Working Smarter not harder!

Kia Ora,

There was a piece on TV one's Close up the other night about New Zealands version of Criminal Minds with an intelligience analyst.

It was good & all they were doing was an apprectiation much as we did in the army when planning patrols or tasks.

The comment was made about working smarter & of course the second part of that is not harder. It was also said you might not see police out there in public as much.

Now doing an appreciation or analyizing the information available is definitely a help. Problem is to get to the stage where some of that works in the current system, unlike the military situation, means you have to allow a few crimes to happen.

That is where the system has gone wrong. Not that it doesn't need the analysts but it needs to be used in conjunction with old fashioned patrolling impacting the crime before it happens. There still needs to be a lot more police out on the street. Not a 100 specialists for every police officer on the beat. Not only do they impact on crime they provide the information that can be used to either stop crime from happening or catch up with the criminals quickly.

It would also question where they get the information or enough to work on. Especially when business burglaries discovered in the morning get a form faxed through but no visit or householders don't get a visit for four days then asked why they cleaned up.
Crime Science: Methods of Forensic Detection
Effective combating of crime is a combination of the old, add in new techniques & prompt gaining of the information.

They also made the comment that burglaries are carried out within 5 km of where the burglar lives.

Funny one person arrested for murder resulted in a drop of 51% of burglaries in a commercial area I was one of the security patrols covering. He lived 40 km away.

On another occassion a group of us carrying out security noticed suspicious activity called police. The person was a burglar & car thief from about 400km away.
Intelligence Analysis: A Target-Centric Approach
Now I hear of a police district forming a crime prevention unit which goes in after a crime & looks at what else they can gleam from it. From the information provided it didn't prevent crime but just discovered evidence of more past crime.

Wait a minute isn't that what detectives did in the past? Isn't crime prevention what the officer on the beat did by patrolling?

All these fancy names & sectioning off areas of specialty are really the reason crime is now out of control. Not enough officers on the ground doing the actual policing & having a presence really acted as crime prevention.
Intelligence Analysis: How to Think in Complex Environments (Praeger Security International)
We have more people in the police but it seems less doing the actual policing. Starting to sound like the US army with so many specialists there were very few actual grunts. Boots on the ground in the end is what wins wars of all types & impacts on crime. It is also where you win the hearts & minds. Not just throwing cash at things.

The police officer in tune with his community can more often than not deal with a situation without the need to resort to the law. But with the emphasis on arrests & tickets & now building all these special units it would seem the art of policing is slowly been lost. That is what I am also hearing from experienced & former police officers.

Again definitely use these new techniques or technology but in conjunction with what really works!
Structured Analytic Techniques for Intelligence Analysis
Sometimes doing things that seem to be the hard way work out better in the long run. In the army we had a saying "Train Hard fight easy" & through walking the beat, getting to know your community might be hard work at first for a police officer I think it would have rewards in the long run.

It did in the past from anecdotal evidence.

http://www.foxhoundsecurity.co.nz

Terrorist threat!

Kia Ora,

First thanks to Simon for his kind words. Just try to base this on my experience & what I see & hear out on the ground.

This last week has raised the issue of terrorist threats to New Zealand.

First there was the Wikileaks reports on New Zealand which range from closer intelligence ties where the US could assist in monitoring radicalizing Kiwi Jihadists to the claim that there were no terrorists or support groups in New Zealand.

Funny I found one person who had been a radicalizing Kiwi Jihadist on youtube, another that could be. That is without taking into account the person who turned to Islam in prison & called it, in an interview, the religion of the black man for the war against the white man if I remember his tirade correctly some years ago.

The problem is as outlined in his youtube clips by the former Kiwi Jihadist, both New Zealand & US intelligence ignore those small things that you really need to be aware of & not just look for the smoking gun or rely on electronic intelligence.

So how any good comment could be made based on what they hear or see in Wellington or based on electronic intelligence is limited.

As recent events in the US itself has shown a lot of the radicals have been home grown young idealists. They are the ones they know about.
Silent Warfare: Understanding the World of Intelligence, 3d Edition
Then there was the incident on the inter Island ferry where a Jewish prayer ritual not regularly seen in New Zealand was been practised & caused a call out of the Anti terrorist police unit.

The Race Relations commissioner says it hints at an "exaggerated fear of terrorisn." I would beg to differ & say New Zealand tends not to think it will ever been a target even though it has been in the past & is daily from organized crime.

I would go further & say the ships crew have done very well. Something happening which they were not familiar with so they reported it & kept it under observation only so as not to panic passengers.

The Police then reacted & carried out their drills as they should. If you think there is a possible terrorist you do not ask them "excuse me are you a terrorist?", but treat the person as a terrorist until you know better.

The Race Relations Commissioner is showing the kind of woolly thinking that gets people killed!
Home-Grown Terrorism: Understanding and Addressing the Root Causes of Radicalisation among Groups with an Immigrant Heritage in Europe - Volume 60 NATO ... Series - E: Human and Societal Dynamics
Then the media had to get involved & the person I saw been interviewed on 'Close up' was not what he was said to be. Just because you have a degree in terrorism it doesn't make you a Counter Terrorism Expert.

The only person I would say is near to fitting that title would be a member/former member of the SAS anti terrorist team.

Or a former terrorist!
Home Grown Terrorism (The Undeclared War Against Crime in America)
Then you throw into the mix the terrorist attack in Sweden. All the focus of likely terrorist attacks in Europe had been on the major players not the 'safe' countries like Sweden.

It is exactly the same reason why New Zealand is a perfect target. It is seen as safe & therefore a successful attack would have major psychological effect on people.

Even though only one person was involved in the Swedish attack, with a seperate car bomb then suicide bomb or pipe bombs in his back pack you could see the intention followed the terrorist line of follow up attacks or even bombs placed to hit those responding. Things just didn't go the way as planned.
60 Minutes - Homegrown Terror (May 9, 2010)
The reaction in this case was good in particular by the ships crew & that is the sort of thing that all New Zealand entities should be prepared for but generally aren't because they think it just won't happen here.

As the advert goes "Yeah Right".

http://www,foxhoundsecurity.co.nz

It really is the small things that count!

Kia Ora,

Last night we had another of those reality police shows here on TV3 called "Road Cops".

In one incident it is the small thing the police officer notices that then leads to revelation of greater crimes.

For all those who moan about the police focus at times on traffic issues it was a great view to how effective it can be in catching up with other crimes.
The Literature of Crime and Detection: An Illustrated History from Antiquity to the Present (Ungar Writers' Recognitions Series)
The small thing the police officer noticed was the vehicle was parked in a handicapped car park. On questioning the driver he was initially given false details to then find on a further check that the driver was wanted on about 6 warrants for arrest including drug use & assault from what was displayed.

When the time for arrest came though the driver reversed into the police vehicle then took off & a chase ensued. On this occassion they got away due to nature of the area but were caught sometime later.

This is also why the police need to be able to conduct chases as it is the small thing that trips people up.

One thing that does rankle is, especially right now, when you ring police comms with suspicious activity or even small crime the reaction is quite different for an ex police officer or 'off duty' police officer to those in the security industry or just the general public.

It is like the police are the only people who see suspicious activity at times. Sounds just like Iraq when many things like suicide bombings did not happen if they were not witnessed by a US service person.

First point is many parts of the military rely on that recognition of the small things that are out of place & if you have been there you just transfer that training to the civilian areana. At times it is just part of the intelligence picture.

Then there are security guards who often build up that skill level through experience to pick up on things that are out of place.

Last but not least is the person knowing their local area & what is out of place.
Guardians: Angels on patrol /Little army big war
Now someone from the police comms has said to me that it is the caller not providing the correct details. That to me is a cop out as well as bureaucracy gone mad & it never used to be needed.

Often you can not put your finger on what is wrong until after the fact. Of course you are not always right, but that is part of life. Experience & keeping up with what is happening in the community mean you are more likely to be right than not.

But it is again those small things that need to be noted. The big things as they say take care of themselves.

http://www.foxhoundsecurity.co.nz

New Zealanders continue to support Terrorists!

Kia Ora,

Today was going to be a blog about where I see likely terrorist strike at the Commonwealth Games currently been staged in Delhi, India. But that will have to wait as yesterday again showed how people in New Zealand support terrorist activities in our own country.
Dan Rather Reports #235: Into Africa(2 DVD Set - WMVHD DVD & Standard Definition DVD)
Of course there are the many who support organized crime in the guise of the terrorist groups commonly known as gangs. In reality they are terrorist groups. Nothing more, nothing less.

Then we have those who support the internationally recognized terrorist umbrella groups such as eco green type entities.

What I am talking about here though is the three terrorists who attacked the so called Waihopai Spy base near Blenheim.

Their actions are those of terrorists. As one radio DJ was heard to ask yesterday, when someone was trying to defend their actions, "what would New Zealanders be saying if these three were of Middle Eastern descent?"

Great question as it does not matter what their ethnic background is, it is their actions. These guys are terrorists & the jury got it very very wrong.

So now the government are looking to change the defence they used & now go after the three of them for damages.
"Terrorism": why the definition must be broad.(FORUM: ON TERRORISM): An article from: World Policy Journal
Their defence again was they believed they were right as their actions would save lives in Iraq(also known as colour of right). What a load of bollocks! It is extremely unlikely that any information gathered from a New Zealand site would have direct impact in Iraq.

In fact the only likely connections would of been myself & others ringing back to our families here whilst we worked in Iraq or Iraqis ringing their relations here when they found out we were Kiwis as happened on occassion.
Terrorism: definition, justification, and applications.(Terrorism. The Philosophical Issues )(Book review): An article from: Social Theory and Practice
Although the US has an unhealthy reliance on electronic intelligence, the best was gained by the age old fashion of what is now known as humanint.

The government could of easily brought in a few of us that had worked security in Iraq to comment on the highly unlikely circumstances of the site here picking up useful information.
Appendix B: definitions.(terrorism): An article from: CONPLAN - U.S. Government Interagency Domestic Terrorism Concept of Operations Plan
By destroying the envelope around one of the antenna's the only lives they really put in danger were those of New Zealanders.

Yet many New Zealanders continue to support the terrorist actions of these three men.

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

The world works in mysterious ways alright!

Kia Ora,

Well after my last blog thought there might be some comment about Intelligence(intel) as it is a much bigger topic than you can cover in a blog.

But to prove the world works in mysterious ways an email arrived which showed a lack on intel. But gives me some intel to work on.

Not sure the email is a scam but it points to possible scams & raises scam issues with domain names.

Shortly after I bought the domain name foxhoundsecurity.co.nz a scam appeared foxhoundsecuritycards but obviously someone didn't do their research & birthday or well wishes cards don't go with a security business, so it seemed to drop off the radar.

The email I have received stated that an entitiy had applied to buy a number of domains including .com connected to foxhoundsecurity.

Of course said I didn't know the entity applying & it didn't worry me as they couldn't use them to gain work in NZ.

Received a reply stating that there were three possibilities.

First they were a group buying up the domains to sell back to me. This is known as domaining & can be profitable.

The fact that someone is buying domains connected with my company name or trying to scam tells me that through these blogs & other social media the company is getting some traction even if it hasn't translated into much in the way of cash flow yet.

It also tells me they don't know my plans as well as they may think they do. Foxhound Security Ltd & my other company Red Diamond Security Services Ltd were only ever planned to be used in NZ.

As they come under NZ security law, that law & the new bill are totally inadequate for overseas work. In fact the new bill is only good for use as toilet paper as it goes backwards 40 years instead of forward 35-40.

The next claim is a competitor of mine here in NZ will use them to confuse people & impact on my companies.
NZ laws in regards this sort of behaviour can be quite severe if caught.

Also if another entity in NZ claims to be Foxhound Security Ltd they will likely be in breach of the companies act, but also the P.I. & S.G. act 1974. Although the act is not good from a security point of view it does protect any entity who has a licence (sole trader or company) as only one entity can work security in NZ under that name.

This I know because someone with a similar background set up a company as Red Diamond Security Ltd but never licensed it or the person who set up the company for them never checked that the name was already protected by me in the industry. It was the person who set it up we had to deal with & they were quite bolshie to deal with on the issue, even though I wished to talk to the person behind the company.

In the end it was dealt with by reporting it to the registrar.

Currently breach of this provision can result in a $2500 fine & more importantly a ban for five years of holding a license. The fine is due to rise.

I am often critical of the NZ Security Industry of not providing security, but one thing you can not acuse most of them of, in particular the big players, is not been good business people.

They would not risk loosing the ability to work in the industry over the potential my companies will come good in time. At present the businesses are just too small.

The third possibility they put forward was this foreign entity was going to use these names to trade off Foxhound Security Ltd's good name & use the system I have set up.

Well I think it is a good idea but it hasn't succeeded yet & no one really knows the full system, but myself. Though I did say they could invest in it if they wanted too, as it needs that or to grow at its own pace.

Of course there is a fourth possibility is the person who has contacted me & says Foxhound Security can dispute the issue of the domain names is looking for money to start that 'process'.

Still again as I say this intel tells me that the social media is starting to get the company name to be noticed. I am aware that for one search for a particular area of security service the company now comes up in the first page of google search.

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