U.S. Homicides Increase; Britain Fuel Shortages; Korean Tensions; and More

Here’s a quick look at some of the security-related news since yesterday (and remember to check out the biggest news in security: Tuesday’s GSX Daily.)

FBI Report: U.S. Homicides Increase by 30 Percent

By almost any measure, 2020 was a bad year, and that’s especially true when it comes to violent crime in the United States. According to FBI statistics, homicides increased by 30 percent compared to 2019, the single largest one-year jump since the FBI started keeping records. In incident numbers, homicides and nonnegligent manslaughter incidents reached 21,570, the highest number since the gang-related drug wars of the 1990s pushed homicides above 23,000 per year. Overall, violent crime increased by 5.6 percent, though property crimes fell 7.8 percent, continuing a decades-long decline.

UK Enlists Military to Help with Fuel Shortage

A trucker shortage in the Britain has created major supply issues with many gas stations in British cities running dry. Hours-long queues are frustrating the public, leading to several reports of minor assaults and other unrest.

“A post-Brexit shortage of lorry drivers, exacerbated by a halt to truck-driving-licence testing during COVID lockdowns, has sown chaos through supply chains, raising the spectre of shortages and price rises in the run up to Christmas,” the Reuters reported. “Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said a limited number of military tanker drivers had been put on a state of readiness to be deployed to deliver fuel if necessary.”

Tensions on Korean Peninsula Mount as North Fires Test Missile into Sea

Shortly before North Korea’s ambassador to the United Nations was set to make remarks yesterday, North Korea fired a short-range missle into the sea off its east coast in the general direction of Japan. The North Korean ambassador said the country had the right to develop self-defensive military capability. Japan claimed the missle might have been a ballistic missile, which would represent a violation of UN sanctions.

As is common, the provocation is part of a flurry of mixed signals from the North Korean government. Earlier this month, North Korea test-fired both ballistic and cruise missiles; however, last week the country expressed willingness to engage in talks with South Korea.

Gang Leaders in United States Plead Guilty to RICO Charges

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) released a report that six members of the Nine Trey Gangsters, a criminal organization that started as a subset of the United Bloods Nation and spread throughout the Eastern United States, pleaded guilty to Racketeer Influenced and Corruption Organization charges. According to the DOJ, Nine Trey Gangsters is responsible for numerous acts of “crime and violence including murder, assault, robbery, firearms possession, witness tampering, obstruction of justice, drug trafficking and extortion among other criminal activity.”

“Members of Nine Trey Gangsters have plagued our streets with violence and drug trafficking for far too long,” said Special Agent in Charge Chris Hacker of the FBI’s Atlanta Field Office. “These pleas are an example of our commitment to dismantle organized, violent criminal enterprises. The community can rest assured these six defendants won’t be on our streets for a very long time, thanks to the efforts of the FBI-led Safe Streets Gang Task Force and its state and local partners.”

Women Experiencing More Workplace Burnout Than Men

Fast Company reports on a massive study of 65,000 people performed by McKinsey & Company and LeanIn.org in which 42 percent of women say they are burned out. This compares to 35 percent of men who report burnout. Both numbers are climbing: In 2020 32 percent of women and 28 percent of men reported being burned out. Among other findings, Fast Company reported the following:

• Female senior leaders are 24 percent more likely than their male counterparts to ensure their teams’ workload is manageable, and 60 percent more likely to provide emotional support to their teams.
• Approximately one in five female senior leaders spends a substantial amount of time on DEI work that is not central to their job, compared to less than one in 10 men at the same level.
• One in three women considered downshifting, leaving, or switching jobs in the past year, up from one in four at the beginning of the pandemic.
• Despite a 27 percent gain in female representation overall at the C-suite level, women of color make up just 4 percent at that place in the hierarchy (compared to 13 percent men of color).
• Women of color are, by and large, experiencing the same microaggressions relative to white women, at similar frequencies, as they were two years ago.