As the owner of a private security firm I am always trying to stay current on security trends, techniques, new technology, laws pertaining to the profession etc. I figure that it is my responsibility to acquire and pass on this knowledge to both my staff and clients (existing and potential)alike. That is why the article entitled; Police Ethics Inquiry Broadens, which appeared in the Metro section of the Washington Post (Sunday, June 24, 2007) caught my eye.
More and more we are being asked by business owners such as; Restaurants, Movie Theatres, Night Clubs, Bowling Alleys, Convention Centers, etc. who want to know if they can replace the off-duty police officers that they hire with our security officers. My answer is always the same; not only can we provide comparable security services (and in some areas - superior servcies), but we can add to their bottom line by saving them 30% or more off their hourly rate. To further protect our clients, we carry our own professional liability insurance - $5 million dollars and in addition, we have separate workman's comp. insurance to cover all work related injuries.
The ongoing investigation in Montgomery County concerns a local property management company who hired a number of off-duty Montgomery County cops to provide security. Apparently, nine of those officers have been suspended. The investigation involves police officers who were believed to be "double dipping" - that means they are suspected of having worked and charged as much as $50.00 an hour for so-called off duty work when they were actually supposed to be working for the County.
Of course if this property management company in Silver Spring had hired a professional private security company, this whole embarrassing incident could have been avoided. Many people think that they need to hire off-duty police to protect their businesses. Nothing could be further from the truth. Police officers are already being paid by the tax payers to protect and serve. It saddens me when I hear a client tell me that they use off-duty police in case anything happens they will be sure of getting a response.
As a fomer Law Enforcement officer myself, I know that the police should not have to pressure a business into hiring them and paying them high hourly rates to ensure that one of their colleagues will show up if there is a problem. They must show up -that is why they swore an oath upon their graduation from the police academy. If they do not show up when they are called, a complaint should be lodged just as you would with any other business who did not deliver on their promise to properly serve. We have excellent police departments in the United States and we need to keep it that way. The last thing we want or need is to have to bribe the police in oder for them to do their jobs like they have to resort to in many central and south american countries.
Sunday, July 8, 2007
Two weeks ago my good friends Tonya and Ian Fitzpatrick of Bronze World Travel invited me to appear as a guest on their weekly radio show; Traveln-on (Saturdays @ 1pm on 630 WMAL Radio). I was to be their resident security expert for the day and would be available to answer any of the listener's questions concerning security both home and abroad.
When I arrived at the radio station last Saturday I was met by Ian who asked me if I had heard about the car bombing of Glasgow Airport in Scotland that was then filling the airways. I had to confess that I had not as I had been busy preparing for the radio show and tending to the needs of a new client. The producer then took me into his office where the story was unfolding on the news channels.
Although I did not want to voice my concern on air and perhaps scare travelers who were departing for trips to the British Isles, I did wonder if the pictures of the burning vehicle and burning airport represented a new strategy by the terrorists. I, like many other security professionals have quietly wondered if the day would ever come where we would see car bombers and individual suicide bombers operating closer to home - both here and in Europe. Having heard that one of the men in that vehicle in Scotland was pulled out of the burning car made me wonder if he had meant to ignite it while inside or was that an accident. Later in the day we heard reports that a gas cylinder was found hidden on the man who had been taken to the hospital.
Another apparently new twist seemed to be the fact that one of those suspected and arrested in connection with the car bombing was said to have been a medical doctor - possibly from Pakistan. This would suggest that the authorities can no longer concentrate on young unemployed males as possible terrorist suspects. It would seem that the authorities in Great Britain will have their hands full since as many as 50% of their country's medical personnel are foreign born.
