A Professional Forum

[Mr. Security]

I can only speak for myself, but I am very impressed with the professionalism shown by the members of this forum/website. I think that it's ironic that other LE forums look down on security for being unprofessional and yet a comparison of this forum with theirs proves the opposite is true. Keep it up!

[Bill Warnock]

Having lived on both worlds, I know where some of the shortcomings stem from. In many instances, it is they not knowing and we not asking where are the bones of contention.
Federal, state and local agencies are now living in our Security World and they now see the merit of the private world in theirs.
A lot of what drives this industry began as government projects be it military or NASA.
Tell a police friend that you can do more damage to a target with a handful of Radio Shack parts than he could do with his service weapon. There is pause for concern. The sad part is the bad guy know this, the public sector is catching up.
If we approach the matter with a modicum of professionalism viewing each other's craft as an essential part of protecting the whole of society.
View how many former law enforcement personnel enter the security field at various levels of responsibility.
We have security agencies who believe only in warm bodies. There are those in the corporate world who want to squeek by with minimum security requirements and as long as they are met to some degree, they are content. The public suffer as does this industry.
Fifty or so years ago, public law enforcement was in the same boat. Jobs went begging and political favoritism was rife, poor standards, poor training, poor equipment equated to poor performance.
The needs have changed, so have the personnel.
Enjoy the day,
Bill

[Mr. Security]

In addition to what you pointed out Bill, it appears that some of the friction can be traced to what may be termed 'turf-wars.' Just as many ophthalmologists protest any legislation allowing optometrists to prescribe Rx medications because they are not doctors, so to, many LEO's resent any intrusion of security in their jurisdictions because security is not the 'real police.' The fact that we each have our distinct roles to play, security or law enforcement, escapes their notice.

The professional part that I mentioned has to do with the respect that we show to each other on this forum. Absent are the personal attacks so often seen on LE forums. That's what I like to see.

[talon]

Private vs. Public

The private sector has always been of the mindset that its better to prevent than respond.

Conversley the public sector which was originally public security changed directions many years ago, they became "Law Enforcement".

So instead of keeping the peace and making the community more secure the public police started to neglect Policing almost altogether.

They were now to good to walk the beat, they stopped checking on the local businesses, its just more glamourous to chase the unlimited supply of crackheads all day so you can tell war stories to impress the girls.

Enter Sept, 11th, while all of the public sector police were just sooo busy with their oh so dangerous jobs.

Our city police were busy setting up hookers and johns and filming it, our sheriffs were out catching some local teens growing a pot plant, our state police were on the road writing speeding tickets...

The entire FBI was busy looking for one guy in the mountains, the DEA was crop dusting in columbia again for the 10,000th time, the border patrol were busy catching and releasing illegal mexicans and God knows who and what else, and ATF were busy harassing gun store clerks for not crossing T's or dotting I's.

So when all was said and done...after all of the overpaid agents with degrees out the ying yang from all of the alphabet soup agencies wrote their reports as to what happend...why did 4,000 people have to die?

Who's fault?!? We were all hangin on the edge of our seats to know...and finally we got the answer...we knew who's fault it was...it was the security guards at the gates in the airport!!!! It was all their fault!!!

Luckily all of the overpaid government employees got to keep their jobs...they were transfered to the department of homeland insecurity and probably got raises, so we can all feel that much more "secure".

[N. A. Corbier]

You forgot the part where they made all the security guards at the airports into federal officers, then they watched people balk at that, so they made the federal "employees," with limited federal benefits, a minor pay raise, and the same training they got before.

All that did, quite frankly, was remove the Globe Blazers and put on white TSA uniform shirts. They went from "soft uniforms," back to "hard uniforms," which gave a boost in their appearant authority.

Their answer wasn't "fix the private industry," it was "federalize the position, putting it into public law enforcement." Except for the fact that the local airport police HATE TSA screeners, sometimes HATE TSA FLEOs, and generally hate the fact they lost control of the airport.

So, almost 5 years later, airports are going back to... private screeners, and airport police in charge of the security of the property again, with minimal TSA oversight.

Federalization of a problem rarely works.

[Mr. Security]

.... the department of homeland insecurity.....

That's funny