Vice Views

SFBA Chapter Members:

Greetings:

February is here already! Where does the time go?

It is already a busy year for us, and things are really taking shape to be a banner year for the SFBA Chapter. We had an excellent speaker in January, Mr. Bob Larson from Guidant, whose presentation on the “Pursuit of Quality” really hit home. The processes he spoke of, not only apply in our work, but can also be used as a guide for almost every thing we do in our daily lives. It is one of the things that I am particularly interested in, and I know we could all use reminders that it is our customers who ultimately determine whether or not your services meet the standard.

I am really getting excited about this year’s Law Enforcement Appreciation luncheon, and this is the topic of my column this month.

“Law Enforcement Liaison” is described in Security’s context, as “a linking up of the parts of a whole…to bring about coordination of activities”.

Industry statistics reveal that, in the year 2000, private security personnel outnumbered law enforcement personnel by almost a 3 to 1 ratio. Given the more than 1.9 million Americans are employed in the security profession, compared to approximately 700,000 sworn into law enforcement personnel, never before has the relationship between the private and public sector been more important, especially since September 11th. The Director of Homeland Security stated, in a recent speech before a congressional subcommittee, that one of his main priorities for his office is to improve the lines of communication between public sector law enforcement and private security, because doing so would “greatly improve the security of the nation”.

In fact, communications issues between the public and private sectors are not new issues. Hallcrest Systems Inc. was selected by the National Institute of Justice in 1980 to conduct a three-year study of roles, responsibilities and resources of private security and assess the relationship between law enforcement and private security. Hallcrest was again commissioned in 1990 to update Hallcrest 1. What they found was a significant gap in the relationship between public law enforcement and private sector security. Some of the gaps included:

  • Law Enforcement sensitivity toward some police tasks being transferred to the private sector.
  • Concern by law enforcement regarding the amount of false alarms generated by private security systems.
  • Police Moonlighting (81% of police departments permit moonlighting).
  • Private sector concern about charging policies of prosecutors.
  • Administrative delays in prosecution.
  • Differing “output goals” of criminal justice and business.
  • Unsympathetic attitude of courts to business losses.

The St. Patty’s Day Law Enforcement Appreciation Luncheon was one of the ways the SFBA Chapter established to help bridge the gap between the private security industry and local law enforcement. It is designed to allow members to sponsor their local law enforcers to be recognized, and also to help further a better understanding and relationship with them. I whole-heartedly encourage the membership to bring as many of your local people to the luncheon. We have an excellent program planned, with good food and quality speakers/presenters.

Other organizations have also been established in an attempt to bring the two sectors more closely together. These include the HTCIA (High Technology Crime Investigator’s Association), and TAPA (Technology Asset Protection Association). These also add significant value to the industry and to the relationship.

In addition to the ASIS event and other organizations, I encourage you to get to know your local beat officers, watch commanders, detectives, fire fighters and management personnel. They are an incredible resource. With the proper relationships they can be a great asset to our security programs, so let’s call them up and get to know them. Lastly, lets make sure that law enforcement is well represented at the March luncheon.

I appreciate comments and suggestions, and you can send them to me at bminnis@juniper.net.  In the meantime, I look forward to seeing you at this month’s meeting.

Brad Minnis CPP
Vice Chair SFBA Chapter