BSIS Advisory Committee Meeting Minutes
Meeting Date: Thursday, November 29, 2007
Location: Oakland, California
BSIS Advisory Committee Members in Attendance:
James C. Diaz, California Institute for Professional Investigators (CIPI)
Joe Valenzuela, Captain, Sacramento Police Department
Steve Leibrock, Captain, Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office
Cathy Kester, California Department of Justice (DOJ) – Substitute For Tina Medich
Jon Sargent, California Alarm Association (CAA)
Mark Miller, Calif. Assn. of Licensed Security Agencies, Guards & Associates (CAL SAGA)
John Brueggeman, California Locksmith Association (CLA)
Nick Savala, California Association of Licensed Investigators (CALI)
Stephen Marvin, Southern California Security Association (SCSA)
Steven J. Wachtel, Professional Investigators of California (PICA)
BSIS Advisory Committee Members Absent:
Rodney Pierini, Public Member
Jimmy Hunt, California Association of Licensed Repossessors (CALR)
Steve Reed, Public Member
Department of Consumer Affairs, Executive Staff
Patricia Harris, Deputy Director, Bureau Relations
Dana Winterrowd, Staff Counsel Executive Staff
BSIS Staff in Attendance:
Paul M. Johnson, Chief
Rick Fong, Deputy Chief
Rolando Taeza, Outreach Coordinator (Analyst)
Noreene DeKoning, Analyst
Inez Cortez, Analyst
Mitch Kojima, Analyst
Stefanie Melendez, Management Services Technician
Welcoming Remarks and Introductions:
Paul Johnson, Chief of the Bureau of Security and Investigative Services, called the meeting to order at 9:30 a.m. The Pledge of Allegiance was given and roll was called. The Advisory Committee Members and Bureau Staff introduced themselves. Chief Johnson introduced the Deputy Director of Bureau Relations, Patricia Harris.
Advisory Committee Overview and Discussion:
Chief Johnson gave an overview of the Bureau’s recent activities regarding outreach and enforcement operations. The Chief stated that he and the Deputy Chief had attended association meetings across the state for all of the industries regulated by the Bureau. He also informed the Committee of Mr. Taeza’a continued outreach efforts. Mr. Taeza visited approximately 950 different licensees from the industries regulated by the Bureau. Chief Johnson informed the Committee of his attendance at the International Association of Security and Investigative Regulators (IASIR) Conference in Columbus, Ohio. He was chosen by IASIR to chair their committee on training standards for security guards. He noted that the California security industry was not widely represented at IASIR. He made the suggestion that the industry may want to become better acquainted with this organization as it has members from many of the states in the United States along with representatives from Canada and the United Kingdom. He challenged the California companies to become more active in this national organization.
Chief Johnson informed the Committee that the new Director of Consumer Affairs, Carrie Lopez, came from the private sector and that she is very interested in consumer protection. She has been very active where unlicensed activity is concerned. The Bureau orchestrated a sting in concert with the California State Contractor’s Board and the local District Attorney’s Office regarding several industries, including locksmiths. Six arrests were made and citations were issued to locksmiths during this sting. The Woodland Democrat Newspaper and Channel 13 both did interviews regarding the sting.
The Bureau’s Budget Change Proposal (BCP) for three (3) new enforcement positions dedicated to the Private Investigative (PI) industry was approved. These new positions will be added to the Bureau’s Enforcement staff. These staff members will be concentrating on unlicensed actively in the PI industry. This is a pilot project; BSIS will be assisted by the Department’s Division of Investigation (DOI) regarding cases of this nature. The project will be monitored to ascertain it’s effectiveness regarding the PI industry and unlicensed activity for the next three years. This pilot will help assess future unlicensed activity across all of the industries regulated by the Bureau.
A motion was made to approve the minutes of the last meeting by James Diaz. Stephen Marvin asked that a correction be made to the minutes changing the reference to CIPI to PICA on page two, fourth paragraph. Mr. Diaz made the motion to approve the minutes as corrected; it was seconded by Joe Valenzuela. A vote was called. The results were all in favor. The minutes of the last meeting were approved as corrected.
Chief Johnson brought the committee up-to-date on the success the Bureau has had with the new Law Enforcement Pocket Guide. The new Pocket Guide assists peace officers by enabling them to identify types of licenses that our licensees and registrants must possess when performing their duties. BSIS has received requests from other states for copies of the Law Enforcement Pocket Guide. They would like to use it as a model for their own state. The Chief and Bureau representatives have met with several law enforcement entities throughout the state regarding the Pocket Guide.
Jon Sargent, California Alarm Association (CAA), stated that he had recently experienced a visit by unlicensed persons selling (door to door) burglar alarm systems at his residence. He informed the police in his area and they informed him that they had no jurisdiction in this matter. Steve Leibrock, Captain, Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office, also stated that he had experienced the same thing at his residence.
Chief Johnson brought the Committee up-to-date on the Bureau’s continued effort to notify all proprietary private security companies of the requirement to register their security personnel. Many of these businesses do not have registered guards, either PSO or regular security guards. With the passage of AB-666 the Bureau is mandated to form an Advisory Committee that will be made up of members from the industry, Commission on Peace Officers Standards and Training (POST), and law enforcement representatives to formulate a training syllabus for the PSOs. The Bureau has found that many of the proprietary security companies are opting to have their security personnel register as security guards instead of PSOs.
Committee Member Updates
Nick Savala, California Association of Licensed Investigators (CALI), stated that the PI industry is interested in introducing legislation which would require PI employees to be registered by the Bureau. Presently, PI employees have identification cards issued by their employers; these are not mentioned in the new Law Enforcement Guide. Is it possible to add this information in the Guide?
At this time, the Guide is hard to download from the Bureau’s web site. Is it possible to make the process easier and the printout cleared? Inez Cortez is currently working with DCA’s Publication Unit to make these changes in the system.
Jon Sargent, California Alarm Association (CAA), distributed handouts from the CAA. These were regarding false alarm issues. Many cities and counties in California have local ordinances that penalize the property owner for false alarms. The CAA’s main concern is that some cities are considering enacting a “no response” ordinance in their laws. This could be very detrimental to the alarm industry. The CAA is actively working with government agencies to convince them that there are other ways to control the excessive false alarm problem.
(continued)
Meeting Date: Thursday, November 29, 2007
Location: Oakland, California
BSIS Advisory Committee Members in Attendance:
James C. Diaz, California Institute for Professional Investigators (CIPI)
Joe Valenzuela, Captain, Sacramento Police Department
Steve Leibrock, Captain, Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office
Cathy Kester, California Department of Justice (DOJ) – Substitute For Tina Medich
Jon Sargent, California Alarm Association (CAA)
Mark Miller, Calif. Assn. of Licensed Security Agencies, Guards & Associates (CAL SAGA)
John Brueggeman, California Locksmith Association (CLA)
Nick Savala, California Association of Licensed Investigators (CALI)
Stephen Marvin, Southern California Security Association (SCSA)
Steven J. Wachtel, Professional Investigators of California (PICA)
BSIS Advisory Committee Members Absent:
Rodney Pierini, Public Member
Jimmy Hunt, California Association of Licensed Repossessors (CALR)
Steve Reed, Public Member
Department of Consumer Affairs, Executive Staff
Patricia Harris, Deputy Director, Bureau Relations
Dana Winterrowd, Staff Counsel Executive Staff
BSIS Staff in Attendance:
Paul M. Johnson, Chief
Rick Fong, Deputy Chief
Rolando Taeza, Outreach Coordinator (Analyst)
Noreene DeKoning, Analyst
Inez Cortez, Analyst
Mitch Kojima, Analyst
Stefanie Melendez, Management Services Technician
Welcoming Remarks and Introductions:
Paul Johnson, Chief of the Bureau of Security and Investigative Services, called the meeting to order at 9:30 a.m. The Pledge of Allegiance was given and roll was called. The Advisory Committee Members and Bureau Staff introduced themselves. Chief Johnson introduced the Deputy Director of Bureau Relations, Patricia Harris.
Advisory Committee Overview and Discussion:
Chief Johnson gave an overview of the Bureau’s recent activities regarding outreach and enforcement operations. The Chief stated that he and the Deputy Chief had attended association meetings across the state for all of the industries regulated by the Bureau. He also informed the Committee of Mr. Taeza’a continued outreach efforts. Mr. Taeza visited approximately 950 different licensees from the industries regulated by the Bureau. Chief Johnson informed the Committee of his attendance at the International Association of Security and Investigative Regulators (IASIR) Conference in Columbus, Ohio. He was chosen by IASIR to chair their committee on training standards for security guards. He noted that the California security industry was not widely represented at IASIR. He made the suggestion that the industry may want to become better acquainted with this organization as it has members from many of the states in the United States along with representatives from Canada and the United Kingdom. He challenged the California companies to become more active in this national organization.
Chief Johnson informed the Committee that the new Director of Consumer Affairs, Carrie Lopez, came from the private sector and that she is very interested in consumer protection. She has been very active where unlicensed activity is concerned. The Bureau orchestrated a sting in concert with the California State Contractor’s Board and the local District Attorney’s Office regarding several industries, including locksmiths. Six arrests were made and citations were issued to locksmiths during this sting. The Woodland Democrat Newspaper and Channel 13 both did interviews regarding the sting.
The Bureau’s Budget Change Proposal (BCP) for three (3) new enforcement positions dedicated to the Private Investigative (PI) industry was approved. These new positions will be added to the Bureau’s Enforcement staff. These staff members will be concentrating on unlicensed actively in the PI industry. This is a pilot project; BSIS will be assisted by the Department’s Division of Investigation (DOI) regarding cases of this nature. The project will be monitored to ascertain it’s effectiveness regarding the PI industry and unlicensed activity for the next three years. This pilot will help assess future unlicensed activity across all of the industries regulated by the Bureau.
A motion was made to approve the minutes of the last meeting by James Diaz. Stephen Marvin asked that a correction be made to the minutes changing the reference to CIPI to PICA on page two, fourth paragraph. Mr. Diaz made the motion to approve the minutes as corrected; it was seconded by Joe Valenzuela. A vote was called. The results were all in favor. The minutes of the last meeting were approved as corrected.
Chief Johnson brought the committee up-to-date on the success the Bureau has had with the new Law Enforcement Pocket Guide. The new Pocket Guide assists peace officers by enabling them to identify types of licenses that our licensees and registrants must possess when performing their duties. BSIS has received requests from other states for copies of the Law Enforcement Pocket Guide. They would like to use it as a model for their own state. The Chief and Bureau representatives have met with several law enforcement entities throughout the state regarding the Pocket Guide.
Jon Sargent, California Alarm Association (CAA), stated that he had recently experienced a visit by unlicensed persons selling (door to door) burglar alarm systems at his residence. He informed the police in his area and they informed him that they had no jurisdiction in this matter. Steve Leibrock, Captain, Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office, also stated that he had experienced the same thing at his residence.
Chief Johnson brought the Committee up-to-date on the Bureau’s continued effort to notify all proprietary private security companies of the requirement to register their security personnel. Many of these businesses do not have registered guards, either PSO or regular security guards. With the passage of AB-666 the Bureau is mandated to form an Advisory Committee that will be made up of members from the industry, Commission on Peace Officers Standards and Training (POST), and law enforcement representatives to formulate a training syllabus for the PSOs. The Bureau has found that many of the proprietary security companies are opting to have their security personnel register as security guards instead of PSOs.
Committee Member Updates
Nick Savala, California Association of Licensed Investigators (CALI), stated that the PI industry is interested in introducing legislation which would require PI employees to be registered by the Bureau. Presently, PI employees have identification cards issued by their employers; these are not mentioned in the new Law Enforcement Guide. Is it possible to add this information in the Guide?
At this time, the Guide is hard to download from the Bureau’s web site. Is it possible to make the process easier and the printout cleared? Inez Cortez is currently working with DCA’s Publication Unit to make these changes in the system.
Jon Sargent, California Alarm Association (CAA), distributed handouts from the CAA. These were regarding false alarm issues. Many cities and counties in California have local ordinances that penalize the property owner for false alarms. The CAA’s main concern is that some cities are considering enacting a “no response” ordinance in their laws. This could be very detrimental to the alarm industry. The CAA is actively working with government agencies to convince them that there are other ways to control the excessive false alarm problem.
(continued)
Comment