Take action now against active shooter threats

How one retailer's proactive face matching led to ID, arrest without violence

Active shooter attacks spiked by 52.5 percent in 2021, according to the FBI. Most happened in "commerce" areas, such as shopping malls and grocery stores. In response, retailers are quickly adopting technologies, including face matching, that offer advance warning of threats.

Not all violence is preventable, but retailers can increase their chances of stopping attacks before they start. Here's how one retailer's fast, proactive reaction to a real-life threat led to an arrest with no violence or injuries—and most importantly, before the threatened attack happened.

The retailer became aware of a potential active shooter threat on a popular social media platform. An unknown and unverified individual made a direct threat of gun violence in his post, and he suggested that customers with children avoid the retailer's store.

Minutes after the threat was posted, the retailer ran the profile photo through the FaceFirst Visitor Search Investigation tool. Had the person of interest visited any of the retailer's stores in the past 45 days? Within seconds, the search revealed two face matches at two locations, one from two weeks back and another just one day prior.

The retailer's asset protection team reviewed the matched events and security camera video, then collaborated with local law enforcement. Officers confirmed the man was a known offender, with a record of violent crimes against another retailer and a history of mental illness. Using face matching technology, the retailer formed a threat profile for the man in less than two hours.

Eight days later, the man returned to the retailer's store. As he entered, the FaceFirst system matched his face and immediately generated a match notification. The store management team confirmed the notification and followed the retailer's policy on the notification: "Do not approach—call LE." Law enforcement officers responded quickly and arrested the man nearby. The incident was resolved without violence, and a restraining order was issued soon thereafter. The man has not returned to any of the retailer's stores since his arrest.

Calculate the risks of being caught unaware when a known offender enters your store. If you knew there was a proven solution to keep your valued customers and associates safer from violent offenders, would you implement it? The real risk is answering no. FaceFirst's solution is fast, accurate, and ethical—take action today at facefirst.com.
 

Genetec & Interface Executives Discuss VSaaS Impact

Considering The Impact Of VSaaS On Security Integrators

As cloud-based systems become more common, Video Surveillance as a Service (VSaaS) is becoming mainstream in the physical security marketplace. There are certainly benefits for manufacturers and end users, but we asked our Expert Panel Roundtable to focus on the benefits to the dealer channel. We asked this week’s Expert Panel Roundtable: What is the impact of video surveillance as a service (VSaaS) on security integrators?

Rebecca Greenwell - Sr. Mgr, Channel Enablement, North America, Genetec, Inc.

Forward-thinking security integrators are using cloud applications like VSaaS to take their business to the next level. By offering SaaS, integrators can provide security solutions that deliver the latest in technology and features, including maintenance and upgrades. Not only does SaaS allow for the continuous delivery of new features and system updates, but it also facilitates cyber resiliency. Using SaaS, integrators can focus on their core competencies, giving them the foundation to build a managed services business with a greater focus on customer service, loyalty, and retention. Offering long-term contracts for cloud services can provide a more stable and predictable monthly revenue stream. When that revenue stream is combined with the integrator’s own service offering, there is the potential to surpass one-off system sales or annual service renewal sales over a longer period.

Dwayne Healy - VP, Business Security & Intelligence, Interface Systems

A VSaaS platform allows us to offer significant value over simply installing and maintaining traditional equipment and infrastructure. It allows us to leverage our knowledge base and intellectual property to deliver add-on services such as comprehensive, real-time video monitoring through our virtual guard solution that can interact with employees and escort staff on or off-site. Most importantly, a VSaaS platform allows our customers to easily adopt a proactive security stance instead of merely a reactive one. Beyond security, the addition of business and operational intelligence features positively impacts our customers’ revenue by providing insights into shopping behavior and experience. They can monitor queue lengths, and drive-thru wait times or study customer traffic to help refine product placement. Likewise, operations departments can make informed decisions around staffing based on pattern analysis that reveals peak occupancy. VSaaS allows us to offer all the comforts of traditional CCTV appliances and seamlessly expand beyond their traditional use cases. securityinformed.com
 

Retail Executives Continue to Speak Out Over the ORC Crisis
The CEOs of Walmart & Target are warning of surging theft. Here's how a CVS exec said thieves steal $2,000 from stores in just 2 minutes.

Execs at Walmart & Target both warned that retail theft is higher than usual in 2022.

One year after a CVS executive testified about the "massive" scale of organized retail crime in the US, other major retailers are also issuing warnings about a surge in thefts. And this time they say big profit drops and even store closures may come as a result.

According to the National Retail Federation, organized retail crime incidents jumped 26.5% on average in 2021. One of the people who brought the problem into the national spotlight last year was Ben Dugan, director of organized retail crime and corporate investigations at CVS Health.

In congressional testimony, he said organized retail crime-related events are reported in a CVS Pharmacy store every three minutes. In just two minutes, he testified, the average professional thief targeting CVS steals $2,000 worth of goods.

A year later, Target Chief Financial Officer Michael Fiddelke has also sounded the alarm on theft.

Missing inventory has reduced Target's gross margin by more than $400 million in 2022 compared with last year, and Target expects those profit losses to grow to $600 million by the end of the fiscal year, Fiddelke said last month during a company earnings call. Target predominantly blamed the inventory shrink on organized crime.

And Walmart CEO Doug McMillon made waves when he told CNBC this month that theft is "higher than what it has historically been" and if it doesn't slow down, prices will be higher, and/or stores will close."

Dugan appeared before a Senate judiciary committee in November 2021 to discuss the illegal sales of stolen and counterfeit goods online. He had personally investigated organized retail crime for over 30 years. He said such crimes had only been getting worse due to the lack of regulation surrounding online marketplaces such as Amazon and eBay.  msn.com

What's Fueling LA's Shoplifting & Smash-and-Grab Crisis?
Food insecurity linked to growing grocery store theft in Los Angeles

Smash-and-grabs and flash mob robberies highlight a wave of crimes since the pandemic, but a more common theft shows distressing signs in the economy. Shoplifting at grocery stores is on the rise.

Folded into the spectrum of thefts at department stores and auto parts outlets, stealing food is quite common, though remains under-reported. Many investigations point to crime rings targeting clothes and jewelry retailers, but a patron stealing chicken or steak receives less attention. During the pandemic, there were reports of displaced persons swiping food off shelves. Still, the homeless are one of many who have increasingly taken food without paying for it. American hunger is real and rising.

A new study by Public Exchange, a research-based initiative at USC Dornslife reported a more drastic spike in food following the global health crisis. Findings showed 24.3 percent or 809,798 households experienced food insecurity in July 2022. Children lived in about 4 out of the 10 households.

A major part of the problem is criminalizing residents who take food due to hunger. In California, attempting to shoplift $950 or less is charged as a misdemeanor with up to six months in jail. Therefore shoplifting food to eat has the same brevity of taking jewelry. For some, that is criminal in itself.

With growing issues across the U.S., the pilot program in L.A. County comes with a significant expectation to provide a template for other cities. The Department of Agriculture (USDA) reported that 10.2 percent or 13.5 million households were food insecure at some time during 2021. A disproportionate number affected are Black and Latino. It is estimated that 33.8 million people lived in food-insecure households in that same year. arkrepublic.com

Another PD Launches Initiative to Fight Theft
Tacoma police launch initiative to combat property crimes against businesses
The Tacoma Police Department has launched a new initiative focused on property crimes against businesses. The approach with the initiative is in response to the growing backlog of cases and a push by small business owners to address the repeated instances of theft and vandalism.

A restaurant called Sam Choy’s Poke to the Max is among the business that have struggled with repeated property damage.

As part of the initiative, three detectives will work overtime shifts to tackle the many unsolved cases from the property crimes unit. The detectives will still be responsible for their regularly assigned duties as well.

According to the most recently available data from Tacoma police, break-ins are up 12.5 percent compared to the same time last year, and property damage has increased 11.4 percent. However, the past month did see some downward trends.

It's been nearly five weeks since the initiative has started and the three detectives have been assigned 45 property crime cases. 11 cases have been forwarded to the prosecutor’s office recommending criminal charges. 16 cases are being actively investigated, with others pending. Up to a dozen investigations involve organized retail theft rings.

The initiative could be expanded if more detectives volunteer to take on these overtime assignments, according to police. komonews.com

Congress passes bill to fund police de-escalation training
The bill will help PDs adopt de-escalation training when encountering individuals with mental health issues in an effort to reduce officer-involved fatalities

In one of its final acts of the year, the House passed bipartisan legislation late Wednesday that would empower law enforcement agencies across the country to adopt de-escalation training when encountering individuals with mental health issues as part of an effort to reduce the number of officer-involved fatalities. - will now go to President Joe Biden’s desk for his signature. police1.com

Manhattan D.A. Bragg to Fund $9M Mental Health Care for People Arrested in Manhattan
Many New Yorkers charged with crimes will be connected with mental health and housing services soon after their first court appearances in an effort to speed treatment, Manhattan’s district attorney said on Wednesday.

Mr. Bragg said the program will focus on repeat offenders and “a high-needs population,” with the goal to prevent people from cycling in and out of the courts and Rikers Island jails. nytimes.com

US: 101.7M Cases - 1.1M Dead - 98.7M Recovered
Worldwide: 656.2M Cases - 6.6M Dead - 630.5M Recovered

Private Industry Security Guard Deaths: 362  
Law Enforcement Officer Deaths: 820

COVID Cases, Hospitalizations & Deaths

Six Signs Your Hybrid Workplace Plan Isn’t Working

It isn’t just about getting employees into the office when you tell them to. It’s about making sure they are productive and creative.

More and more businesses have at least a portion of employees who spend some of their time working in the office and some time working remotely, but it’s not always clear whether they’ve arrived at the “right” hybrid model—that is, the version of hybrid that boosts individual productivity, team collaboration and organizational innovation.

Even if your employees are returning to the office as required, you can’t assume that everything is going great. You need to tune into other, less-obvious—but just as crucial—signs that not all is happy in your house of hybrid.

Here are six warning signs leaders should look out for:

1. Managers are out of sync with their teams

If managers are spending a lot more time in the office than their teams are—or a lot less—you have a problem.

2. Video calls persist for on-site employees

If your hybrid approach isn’t reducing the volume of video calls, it is a sign that you’re failing to make the most of your staff’s in-office, face-to-face time, or that you are making people come into the office for no reason. After all, why make people trudge to the office if they are just going to spend yet another day on video calls?

3. Work hours are expanding

Maybe some executives still see 12-hour workdays as a badge of honor, but for a lot of employees, that just leads to burnout and resentment. And that’s one risk of a hybrid schedule, since days crammed full of video calls and meetings often push other work (like email, planning and report writing) into the wee hours.

4. It’s all business

Many business leaders worry about what hybrid work means for their company culture, because they think of culture as something that happens when people are gathered around a conference table or heading out for drinks after work. The truth is that hybrid teams can build relationships and trust both in person and remotely—but only if there’s room for play and exploration as well as for the job at hand.

5. People miss the pandemic

“Remember when we were all working remotely?” is a question that should ring an instant alarm. When you hear your employees waxing nostalgic for the days of full-time remote work, you know the return to the office has been less than a clear win.

6. Your late adopters relapse

One positive effect of Covid? Even the most steadfast late adopters—the people who refused to use Google Docs, Slack, Microsoft Teams or really anything other than email—finally had to learn to use online collaboration tools, many of which are just as useful in the office as they are when working remotely.

The hybrid workplace, in other words, isn’t a free pass to go backward. Nor is it a free pass to throw out everything that worked before. It’s an opportunity to take what we learned during the pandemic and build something new, something better. And the first step in that process is to be honest about what isn’t working. And then fix it. wsj.com

COVID-19 workplace rules in California are changing. Here’s what to know
After roughly two years of changing rules for workplaces on how to prevent the spread of COVID-19, California is poised to cement a two-year standard Thursday that could set the stage for permanent rules on preventing viral spread at work.

And, like any good compromise, it leaves many unhappy people in both the labor and management camps.

Here’s a preview of what will change, and what will not, early next year if the Cal/OSHA Standards Board adopts the two-year standard on Thursday.

If passed on Thursday, the rules will have to go through an administrative review before they can take effect, said Benjamin Ebbink, a labor and employment attorney at the law firm Fisher Phillips LLP. That could last into early next year, and in the meantime the current rules would remain in effect.

Under the current temporary rules, employers have to pay people to stay home for five to 10 days depending on their symptoms and test results. If the two-year standard passes as is, they will not, although workers can still use sick time and potentially other programs to get paid. That would be a huge win for companies who say it’s unfair to force them to continue to shoulder the cost of paying employees not to work, with many writing letters to the board saying as much.

That has has since been revised down to five days by the California Department of Public Health for infected people, as long as symptoms have abated or a person tests negative. That goes up to 10 days if a person’s symptoms aren’t resolving. More details can be found here. sfchronicle.com

Flu and RSV may have peaked in the Bay Area but officials warn of ‘terrible holiday season’
While COVID-19 cases continue to climb in the Bay Area, there are signs that two other viral infections — influenza and respiratory syncytial virus, better known as RSV — may be retreating.

Recent figures reveal that California’s percentage of positive RSV tests peaked in mid-November and has steadily fallen since then. RSV-associated emergency department visits, which mainly affect children and seniors, also appear to have plateaued across the country, according to surveillance data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“National trends for RSV activity suggest that the peak of seasonal activity has passed in nearly all regions,” Jose Romero, a member of the agency’s board of scientific counselors, said at a briefing Friday. sfchronicle.com