Police likely to have better access to Firearms but what about Security Guards?

Kia Ora,

For those that are not aware the NZ Police are for all intent purposes unarmed.

It now appears with the huge increase in violent crime & weapons faced the police are going to be given greater access to firearms by having them in a lock box in all front line vehicles.

No mention of the NZ Security Industry but will get to that later.

Really they need to be wearing them so they have access to them at all times. When a situation escalates there is not time to get back to a vehicle to obtain weapons.

Either way there needs to be much greater resources put into training of those who are to use them.

Of course there have been the comments such as on one TV interview that this wil raise the bar so criminals will start using firearms.

News Flash the criminals already outgun the police here even if this policy is implimented. A large amount of crime in New Zealand now involves weapons. So much so that one Christchurch police officer was moved to comment sometime back that virtually everyone they arrest these days carries a knife at least.

We will end up with a situation like in L.A. I believe it was when with police out gunned & S.W.A.T. still on the way, a police officer was forced to use his own credit card at a near by gun shop, so those on the ground could at least match the criminals.
The Gun Owner's Handbook: A Complete Guide to Maintaining and Repairing Your Firearms--in the Field or at Your Workbench
So there is going to be an increase in the police ability to look after themselves.

So what of the NZ Security Industry?

Well the new Private Security Personnel & Private Investigators Act 2010 has been passed recently with little or no information to the industry.

There have been a few improvements from the Bill, but overall it is a step backwards 40 years, not forward. Or as I say better used as toilet paper.
Team Glock Back Pack - Glock TG42001, Firearm Accessories Cases
If it is dangerous enough for the police to now be looking at easier access to firearms & wearing bodyarmour then the NZ Security Industry should be pushing for the same for security guards. Bodyarmour minimum within a certain time period & firearms for a few firearms experienced operators.

But the NZ Security Industry will not say anything as it will cost them & they don't think it is that dangerous. In fact that has been the statement by people in influential positions mean they don't see what is actually happening on the street.
Crucial Elements of Police Firearms Training: Refine Your Firearms Skills, Training and Effectiveness
The industry used to be armed. With right background or experience with both the use & legalities required in the use of firearms there should be few issues.

http://www.foxhoundsecurity.co.nz

Slavery been promoted for New Zealand!

Kia Ora,

During the last week in the local Christchurch newspaper 'The Press' there was an article with the title "Every Kiwi needs qualification - CPIT head", CPIT being the Christchurch Polytechnic Institute of Technology.

The drive to have all people with some qualification is nothing short of slavery.

Problem with the system is the same all over but as an example will outline why it is a waste of time & money in the security industry.
Slavery by Another Name: The Re-Enslavement of Black Americans from the Civil War to World War II
I was first alerted to how this works whilst in Iraq. The majority of people were there due to their military background which requires a high level of training & courses.

A former member of another countries special forces said "what is going to happen is there will be a requirement to have a qualification but the courses will have very little to do with or up to the standard required to do the work here." So it has transpired with most work over there now requiring internationally recognized qualifications(which incidentally don't include NZQA) that from feed back have no relation to the work been done.
Modern Industrialism and the Negroes of the United States
We have the same here in NZ across all industries. People with experience are been passed over or told to get a qualification to gain employment only to find they have little relevance to the actual work or are of a poor level.

In the security industry there has actually been a move backwards from the initial set up & there is still a few good training establishments, but most have people getting into large debt, only to find they have no knowledge of security at the end of it, are of such a low standard that real security businesses will not hire them or they can not be employed under the provisions of the Private Investigators & Security Guards Act 1974.

The bill to replace that Act is at this stage only good for toilet paper & any requirement for training is not going to raise any standards, but just lock people into low paying slavery.

True training is important but it has to be relevant & just as important is experience. Especially in a profession such as security.

http://www.foxhoundsecurity.co.nz

Information & what to do with it?

Kia Ora,

The Wikileaks expose on information from the US military has caused some red faces, but really had some of that information been used better when it presented the view of the wars in Iraq & Afghanistan might be slightly different.

Whether the information would of made those views more favourable now, no one knows.

As I see it there are different ways you can use the information.

What I see as the US way. Deny anything happened. For many incidents in Iraq it was often denied as a US soldier never saw it & even if they did, the incident just didn't happen despite 100's & sometimes 1000's witnessing something.

In someways similar to what you get when calling NZ police communications about suspicious activity. Often those calls are based on knowing your area or experience, but nothing is done until you have satisfied their piece of paper. Known as other end itis in where one has little idea what the other is seeing or reporting.

This backfires when the opposition (in particular Al Qaeda) video it taking place & the internet allows easy posting of incidents or as has happened on Wikileaks & someone leaked to them a large amount of embarrassing information.

Some would say another way is that where you give out some of the information but twist it to your favour & that has also been used in Iraq & Afghanistan, but again it can backfire.

It is an approach the police use,but for different reasons as they need to keep some of it quiet for legal reasons.

Then you can be completely truthful. Unfortunately in a war that can get people killed & with policing it can affect your case in court.

It is more what you do with the information at the time received, but as the recently released report on US Intelligence quoted people saying. There was just too much information for them.


This means at lower levels information needs to be processed & acted on. In theory with computers etc it should be easier for all information to be feed in & updated assessments made.

But a computer doesn't have the instinct a human has based usually on experience. The Police often solve crimes based on a hunch. Security Guards do the same when dealing with crime & the military do the same on patrol & it is all based on experience & information gained on the ground.

http://www.foxhoundsecurity.co.nz

Intelligence! What is it & how is it useful?

Kia Ora,

There is the standing joke that Military intelligence is an oxy moron as it doesn't really exist.

But properly provided information can build a good intelligence picture to allow you to defeat the enemy in a military sense or impact on crime in the civilian world.

The problem is what is intelligence & how to use it?

What was noticeable in Iraq was the US preponderence on electronic intelligence over human intelligence (either from 'spies' or those on the ground). At one part we were told that nothing happened unless it was witnessed by a US soldier(that was later extended to coalition soldier).

More than once we, as private security reported suspicious activity on the entrances to the Green Zone, only to be ignored by the US soldiers. Each time within a day or two there would be a suicide bombing at that gate.

I see now since 9/11 the US has developed so many conflicting intelligence gathering organizations, both government & private, that most of the reports are not even read. Much of the information gathered is an exact duplication of another groups & the plan to co ordinate is not happening.

In fact it is so bad that they believe the US has actually made itself less safe as so far attempts of terrorist attacks have been thwarted by normal citizens not the vaunted intelligence network.

It seems to be the same here in NZ when you call in suspicious activity to the police. Those answering the phones at police communications have no idea that those small bits of information going into their system help make up the intelligence picture of an area.

In the late 80's I was taught a very important lesson in what intelligence is & how it is best used.

The I.O. (Intelligence Officer) of our unit had come from the British army. As part of virtually whole of army exercise we were expecting good intelligence, but all we were getting from upline was a summary of the major incidents that we all knew about anyway.

What the I.O. had done though was have his whole cell bring some civilians up. He then had them out talking to locals about information. After each contact with the enemy by our unit, he would interview those involved to get the little things like tactics used, weapons & clothes.
Those were the things that were not coming through, but told us a lot about the enemy.

It is no difference when dealing with crime. If you first go into say a static security guard job (were you are confined to the one site) it is good to note things that seem suspicious or just general activity.

Then you start to see the things that are out of the norm.

When can this be of use?

The NZ police like police everywhere are for ever asking for information if an incident happens. By having those small suspicious incidents noted it builds immediately a picture of what was out of place at the time. The initial reports also allow the police to get a picture of normal activity in that area.

It is still all intelligence & often the most important parts. It is not often the smoking gun that will be found, but the out of place comment or suspicious incident could be what is needed to get an arrest.

http://www.foxhoundsecurity.co.nz

Is Security really one of the three Basic needs in life today?

Kia Ora,

They say that there are three basic needs in life. Food (& water), Shelter & Security.

But is Security really one of them in todays world?

You do have to wonder with recent events both here in New Zealand & in Britain as examples.



Just looking at what comes up in Amazon when you type in Basic needs of life you do really have to wonder.

In recent years it has become customary for any action taken by the police here in New Zealand to be questioned then at least four investigations take place.

Of course all actions need to be reviewed to see where or how it might of been carried out better, but as for all wasted times on exhaustive investigations when it is more often than not, quite plain the police acted in the right fashion.



Now after a gun man shot three people in the UK, threatened to shoot police & the general public there is first a facebook page supporting him even after he has shot himself & those police in the vicinity of him at that tme are under investigation.

So lets put ourselves in the line of fire to protect the public then get questioned over our actions. Sounds like the conditions the British Army in Northern Ireland operated under or we did even as private security in Iraq.



Then of course as the police vehicle who pulled over the crashed car here in Christchurch called it as a chase when vehicle took off, there is now an investigation.

Of what are they investigating?

It is simple. Vehicle took off, went through a red light then probably before the police vehicle had even started pursuit (if you know the area you know how short the distance travelled is to the crash site) it had crashed at high speed.

No police at fault so any investigation is a waste of time & money. It must also be having an effect on police morale.

This will come back to haunt us, if it already hasn't.

No one seems to want to support those that provide their security!

http://www.foxhoundsecurity.co.nz

Wake up New Zealand! It is only a matter of time!

Kia Ora,

Yet again you have to ask the question as to whether New Zealand is ready to host the Rugby World Cup 2011 from a security perspective, little lone the summer Olympics as now proposed by the current Mayor of Auckland.



I say this because of the photo across the front of the Christchurch 'Press' with several police officers & members of the public standing in the middle of the road after a bomb alert.

It ends up the bomb was just an attempt to thieve.

But that crowd was the perfect target for a suicide bomber or IED after an initial 'come on' explosion or call.



This is a common terrorist tactic, but with the suicide bomber it has meant that considerations of innocents is taken less into account than with the IRA campaigns or even the Real IRA bombing in Omagh.

In one incident in Baghdad US soldiers were trying to win the hearts & minds campaign by when in a cordon giving out sweets.

The British based on their experience would of ensured the children were inside the cordon. That lesson was to be soon learnt as a suicide bomber then exited a nearby street & targeted the nearest military vehicle, which just happened to be the one the children were gathered around.



It seems though that New Zealand will only learn that once it happens here.

http://www.foxhoundsecurity.co.nz

Good Security: It does exist!

Kia Ora,

Alot of my security blogs are about the need for the NZ security industry to bring itself up to speed.

But that is not to say there is not good security companies here. Today there was an interview with an operator from a company which I was aware of having good standards.

The operator also naturally had good standards as he comes from outside NZ so understands good security.

There is also one good events security company, but it is good for the NZ environment as I often tell its owner for the Rugby World cup 2011 it is a whole new step up in level & in particular mindset.

There are a lot of good people who have left the industry because they have being punished for actually carrying out security.

So there are individuals, companies that do provide real security, but it needs the powers that be to recognize that the industry as a whole needs to improve & that does not always mean carrying out some recognized course or a course based on how people perform in the class room.

Security is a physical profession that should value experience & skills people bring to it.

Training is of course needed, but as couple of stories from Iraq reminds me, courses are not always the answer.

Two individuals with time in Iraq had to attend a course prior to starting with their new company. The drills taught were the standard body guard drills with national variations, but in one incident they told the story where they stood & laughed.

The Instructor said "I don't like your attitude" or words to that effect, but these two just replied " you do that in Baghdad, just roll out the extra body bags" or words to that effect.

Second story is about a group of higly qualified instructors arriving in Baghdad to take a newly required course & after the first session been basically told to f... off by the staff they were training as it might have its place in some environments, but not in Baghdad.

Bodyguard training as I received from experienced operators in NZ on a formal NZQA course gave you a base, but when you are required to do the real thing it quickly becomes obvious that each situation requires a totally different approach.

On return I was offered an upgrade for free with assessment by an instructor as my level had never being tested on a practical basis.
First issue with NZ training industry was on a couple of courses you were, but most you were not so standards were different. We had been tested to a practical level.

The other issue is having that experience & higher skill level, how does someone without it understand where you are coming from or assess you?

It is something the military in many countries have found over the years when soldiers come back from operations & stay in the military they then go on promotion courses & when told something will not work, calmly reply "well it did in so & so" & it can not be argued that it does not work. But it does cause issues for instructors.

That is why some military courses changed their stance on tactics & you could not fail on tactics. A successful tactic is one that works, no matter how crazy it might seem in the light of day.

We also seen though that systems can be too inflexible if people don't have that wider mindset to see where each fits.

                                           http://www/foxhoundsecurity.co.nz

Who is going down with the ship?

Kia Ora,

An interesting few days & few discussions in amongst been very busy.

First is a discussion with someone much more experienced & qualified than me who has had to carry out a number of courses to be 'recognized' in the NZ industry, even though those courses do not come anywhere near his military training or experience.

Our conversation turned to the Rugby World Cup 2011 & the training required to get the NZ industry up to standard required.

He related that recently he had run some simulations for someone & when they through in terrorist situations, no one knew what to do.

Basically it is not  just the training that is needed it is, as I have said before, a change in mindset & for that you don't need a bit of paper, but real time training & practice.

In short  at this point in time the only way NZ will be ready is by making the standard only ex NZ, British or South African military or ex British or South African Police to begin with.

The hardest part of the mindset comes from the fact that NZ does not see itself as a terrorist target or had many attacks, so in the industries minds eye the worst they can see is some drunken brawls & maybe a bomb threat or two(even then they are not ready).

With Terrorism it is too late once it has happened to think about training or changing the mindset, but it seems that something has to occur before it will happen here.

Today there was an article in the "Press" about a recent release of the US military's vision of the future issues.

It wasn't rocket science to work a lot of it out & in fact much of it says exactly what I have been saying in these blogs. You just look at history & it shows you what is going to happen.

To quote Winston Churchill again "the further back you look, the further forward you see." Just the tools used change.

One point it makes is one I have been on about since leaving the army & entering the NZ security industry.

More & more they see a convergence of the criminal activities of Organized crime & Terrorists.

That directly relates to the mindset of the NZ security industry which constantly tells it's people to ignore crime or suspicious activity.

Terrorist attacks are preceded by criminal or suspicious activity either by the terrorists or someone such as organized crime. Crime is also seen to more often in the future to been used to finance terrorist operations sine the world is now activily looking for connections to finance.

So if you impact crime & suspicious activity, then you impact on the ability for terrorist networks to operate.

It happens to some extent at times here in Christchurch where the boy racers are attracting the attention whilst in the background criminal elements are carrying out crimes. They have often been given drugs as part of the arrangement & this was known to be going on in 2001.

How do we know all this, because good training coupled with experience in the industry & that gained in particular by the British in Northern Ireland & expanded on by experience in Iraq, show one that it happens & two we can counter much of it by good basic security with a good mindset. Something lacking in the NZ industry at present.

                                          http://www.foxhoundsecurity.co.nz

How do you practice Health & Safety?

Kia Ora,

To the next part of the issues raised by the angry man's emails is basically "How do you practice Health & Safety?"

He asks what are my systems for health & safety? Also having no qualification does not entitle me to comment on health & safety issues. That is probably the crux of the issue there.

This individual dimisses my experience from the military, in the  NZ security industry & work in Iraq.

Health & safety especially in a service like security does not rely just on a system. In fact due to nature of the work carried out by the profession what is more important is Common Sense coupled with Experience (not a bit of paper or formal course) & a culture of dynamic Risk Assessment.

The type of Risk Assessment you get trained to carryout in the NZ military. From early days young soldiers get told "as you move along look for places to take cover if such & such happens" it is a type of Risk Assessment.

Initially though young soldiers are more concerned about how hard the physical requirements are, but as time goes by  those sort of  actions become second nature.

They then add in actions like looking for possible booby traps when moving whilst carrying up to 100kg plus packs without having to go through the whole process consciously.

So does this transfer to the civilian environment? Yes!

In fact, & I will go into this more in a later blog, at times other security personal have said "I think so fast", it is not that, but my military training kicking in when situations call for it, which often means when confronted with an issue they have never confronted before. 

Encyclopedia of Occupational Health and Safety - CD-Rom

With inadeaquate training or awaremess of health & saftey instinctively, my civilian counterparts are still thinking of the first step whilst myself & army comrades are already on step four or higher. So it appears to them that we are thinking very fast.

An example of the level of military training over what the industry provides was an incident early in my time in the industry.

I was on duty in a complex when I was paged to reception & handed a small case. Apparently someone was concerned it had been sitting in the middle of reception for three hours. Of course from the staff reaction it appeared they thought it was a bomb. Straight away I knew there was one type of bomb it wasn't.

When I was relieved a few hours later by another ex military person, his first reaction was "you didn't call the bomb squad?". No, because of our superior training as soon as I was handed it the check list we used to use in the army popped right into my head.

As I walked outside with the case, I ran through it & realized there was no way this was a bomb. The only mistake I made was opening in view of the staff, from a health & safety point of view which was not good.

That staff still thought it was a bomb was shown by fact that even though it was dark t they were watching & as I opened it, were seen to dive under the counter.

From there another difference came out between a person with a military background to those without. Not for the first time after an incident that worked out well, my civilian counterparts could not work out why myself or any military person would then look to learn from lessons & improve our performance for the next time.


Whilst in Iraq this dynamic way of looking at things was to the fore as the whole situation & threats were ever changing your risk assessment was also dynamic. It was health & safety at its extreme. But again that good training kicked in without much fuss.

Security in NZ requires much the same thinking as any Standard Operating Procedures will not cover all contingencies. Thats if the company has them.

During my initial NZQA security course (a well run one with plenty of hands on training unlike most courses) the question was asked of an OSH inspector as to where security fitted in since much of the industries work fell outside OSH at that time. Also that many places had procedures but no body actually knew what they were.

The reply was that is correct, but security's role was to identify hazards as encountered & report them.  They then directed their reply to me & said as ex army you know the drills if there is an accident happens during live firing? Yes of course. Well that is the OSH procedure for an accident.

More recently an incident involving an associtated industry responding to a call out & a serious accident occuring due to the fact that like security they entered a business without prior knowledge of it.

After discussion with a Health & Safety officer from the department of Labour at a business seminar, I was asked would I be interested in joining a group looking at this issue. To date though nothing has come of it.

But the discussion  had been about how the military teach you, as I said in the beginning to have a dynamic risk assessment culture,  this is what they felt they needed to install in industries who respond to premises they don't usually visit or are not fully aware of all dangers.

This culture far outways any system or piece of paper, although in conjunction with a system can be very robust.

Due to time contraints it is not unusual, in fact most common place to see security racing from one premises to another without slowing to take in account as to risks they maybe rushing too.

Someone who worked security in Australia once told me a story about their first night alone. They were rushing due to time, came around a corner to be confronted by three pers wanting his firearm. He hadn't yet being issued  or been able to obtain one.

It reminded me what I often see with NZ security racing around corners to you don't know what.

My assessments of the security situation here in NZ is based on security knowledge, experience & risk assessment.

I have often been told & more so recently by some I worked alongside in Iraq, we can all see it  coming, don't wear yourself out trying to educate people. When these things happen if you set yourself up correctly, then we will be able to walk in as the industry here has no idea what it is doing.

Occupational Health at Work

Personally I believe in trying to stop it from happening here & making the place truly safe to live in. To do that you have to ensure the basic security & Health & Safety are taken care off.

                                               http://www.foxhoundsecurity.co.nz

Training for Bomb alerts.

Kia Ora,

It has being interesting to watch the reaction of late after the latest bombing attempt in New York.

The objects in two incidents, that were deemed suspicious could of being easily dealt with in a safe manner had the correct training being applied.

It was something that former members of the RUC (Royal Ulster Constabulary) working  in Baghdad commented on.

The comment was "one IRA ASU cell could of tied up the whole of Baghdad in the way the US responded to threats." An ASU cell was thought to generally consist of four people.

From New York it appears nothing has being learned.

It was also part of our army training based on the British experience in Northern Ireland. Each team  came up with a way to deal with suspicious packages on their own as other wise the 'bomb' squads would never stop going from one incident to another & would basically lock  down a city or area

Having each team go through some procedures meant most iteams were dealt with, with little or no disturbance.

So how does that relate to NZ, the NZ security Industry, security training or even the NZ police?

Well due to lack of training the same situation could happen here as in New York. In fact it already does.

Often the area closed off is much greater than that needed for the size of the suspicious item.

There are clearly at times no procedures to allow activities to carry on.

For example the Dunedin airport bomb scare. I landed there a week after it. Yes I can see where the mens toilet can effect passengers, but where were the procedures to carry on in another part of the airport.

Now  report said that after that one had being cleared, after waiting for 'bomb' squad to arrive from Christchurch, then rest of airport was cleared.

Excuse me but the proper procedure is clear, cordon, contain & control & in that includes searching all other areas once initial item is cordoned, in particular where the emergency services are going to congregate. Obviously in NZ you show up clear the one you know about then think, well maybe there is another.

Terrorist tactics world wide are use a device or a hoax as the come on then hit with the second , maybe even third (as happened this week in Al Hilla, in Iraq) aimed at emergency services. We are ready for the Rugby World Cup.
Yeah Right.

Good training can not only make a real incident safer, but also deal with  potential issues before they become a problem.

This also means changing the mindset of the NZ security industry to one that looks beyond its little world.

To do that though will need help from the Politicians & the bureaucrats, though Sir Humphrey seems to be in residence here & that is not likely to happen.

So maybe we just have to do it ourselves.

                                         http://www.foxhoundsecurity.co.nz