Workplace Shooter Preparedness Webinar

RLPSA+TPOP Workplace Violence Preparedness for Food Service Industry: Understanding the Threats and Mitigating Risks

Dec 8, 2022 01:00 PM ET

This webinar, co-hosted by RLPSA and The Power of Preparedness (TPOP), will be led by Bill Flynn, TPOP's Co-founder and Chief Content Officer. Mr. Flynn is a former Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security where he helped to nationalize the Run, Hide, Fight active shooter response methodology.

Mr. Flynn will discuss the latest information related to threats facing businesses in the food service industry, and will then recommend the actions that every business must take to protect their people and assets.

For more information about The Power of Preparedness online training for verbal de-escalation and active shooter preparedness, and the RLPSA member discount, visit http://www.thepowerofpreparedness.com/rlpsa

Click here to register
 

Workplace Homicides Up 11% from 2014 to 2019
Walmart shooting raises need for workplace violence prevention

Employees should focus on identifying ‘yellow flags’ rather than ‘red flags,’ expert says

The mass shooting Wednesday at a Walmart in Virginia was only the latest example of a workplace shooting perpetrated by an employee. But while many companies provide active shooter training, experts say there is much less focus on how to prevent workplace violence, particularly how to identify and address worrisome behavior among employees.

Workers far too often don't know how to recognize warning signs, and even more crucially don't know how to report suspicious behavior or feel empowered to do so, according to workplace safety and human resources experts.

Too often in workplace shootings, he said, "this is someone who already has access to the building." The Walmart shooting in particular raised questions of whether employees feel empowered to speak up because it was a team leader who carried out the shooting.

Walmart launched a computer-based active shooter training in 2015, which focused on three pillars: avoid the danger, keep your distance and lastly, defend. Then, in 2019 after a mass shooting at an El Paso, Texas, store in which an outside gunman killed 22 people, Walmart addressed the threat to the public by discontinuing sales of certain kinds of ammunition and asked that customers no longer openly carry firearms in its stores. It now sells only hunting rifles and related ammunition.

Densley said that employers need to create open channels for workers to voice concerns about employees’ behavior, including confidential hotlines. He noted that too often attention is focused on the "red flags" and workers should be looking for the "yellow flags" — subtle changes in behavior, like increased anger or not showing up for work. Densley said managers need to work with those individuals to get them counseling and do regular check-ins.

Between 2014 and 2019, workplace homicides nationwide increased by 11% from 409 to 454. That was still down 58% from a peak of 1,080 in 1994, according to the report, which was released in July by the Departments of Labor, Justice and Health and Human Services. The report found that workplace homicide trends largely mirrored homicide trends nationwide. foxbusiness.com

How Washington's AG Plans to Battle ORC Ringleaders
New ORC Unit in Washington Will Shift Strategy to Catch Ringleaders
This week, Attorney General Bob Ferguson said he will ask the State Legislature for $1.5 million to create an Organized Retail Theft Unit, echoing claims from some in the retail industry that theft rings represent a $70 billion problem nationally.

So, is Ferguson wasting his staff’s time and the public’s dollars on this latest effort? That depends on whether his office continues the approach that local prosecutors have taken, which focuses primarily on people caught in the act of stealing merch for resale, or whether he shifts the focus of enforcement to catching the ringleaders of these organized crime rings.

How Would the AG’s Office Reduce Organized Retail Theft?

In his press release announcing his proposal, Ferguson explicitly argued that he didn’t aim to crack down on everyday shoplifting. Instead, he will coordinate prosecutions between jurisdictions and assist with investigations to bag the ringleaders of these allegedly organized crime rings.

If that’s how the unit actually operates in practice, then it would be a positive shift from the way local prosecutors are handling these cases–at least in King County.

So far, prosecutors have mostly employed an approach similar to the one they used in the failed War on Drugs. If you think of an organized retail theft ring as a drug cartel, they've basically been scooping up the equivalent of street dealers caught with contraband, but they haven't had much luck reaching the people who actually direct the organization.

Retail industry advocates say that targeting the “fences” profiting from resold merch rather than the grunts they deploy to shoplift works best to break up these operations. And there are more direct ways of going after those “fences” than trying to convince foot soldiers to rat out bosses under threat of jail time–like catching them in the act of selling stolen merchandise.

If they can get the tech companies to adopt policies that crack down on the sale of stolen goods, or if Congress forces them to do so by passing a law requiring additional disclosure and reporting from online resellers, then Ferguson’s Organized Retail Theft Unit could be a worthwhile effort to reduce organized retail theft. thestranger.com

Crime Closures Driven By 'Rampant' Theft & Prop 47
Homeless, shoplifters blamed for Big Lots closing in Citrus Heights
Big Lots is raising big concerns in Citrus Heights as word got out that the store is closing up shop. "What's going to fill the spot? It's just going to go downhill from here, I guess," said Todd Chapman.

Chapman shops there every week, but his last visit got him so upset he posted about it on Nextdoor and received dozens of responses. Chapman said an employee told him the growing homeless population in the parking lot, coupled with rampant shoplifting, is forcing them to shut down.

"She said theft is just out of control. People are filling up their shopping carts and just walking out of the store," said Chapman. "And there's nothing they can do about it."

Rachel Michelin, the president of the California Retailers Association, isn't surprised. She said retail theft is rampant right now. CBS13 talked with her exactly one year ago when we saw an uptick in disturbing smash and grabs. Michelin said progress has been made since then, but there's still more work to do. She blames a loophole in the law where up to $950 in thefts only amounts to a misdemeanor.

"Now we need law enforcement to partner with us. We need them to show up to really be a deterrent to this. We need prosecutors to prosecute and we need to look at Prop 47 and figure out how we can fix it to make it work so that our businesses are protected and, more importantly, our employees are protected and our neighbors can continue to be served by these businesses," said Michelin.

As the Citrus Heights Big Lots prepares to close up shop in January, thieves are stealing way more than just a big name store.

The California Retailers Association says for every big name store that shuts down because of thefts, there are three smaller stores that will shut down. Michelin is hoping the governor's record funding to curb retail theft will start making a difference. cbsnews.com

Another City Battles ORC
Police in Liberty, Kansas see uptick in shoplifting, thefts
Liberty police are increasing patrols as the department has seen an uptick in shoplifting and organized retail thefts at stores along the Kansas Street corridor and at other retail locations in the city.

“With the holiday shopping season upon us, the department is increasing its patrol staffing each day and targeting the areas in which the thefts are occurring. Shoppers will see more officers specifically assigned to proactively patrol large shopping districts,” states a police department release.

“If you plan to shoplift in Liberty, then you should plan on going to jail,” said Police Chief Jim Martin.

Liberty is one city like many others around the nation seeing increases in shoplifting, especially in busy areas around highways and interstates. These areas make it easy for teams of shoplifters to escape into other areas.

According to CNBC, shoplifters are hurting big retailers, chain stores and small businesses, where the impact is felt even more. According to a recent survey of 700 small-business owners by Business.org, 89% of small businesses experienced shoplifting in 2021 and 54% reported an increase in shoplifting last year during peak seasons like holiday shopping.

In radio interview this week with 98.1 FM, Mulch said police are seeing more retailers do what they can prevent shoplifting like putting items in locked cases near registers that clerks have to unlock for customers to have access to. Some retailers are also hiring their own security, with some security officers being off-duty or experienced law enforcement. mycouriertribune.com

New Coalition to Fight ORC, Illegal Trade, Counterfeits & More
Coalition Calls on Congress to Tackle Illicit Trade
The United to Safeguard America from Illegal Trade (USA-IT) coalition called on Congress to embrace new policies to combat illegal trade, including counterfeiting, smuggling, organized retail theft, drug trafficking and human trafficking, according to a press release following the coalition’s second annual national summit.

Opening the summit, Representative Bennie Thompson said, “Illicit trade not only damages our businesses and economy but can also pose health and safety risks for consumers and even undermines our security. When the government and private sector work together, hand in hand, we’re more efficient and effective at combating this threat. This is about protecting all of America.”

“Fighting these organizations for more than a decade, I’ve seen firsthand how the seemingly innocuous trafficking of illicit tobacco and nicotine products, like cigarettes and e-vapor products, has very serious consequences,” said Kristin Reif, director of government relations for Philip Morris International, at the summit. “But criminals don’t just traffic in one commodity; they will traffic in anything that earns them a dollar, whether that’s luxury purses or drugs or even human beings. That’s why USA-IT is so crucial—by bringing together such a diverse group of stakeholders, we can bring this pervasive problem into lawmakers’ focus and can more effectively counter the threat of illegal trade.”

The summit included five panel discussions from experts from companies, law enforcement, academia and policy.

USA-IT was launched in June 2021 and now works across 15 states facing illegal trade issues. USA-IT offers information and training programs for local officials and law enforcement and raises public awareness of the issues surrounding illegal trade.  tobaccoreporter.com
 
66% of police agencies in New Mexico have data missing from FBI crime report

Never-Ending Scourge of Mass Shootings: Why is America like this?

US: 100.8M Cases - 1.1M Dead - 98.2M Recovered
Worldwide: 650.1M Cases - 6.6M Dead - 627.1M Recovered

Private Industry Security Guard Deaths: 362  
Law Enforcement Officer Deaths: 816

Woman Posed as Retail Store Owner to get COVID Relief Loans
DOJ: Indianapolis Woman Sentenced for Falsely Seeking COVID 19 Relief Loans for Non-Existent Businesses
INDIANAPOLIS – D’Ericka Lee, 29, of Indianapolis, was sentenced to a year of probation after pleading guilty to wire fraud and making and using a false document in an attempt to fraudulently obtain COVID‑19 related disaster loans. As part of the sentence, Judge Barker ordered that Lee pay $10,000 in restitution to the Small Business Administration.

According to court documents, Lee filed three separate loan applications for Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) following the onset of the COVID‑19 pandemic. In Lee’s three loan applications, she fraudulently represented to the Small Business Administration that she ran a retail clothing and apparel business, a daycare, and a medical services business, which each employed various individuals and generated revenue income.

Lee’s applications were fraudulent because the purported businesses had no employees or revenue, and, in fact, the businesses did not even exist. The business addresses Lee listed in her loan applications were personal residences incapable of housing a business.

“This defendant repeatedly lied to take advantage of disaster loan programs that were a vital lifeline to those actually entitled to them,” said Zachary A. Myers, U.S. Attorney. “Our U.S. Attorney’s Office and our federal law enforcement partners are dedicated to protecting these important federal programs from waste, fraud, and abuse. The conviction and sentence imposed today demonstrate that those who break the law to defraud the public will be held accountable.”

“This sentence illustrates the FBI’s commitment to combatting COVID-19 related fraud and ensuring those who fraudulently profited from the pandemic are held accountable,” said Herbert J. Stapleton, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI's Indianapolis Field Office. “Stealing money meant to help those who were vulnerable and in need during those unprecedented times was reprehensible and will not be tolerated.”  justice.gov

China Ditches Zero-COVID Following Unrest
Fears of deadly infection surge as China abandons zero-Covid policy

Dramatic U-turn following widespread unrest leaves country ill-prepared for Omicron

In the face of the most widespread national protests since the bloody crackdown on Tiananmen Square demonstrators in 1989, the Chinese government has abruptly abandoned its flagship zero-Covid policy.

In Beijing, people prepared to go into shopping malls or on public transport without a recent negative test. Elsewhere, they were allowed to enter parks and supermarkets without checks, or told they could quarantine at home – rather than a government facility – if they had come into contact with a case.

For nearly three years the authorities have battled to keep Covid out of the country, using every tool of technology, mass mobilisation and repression at their disposal, regardless of the tragic costs to individuals and the terrible damage to the national economy. theguardian.com

Post-COVID Shift Away from China
Apple accelerates plans to move production out of China amid COVID fallout

Production at factories has taken a massive hit amid riots over zero-Covid policies.

Apple is pushing to expedite a pivot away from manufacturing in China, as protests swell over the country's strict zero-Covid policies and riots thwart production.

The technology giant is ramping up efforts to shift production to other Asian countries like India and Vietnam in order to distance itself from Foxconn, one of the company's top suppliers and operator of the world's largest iPhone factory in China, according to the Wall Street Journal.

While the move has been planned for months, after shifting COVID-19 policies enacted by the Chinese Communist Party first began to threaten production earlier this year, sources told the Journal that recent uprisings at the Zhengzhou plant are propelling Apple into action. businessinsider.com

Demand for remote jobs outpaces supply

Congress eyes end to military coronavirus vaccine mandate