Information Security a major Issue!

Kia Ora,

There has been a lot of concern about information security in particular on the likes of Facebook then the concerns everytime Facebook renews its format.

But it again is the information security of a local business that is the issue. In fact it is the same business as last post on the subject NZ Post.

I received a letter from a manager at NZ Post, I was going to insert their name here but decided not too, who from the tone of the letter is the person I spoke too when the issue first came to light.

They claim the evidence they provide shows that they have all my information & have never lost anything. In fact it does the opposite it shows I am 100% correct & they have lost all the information I have given NZ post over the previous four years.

It appears they have not thought it through which brings to mind this quote;
"Thinking is the hardest work there is, which is probably why so few engage in it." Henry Ford.

Seems this person has selective memory saying I from the start made false accusations. Actually no it was the other way around. Spoke very nicely to a nice girl that I had concerns about information held on me had gone missing. She put me through to this manager.

He answered saying there was a problem with my phone & obviously didn't like it when I pointed out that the issue was obviously his end. He then says he will pull over. Case closed on that issue.

I then very calmly expressed I had extreme concerns over information held about me which appeared to have gone missing. His reply "We don't lose information" I replied "you do & you have" from there it deteriorated until I swore at him then had to hang up as he continued to rant.
Information Security : Principles and Practice
Now two other issues came up here & the first I dealt with in the last post & will deal more in depth at the end of this post, that of swearing as a good stress relief. Seems it is Ok to these days abuse a police officer but not some incompetent, lazy, corrupt bureaucrat.

The other issue which this individual shows they are very poor at is customer service.

For an investigation for one they never even involved me & then it appears the person I disagreed with, investigated themselves. So they only ever had half the story & were sadly missing some facts. That is corruption!

The attitude is something that has come up several times in business group discussions & how bad customer service is in New Zealand. It results in either arguments or more often than not in New Zealand people walking away, but telling everyone or whinging about how bad the service is.

They don't do like foreigners or myself that actually tell people how bad the service is. It actually lessens the stress by getting it out there.
Management of Information Security
People like this person I am dealing with think they can get away with it by coming on all arrogant & ignorant like it is the person raising the issues fault. I didn't lose the information. They did. Their 'investigation' proves I am 100% right.

Now another discussion has started in a business group on how the Rugby World Cup will affect New Zealand business long term.

Potential is huge, but attitudes like this one I am coming up against with poor customer service will potentially, in this day of social media, destroy New Zealands reputation very quickly. It is something New Zealand has not as yet got to grips with, but overseas social media can destroy a business or a country(It is why Egypt has closed down social media then the internet). It is that powerful.
Principles of Information Security
The customer is not always right but they do have the right to put their case, not have a white wash of an investigation. In fact that is the normal way of doing an investigation in government entities now. Only investigate their side then proclaim there is not an issue.

People complain about the police investigating themselves. At least knowing police they will generally take all details they can into account. Others only look at themselves & present the information they think is right not the facts.

So what has happened to this information I have given NZ Post. Seems it has just gone into the system to be lost forever. Despite the fact I have now sent a letter higher up the chain with the corruption now in the system I don't expect a result or even an apology.
Information Security: Principles and Practices
It is that sort of thing that the riots starting across the world & overthrow of governments are aimed to sort out.

Instead of giving poor service I would suggest the bureaucrats start looking at what is happening offshore & get their attitude sorted.

At the same time New Zealand needs to get its house in order both in security information & customer service.

What do they want people venting steam by swearing or rioters with iron bars or firearms? Because that is where it will go if people keep not performing, the financial crisis gets worse & people are forced to surpress their feelings.

The Chinese know that you can be pretty hard on your people & they will take it but when you start adding in the rising costs of living in particular food it is a recipe for disaster.
Financial Armageddon: Protect Your Future from Economic Collapse, Revised and Updated Edition
It was the same in the military & British companies also practiced in Iraq. You can push people hard, get them to carryout dangerous tasks but make a mistake on their pay or leave & it creates huge issues that bring all the other niggling issues to the surface.

History shows this. It is the small things that count. Constant denial of mistakes by bureaucrats just wind people up.

http://www.foxhoundsecurity.co.nz

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

Is there likely to be a Terrorist attack at the Commonwealth Games now they are underway?

Kia Ora,

So now the Commonwealth Games are underway is there a likelyhood of a terrorist attack still? Is all that suffocating security still required?

Well in a word. Yes!

In fact as the games wear on if there is going to be an attack it is more likely to occur later in the games.

By looking at how Al Qaeda in particular has carried out some attacks in Iraq & Afghanistan I see the possibility of an armed assault on the bridge leading into the games village. From reports & images on TV there are still concerns about the security set up there. Either during the assault or after then vehicle bombs making their way in along with surviving assaulters to targeted team facilities.
Inside Terrorism
The teams most likely to be hit are Australia, England (as the most identifiable team of 'Britain') for their high profile in Iraq & Afghanistan.

The other is New Zealand.

First for our perceived connection to Iraq & connection to Afghanistan.

Then there has been the issues of late that have highlighted New Zealand in India & not in a good light.
The Mind of the Terrorist: The Psychology of Terrorism from the IRA to al-Qaeda
Initially there was the complaints laid by the NZ chef de mission which highlighted the poor state of the games village. Some of that was quite well received in India as complaints by locals fell on deaf ears(sounds very familiar to what happens here).

That was followed by the issue over the alleged words said by the CEO of the Commonwealth Games who just happens to be a New Zealander that Indians felt were a slight on the people of New Delhi.
Origins of Terrorism: Psychologies, Ideologies, Theologies, States of Mind
Since then there have been the Paul Henry issues first regarding the Governor General who just happens to be Fijian Indian which has been followed in India with wideapread coverage of him making fun of an Indian government ministers name.

Not a good look & Paul often engages mouth before brain but he does like Hone raise issues that New Zealand need to look at itself & discuss. They both say what they are thinking & many others are but won't speak up to say. It is actually a NZ trait not to say anything but go whispering behind peoples backs. Just maybe things need to be said in a different way.
Islam And Terrorism
But all that has raised the New Zealand profile not in a good way so immediately the team becomes a target.

So why later in the games? Human nature!

The games are 10 days in duration so as they wear on the security teams will naturally lower their awareness. If you wait until after the closing ceremony then everyone will think, well we got that far it is all good, security will sub consciously at least lower their guard, teams or those still there will party. What better time to hit?
Terrorism Today: The Past, The Players, The Future (4th Edition)
I have actually been part of a high profile security team where one of the supervisors actually said when we caught someone inside who shouldn't be, "oh don't worry about it. We have done well for two & a half days." Excuse me?

There is also an issue I have raised previously which a reporter noted in their article on the games.

First the reporter talks about how suffocating the security is but then talks about better too much than too little if it prevents an attack.
Terrorism in the Twenty-First Century (6th Edition)
Their next comment though makes my point. It was the frustration when you are going through check after check when others just waltz on by just over the way.

As pointed out this was happening in Amman, Jordan at the hotel I stayed at. But it also happened in Baghdad.

Sent with other members of my team to gain the latest pass or piece of paper needed to work there(from memory it was the Iraqi firearms licence) we had to enter the same building as the Interim Iraqi Parliament. One of the team suddenly says "look at that!" A bodyguard for an Iraqi Member of Parliament handed the MP his firearm to smuggle in as MP's did not go through a metal detector.

Of course later on three bombs were smuggled in to a cafe used by Iraqi MP's & exploded.
Insurgency and Terrorism: From Revolution to Apocalypse, Second Edition, Revised
Our response was once inside having cleared our weapons, was to 'make safe'(load a magazine back on our weapons but not cock it) as if there were weapons floating around unknown we had to be ready.

So is the threat over? No way. It is actually increasing.

Current issues highlighting New Zealand is in a bad light that makes our team a highly likely target in any attack.

http://www.foxhoundsecurity.co.nz

The Wheel goes round & round & round!

Kia Ora,

It seems in the time I have been writing these blogs the same subjects keep coming up here in New Zealand.

Over the last two nights it is back to arming the NZ polic again.

But it all comes back to having the resources & the training.

In previous posts I have talked about the mindset of the NZ Security Industry & the police not being ready for real security. It is not just about the training but the mindset which the NZ police would acquire if they were required to carry firearms at all times.

What I didn't realize though, until one of the reports highlighted it, was the total bureaucratic mess the police have to go through to arm themselves with the weapons they may have in the vehicle. It shows a mindset that hasn't faced the reality of the crime now on New Zealand streets.
In the Gravest Extreme: The Role of the Firearm in Personal Protection
It is only in the last few months that there has been a more general acceptance that more security need body amour. In the main though the NZ security industry refuses to see how it needs body armour or arming itself.

If the NZ Police are doing it or thinking of doing it then security should be doing it.

Why because it is often a security guard that arrive at these incidents prior to police alone. Then after an incident if someone is required it again is security that is called upon, usually again a lone guard.
Terrorism Financing and State Responses: A Comparative Perspective
Mean while here in NZ the wheel goes round & round & round!

This weekend it will be out of control drunks or another high speed police chase resulting in death where the police are blamed for an idiot running from them or another policeman facing an armed criminal without the ability to protect themselves.

http://www.foxhoundsecurity.co.nz

Ground Hog day in New Zealand!

Kia Ora,

Anyone reading my blogs will see some common themes coming through again & again, but as the saying goes "Ground Hog Day."

Part of the reason for writing these blogs has been the frustration with the NZ Security Industry & its lack of dealing with security as it should be, not how it continues to be practised.
Marijuana: Its Effects on Mind & Body (The Encyclopedia of Psychoactive Drugs)
Today in the Sunday-Star times was again the argument over marijuana. A recently retired police officer even saying police should be targetting the harder drugs.

Problem is this is generally where it starts.

Not only that in my experience it is the worst of the drugs. This view has been backed up to me by former drug addicts & one who describes himself as a marijuana addict.

It impacts on health, any psychiatric illnesses are likely to be highlighted based on experience as a security guard dealing with psychiatric patients, & probably most of all you see someone bright turn into someone slow witted & un motivated except for crime to buy their next joint.
Marijuana and Its Effects & Alcoholism in the Workplace & Coping with Hyperactive Children - What to Know / What to Do (Three Booklets for the Women's Christian Temperance Union WCTU - Lancaster County, PA)
In fact the Marijuana addict told me that he was given as much marijuana as possible by his dealers who then would get him to steal in return & at that stage his claim was he had never been caught.

But everytime the NZ police carryout a major raid or something goes wrong over an arrest involving Marijuana there is this outcry about over the top police reaction.

One person even claims that the police over reacted when he had a numerous number of plants growing at his place & firearms. The fact that he used firearms in his work is neither here or there.

He was breaking the law & firearms were found. The police only have to point at Napier as too where firearms & marijuana can lead.

They haven't destroyed his life. He did that himself.

But as they say 'Ground Hog Day' as the same arguments are trotted out.

http://www.foxhoundsecurity.co.nz

So do we need to arm the New Zealand Police?

Kia Ora,

After yesterday's shooting of a police dog & two police officers debate has erupted again about arming the New Zealand Police force.

It is certainly dangerous enough out there to justify arming the NZ police & parts of the NZ security industry.

There are a lot of myths based around our police been armed. I have just heard a high ranking police officer say NZ police have never been armed full time.

Not exactly true.

As the NZ police maybe not but prior to being known as that they were called the armed constabulary.

It is the same with the security industry. It was armed until 1974 when the current act was put in place. In 1974 it might of seemed overkill having armed security, but these days to not have some armed in certain areas of the industry is shear bloody mindiness.



As I have said in a previous blog there are several issues to consider when looking at arming the police.

First is the training & resources required. To be accurate with say a pistol, requires a huge amount of training (a former British SAS member quoted at us in Iraq that to be confident with a pistol it needs to be drawn 6000 times in training to make it natural) but you can look at other weapons systems that will require initial in depth training, but less on going.

The officer I seen armed on the night I was beaten up had his pistol, that with his body armour on, could not of been drawn in a confident manner in a hurry. It was all about looks.



In NZ it all comes back to money.

If you have watched the 'Bill' you will have heard them refer to SO19 which talking to members of British Police are known as ARV's (Armed Response Vehicle's)which contain groups of permanently armed police officers. As opposed to the Keystone cops situation you get at present where the AOS (Armed Offenders Squad) are doing normal police duties until required.

That to me is best option for NZ, along with stepped up training for those officers who want to have access to firearms.

Of course that is another issue. Whilst the NZ Police Association argues for arming of police, not all their members think they should be.

It is actually quite a large number of police think they should remain unarmed. Percentages quoted today have ranged from 40-50%.



Having people with firearms that do not wish to use them is an issue. Solution is to not train these people at all in firearms use unless they later wish to change. It would free up training resources & time for those that are prepared to.

There should be no stigma to that choice as not everyone can face using a firearm. Even those with the training can have trouble pulling the trigger!

Said it before & will say it again & it has been said by many others with much more experience than me.

When you are fired at, it is quite easy to return fire. Just identify your target & fire. For a soldier your training kicks in & as soon as rounds are coming your way, you start looking to identify where they are coming from to return fire.



Where it gets harder is when you are in a situation like the police, the British in Northern Ireland or us working private security in Iraq & you have to in each situation go through the ROE's(Rules of Engagement or OFOF-orders for opening fire).

The military train in the BHL(Battle Handling Lessons) followed by BHE's(Battle Handling Exercise's) to ensure each person understands their legal obligations.



For example a person shoots your mate then turns & runs. Can you shoot them?

No or not unless they turnback towards you with weapon pointing(or starting too) back towards you. Then your life or those of those whom it is your duty to protect come under threat.

It is also not as easy to pull that trigger when you have to go through that thought process.

Not everyone can do it.

http://www.foxhoundsecurity.co.nz

Time to Clamp down on all Crime!

Kia Ora,

It is time to clamp down on all crime! For those not familiar with NZ our police force is basically unarmed. This morning a police dog has being gunned down & two police officers wounded.

A lot of small crimes happen before we generally get to this stage.

That is in part why the 0900 Suspicious service was conceived to allow that 95% of crime that is not allegedly reported to the police to be impacted on.



Now where the figures of unreported crime came from are up for debate, but what isn't is the fact most crime does go unreported.

Right from the start you impact on crime in an area when it is know that someone is taking notice of suspicious or minor criminal activity.

Without statistics the politicians will say that crime is OK. They need to get out on the streets more.

Whats worse is the after this is all over the police officers who have been shot are probably going to be investigated as that is what society does now. Ask these people to put their lives on the line then question every action they take.



As a society we have to stand up & start taking responsibility so we can get back to a society we are proud of.

http://www.foxhoundsecurity.co.nz

New Weekend, New Bylaw, same problems!

Kia Ora,

Well Friday night & despite the new Bylaw here in Christchurch there has really being no change here.

Whilst certain streets had the boy racer cruising issue, this area has more had the diesels & more lately the lone car doing a burnout starting tonight at about 8.20pm followed by a shot from what I would say was an air rifle.

The vehicle then speed off.

Just the other day I mentioned to a local business about chip in his window. "stone chip?" "no, air rifle. Pellet went into & destroyed the glass of the cabinets at the front of the premises."



They found the pellet in there next morning.

The modern air rifle is much more powerful & in fact if it wasn't for the small mass of the pellets, their velocity (as quoted to me by an owner of one or two) were faster than most military rifles. I thought they had made a mistake.

But as the police have found in the last few years in the wrong hands or used indiscriminately they can be very dangerous.

Hence the push to bring them under the firearms legislation to be treated as a full firearm.



Obviously these adverts I have here could not enter NZ just by buying them on line, but offshore it is clearly a different story.

Using a firearm is not game but many play the computer games these days & think that all they have to do is push a button to start again.

Pull the trigger & you have to live with the consequences.

http://www.foxhoundsecurity.co.nz

How safe is it out there for Security Guards?

Kia Ora,

People hire a security guard but do they really think about the dangers they are putting them in.

Two incidents I witnessed Friday night highlighted just how close security guards sometimes come to real danger.



After completing a previously organized security task, it was back to being on standby for the new 0900 Suspicious service & whilst waiting again went out to see if I could gain any footage of criminal activity.

Took up a new position & in little over 40 minutes witnessed a number of criminal activities (two close to where guards were or appeared to be.)

The first involved a patrol in a vehicle roving around a premises. He had his lights on full & though that is not good security, with a big area it is often all the patrols are forced to do coupled with time constraints.

Only issue with lights on full was they didn't see the person at the edge of their lights dash into cover behind a container. Guard must of signed a book (in office on other side of the container) then left with lights going out & person was seen to move out onto a main road.



Twenty minutes later two persons whom I have seen before also trespassed across that private property.

Was preparing to leave when see in the other direction what appeared to be a security guard searching a property with his torch. Suddenly about 20 metres down & out of his line of sight, jumped over a fence a group of at least 3 people & who also trespassed on this other property.



Expecting the guard might of being answering an alarm, I moved to next side street to confirm before we could ring the police. But it transpired the 'guard' would of actually entered that property from next street over.

Meanwhile the new boy racer by law was in action & there was a noticeable change in tactics as well as a continuation of some old ones.



The two vehicles on the footage could be heard racing at an estimated speed of over 120kmh. The night before had seen a large number of vehicles come down that same road at speed then exit down a side road.

There was still a large number of burnouts, mainly in the line with a quick burn out then move to the next intersection & so on. Hard one to police unless someone can give a registration number.

Yet again there appeared to be shots. Problem is there were four 'reports' the first sounded like an air rifle, the next two were more explosive & the fourth had what in the military we called 'crack & thump' so a firearm was involved.



Again though like the precious occassions, it appeared to be from a moving vehicle, so unless you have a registration or have actually seen the weapon it is hard to call in.

It is actually quite common at night in Christchurch & the reckless use of firearms is more prominent as shown by a media investigation, than most people would realize. Most are just not reported.

That also came out during the shooting of a gunman in Christchurch, in that he had fired shots before but no one in the street had called the police for most incidents & the one they had he was able to explain away.

Security Guards often are facing all that on their own!

http://www.foxhoundsecurity.co.nz

Marlborough be very Afraid!

Kia Ora,

One of the items of news going around today is the possible staging of the Undie 500 rally ending on a property in Marlborough.

The comments attributed to one of the owners shows they have no idea what they have let themselves in for.



Where as their neighbour Peter Yealands does. To get where Peter has means he has had to take risks after weighing up the pro's & con's & quite obviously he sees this as too risky.

As I have stated before having carried out security for ENSOC (Engineering Students of Canterbury (University) functions in the past, they will have to insist on a lot of security (not the numbers ENSOC come up with) & being relatively isolated the security will require riot gear.



Before someone says I don't know the area & it is not that isolated, I went to school in Blenheim & my first security job on leaving the army was in Blenheim where I was at times required to answer alarms in Seddon township, past Peter Yealands vineyards (the neighbour of where the party is proposed). For any police or other responses it takes time to get there.

Therefore any security is going to be have to be prepared to fend for itself in the intervening time.



What sort of mindless behaviour can they expect.

Last night around here would be one thing that is likely to happen on the fringes, burnouts by boy racers, racing, a flurry of what appeared to be shots from an air rifle at one point.

At the party, severe intoxication, fighting, fires (the bigger the better & I have being in Marlborough when a fire has swept over those grasslands), theft, sexual assaults even to the extent where the owners are terrorized in their own home.



It is not being in the student area in Dunedin that causes the issues. It is the mindset of the ENSOC students going down there. Just, as they carry this type of behaviour out on a weekly basis, they get out when they see the police. The Otago students don't realize what they are in for.

http://www.foxhoundsecurity.co.nz

It's War! Boy Racers need to be taken off the streets!

Kia Ora,

When I have being building systems & procedures for the service I recently launched from about the year 2000 it has being with the realization that there would likely be calls & encounters with the street racers known locally as boy racers.

But last night they declared war & now I will use all legal means to ensure they are taken off our roads.

Now to the 'Angry Man' here is a point where your argument falls flat.

The  first incident last night I avoided a head on crash because of my experience in Iraq, not the fact I have qualified as an AA advanced driver during my NZQA Close Protection (Bodyguard) course.

What possessed the idiot to suddenly try to pass the small flat deck on what is known locally as that southern arterial near the turn off towards Hoon Hay road, I don't know. Suddenly they found themselves heading towards a traffic island, so they swerved into my lane where the only traffic was oncoming.

Most people in that situation would of either ended up in a head on crash or over reacted & gone off the road & ended up in the deep ditch next to it. Either way would probably be fatal.

A large truck heading to Lyttleton would of had no where to go.

It was only the experience of encountering sudden head on traffic often in Baghdad that I believe allowed me to get through safely.

As if that was not enough, I arrived at my intended destination, a local service station, to only be followed in by another boy racer idiot, who was driving at speed across the forecourt, just missed hitting two bowsers & only came in to read a map.

Suffice to say they got the first shots across their bows in a very aggressive comment on their lack of driving skills & lack of general worth to the human race.  Or as we would say in the army, an oxygen thief & waste of rations.

If that wasn't enough shortly after a young woman was seen to get into a car then reversed straight out onto the road without looking, causing me to swerve.

Some say the issue is there needs to be burn out pads made for these idiots.

That will only take some of the fringe players off the road, not the hard core who are often in the past being seen to be connected to organized crime. When these guys are about then burglaries go up behind the scenes. Not to mention the fact that security,police & the general public have being threatened, items such as bottles thrown at them.

They have been known to have firearms & have threatened after one incident to use molotov cocktails against police.

This has to stop & they have to learn the world does not owe them a life. We had a lot less to do than they do now & even the petrol heads never got to this stage. In fact they tended to just enjoy themselves & minimise the annoyance to others.

Later last night I managed to pass onto police where some  more idiots were starting to gather & carryout burnouts. Though no thanks to police comm's (who really need some training) they were caught by a passing patrol (a common complaint is patrols have no idea that something is going on, including a night when I had a crowd of boy racers throwing bottles at me & about 20 minutes later after my 111 call a patrol showed up because I knew the officer in charge, so he come to check up after an earlier incident, there had never being a job put out over the radio).

So boy racers we want you off our streets. You have lost your rights to be treated nicely as you are terrorizing neighbourhoods, businesses & those whose job it is to keep the place secure.

           http://www.foxhoundsecurity.co.nz

Firearms Control!

Kia Ora,

Well it has hit the headlines again. Firearms control after a couple of murders where firearms were used.

But is the way we control them actually going to stop the murders?


Not really. The recently released NZ police statistics made the point that most murders were carried out without a firearm. Often they would of happened without one being present anyway. It was just convenient.

As my sergeants used to say in the army it is not the weapon that kills, but the nut behind it. Or as a former member of the British SAS said to me in Baghdad, "watch the weapon, not the clown behind it. Where it points is the danger, not the clowns intention."

No that is not a contradiction. The weapon is the tool. Badly handled it is dangerous & a bad workman blames his tools.

Of course there is the upswing in armed robbery of late as the financial crisis strengthens it grip, leads to a rise in crime.

Most of those weapons are illegal. Smuggled in through a variety of sources.

For a number of years the NZ police used to have a small press release asking people to watch out for suspicious activity around our coastline which they believed were responsible for alsorts of smuggling.

Then there are incidents like the one last year where a container showed up in Dunedin full of explosives.

Again it often comes back to the NZ mindset. Although we identify as pioneer types most are city born & breed & have probably never held a firearm.

Properly trained they are not that dangerous unless you intentionally intend to use them. But NZ tends to have the blinkers on.

For example recently after I left the army I was involved in the security for a public event. The police were getting their briefing for the nights event when over the radio came "a young boy has just had a firearm pointed at him by a male, description ....., keep an eye out in this area until police arrive from briefing".

We were close to that point, so I suggested we get a little closer to see if we could identify the person in question prior to police arrival.

My offsiders comment was "we will see him as firearms stick out".

"what about pistols or sawn off shotgun?" I asked.

"Oh they are illegal, so they won't be around".

Not sure what planet that guy was on, but just presenting a firearm at someone is illegal or having them concealed, as it was reported to be, is also illegal in NZ. So I don't think that was going to stop someone having one or other of the above weapons.

Stricter weapons control will only penalise those that follow the law. True some of them are pretty slack & the police deal to them when they discover that fact.

But it will in no way affect those that intend to use them for criminal acts.

Female Suicide Bombers. How common are they?

Kia Ora,

We now have the terrorist attacks in Moscow. The claims are that they were both women. How can they know so quick? Actually it is quite easy to identify the remains of someone who has worn a suicide vest amongst all the bodies parts & mayhem.  It takes you about 30 seconds to work out if a vehicle or vest bomber has hit.

Unless of course you are in NZ then a senior police officer would say they are still collating the information & the investigation would take months to confirm the source of the blast. That would be followed by the government (no matter what party) putting together a commission of inquiry & a select committee sub committee to find out what happened.

The results of which would announce that there was no clear evidence that a suicide bombing actually took place.

Now to the question of how common are Female suicide bombers? In Iraq the US military claimed that this type of attack was loosing support as they had started using women.

That flies in the face of intelligence that was available in 2004.

First was the report of a group in Iran asking for volunteer suicide bombers & getting 4000 volunteers in a week.

This was followed by about a week later of information of a website where you register to be a suicide bomber. There were 40,000 enquiries & 30,000 applications in the first week from memory. Over half the applications were from women or young teenage boys.

The Attraction was not Jihad for many either. It was the US$40,000 per successful detonation that went to the family.

It was reputed to be a very professional set up with both prospective bomber & family interviewed to ensure the applicant was suitable & family was happy with it all.

Of course once you have identified that it has being a suicide bombing (& it has to be done on the spot & extremely quickly) you must prepare for the follow up bombing as it is a common tactic.

In fact you hardly ever have a bombing in isolation as evidenced in Moscow & I wouldn't be surprised to hear that there were others that for one reason or another failed to detonate.

Even after the bombing it is going to take that required change in mindset to be able to shoot a female or elderly person that is perceived to be a suicide bomber.

Arming Police & Security in NZ.

Kia Ora,

Well since my last blog there has being a development in this area. The NZ Police Association has renewed its push for NZ Police to be armed.

Having access to firearms is something in todays society is a must, but there are other issues.

As Simon pointed out in his comment several blogs back they need the training to be able to use them correctly & that in general NZ police do not get at present. They also need the mindset to use them possibly with deadly force. That mindset is just not there in the NZ Police Force at present.

Then there is when they would be able to get that required extra training. There is just not the numbers in the NZ Police to allow that to happen.

In the latest incident where the officers where set upon it was suggested they should of had a Taser to which the police have replied that pepper spray was best option.

The situation of a large group would see pepper spray as best option in first instance. A taser could only stop one person at a time. Firearms might persuade people to co operate but as with any weapon it can be double edged if the group are able to get hold of them.

So if the police are looking at them shouldn't some of the security industry also have weapons?

I have said it before. I wouldn't arm 99% of the current security industry with a ball point pen let alone a firearm (to which one police officer replied "I wouldn't arm 75% of the NZ Police Force").


If the Police see from a health & safety issue to wear bodyarmour then all security should be also wearing it as we are often confronting the same issues & usually alone.

Therefore if the Police are now considering arming themsleves then so should security.

It is not well known in NZ that whilst the Police have being unarmed since about the end of the 1800's, private security was armed until 1974 in NZ in a very low key fashion. There is no reason for that to start again & in fact a proper Risk Assessment  would show that weapons should already be carried in many situations.

So what would that require on behalf of the security industry?
First a change in mindset. As is stands currently the industry just 'Plays' at it.

Going hand in hand with that is training & good training at that, not the general mickey mouse stuff we get in the guise of NZQA at present.

For example earlier this week I was in a public building where a guard was lounging against a wall watching those using the facilities. First thing you would of noticed was he was wearing a fluro jacket in breach of Health & Safety.

Next thing was the smell of smoke from a fire  started coming in the door. So what does our guard do, but walk away.

Security is actually Safety & Security & in this case it was likely a cigarette dropped in rubbish bin outside door, therefore guards area of responsibility, & you could see the smoke building out of it. So it was up to me to report it to reception, which then resulted in the cleaners in responding with buckets of water.

Then & only then did our hero guard return to lounge against the same wall. In the meantime one of the area guards, from another company, had come in to check out the smell of smoke.

Now as expected it is a common incident here, but the reactions of the guard shows a few things.

First he hasn't being properly trained.

Second the venue & in particular the security have no procedures for this issue.

Third he was lazy & incompetent as even without procedures he should of had his own & it should not include just walking off.

So with guards like that I wouldn't want him armed. If he is going to be lazy or not bothered in this incident what is he going to be like when he has to use a firearm.

From a legal point of view whether soldier, police officer or private security when using firearms you need to not only know the Rules of Engagement(ROE's), but understand how they work in practise.

The military achieve this through BHL's/BHE's. Private security would have to do the same. That means using military instructors more as the majority of the current crop of instructors have little idea of true security but would struggle with the instructing required.

Another consideration is the weapons to be used.

With a pistol or revolver you only achieve the competency seen in the movies with hundreds of hours of practise. They are not that accurate especially when a person is your target not cardboard cut outs.

The Private industry will not have the budget for training that government agencies have (& in NZ they virtually could call themselves private companies for the amount allocated to use of firing live rounds. The army being the agency that uses them the most), so will need a weapon that needs minimum training & greater accuracy.

Therefore it is dangerous enough out there for Police to be pushing for firearms then the security industry needs to look at it too. But it needs to those with sufficient training.

A two day course is not enough. Even a two week course could be well short of the mark.

Where as a two hour refresher for ex military(teeth arms/special forces in particular) people is more than enough usually to switch them back on to the use of firearms.

Then you have to add in the training to understand ROE's, which again there is less of a requirement for ex military as they inherently understand them having trained & used them before.

So Police permanently armed? There is a good case for it, it is just the training required & the increase in numbers. But there is an equally good case for arming a small number of the private security industry.