Gun Control; Is it effective?

Kia Ora,

In yesterday's 'Press' there was an editorial on gun control & the shooting in the US in particular of the Congresswoman.

To me it showed the writer of the editorial had no idea what they are talking about. There was comment about how strange it is that in the US having access to firearms made them feel safer. Well actually when I visited the US I felt safer than I do in Christchurch, yet our police are unarmed as are our security & to gain a firearm legally you have to jump through hoops.

This 'unarmed' state of the New Zealand police & securtiy in particular I know put many Americans off coming here as they viewed that it would be too dangerous a country. I know because they told me so when I visited there a few years ago.

As I have said often I find Christchurch in particular more dangerous than when I worked security in Iraq because as my South African dentist(from Jo'burg) said there is no reason for the crime or violence & it is so random. Also the fact I no longer have a weapon just makes you feel unsafe. You get a lot less arguments when you are armed & a lot less people wanting to take you on.

But is gun control effective?

Well really no! The only people it penalizes are those who stick by the rules. Most firearms used here in New Zealand are illegal or stolen.

As the reporter from the Sunday-Star Times showed in his undercover piece sometime back. It is real easy to buy illegal firearms in New Zealand & the firearms safety of many of those selling is appalling.
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The editorial then goes on to say that it is due to the toxic political environment in the US & we do not have an unhealthy gun culture.

I think this shows their lack of understanding on what is going on in the world. The Congresswoman is not the first political person killed or attempted to be killed of late & most of it is to do with the financial crisis as people come under extreme stress. At least one person killed has directly been atributed to the austerity measures they agreed to carryout.

This sort of incident will only increase as the worlds situation worsens. As was pointed out in the previous post it is the climate now where extrmists end up with political power & this is how the likes of the Nazi party got to power in Germany. We haven't seen an equivalent of the 'night of the long knives' yet.
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As to a gun culture. New Zealand has a pretty significant gun culture & I grew up seeing firearms a lot. The major difference is population. New Zealand has only just reached 4 million people. The US is about 260 million therefore you are going to have a lot more incidents. Per Capita though I would be very careful saying we don't have a gun culture the same as the US & amount of incidents. On the surface we don't seem to be as carefree with firearms, but again as that reporter exposed it is pretty dodgy. In fact during security tasks you often hear firearms been discharged but what do you do when you have no details to pass to the police? Everyone else just convinces themselves its fireworks.

We have had enough mass murders(Aramoana, Stanley Graham, Bain faimly, to name a few) or potential mass murders(Napier springs to mind).

People in New Zealand also seem to stick to the myth that the NZ Police have always been an unarmed force, only resorting to firearms when the requirement arose.

As the NZ Police yes that is true, but before that they were known as the Armed Constabulary. That change took place in the early 1900's so it has been a while, but there is still a history of been armed.

The NZ Security Industry does even better as it was armed until 1974 in a low key manner for certain tasks. It is even more important now that it should be armed again when you look at it from a risk assessment & health & safety point of view.
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But the gun is not the issue. It is just the weapon of choice of that person.

In the last two months high profile attacks on police here in NZ have involved knives or machete's. In South Auckland you would say the weapon of choice has always been a machete.

Then you have the likes of Timothy McVeigh who used what is commonly refered to as ampho to destroy a building. The biggest terrorist attack on US soil prior to 9/11(Pearl Harbour was an act of war even if the Japanese got their timings wrong about when to deliver the message)pissed off with politicians. In fact 9/11 should tell people that an attack by an upset armed individual, though tragic, is only small beer to what could be carried out.

Fact is to stop terrorist attacks people need to be armed. You can't, as seems to be the woollyheaded thinking at times here in New Zealand, say "Stop! Excuse me sir are you a suicide bomber?"
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I would call Gun Control the Claytons(a non alcoholic drink you used to get here in NZ whose advert went "the drink you are having when you are not having a drink" It was awful & consensus was only way to drink it was with Whiskey)solution. The solution you have when you really don't have a solution.

Gun Control does not work as there seems to be an increasing amount of firearms out there found on drug raids, used in armed robberies & in gang confrontations. It just happens to be weapon of choice for some.

Firearms education is what is really needed. As was pointed out so often when in the army "Its not the weapon that kills, but the nut behind it!"

http://www.foxhoundsecurity.co.nz

Why worry about Terrorism when your Focus is Basic Security?

Kia Ora,

The above is a question I am often asked. So why do I look at terrorism when the focus is basic security?

Because if basic security is carried out correctly then the terrorist threat along with criminal activity is limited.

A security guard does not, as someone said of those at their place of work, stand there brain dead but ready to act.

As I pointed out to them their guards if doing their job properly should be looking well beyond their premises. If they have the right observation skills that every person in the NZ security industry should have, then the guards will see most issues coming.

The problem is one I have talked about often. Lack of real security training & guards being told to ignore all that happens off their site.

That same skill applies whether you are standing outside a licensed premise, static security on a site such as a bank or government department or dealing with terrorists.

The amount of times we reported suspicious activity, such as someone with a video camera at the gates, to the American soldiers on the gates. Yet time & again this suspicious actinity was not acted on to be followed within a day or two by a suicide bomber.

It is what most of the NZ security industry does not realize, yes we have to make money to survive, but the real reason you patrol comes under six headings known to the military as the aims of patrolling.

The way they can be employed is slightly different compared to how the military or PSD teams might apply them, but commercial security if they are to be effective need

to use them.

The following is the Aims of Patrolling modified slightly for civilian use.

1. To Gain & Retain the Initiative

2. To Gain Information

3. To Deny Criminal/Terrorist Elements Information

4. To Make Criminal Elements Uncomfortable

5. To Provide Protection
                                 
6. To Provide Security

These aims do not always necessitate you actually moving as you can use your senses to achieve the same goals.

These aims would not even need explaining to someone from Britain as they do it as second nature.

But NZ as someone said on the news tonight when talking about a relation who was murdered " it just doesn't happen in NZ". Sorry but it does & it is all happening with greater regularity.

It is only a short hop to regular, what most people would regard as, terrorist activity.

                                                                      http://www/foxhoundsecurity.co.nz

Personal Security

Kia Ora,

In the last few days I have had words with someone who shares some facilities leased by one of my security companies. The issue that kicked this off basically comes to our differeing views on security.

Their view is it is not that bad here in Christchurch. My view is I actually felt safer in Baghdad as we knew what to expect.

Like most people this person has stuck their head in the sand over security. Not only that in this case it involves the security of my offices which contain items that I have no wish to loose.

But it is time for a reality check. Recently talking to a mate he told me not once but twice about another mate of his who had set up a security company in another part of NZ. He started to have an impact & so the opposition companies started to try to bully him out of industry & police became involved.

In the days leading up to this differing of views, I had being working in office when someone began to slowly open the door. As I was expecting a mate I thought he was playing around so I coughed. The door slammed & someone took off.

The next night I see a vagrant walking past taking a keen interest in the office area.

In the past few months my vehicles have being interferred with & items stolen as well as people trying to & entering the office area before it was set up due to a fault in the doors locking mechanism.

That is just the light stuff.

There was someone working in the industry just after I began who had being investigated for two murders, but no evidence could be gained, was dismissed from a previous job due to a heinous crime (the police were aware but it was taken as an employment matter to cut publicity so no complaints laid). At the time I became aware of him, he was also known to be going around threatening people claiming to be a police officer (a crime he had being convicted of before).

Again though he was not able to be convicted because as soon as people heard he might be connected to a well known crime figure they dropped any complaints.

Under the current legislation the police could do nothing to have his licence revoked.

NZ is not the nice safe place we like to make it out to be.

In the last few days the amount of violent or aggravated crime has risen.

Even a female Maori Warden has being robbed  at knife point. Something I would of never thought would happen. People are becoming desperate & yet the attitude still remains that this is a nice safe place.

Like my friend, because they were in another part of the building they have the attitude that it is OK to leave the door unlocked or open.

Almost weekly if not daily people are burglared by being in the house or out back in the garden & they leave the front door unlocked or open to let the air flow through or their friends in when they arrive.

Basic personal security requires you these days to lock your doors.

My rule is if you are going to be out of visual view for more than 30 seconds then lock it. No good saying " I should of done it after the fact".

Empowering the Security Industry

Kia Ora,

I am still livid over the events of Sunday morning. Currently there is an investigation going into the killing of the taxi driver in Auckland & a review of taxi driver safety.

But this was done after the stabbing & murder of the driver here in Christchurch.

At the time of that incident I contacted the taxi federation & independant taxi companies here in Christchurch to see if they wanted someone to brief the drivers on bodyarmour. I know quite a few have purchased stab vests  armour from army surplus stores but much it was next to useless. So I thought as they are going to purchse it anyway then it would be a good idea for them to know what to look for.

I never heard back from any of the independent companies despite pointing out it was not a sales pitch, but passing on what I had learnt.

Did hear from the taxi federation who put it all in independents & had no interest. Despite the fact that it was many of its members staff who on finding out that I had bodyarmour had being asking about buying some.

The same with security industry. As one operations manager once said "security is only unskilled labour". Our reply he was the only unskilled labour there. In fact that was why he was the operations manager as he was a yes man. Has no idea about actual security.

I hear where they are currently based advice hasn't changed. Don't look for cirme & ignore it or suspicious activity especially if it is not on your clients property.

In other words he has no idea about security.

For private companies buying body armour is expensive & OSH actually caters for that by saying if you can afford it. But it also says you must have procedures to mitigate the danger if equipment not able to be purchased.

Again it comes back to risk assessment & risk awareness then risk management. Not risk management written in a nice folder that no one ever reads or are aware off.

You get asked but aren't you scared. Well actually no, we just react & I don't think either of us were scared on Sunday morning but we reacted as experience told us too.

You expect danger, but you also expect to be able to deal with it in a safer manner.

The other company had more guards on site because their client is a bit more aware of their responsiblities. It is a constant battle to get clients to agree to what should be the minimum number of security on site.

It is about time politicians pulled their finger & got real about this country. Funny how the party that has made it worse over last decade are now accsuing the others of letting it get out of hand. To them it is all a game. To me whilst I am confident of handling the situtations that confront me, it is about the lives of people in an industry that is just not up to standard.