Protests, Violence & Unrest

Planning for the Unplanned: How Organizations Can Build Their Resilience to Protests and Other Unplanned Events
Despite the ongoing threat of coronavirus, 2020 has been a year of protest. From Minnesota to Belarus, growing social, economic and political change has driven protesters to the streets. However, according to research from the Center of Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), this is no new phenomenom but part of a growing trend. Since 2009, CSIS data shows the number of global mass protests has increased annually by an average of 11.5%.

Beyond protests, other unplanned crisis events are becoming more frequent, unpredictable and severe. By September, the Atlantic hurricane season had seen seven named storms make landfall in the U.S. for the first time ever. Meanwhile in California, not only did the 2020 wildfire season start earlier than expected, it has become the largest ever.

For organizations trying to safeguard their employees, facilities or business-critical operations, planning for crisis has never been so crucial. As companies have grown and developed in size and complexity, they have become more susceptible to the financial, safety and reputational implications of these events.

According to a survey of senior executives by Deloitte, 56% believe their organization is inadequately prepared for these crises. The $500 million damage to businesses in the first two weeks of the George Floyd protests in Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Minn. and the $10 billion damage caused by Hurricane Laura, suggest these beliefs are justifiably held.

However, in the same survey, 93% of senior executives believed organizations could prepare for a crisis or unplanned event. This disparity between an organization’s current and possible crisis resilience is down to insufficient consideration of assets, risks, response and after-action procedures within their existing security protocols.

With this in mind, here are five crucial steps organizations can take to achieve greater resilience to protests and other unplanned events:

1. Knowing Your Assets
2. Identifying and Monitoring Risks
3. Notifying and Communicating
4. Developing Crisis Response Plans
5. Auditing and Learning

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Minimizing the Impact
For businesses to survive this complex operating environment, companies must move away from old crisis methodologies and adopt cohesive policies that leverage new technologies for data management and reporting. Organizations must be able to proactively identify risks to business disruption or employee life safety, rapidly adapting their responses to minimize the impact of ongoing situations. Only then can an organization be resilient enough to fulfill its duty of care requirements toward employees and customers, as well as be able to maintain business continuity during even the largest of unplanned events.

Defunding Protests?
Governors crack down on violent protests by targeting their funding
Lawmakers in some states have responded to this year’s wave of marches and rallies by creating harsher criminal penalties for demonstrators. In Tennessee, for instance, after months of racial justice protests outside the state capitol, the Republican governor signed a bill making it a felony to camp out on state property during a protest. People convicted of this crime will lose their right to vote.

In Florida and Texas, the results of the Nov. 3 election could help advance legislative proposals to rein in protesting from a new angle: the money side. Republicans maintained majorities in both state legislatures, suggesting that the states’ Republican governors will be able to move forward with proposals they made in September to crack down on violent protests by creating new criminal penalties related to the funding of demonstrations.

In Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis wants to create several new criminal offenses, including prosecuting “anyone who organizes or funds a violent or disorderly assembly” under the state’s anti-racketeering laws. In Texas, Gov. Greg Abbott proposed six new criminal offenses aimed at people who “hijack peaceful protests,” including one that outlaws “aiding and abetting riots with funds or organizational assistance.”

‘Who’s to know what the next protest movement may be about in our country?’

In Florida, ACLU of Florida staff attorney Jackie Azis said DeSantis’s proposal could potentially affect organizations like a local foundation in St. Petersburg that has supported racial-justice protests this year by providing signs. She called it “an outrageous response” that DeSantis is proposing using the state’s RICO Act — a set of anti-racketeering laws — to prosecute people who organize or fund disorderly or violent assemblies.

“Racketeering essentially means there’s an organized illegal scheme and peacefully protesting is not an illegal scheme,” Azis said. “Peaceful protesting is something we value as Americans. It’s embedded in our Constitution. No matter our political beliefs or philosophies, it should concern everyone when the government tries to infringe on our rights to protest.” marketwatch.com

Shooting Looters?
How Florida Gov. DeSantis wants to crack down on protests: Expand ‘stand your ground’
Gov. Ron DeSantis has drafted “anti-mob” legislation that would expand Florida’s “stand your ground” law — a move that critics say will allow armed citizens to shoot suspected looters or anyone engaged in “criminal mischief” that disrupts a business.

Lawyers say it’s just one of the many troubling aspects of the draft bill being pushed by the Republican governor in response to police-brutality protests that erupted across Florida and the United States this summer.

The draft legislation put specifics behind DeSantis' pledge in September to crack down on “violent and disorderly assemblies.” The proposal would expand the list of “forcible felonies” under Florida’s self-defense law to justify the use of force against people who engage in criminal mischief that results in the “interruption or impairment” of a business, and looting, which the draft defines as a burglary within 500 feet of a “violent or disorderly assembly.”

Other key elements of DeSantis' proposal would enhance criminal penalties for people involved in “violent or disorderly assemblies,” make it a third-degree felony to block traffic during a protest, offer immunity to drivers who claim to have unintentionally killed or injured protesters who block traffic, and withhold state funds from local governments that cut law enforcement budgets. tampabay.com

NYC Business Owners Worry Boarded Up Windows Are Costing Them Customers, Fear Taking Plywood Down Too Soon
Many small businesses across the city are struggling to survive during the pandemic, but several stores still boarded up in anticipation of potential unrest around Election Day may be keeping customers away. Businesses that rely on walk-ins are especially concerned that their boarded-up windows may be costing them business.

“To look like you’re closed or for people to second-guess whether or not they should attempt to come in or not because of the way the store looks, it’s hard for us,” said Eric Goldstein, who co-owns Park Avenue Liquor Shop at the corner of 39th and Madison. Back in early June, his store was one of the many that was looted.

“Families have put so much into these stores and they really want to protect them, I respect that,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said Tuesday. “If you’re asking what I’m seeing? What I’m seeing is the worst is now behind us.”

Some have taken it down, but others, like a convenience store on Broadway in NoHo, say it’s hard to tell if that’s a good idea. “When do you think the boards will come down?” CBS2’s Alice Gainer asked. “Hopefully, a lot of people, they’re thinking one more week,” manager Ali Dovani said. cbslocal.com

California: Plywood from Boarded-Up Windows Gets New Life
Aside from a few isolated pro-Trump demonstrations in Beverly Hills and Huntington Beach, Election Day has now come and gone with no significant incidents in the region–and one local group is stepping in to help turn the plywood into something positive for the community. Late last week, the California Wildlife Center put out a call to local businesses offering to come collect the boards, rather than see them go into the typical waste stream.

“Once we get the donated plywood, we plan to repurpose it to build enclosures, herding boards to work with our marine mammals, and any other animal-related projects,” says California Wildlife Center Executive Director Jennifer Brent. “We even were contacted by a group that builds shelters for food pantries that is also interested, so we plan on sharing the wood with them.” lamag.com

DC officials preparing for Proud Boys protest over the weekend

Portland: Man involved in viral video assault near protests sentenced to 20 mo. prison

Protests, Riots, Tear Gas? Nothing Can Shutter a 24-Hour Doughnut Shop in Portland
 

Recognizing & Supporting the Military Community

Want to Hire Veterans? Support Your Military Community
According to a recent CareerBuilder survey, employers are increasing their commitment to hire military veterans. Forty percent of nearly 2,500 hiring managers and human resource professionals plan to actively recruit U.S. veterans for their organization over the next 12 months, up from 37 percent last year. Customer service jobs are the top roles employers say they will be recruiting veterans for (35 percent), followed by jobs in information technology (32 percent), production (28 percent) and sales (24 percent). Eighteen percent of respondents said they will be hiring veterans for HR roles.

Forty-eight percent of employers said they pay more attention to applications submitted by veterans and 68 percent said that they would hire a qualified veteran over another equally qualified candidate. shrm.org

Guide to Veteran Hiring: 5 Myths and Facts About Hiring Veterans
Simply said, it makes good business sense to hire veterans. Companies that do speak positively about this strategy, and the veterans often become leaders at those companies. Their loyalty, teamwork and initiative, enable them to bring great value to the private sector.

Yet myths about veterans and whether they can thrive after their time in the military persist.

Myth 1: Military skills don't translate into the civilian workforce / Fact: It is well documented that veterans bring extensive leadership experience, mission focus, teamwork and initiative to the corporate environment.

Myth 2: All veterans served in combat / Fact: It is reported that about 80 percent of the jobs in the military are noncombat occupations.

Myth 3: All veterans have PTSD and it makes them unemployable / Fact: Studies conclude that 10-20 percent of post-Sept. 11 combat veterans have PTSD, which equates to approximately 500,000 people.

Myth 4: Veterans can only follow orders / Fact: While service members followed orders while in boot camp and officer candidate school, most veterans also have had experience leading other people.

Myth 5: National Guard and Reserve employees have unpredictable schedules / Fact: The typical training schedule for those who continue to serve our country is one weekend a month and two weeks in the summer. shrm.org

Understanding what veterans can offer the security industry