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Editor's Notes

I'm only the messenger

by: 
Whit Richardson
  - 
Thursday, July 17, 2008

I know this blog has been chock full of retail/LP/counterfeit news for a few weeks now. And I'm sorry, but today is going to be no different.

First off, legislation that would make organized retail crime a federal offense was introduced earlier this week. Retailers and industry watchers hope a federal rule will be a stop the problem, which is estimated to cost upwards of $30 billion per year.

H.R. 6491, the Organized Retail Crime Act of 2008 was introduced Tuesday by Representative Brad Ellsworth, D-Ind., with Representative Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, as the lead co-sponsor.

The bill would define organized retail crime as “the acquiring of retail merchandise by illegal means for the purpose of reselling the items” and make such activity – including transportation, sale or receipt of stolen retail goods, – a federal crime. Among other provisions, sale of stolen or counterfeit gift cards, or items with faked Universal Product Codes or Radio Frequency Identification chips would be considered fraud. Those found guilty of committing or facilitating organized retail crimes would be subject to appropriate existing fines, prison terms and forfeiture, and the legislation would require the U.S. Sentencing Commission to review its guidelines for cases involving such crimes.

The bill would also establish that operation of on-line marketplaces such as auction sites can be considered “facilitation” of organized retail crime unless the operator can show that specific steps had been taken to ensure that goods being sold were not obtained by theft or fraud. Site operators would be required to “expeditiously” investigate complaints that stolen items are being sold, maintain records of the names and physical addresses of high-volume sellers, and require high-volume sellers to either post that information along with merchandise offerings or make it available upon request to any business with a reasonable suspicion about the merchandise. Operators of on-line marketplaces could also be sued by any business whose stolen goods were sold.

And, Tyco yesterday announced the acquisition of the assets of IntelliVid, a developer of retail-focused (sorry, sorry!) intelligent video analysis solutions to add to its American Dynamics portfolio of video security technologies. Since 2003, privately-held IntelliVid has provided its retail customers with business intelligence applications that utilize video analytics for loss prevention, customer safety, compliance, and merchandising.

The acquired assets include IntelliVid’s complete line of Video Investigator solutions, Point of Sale Accelerators and Computer Aided Tracking software. The new solutions will leverage American Dynamics VideoEdge technologies, Tyco said, allowing recorded video to be used for real-time and forensic theft prevention and store intelligence solutions.

I'm talking to Chuck Hutzler, vice president of R&D for American Dynamics solutions, about the deal today and will have more informaiton for you in Tuesday's newswire.

Tags: 
Editor's notes,
legislation,
ORC,
retail,
Retail,
crime of the week
Editor's Notes

Tiffany's at a loss

by: 
Whit Richardson
  - 
Monday, July 14, 2008

The Associated Press is reporting that eBay just nabbed an important victory in court.

A judge said Monday that companies such as jeweler Tiffany & Co. are responsible for policing their trademarks online, not auction platforms like eBay. Tiffany had sued eBay over the sale of counterfeit jewelry on eBay's sites.

Judge Richard J. Sullivan in New York said in a Monday ruling that eBay can't be held liable for trademark infringement "based solely on their generalized knowledge that trademark infringement might be occurring on their Web sites."

I have to say I don't agree with this at all. Ebay is making money off sales of counterfeit and stolen goods. They should be held responsible for criminals using their site to sell these items. Period.

What do you think about this ruling? Fair or BS?

Tags: 
Counterfeit,
eBay,
Editor's notes,
retail,
Retail
Editor's Notes

Ruling expected today

by: 
Whit Richardson
  - 
Monday, July 14, 2008

You heard it here first: I predict that the U.S. District Court may announce a ruling on the Tiffany counterfeit case as soon as today.

OK, I'm fibbing. Women's Wear Daily reported this nine hours ago and I heard it from a bunch of retail contacts late last week. (But it drew you in, right?)

If you read last week's newswire story, you know a court in Paris two weeks ago ruled that eBay must pay LVMH Moet Hennessey Louis Vuitton $63.2 million for allegedly selling counterfeit LVMH-branded products on its site.

The Tiffany case — Tiffany argues eBay is a site that allows the trading of counterfeit Tiffany merchandise — has been quiet since November when both sides presented their arguments in a weeklong trial. This would be the first ruling on eBay's practices in the United States.

I'll keep you updated when the news comes through.

Tags: 
Counterfeit,
eBay,
Editor's notes,
retail,
Retail
Editor's Notes

And the award goes to ...

by: 
Whit Richardson
  - 
Sunday, July 13, 2008

The Alliance for Enterprise Security Risk Management — a partnership of ASIS International and ISACA — is seeking nominations for its third annual AESRM Excellence in Security Convergence and Contribution to Enterprise Risk Management Award. The award was created to honor individuals who are leading the growing field of risk management and convergence.

“Understanding the convergence of physical and information security and how it fits within enterprise risk management is key to expanding the dialogue about security’s role in ERM,” said Emil D’Angelo, chair of AESRM. “Enterprises worldwide are recognizing the importance of collaboration among physical and information security to minimize risks most effectively.”

Individuals nominated for the award should exhibit leadership in improving the understanding of security’s role in enterprise security risk management throughout their organizations. Their work should involve people, processes and technology to manage security risks inside of a holistic model managing the enterprise risks. Additionally, nominees must demonstrate how they have shared their security risk management accomplishments with people outside of their organizations.

Nomination forms are available on the AESRM web site. The deadline for nominations is July 11, 2008. Nominees must be members in good standing of ASIS International or ISACA. Three representatives from each organization will judge the nomination forms.

So you want to know what you get out of it? The winner of the Excellence in Security Convergence and Contribution to ERM Award will receive an expenses-paid trip to the ASIS International 54th Annual Seminar and Exhibits in September. ("You've just won the AESRM Excellence in Convergence Award Bob. What are you going to do now?" "I'm going to ASIS International!"

One of my favorite beer drinkers, Dave Tyson, previously chief security officer for the City of Vancouver, Canada and currently the senior director of information security operations at eBay in San Jose, Calif., is a past winner. He also served as a keynote speaker at TechSec in 2007.

Tags: 
Editor's notes,
TechSec,
techsec,
award,
ERM,
obituary
Editor's Notes

It ain't easy being green

by: 
Whit Richardson
  - 
Thursday, July 10, 2008

It's all about about being green these days. Every fashion magazine I get has at least one dedicated "Green Issue" each year and even our sister publication, Security Systems News, put a "green" issue together in 2006. We've yet to jump on the bandwagon. Should we? I'm starting to think so.

Today, I got a press release from The Gardens Mall in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. They have recently purchased six Toyota Highlander Hybrids for use by its security personnel.

The new SUVs replace the existing fleet of Ford Explorers (also known as gas guzzlers) in order to become more eco-friendly and cut down on gas costs.

The security vehicles at The Gardens operate 24/7, the press release said, and each vehicle is driven more than 24,000 miles per year.

According to Fueleconomy.gov, a 2008 Ford Explorer gets 13 city/19 highway miles per gallon. A Toyota Highlander Hybrid gets 27 city/25 highway miles per gallon. The Hybrid can handle twice the miles per gallon in city miles.

So, (with help from Sam and considering gas is $4) that means the mall spent roughly $7,384 on gas per Ford Explorer and will spend $3,555 per Hybrid. That's a savings of $3,829 per vehicle or $29,974 total. That's a pretty substantial savings.

Are any of you making similar changes? Should we put together a "green" issue to highlight what security leaders are doing to make their programs/businesses more environmentally sustainable? Comment below and let me know.

And on a side note — be careful with your purchases of those plastic water bottles. L.L. Bean sells a nice metal one for $16.95 that is earth friendly and reusable!

Tags: 
Editor's notes,
Johnson Controls,
mall,
MAC
Industry View

What do we want from civic CCTV, and what does that mean we have to do?

by: 
Guest Blogger
  - 
Wednesday, July 9, 2008

I love IP Video Market Info. Here's their boil-down of the state of the debate over civic video surveillance:

Key Findings Summary

  • The expectation that CCTV systems should be deployed to reduce crime rather than solve crime has created huge problems.
  • While the studies show serious doubt on CCTV's ability to reduce crime generally, a strong consensus exists in CCTV's ability to reduce premeditative/property crime
  • CCTV is consistently treated as a singular, stable technology, obscuring radical technological changes that have occurred in the last 10 years
  • Differences in per camera costs are largely ignored, preventing policy makers from finding ways to reduce costs
  • Routine comparison of police vs cameras is counterproductive

Practical Recommendations Summary

  • Stop claiming that CCTV can generally reduce crime
  • Optimize future public CCTV projects around crime solving rather than crime reduction
  • Optimize future public CCTV projects around material and premeditative crimes
  • Target technologies that support crime solving and material/premeditative crimes
  • Focus on minimizing cost per camera

There's a lot more dialogue about whether to deploy surveillance cameras, and where, than about how to use them to achieve specific goals.

People either want cameras because they want reduced crime (as we see above, unrealistic except in the systemic, longterm sense that more criminals will be caught and therefore taken off the streets) or they don't want them because they feel watched (most civic cameras are unmonitored, their recorded video is used exclusively as post-crime forensic tools).

Looking at new ways to monitor based on alarms or review of recorded video samples will be important going forward. In the same way business are using surveillance video to improve customer experience (read: revenue), law enforcement authorities should use recorded video to better understand patterns of crime and the activities that precede them and can be identified as signals that can be the basis of preventive actions.

- Abigail

Tags: 
civic surveillance,
Industry View,
online community,
public safety,
surveillance,
training,
park surveillance,
advancement
Industry View

Business intelligence through video

by: 
Guest Blogger
  - 
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
We've talked some in this space about the non-security uses of security/surveillance video. Here's a good article on the subject that everyone should read. The main thrust:

While shoplifters and negligent employees cause stores to lose money, these losses are minimal compared to loss of potential earnings.

- - - - - -

Contributed by Abigail Hamilton, director of marketing for Airship Industries, a developer of advanced video surveillance solutions.

Tags: 
hidden cameras,
surveillance,
Industry View,
online community,
civic surveillance
Editor's Notes

It's here

by: 
Whit Richardson
  - 
Tuesday, July 8, 2008

I know you've been on the edge of your seats waiting for the official educational program for Security Profiling for Survival to be announced and today, the wait is over. Here's a few of our speakers, but you'll have to click here to get the full program.

*Jeffrey Addicott, Professor of Law, Director, Center for Terrorism Law, St. Mary's University School of Law
*Jim Conway, former FBI agent
*Offer Baruch, Vice President of Operation, International Shield Inc.
*Rafi Ron, CEO, New Age Security Solutions and former Director of Security at Tel Aviv Ben-Gurion International Airport and the Israel Airport Authority
*Will McGuire, President, Global Security Associates
*Salvatore Venturelli, Lieutenant/Commander, MBTA Transit Police Department
*Don Aviv, COO, Interfor Inc.
*Aaron Richman, Executive Director, Institute of Terrorism Response & Research

I can't tell you how very excited I am about this program so please forgive the shameless self promotion. The speakers we have on board are top-notch and these guys are the thought leaders in our industry. I hope you'll join them (and me) for this ground breaking event. Online registration is now open.

Tags: 
cargo theft,
Editor's notes
Editor's Notes

A case for 24/7 monitoring

by: 
Whit Richardson
  - 
Wednesday, July 2, 2008

I'm sure by now you've all seen the video surveillance footage of a woman who died in the emergency room at a hospital in Brooklyn. Esmen Green, 49, collapsed on the floor after spending 24-hours at the ER in Kings County Hospital. Staff members and security guards ignored her, as well as the rest of the people in the waiting room. So much for safety in numbers.

The AP reported that one guard didn't even leave his chair, rather he rolled it around a corner to stare at the body, then rolling away a few moments later. Wow.

Six people have been fired — including security personnel. Good. Rightfully, so.

If I were a security director, I'd argue that this incident makes a good case for 24/7 monitoring. It is costly to do it in house, so why not contract a third-party monitoring center. What about incorporating video analytics? Can a patient collapsing be set up as a alarm?

There is another issue here: I know we as a society have become complacent and many of us readily ignore other people's behavior. Case in point — I was walking through the mall last weekend and saw a man wearing a backpack. Why was he wearing a backpack in the mall? Was he a shoplifter, a terrorist or did he prefer to bring his own bag for purchases? It freaked me out for some reason, but I didn't say a thing. In my head, I argued that it was all fine.

Sure, stupid move on my part. I know better. You want to know who else should have known better — those hospital security guards.

Tags: 
Editor's notes,
monitoring,
Tyco,
tyco,
video analytics
Editor's Notes

NRF, Days 2 & 3

by: 
Whit Richardson
  - 
Thursday, June 26, 2008

I have to tell you all that I really enjoy NRF's LP conference. Although traffic was somewhat lighter on the show floor this year, the educational sessions were top notch and the attendees were high-level decision makers. If you are in LP and haven't been before, here's a save-the-date for 2009: June 14-17 at the Los Angeles Convention Center

Here are the highlights from days two and three of the show:

*Dr. Hollinger released the results of the annual National Retail Security Survey and it was good news — inventory shrinkage as a percentage of sales fell to its lowest level in 17 years in 2007.

*There was a great presentation on ORC with Bill Suthard with Lowe's, Elizabeth Osterle with NRF and Scott Springer with DHS. Some of the stuff Suthard talked about — barcode switches and box stuffs — still make my head spin. The big message though was that retailers really need to partner with law enforcement to reduce ORC. Public-private partnerships? We talk about that a lot, don't we?

*Had a great meeting with Jumbi Edulbehram at Axis Communications. They had consultants from Encompass at their booth because they are finding customers want help in designing solutions, not just buying one product and piecemealing a system together. He said this year some retailers brought their IT people to the show. Isn't that interesting.

*Another good meeting at Brijot. Leon Chlimper and Courtney Lewis took some time out to tell me about the company's LP initiative. I know, I don't think of passive millimeter wave cameras being used in the retail environment either, but some distribution centers are an ideal candidate, Chlimper said. He mentioned that 80 percent of the time the company is talking to end users, while only 20 percent is spent on the sales channel. Why? The end users understand better how this can work in their environment, then they bring their preferred integrator in.

*The networking reception on Tuesday evening was good and I had the chance to meet some new LP contacts. I heard there was a party Siemens hosted at Epcot Center. I didn't get an invite. Did anyone go?

*There was a great session on Wednesday morning about C-TPAT and securing the supply chain. William Tenney from Target was quick to point out a common mistake: "Even though we are called 'Tar-jay' we are not a French company."

Orlando got hit with some brutal thunderstorms in the afternoon and I think I was lucky to make it out of there. Orlando in June — just not my cup of tea.

Tags: 
Axis,
Brijot,
Editor's notes,
LP,
NRSS,
ORC,
Orlando,
LPQ

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