We have been writing about it here and other security consultants have been talking about it....crime rises as the economy worsens
In Tuesday's "Washington Post", Lena H. Sun writes that robberies in the Metro Transit system are set to jump 24% by the end of the year.
That is the bad news. The good news is that people can do some thing about it. Apparently, opportunistic thieves are preying on people who are not paying attention to their surroundings.
Moral of the story - if you walk around with your head burried in your Blackberry or if you are moving like a robot from texting as you walk, you are going to be an easy target. Like we have said in the past - HARDEN THE TARGET.
Know where you are headed and be determined to get there without being robbed. There are wolves out there always ready to pounce on poor, unsuspecting sheep. Don't become a victim.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Robberies "Spike" on Metro
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Going to Pakistan on Business? Better Bring Security with You
It would be difficult to think of any industry or profession with greater growth potential - especially in difficult times as this downward economy, than Private Security.
No matter what country you think of; Saudi Arabia, India, China, United Arab Emirates...I have visited all of these countries over the past two years and an overwhelming need for security is the one common denominator that they all share.
That is why I find it amusing everytime our training academy announces a training course such as; Executive Protection Agent and people ask; "after I am trained, can I get work as a bodyguard, or private investigator?".
This story written by Hasan Mansoor for Asiaone News, speaks about the exploding need for private security in Pakistan - a country with a population of more than 170 million, but a Police force of less than 400,000.
Many of the people who graduate from our academy ask us about working overseas. Overseas pays very well. If we had a client wishing to take some E.P. agents on a busness trip to Pakistan (we would STRONGLY advise on bringing your own professionally trained security to a violent country such as Pakistan if it was absolutely necessary to make the trip), we would pay those agents anywhere from $500 - $800 a day with all expenses included.
Now I ask, where else can you make that kind of money during a recession where layoffs and downsizng are the order of the day? Not even lawyers can be guaranteed to earn that kind of money when many of them being laid off from Law Firms all over the country.
The tougher times get, the more need there is for security. Train today for that high paying assignment tomorrow and count yourself lucky that you are in a field that is as about recession-proof as can be found.
Friday, June 19, 2009
PETA Wouldn't Hurt a Fly
I think that very few of us can ever hope to attain the lofty heights of humanity that PETA people seem to have reached.
Afterall, who amongst us would be in favor of catching pesky, dirty, germ spreading flies and then releasing them so that they could come back to annoy us all over again?
I would really like to know where PETA followers go to train to learn that kind of discipline. Do they have a PETA special forces type of training camp in the Blue Ridge mountains of Virginia?
Have they signed a contract with a Blackwater boot camp to turn them into super-humans, capable of ignoring "bug and people-eating animals" - even when those same bugs and animals are chowing down on them?
Scoff not, for it does take an unimaginable discipline to be eaten by mosquitos and to hold back from swatting or squashing them with a reflexive slap. I lived and worked in Africa in the early 90's and I did not possess that kind of discipline.
Just while living in Africa, I must have killed hundreds of mosquitos (this probably makes puts me into "war criminal" class by PETA standards)and yet, those pesky little blood-suckers still managed to give me malaria.
It will be interesting to see if President Obama puts his "catch and release" fly machine that PETA gave him to good use. Apparently, there are all kinds of bugs in the Whitehouse.
Strange, I would have thought they would have all been caught after Nixon left office.
"Death to America" chants in Tehran today
Anyone who has a need to travel to Iran, especially Tehran, should seriously reconsider doing so after today's statement by the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The Ayatollah endorsed the recent election results, which many feel are false and have been seriously manipulated. It was after that statement that loyal followers of the Government were heard to chant; "Death to America".
Surprisingly, Ayatollah Montazeri, the most senior and probably the most respected of all the Ayatollahs, has rejected the results of the elections and came out against the Government in favor of the young protestors.
It will be very interesting to monitor the events in Tehran over the coming days and weeks. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's public stance will no doubt strike fear in many hearts. It is likely that the police and other enforcers will crack down in a more brutal manner.
Khamenei's statement might very well kill off protesting in the streets. For those brave souls who dare to defy him, they will be facing great danger.
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Why a Security Job is the Ultimate "Job Security".
I can't help but find it amusing everytime a potential student for one of our security courses asks the question; "Will I be able to get a job after graduating from your training?"
I find it hard to believe that there could be people out there who are not aware of the growth in private security or the fact that positions formerly held by Police or Military are now being filled by private security companies.
The tens of thousands of private security contractors assisting the military in places like Iraq and Afghanistan are one example, but every time you look around, you can see more and more evidence that private secuity is growing in leaps and bounds.
I remember when I first went to play golf in Ft. Belvoir, Virginia, several years ago. The gates were all manned and controlled by soldiers. These days access is totally enforced by a private security company.
As long as there are hate groups and hate filled individulas, whether they call themselves; White Supremists, Al-Qaeda, Arian Nation, Black Panthers, Anti-Government separatists, or a host of other names, there will always be work for personnel with a good knowledge of security.
The more knowledge and experience you possess, the more you can seek to charge for your services. A client recently told me that they hired an out-of-work lawyer about a year ago for their company. Apparently, a few thousand got laid off in Washington D.C. the same week, so the market was flooded with job seekers with law degrees.
The next time you hear of someone losing their job in a law firm, or an auto plant, or a financial institution - tell them about the security profession. It might not be the world's oldest profession, but it is certainly one of the most stable - in good times and in bad.
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Holocaust Museum Shooting in Washington D.C.
Our condolences go out to the family of murdered Special Police Officer Jones who died in Monday's attack at the Holocaust Museum.
More details of the incident are bound to be released when they become known. Even at this early stage though, there are conclusions being reached that might benefit from waiting to see what took place that fateful day.
As may be seen from the Huffington Post commentary, the suspect, Von Brunn, had been in trouble with the law before. In 1983, he was convicted and sentenced to 4 years for attempted armed kidnapping of members of the Federal Reserve Board.
Interestingly, it was a "guard" who folied that attempt when he became suspicious and discovered that Von Brunn was carrying a bag of weapons. That is why a recent statement from a Police spokesman seems a little strange at this time.
The statement that was carried by WTOP radio yesterday made mention that the private security personnel at the Museum should be replaced by Police Officers. The reason being, a patrolling Police Officer outside could have observed the suspect before he entered the museum.
Possibly, yes. It should also be considered however, that a Police Officer outside would not guarantee that this would not have happened. There are many reasons why a Police Officer might have not been watching at the exact moment that the 88 year old man walked in. For instance, a tourist seeking directions could have easily diverted the Officer's attention.
I was delivering an Executive Protection seminar at the Police, Fire and Security Expo in Palm Beach last week. I used the infamous picture of President Reagan just seconds before he was shot as an example of why having Police Officers present are not a guarantee of success.
In the picture, two uniformed officers from the Metropolitan Police Department were standing within feet from where the assasin reached out with his gun and nearly killed the President. What were they doing? Looking to their right at the advancing President and completely ignoring the group to their left from where the would-be assasin struck.
Had they been doing their job properly, they would have been concentrating on the crowd in front of them, had their backs to the President and would have been in a position to grab the gunman's arm (or shoot him) as soon as he identified his murderous intentions.
We will wait to see what the findings are from the fatal shooting at the museum. Hopefully, changes or improvements will be made, if necessary, so that a similar incident is not allowed to occur at any time in the future.
