause of gun deaths — suicide — or the cause that is easier to address without infringing on anyone’s accurate or even exaggerated sense of their rights: unintentional shootings.

The simplest and most effective prevention method involves gun storage: Guns should always be locked, either in a safe or with a gun lock, especially but not exclusively if children either live in or frequently visit the home. And ammunition should be stored separately. But fewer than half of gun owners report doing either. postandcourier.com

Number of American Mass Murders Relatively Steady Since 2006

US: 95.4M Cases - 1M Dead - 90.8M Recovered
Worldwide: 601.9M Cases - 6.4M Dead - 576.5M Recovered

Private Industry Security Guard Deaths: 362  
Law Enforcement Officer Deaths: 793
*Red indicates change in total deaths

Still 400 COVID Deaths Per Day in the U.S.
‘Most have thrown their hands up’: has the US forgotten about Covid?
Despite signs that indicate the latest Covid-19 surge is slowing down, an average of 400 deaths in the US is still reported on a daily basis. Various mask and social distancing mandates across the country are becoming anything but strictly enforced.

But as Americans and many of their elected officials go about their daily lives, many healthcare professionals still on the frontlines of the pandemic and severely affected Covid-19 patients are left wondering whether the rest of us are moving too quickly from the worst days of the pandemic.

Have we simply forgotten about Covid-19? Data obtained earlier this month by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reveals that the rate of new infections has been decreasing, with the country reporting an average of 107,000 new cases a day. This marks a 12% decrease compared to infection rates two weeks ago. theguardian.com

Apple Workers Protest Return to Work Push
Return To Office: Here’s Where Tech Giants Stand After Apple Employees Protest Mandate
Apple employees initiated a petition early Monday opposing the company’s forthcoming policy requiring corporate workers to be in the office three days a week, joining several other major technology companies in requiring in-person work, though other large firms maintain more lenient policies.

Apple Together, a group of Apple workers identifying as a “solidarity union,” called the mandate, which requires employees to return to the office three days a week beginning September 5, prohibitive in the petition, arguing the policy is insensitive toward health and safety concerns, family care plans and overall morale.

Apple’s return-to-office mandate, announced last week by CEO Tim Cook in an internal memo, is a departure from the policies of several Silicon Valley titans, including Airbnb and Twitter, both of which said they’ll allow employees to work remotely permanently.

Facebook parent Meta is the most notable work from home proponent, with no in-person requirements at this point and plans to allow most employees to work remotely long-term. Amazon, Microsoft and Google parent Alphabet all have policies similar to Apple’s, mandating employees return to offices two to three days a week earlier this year. forbes.com

Retail Impact of Chinese COVID Lockdowns
Starbucks to Nike Report Steep China Sales Drop on Lockdowns

Major global retailers saw revenue hurt by strict virus curbs

Global consumer giants selling everything from jewelry to t-shirts saw sales in China tumble in their most recent quarter as Covid Zero lockdowns hammered consumer demand in the world’s second-largest economy.

Starbucks Corp. was particularly hard hit, reporting a more than 40% drop in sales in the quarter ended July 3. The company began the period with about a quarter of its Chinese stores shut due to Covid policies, and its 940 locations in Shanghai were locked down for about two-thirds of the financial quarter.

Luxury goods also bore the brunt of Covid chaos. Burberry Group, Richemont, Adidas AG each reported at least a 35% drop in their most recently reported quarterly results. Kering SA, which owns Gucci, saw a more than 30% drop. Yum China Holdings Inc. and Uniqlo fared slightly better, with declines of about 13% each.

Apple Inc. held up the best among major foreign brands, with Greater China sales slipping just 1.1% in its third quarter, though the company did offer a rare sale of some top-tier iPhones and related accessories last month in an acknowledgment of weak local sentiment. bloomberg.com

Remote Workers Paid 20% Less?
You may soon be asked to take a pay cut to keep working from home
Many workers enjoyed a better quality of life plus savings on commuting, office wardrobe and other expenses. Companies boosted productivity and lowered costs.

Now as remote work looks likely to survive in some form for the foreseeable future, a battle is starting to brew over who should pocket those savings, with some employers arguing that working from home is a benefit that should be offset by lower salaries. About 30% of all paid workdays are still being done from home, up from just 5% before the COVID-19 outbreak.

Paying remote workers less is a practice that is already catching on abroad. In Britain, the law firm Stephenson Harwood recently announced that employees could work full time from home on the condition that they take a 20% pay cut.

Right now, such arrangements seem rare in the U.S., probably because of the tight labor market. But that could change in the event of a recession as employers eye how remote working can lower labor costs and boost the bottom line. latimes.com

Updated Boosters Coming This Fall Amid Worries of New Wave
Pfizer asks FDA to authorize Covid booster shots that target omicron BA.5 for people ages 12 and older

The U.S. is planning a fall booster campaign with the new shots amid concerns about another wave of infection.

Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech on Monday asked the Food and Drug Administration to authorize Covid booster shots that target the omicron BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants for people ages 12 and older.

The U.S. is preparing for a fall vaccination campaign using updated vaccines that target the dominant omicron subvariants. Public health officials expect another wave of infection this fall and winter as immunity from the currently authorized shots wears off and people head indoors to escape the colder weather.  cnbc.com

These activities are—and aren’t—safe for monkeypox risk, experts say

Fauci to step down in December after decades of public service