Axis Communications Partner Integrator Survey
The Business Impact of COVID-19 on the Security Industry

Businesses are turning to technology to remain resilient given COVID-19

Axis Communications this week released the findings of their U.S. Partner Integrator Survey, revealing how system integrators and their customers are responding to the COVID-19 crisis amidst uncertainty and instability in the marketplace. The survey of 455 security professionals cited that end-customers will be more willing to explore IP-based solutions (58%) and the acceptance of AI will accelerate (45%) following COVID-19 crisis.

“The pandemic demonstrated a clear understanding that technologies that support business continuity and employee safety should be top of mind for everyone within the organization, not just security professionals,” said Fredrik Nilsson, VP of Americas, Axis Communications. “Our study revealed the resourcefulness of professionals within the industry as well as the flexibility of IP solutions and our partner ecosystem. Accordingly, there’s a clear interest in, and increased acceptance around, the potential for integrated solutions that solve long-term security needs, enhance business operations and address health and safety measures.”

According to security professionals, respondents cited economic recovery in general (67%), supply chain management (49%), losing customers (37%) and shifting business models (30%) as the biggest business concerns due to the COVID-19 crisis. While 53% of system integrators stated a decrease in business during the pandemic, because they are designated as “essential critical infrastructure workers” the majority of integrators continued to work on projects the entire time and remain on the frontline serving end users amidst COVID-19 restrictions (70%). Twenty-eight percent of security business leaders cited that they have invested in digital transformation of workflows to address challenges amidst COVID-19 and support new, remote business operations. Read More Here

Checkpoint Systems has developed a portfolio of RFID TAG solutions for shoes

Leveraging over 50 years of Radio Frequency Technical Expertise, Checkpoint Systems is a vertically integrated RFID solutions company that can provide in-house designed and manufactured RFID inlays through to a complete software solution to provide supply chain visibility of every item at any stage of the process.

The combination of our HALO software platform and RFID inlay technology enables Footwear retailers to convert existing facts into intelligence that is used to optimize the sales process and ultimately increase profitability.

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More from Checkpoint: Scroll down to today's Vendor Spotlight to learn about Checkpoint's new Disposable Hang Tag
 

The D&D Daily's Election Violence Survey Results


LP Leaders Weigh in on Store Safety and Potential Election Day Unrest
 

Given the current political divisiveness, coupled with the nation reeling from protests, rioting, and looting as well as COVID-19 lockdowns, the country is on edge ahead of next week's election - that includes the retail industry.

In a survey conducted by the D&D Daily, we found that while most stores (85%) plan to maintain regular operating hours on Election Day, many (46%) believe that there will be an increase in ORC during this time and some are even planning for extra security.

Click here to see the full results from our survey, including whether stores will increase associate coverage and hours, and whether or not stores are in touch with their local police departments ahead of Election Day - the results may surprise you.

Thank you to all of those in the industry who took the time to participate in our survey
 

Unrest, Violence & Protests

Fearing Election Violence, Retailers Boarding Up & Beefing Up Security
Businesses are boarding up in anticipation of post-election violence
Large swaths of downtown Washington, within blocks of the White House, resembled a coastal community girding for a powerful hurricane. Hotels, office buildings, coffee shops and restaurants were sheathed in plywood, with some of the makeshift barriers stretching nearly entire blocks.

Officials say they're not aware of credible threats of violence on or after Election Day, but businesses, drawing from the lessons of last summer when protests erupted across the country following the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police, are bracing for possible violence, looting and vandalism.

Downtown ghost towns?

In Chicago, dozens of businesses along the Magnificent Mile shopping strip and throughout the downtown Loop area did not remove temporary barriers that were installed over the summer, when the city saw two incidents of late-night lootings.

Restaurants and luxury retailers are operating through windows covered in plywood or other barriers, and shoppers pass through entryway cut-outs. City officials have been holding workshops in recent months to prepare for possible civil unrest after Election Day.

"The city is taking an all-hands-on-deck approach to planning for this event," Rich Guidice, executive director of the Office of Emergency Management and Communications, said in a press conference this month. "We have been performing drills and holding workshops to be ready to respond to any situation or possible event that should occur in this city before, on or after Election Day."

In Washington, D.C., officials are not recommending that businesses board up their buildings, but they have set up a website for people to report suspicious voting activities to police. Businesses are also encouraged to install security cameras and to keep important documents, such as insurance paperwork and lease agreements, secure.

The DowntownDC Business Improvement District is encouraging businesses to take precautions such as securing outdoor furniture and signage that can be used as projectile," the group said in a statement, adding that staffers will remove bike racks, newsstands, unbolted trash cans, loose piles of bricks or rocks, construction materials and other items that can be used to harm people.

In New York City, there have been no specific and credible threats targeting the election, according to the police department. But preparations have included crowd control re-training for street officers in the event of protests and having "hundreds" ready to respond to election-related demonstrations. usatoday.com

RELATED: Retailers Battening Down Stores Across U.S., Worried About Election Day Violence

75% of Americans Concerned About Potential Widespread Civil Unrest & Violence Following Election

National Police Foundation Releases Survey Results to Guide Law Enforcement Preparation for the 2020 Election
Nearly 3 in 4 of Americans are concerned about the potential for widespread civil unrest and violence following the November election. Forty-five percent of those surveyed said they were “very concerned”, and another 28 percent said they were “concerned.” This high level of concern is consistent across every race, age group, and sex.

43% of Americans are concerned about election interference at their polling location on Election Day. This feeling is slightly higher among Black respondents (48%) and Hispanic/Latino respondents (45%).

Less than half (42%) of Americans indicated that seeing police at their polling place on Election Day would increase their confidence in the integrity of the election. Thirty percent said they were unsure. Black respondents were twice as likely to strongly disagree that seeing police would lead to increased confidence in the fairness of the election (29% versus 16% overall).

Despite that feeling, most Americans (77%) said they trust or strongly trust local police not to interfere with the voting process on Election Day. Among young Americans (18-34), however, that number is nearly 20 points lower, with only 58 percent saying they trust or strongly trust police not to interfere.
policefoundation.org

Available resources: Policing in a Time of Elections

Mass Exodus Of Officers Nationwide 'Imminent'
Police reach breaking point amid protests, pandemic, rising crime
Amid rising crime rates, a polarizing political election and the continued high-profile police killings of African-Americans, some officers now say they too have reached their limit.

“This is probably one of the most volatile periods of policing that I’ve seen in my 30 years in law enforcement and now five years continuing to work with law enforcement,” Frank Straub, a former Spokane, Wash., police chief who now runs the Center for Mass Violence Response Studies at the National Police Foundation.

A Pew Research poll taken in June found that 67 percent of Americans expressed at least some support for Black Lives Matter protests. But as those protests continued throughout the summer, with some turning violent, that support fell to 55 percent.

Citing a lack of resources, inadequate funding and waning institutional support, law enforcement officials predict that a mass exodus from police forces nationwide is imminent.

Acevedo, the president of the Major Cities Chiefs Association, said his organization consists of chiefs from 69 of the largest cities in the U.S. and Canada. Of those 69 chiefs, 18 or 26% have stepped down or been removed between March and October (8 months). yahoo.com

Walmart pulls guns and ammo from store displays, citing potential "civil unrest"
Walmart on Thursday said it has pulled guns and ammunition from the sales floors of its U.S. stores as it seeks to keep firearms from being stolen should social unrest erupt.

"We have seen some isolated civil unrest, and as we have done on several occasions over the last few years, we have moved our firearms and ammunition off the sales floor as a precaution for the safety of our associates and customers," a Walmart spokesperson said in an email to CBS MoneyWatch. "These items do remain available for purchase by customers."

The company in June removed firearms and ammunition from stores after George Floyd's killing by police when several of its stores were damaged. The nation's biggest retailer remains a major seller of guns and ammunition, although it has scaled back, selling firearms in roughly half of its 4,700 U.S. stores. cbsnews.com

LAPD gets approval to begin recording, storing aerial footage of protests

City of Brotherly Love: Philadelphia man proposes during protest in front of riot cops