Recognized Security Training or Not?

Kia Ora,

Been a while. Have been focusing on another business venture with a view to including true security in the much bigger goal.

This first blog back was going to be about an on going issue within the New Zealand security industry, but another has come to light that is connected & also on going.

That is the issue of Security Training in New Zealand.

News out yesterday was of a unrecognized Security Training establishment. That is unrecognized by the powers that be although it appears at first glance they were using the information to teach from two recognized training groups.

We know that because it was shown(TVNZ)they were using paper work from those two groups based on NZQA requirements.

All well & good but is this non recognized training establishment any worse than those who are recognized? On the face of it it would appear so.

Probably not though & it is very likely they could actually be better.

The students of this course were paying $100's of dollars to attend & get a certificate.

Recognized courses cost $1000's usually requiring a student loan.

However most of those coming out of recognized courses actually don't know anything about security.

They, certainly in the case of people of a Christchurch course, don't know the basics like Trespass Act or how to carryout a bed down(in fact they have never heard of one. They think it is a lock down which is something quite different).

Then there are the training establishments which are alleged to have taught whole courses of students who could never of been in the industry at present time because of criminal records or even having come straight from Jail.

So essentially the training establishments are committing fraud, just as the unrecognized group appear to be doing, if this is true. What is worse is it is government sanctioned fraud & they have been informed several times by a number of people that it is going on.

A properly run course could teach the students more in three weeks than what they get in over a year's teaching now.

It seems to be more about getting the students in debt, providing cash flow to the training establishments but not providing the correct training.

A few of us were joking that the only thing the course in Christchurch seemed to teach was how not to do security, how to sleep on the job & how to use drugs or argue that drug use is Ok in the Security Industry.

Working around these people tends to drag your own standards down after a while & so I am quite happy to focus in other areas, recharge the batteries & observe to see if there is any improvement in the industry.

That is not to say I won't carry out security work, just right now the focus will be elsewhere.

There are some training establishments though that do aim to improve standards. I was aware of one in Auckland that was operating to give the much higher standard of SIA(British Security Industry) & was run by people with extremely high standards.

Another is in the process of getting of the ground I believe in Rotorua again with trainers focussed on international standards & extremely high standards in comparison that offered around New Zealand in general at present.

When looking at the information available on this issue, it was noted it was very thin & not widely reported. In fact most of the stories were about fake qualifications immigrants were trying to use to get jobs in New Zealand.

Seems though NZQA does a better job of looking into people coming from overseas than what training organizations are actually offering or providing here.

I know that if I or others applied overseas for work & relied on where we did our courses we would also be seen as probably trying to offer fake qualifications.

The reason been is though that training establishment is still in operation, allegedly prior to change of owners a few years ago all our documentaion was lost. So there is no record of us having ever been there.

We do have our NZQA records. Though when people see the standard coming out now from most NZQA recognized training providers, they wouldn't even consider us based on that. But they would consider me based on my much higher standard of NZ military training.

The poor security training though leads into the subject of the next blog. The subject that has been raised before & has been bubbling away since an incident last year.

http://www.foxhoundsecurity.co.nz

To Protect & Serve!

Kia Ora,

Since Wednesday the 13th April 2011 the amount of posts I have made through this blog have been limited. The reason behind this was the incident that occurred that night.

It was requested we not blog on this incident & therefore we sought other avenues to resolve the issues arising from the incident. Especially when one person involved wanted to go to the media as some of the issues continued.

As time has gone on though nothing has been resolved & in fact the NZ Police hierachy have chosen to deal with it by not dealing with it. In fact we have seen senior Police officers issue statements in direct contradiction of what we know to be true.

This has resulted in frustration & in my case led to a lack of motivation. So after consultation with a person involved with assisting people stressed following the earthquakes, it was decided the blog was the best way to deal with it.

This is not meant to be a slamming of the police as a whole. Whom in my experience are people aiming to make a difference, putting up with shitty & dangerous situations & a lot of criticism.

In the first week & a bit post the February 22nd Earthquake I assisted on a voluntery basis out in the east of the city. Then I received a call to carryout some subcontract work for security of three buildings within the CBD red zone.

Arrived in the area after obtaining the appropriate pass to find Police dogs searching for cadavers, bricks falling from buildings during aftershocks. We also found that we had to mainly cycle around the outside of the area we were to protect(therefore outside the areas we were allocated by the council on our pass) as an inner cordon defined by fences due to a large building in danger of collapse was in place(within the red zone there were several inner cordons & having since worked alongside the structural engineer for that building in another role I know it was despite looks, very much on verge of collapse at the time).

The area we had to travel became larger as first a street we used for direct access was cordoned off due to danger of further building collapses. Then thanks to our observations a bridge also had to be cordoned off further extending the area we needed to travel to watch over our assigned tasks.

Initially our relations with the Police were great & you could define Police by districts. Christchurch Police just awesome, probably because they had gone through the same things as us. South Island Police were also good & many were initial responders to assist. Northland-the ones we met were hardcase & usually lost. Country cops always practical & good to deal with. Wellington & Hamilton generally good. Counties Manakau were great. For most of New Zealand we probably look on them as having a hard beat but I think from what they see day to day gave them empathy with what was going on.

One area not only provided some of the best Police, especially early on, but also by far the worst & the ones who where all the issues arose from. Auckland.

A few across the board had atitudes on first arrival but the attitude adjusters (Christchurch Shallow quakes) soon sorted those out in early days.

An adhoc task we sort of ended up with was guiding lost police patrols as to way out or back to central. GPS & comms detailing to you don't work when streets are fenced off.

Big issue we noted was lack of communicaton within the police, between police & Civil Defence(it took five days for police to get a message we were given first by a council engineer who got it from a civil defence engineer, so initially they said what we were told to pass on & enforce did not apply to them).

Information was just not getting passed on. Our understanding from what we were told was each rotation was briefed that no one was working inside the CBD at night, this despite a minimum of 40 & up to an estimated 100 people working in there on any given night early on.

Anyway after four weeks we were asked to leave, but were back within days as one of buildings we were protecting was looted. Apparently the looters came up the river.

Just prior to the fourth week(I thought it was the fifth, but everthing was running together & we were doing 84 hours a week so all a bit blurred at times back then) we noticed(as did the rest of the city from criminals through to a Dr I was talking to recently) a hardening of attitude by some police. On our return this was very noticeable by a section of police from Auckland.

Up until then including those from Auckland had just wanted to help. Many didn't want to be in the CBD red zone, but out East helping people.

On the night of the 13/14th April 2011 we were wrongfully arrested for breach of the cordon after working in there for six weeks & having the correct passes. There has been no apology. They didn't even have the courtesy to tell us they were withdrawing the charges.

In the last week & bit we were in there we had to endure the following & until now have kept relatively quiet about it.

Harrassment:

A good Auckland Police officer we assisted early on made reference to fact that in Auckland 50% of those they arrest are in the Security Industry.

Seems some of the Auckland cops brought that attitude here, despite three security companies catching more looters/people breaching the cordon, than police had at that stage. We were actually kicking out more than we ever reported because Police response was either non existant or to slow.

Through the grapevine it is alledged another security person was threatened with arrest for doing their job.

I am aware of two security personnel working at night in process of supplying their details yet again to police when alledgedly they spotted a looter in the middle of the street with a backpack on, whom the police ignored when alerted to them & continued to take the security personnel's details.

Seems you got greater scrutiny if you were working in red zone than actual looters.

Racism:

This was blatant. It continued alledgedly after our arrest during days & was witnessed by aghast members of the Christchurch public.

As someone of Ngai Tahu descent, therefore whiteish in complexion, it is something I take note off.

Years before Christchurch Police were accussed of racism, but what I noticed working alongside them was their actions were based on whether a conviction would proceed. Rich white kids in the main would yell "Dad will get a lawyer & go for a jury trial" which meant the charge would never get to trial. Cops would be told to withdraw it by hierachy. Those from poorer backgrounds whom tended to live by motto "do the crime do the time" therefore figured higher in arrests. That meant they tended to be Maori & Pacific Islanders.

That all changed once Police were told arrest them in a crack down on crime in the CBD. As a police officer commented at the time "We knew these were the real figures(82% rich & white). Christchurch Police also know that you just can't tell by skin colour in the South who is Maori.

The attitude in the CBD red zone though was blatant racism. The way patrols spoke to my darker complexioned offsider compared to me was disgusting.

Though the two officers who charged us were firm but fair, it was hard not to notice the officer taking my details reaction to the question "Are you Maori?" he seemed shocked to my "yes" answer.

Its even worse when the new Police commissioner states there is no racism in the Police.

The Police is like the military or any other organization, so the reflect society. Therefore there will always be racism within their ranks.

It just shouldn't be so blatantly obvious or allowed to cloud their judgement.

Breach of Human Rights:

This happened after our arrest. We were wearing protective equipment.

A Civil Defence Emergency is the closest thing you get to a war situation.

In war after taking Prisoners, you search them, then if still in an area that is considered dangerous you return their protective equipment.

Police patrols had spoke to us of a pillar in the police station having moved a metre. One officer when asked "Don't you guys get a briefing?" "Not sure. We just grab the radios & get out because we don't want to be in that building" or words to that effect.

On that premise our Protective equipment - Helmet, Fluro jacket-so they can find your body easier is reason given you wear them in the red zone, & boots minimum.

Police Looting:

We were first alerted to this by a third party whom had alledgedly witnessed police placing alcohol into the boot of a marked Police car.

On mentioning this to a Police officer later on in the cordon, they stated "yeah, heard its going on, just don't know how they can do it then arrest someone for burglary" or words to that effect.

Other officers have acknowledged the have heard its been going on & in fact encouraged us to complain about the whole thing as it reflects badly on the rest.

At this stage are going to complain, but it is the system investigating the system.

The other possible looting by police occurred the night before we were arrested.

We had been asked to stop cycling around one side of the area we were covering by a couple of police trying to do a good job.

This meant having to walk in between two buildings in an inner cordon to keep eyes on one of the buildings we were there to protect. Initially we had our Fluro Jackets on, but Police patrols rushing past at Warp Factor 9, side lights blazing kept giving us away. So we took to using a dark outer for the person in that position.

Police then stopped using their sidelights when passing that particular position & the night prior to our arrest we could distinctly see a person standing at an intersection highlighted in the headlights of a patrol car.

The patrol car then made a short stop as if talking to that person then carried on. Shortly after, that person was seen with a torch periodically searching a bank which seemed strange for a police OP(observation point) to be doing.

When later that night we had a run in with a police patrol from new rotation it was mentioned.

They reply was "We have no one there, why didn't you call us?" "Because one it appears to be police & two we usually get Auckland who have no idea what we are talking about & even Christchurch have no idea of what is going on in the red zone."

We noticed that on leaving they did not go & investigate.

These issues were not & are not from what I have seen endemic Police wide. Its a hard shitty job with liitle thanks just like security(everyone forgets they are both offshoots of the oldest profession "the Profession of Arms").

Most of them I thank & I am sure most of Christchurch thanks for their suppport & efforts.

Just one small part though has let the rest down & that extends to the hierachy who refuse to acknowledge their mistake in our wrongful arrest or offer an apology.

I am also not happy with my own Iwi(Ngai Tahu) whom we turned too, to assist us in resolving this issue. They seemed interested in helping at first, but suddenly there was no contact & would not return our emails.

Some will be angry for me posting this, but I have had to do what is best for myself. It has been like a noose hanging around your neck dragging you down. It would of been nice to resolve this with the Police without having to go public, but they choose a path that makes that not possible.

Well that explains things a little!

Kia Ora,

Haven't been blogging because blogs were getting blocked & this post the text was removed whilst in draft. Having just reread it I note there are some subtle changes to what I wrote but essentially the story is the same. One sentence in particular is missing.

News item in last few days has been about the possibilty of Israeli Mossad agents been in Christchurch, New Zealand at the time of the February 22nd earthquake. One report also says there was an Israeli Search & Rescue team in the city at the time.

Now how would a Search & Rescue team be there in advance of a disaster unless the claims of the alleged HAARP weapon to cause natural disasters were correct?

As I wrote of my experience of the day that along with an Israeli woman we went into the Christchurch Cathedral & we got people moving out. Footage then surfaced of a Japanese tourist filming in the doorway as the Earthquake hit with the camera later on the ground showing shoes running past. I remember him receiving first aid treatment from a member of the public as we went in the door.

Behind us on reflection was another person whom I believe was the Israeli paramedic. He later went to help, along with myself & others, the police get a woman down from one of the windows in the Cathedral. We were not required & on later TV footage I noticed a police officer escorting him away. Which seemed strange considering he had the expeirence/training & just appeared to be trying to help.

Did I think that they were a search & rescue team? Or Mossad?

No. What I did think was that whilst the majority of New Zealanders were loosing their heads around us, those of us who have been in similar situations (me army training & security work in Iraq, them just living in Israel) we were reacting to help as best we could.

That they might of had the skills of a search & rescue team(I know the young woman was very frustrated with the poor NZ response & stormed off, got a hard hat & re-entered the Cathedral to check if people were still there as she thought-I know the film footage on the internet showed no one under the roof area as it collapsed) but then you would expect that of someone having lived in Israel.

In fact we saw the same at times in Iraq where the Iraqi people just got in & helped, not worry about what certificate you had. They like many in the Middle East were just used to these situations. New Zealanders aren't.

But it does explain the stories on the TV news didn't add up to what we witnessed. Like foccussing on the person who claimed the doors jammed shut behind them as they run out of the Cathedral. I remember talking to that person after the doors had been locked/shut after a staff member swept through to ensure no one was left inside probably 10 minutes after the initial shock whilst we were trying to keep people back from the Cathedral. This person was trying to find out what was going on.

TVNZ kept running that story even though they were rung twice to inform them it was incorrect. Now they trot out the failed so called expert to waffle about what they see is behind the situation.

It might also explain why the interview we did with the 'Press' whilst keeping people back never seen the light of day. I thought it was because there were obviously much more dramatic stories though some they printed were no different from ours.

Obviously what has come out would suggest anything involving the Israelis was been withheld as the SIS & Police were conducting investigations.

The other security side of this is the claims that the NZ police computer was safe & our security systems are safe.

Funny that. We have the potential to be but the big claim to fame, the catching of the French agents(or two of them) responsible for the act of terrorism in Auckland Harbour was more as a result of the proactive actions of a forestry worker than good security.

It also flies in the face that when Sir Robert Muldoon was kicking out Soviet spies it was because it was known New Zealand security is so slack that the KGB used NZ as a training ground. No reason Mossad might not do the same because despite some improvements the move away from proactive security & policing means if anything it is now easier to penetrate NZ national security.

New Zealand government departments tend to be 10 years behind in the IT region. They must be, even I seem to know more than them in that field & that is a worry.

So did we have a conspiracy on the 22nd February or is it a media beat up? I go for media beat up.

Is our security up to a standard required to stop international agents? No. We just change things to give the impression of improvement as the Romans found 2000 years ago.

www.foxhoundsecurity.co.nz

The Dumbing down of Society!

Kia Ora,

When looking for the footage to add to my previous blog of the ape with the AK-47 after I was sent a copy, another clip came up.



Initially I thought it might be a spoof until talking to someone with more knowledge about this area than I who bascially said apes are a lot brighter than we give them credit for. They even said look up Bonobo as they are the smartest of the apes.

In recent years many people including myself have remarked about how society appears to be getting dumbed down by our education system.

Dr Dolf de Roos remarks about it in a fashion when giving his life story about how he arrived at decision to do an engineering degree. Basically he looked at medicine he didn't like blood so when looking at most other avenues & they were you had to follow a set path. Then he looked at engineering which was problem solving. Totally different type of thinking all together. In fact he maintains that helped him as an investor because been an investor is looking at problems & then finding a solution.

A good investor looks for problems.

We are seeing the same issue arising in the security industry here in New Zealand. The proposed new mandatory regulations will basically have as we are getting a team of little robots who don't or can't think outside the square & are actually trained in everything but security.

As I have said previously on leaving the military I completed a security course. Thing is the instructors were people who strived for excellence. Two of them being ex military taught in a military fashion so a lot of hands on training, red herrings thrown in(by a person often referred to in the army as Mr Red Herring) so people had to think.

Still meet people off those courses who say again & again how it was often the best training they have ever done. Not only that you can see those who come off a course with similar type of training are streets ahead of most graduates of security courses in New Zealand.

Having the requirements for a qualification written down on paper & taught in a classroom still does not qualify someone for the job on the ground. Neither does spending four hours in a gym a day. That sort of work out is only what most guards are able to dream about once they are on the workface.

Just yesterday in a financial newsletter I receive was this comment which I thinks sum it up nicely "Degrees & qualifications are important in organizations that don't actually produce anything". Good security will do its utmost to protect people & property so saving a business costs in the long run.

Most security if they stick to what is taught currently are just a presence no more no less who don't really care.

But then that is what the likes of CBD Business owner are used too & that is what they expect. They don't expect security to think for themselves.

We are following the US system but New Zealand has taken it a step further & it alone is destroying our ability to ever again compete on a world stage in business.

I have noticed a debate on Linkedin talking about what is great about New Zealand. Most of the points I have seen are now myths. That New Zealand no longer exists.

We still do have people with great ideas but as people keep discovering they usually have to go offshore for them to succeed. Or as the couple who started 42 Below said in their book "Every Bastard says No" to succeed in New Zealand you almost have to succeed offshore first.

Personally still plan to succeed here first, but the biggest hurdle is the New Zealand small mindedness as shown by the CBD Business owner. So have had to think of other ways of achieving it.

New Zealanders(generally ex military) are some of the top security people in the world but those people are only recognized outside New Zealand.

Now had they come to a good New Zealand security entity(there are some of us) then a solution to effectively secure(nothing is ever 100% secure but it would be a hell of a lot more secure than has been or currently is) the Christchurch CBD red zone would of been found.

www.foxhoundsecurity.co.nz

How it all comes together!

Kia Ora,

Well I was going to put post up I have written on proactive security. First though came the comment from the CBD business owner. Couldn't really work out why a Christchurch CBD business owner would be upset with the exposing of how insecure the cordon really is.

That was not until another security professional suggested it is likely to be a security company. That would explain the small mindedness, lack of security knowledge & supposed outrage.

The first role of any security professional is to educate even it means exposing how badly run things are.

Though I am hard on the industry I see around me it is not all that bad. There are some good operators in a New Zealand context like the company I often do sub contract work for. Standards are so much higher than the norm you find in the industry. Then there are those that have brought high standards from the likes of Britain who like me get frustrated with the lack of recognition of higher standards & low standards that clients like to have provided for them. They base their security decisions on cost not on ability.

A reliable source tells me that the standards set for security by the likes of standards New Zealand are sufficient to be off an international standard. The problem is most running the training starting with ETITO(EIEIO) do not understand the standards fully. I would say they don't understand them period. At present many we are getting from courses seem to be have been taught three things.

How to sleep on duty(everyone gets tired & many whiplash at one time or another) but going to sleep an hour or so into your shift during the day is not on.

How to not carryout security.

How to argue you should be able to use drugs in the security industry or just use them.

As I finished the last post in reply to the comments from the CBD Business owner I received an email in regards to the second round of submissions for the new mandatory training requirements for the security industry.

It looks like nothing has been learnt & the same old, same old is about to be put in place with the same low standards.

Then I received an email from a highly experienced international security operator that to me puts it in a highly amusing light.



Even though it would appear to be a fake it shows one thing. At present most of those instructing in security in New Zealand are represented by the soldiers & the students by the Chimp. Monkey see Monkey do. Like what we are encountering some of the students like the Chimp are brighter than the current instructors.

It is all part of the dumbing down of society people are seeing. Lately I have had the privilege to also work with people with a bit of life experience but no qualifications apart from on the job training. No contest they beat the ones from the current courses hands down. The ability to think is been taught out of people in the current slavery system on which the education system is based.

I don't think anyone disagrees that some sort of training is required. Most of it though needs to be on the work face than on a little tick in the box course.

What there needs to be is a base security course for all areas but taught by those with a view to teaching to a higher level. It also requires recognition of experience & previous higher level training. Add in courses for specific areas after some experience is gained but again most training needs to happen in the industry as each area or site is different.

All the system they propose is, is a rort for someone to make a lot of cash to carryout a course which has no real relevance to the industry or how it operates.

At present the industry is viewed poorly & much of it comes back to the poor training provided. One police officer made the comment that in Auckland 50% of those they arrest in Auckland at present are actually in the security industry. Some of their comrades seemed to bring that attitude to Christchurch & led to issues leading up to our wrongful arrest.

The other issue that goes hand in hand with the training is the requirement to have regulations providing a formula on the number of security needed for events & for health & safety reasons. Currently it is left to the client to dictate that leaving security open to assaults(as winessed the other night) or worse(as experienced at times).

This is part of the education of our society. I have lost count of how many times in last few years I have been asked by members of the public if it is bodyarmour/stab vest I am wearing which upon confirmation I am, to be told that you "don't need that in New Zealand" or Christchurch. It just shows how out of touch the New Zealand public are with their communities.

As one Christchurch police officer said about a year ago. Virtually every person they now arrest has a knife on them without a lawful purpose.

Having at times confronted people with iron bars, knives, pieces of wood, had firearms discharged in our direction on at least two occassions it seems the Christchurch I live in is quite different than those who bury their head in the sand.

One last point to the CBD Business owner is obviously they also don't understand the use of social media in marketing a business. It pays to be contraversial & its even better as in my case when the facts back your assertions.

www.foxhoundsecurity.co.nz

CBD Business owner lacks Security Knowledge!

Kia Ora,

Well I have received a very upset un named reply to my last post so it will not be published since they know they are wrong by not publishing their name.

But I will quickly refute their false accusations.

First they claim that the fence was only ever there for a controlled worksite not for security. Totally incorrect. Fence was erected to aid security. By having a fence up it allows individuals to be arrested immediately as they are in a fenced/enclosed area.

Not only that the CERA webstie tells you how secure the CBD is in particular due to the fences & other aids. In fact the answer by authorities to information we supplied about breaches(from sub contract work in the CBD Red Zone) was to erect more fences but that doesn't work by itself. It is obvious the CBD business owner hasn't looked if they have been inside the cordon as too where fences were erected. If they had, they would of asked why? They certainly aren't there for a controlled worksite.

Criticizes the company as not been good enough. Fact: The reason I first got my individual licence then formed two companies as was informed that was my best option since my standards were too high for security in New Zealand. Just because they are used to extremely low standards is not my fault.

They claim it would need actual security expertise to make the place secure.

Funny have that expertise from been in the military(highest level of security-used to give lessons on this form of security) & PSD in Iraq (second highest level of security). Not my fault NZ doesn't practice good security & doesn't like good security yet.

As many of those I have worked with in the military & Iraq have said to me. Look NZ is just not ready for real security yet. Keep it humming along & when it happens they will not have a clue what to do so you & others will be in a position to step up.

It is not just me either someone with a lot more international experience in high levels of security including as a consultant in dangerous areas, yet when back here for a break his experience is ignored & gets offered work as a guard only.

CBD business owner shows their lack of knowledge of real security where the likes of myself practice it. Many even more highly skilled security operators than myself have returned to NZ to again head offshore because of the lack of recognition of real security experience & knowledge.

I had warned that NZ was not ready for a terrorist attack(still isn't it needs to start practising proactive security again to counter terrorist attacks) or in that matter as has shown a large natural disaster. We practice procedures that are just not relevant in a real large emergency situation but can't get out of that mindset.

CBD business owner claims I miss the point. It is definitely the other way around. Effective security could be provided & not at the cost they are looking at. Yes it would cost but it is right now. Having been part of the military involved in emergencies, I know that any use of the military has to be paid for. Yes someone is billed for the military providing manpower(surprised me too when I first learned of it during an emergency).

Private security would cost less in the long run. That is why PSD's are used so much in Iraq & Afghanistan. Why the UN is considering using PSD's for intervention. As they free the military up from some tasks & though well paid actually cost less than having a standing army. It is what NZ will have to look at with recent military cutbacks.

It is quite evident from their rant that the only big mouth with a small mind(their words) is this CBD business owner. The cordon is not a controlled worksite but a security cordon. Typical New Zealand small minded thinking here. I know they will be under stress having a business there but they need to deal with the facts not the myth put out there.

Just because they have never been exposed to real security is no reason to try to shoot the messenger.

As stated & again they miss the point, my last post did not show any weaknesses in the system not already known. In fact it was breached again today but the person was not removed or seen by the volunteers or police but by a worker in the Red Zone. Before they comment they need to learn to read.

The point is their business like everyone elses is not secure. Despite the assurances given they are.

If you are not prepared to put your name to a comment it will not be published especially if a rant based on myth not facts.

www.foxhoundsecurity.co.nz

How secure is the Christchurch CBD Red Zone really?

Kia Ora,

In short its not & never really has been apart from first week or so whilst people gathered themselves.

We entered the Red Zone about a week & a half after the February 22nd wee shake to carryout a security task.

First few days we were there the police were everywhere soldiers manned most of the fences & yet still we could see people breaching the cordon. Over the first two weeks we caught or spotted about ten breaches at night & the day shift just lost count.

One issue was as more & more fences become unmanned people just pulled them aside or climbed them(one day 8 trucks & people were seen to enter retrieve their goods from businesses & residence in a drop zone, nothing was initially done even though police were informed).

One that was manned the soldiers thought the cars flicking their lights on full were looking for the girls who used to occupy that street. They were quickly put right in that what the cars were doing was the same tactic as the looters in the residential areas out east were doing. Trying to see if anyone was manning the gate or sleeping so they could breach. Out east they were trying to see if people were home.

As time went on especially after the bridge near us was closed we saw less & less police down our end & they withdrew the officer at a post nearby where we were going on our patrols to report anything we seen.

With the street next to us, which we had to travel to check some of the three buildings we were there to keep an eye on, suddenly closed off due to likelihood of falling material then the bridge the other side due to our checks becoming closed off we suddenly had to range quite wide to keep up the security. It did mean travelling outside our designated area but the police were always informed why we were doing that when stopped. Not that it was much use as out of town police they had no idea of the areas on the Maps detailing your area of work.

After four weeks we were withdrawn but were back shortly after as one of those buildings was looted. The looters came up the river by boat. But then we had been telling people we had seen tracks of someone walking up the river bank. One guy was even caught by our team who had been told by authorities to walk up the river bank(though he obviously wasn't supposed to get as far as he did).

During the day contractors who have too, due to heavy machinery or trucks not been able to turn around, open the cordon fences. Because those fences are not manned as much as they have been it is common for cars to follow trucks in.

Not to mention that those on the check points got slack & were more interested on what is on their Ipod or MP3 than getting out of their deck chairs to stop people from entering even on foot as one person told me they did one night. Another woman was able to walk the length of the red zone to her place of work during the day.

In the last two weeks a group of tourists have been caught by someone working inside the redzone walking around. In exchange for not calling the police they had the tourists take them back to where they got in. Fence was pulled up & everyone was crawling under it within 100 metres of a check point. It is actually a common point people are gaining access.

Sources tell me one burglar only got caught because it was so easy to get in & avoid poice patrols he went back a third time only to be caught by a patrol not roving around with their lights on full going at warp factor 9(which was unusual).

Just recently whilst in the vicinity of the cordon someone asked how to get to an intersection they shouldn't be able too, to get into the red zone to recover items. They had no pass, no helmet or high viz. The intersection is nomally on the edge of the cordon but not a point of entry. So obviously someone had found a breach & they were going to enter to retrieve their goods. All we told them was they had to go to the Art Gallery to get a pass. But on talking to someone else working on the edge of the cordon it seemed the directions to that corner was often asked.

Like a regular highway into the Red Zone it seems & everybody knows about it.

It was actually the same area where tourists breached & the two I caught when going to visit someone. No one acted on the information we gave previously to stop breaches so waste of time telling anyone.

It was obvious though the older police officers understood what we were doing in the way of proactive security, since we could not actually patrol the buildings we were looking after, that many police now don't understand the nature of been proactive. Driving around at speed with your headlights on full(especially in fog) & sidelights blazing is not proactive. Its nothing.

Apparently there are a number of postings on Youtube of business owners & residences getting in to get their goods avoiding police easily.

Then there is the new volunteer force to patrol the outer perimeter of the CBD. From observations passed to me pretty much what I expected.

Next to Useless!

Much what you get with the community watch programme. Some very good people & most who have no idea what suspicious activity is. There used to be a crew out Hornby way that were very very good but they left for same reasons for my comment above.

They haven't as yet picked up the breaches in the fences others have seen as they go past. It is really a feel good patrol not a security patrol.

Overall the security situation inside the red zone is extremely poor. A tagger had even left their mark on the fourth story of a badly damaged & dangerous building. One large tag was obviously after the September earthquake, the other next to it though referred to the February shake.

One reason some people have said that we were wrongfully arrested in there was by our proactive security actions were showing up the police as we dominated our area & the locals in the red zone were noticing it(& telling us about it).

We certainly weren't perfect & restrictions initially meant we could not patrol around the most vulnerable building.Therefore we did proactive patrolling on bikes around the edges. We had to ignore those restrictions & enter a major drop zone after a good police patrol who were trying to do their utmost to keep the place secure asked us to stop patrolling one area. Our only option was to take a walk into a drop zone.

Putting up fences all over the place & not manning them doesn't provide security in New Zealand either.

The best option in future disasters in cities in New Zealand is put in good local security patrols(yes there are alot of poor security but it is usually known who are the good security) to patrol say on bikes or on foot in designated areas co ordinated by one group. Not just give it to one company & let them bring in out of town guards. Use security too to man the fences. Again it free up resources.

One thing is locals tend to know the local problems & likely routes in. End of the day it frees up police to concentrate on other tasks. Yes there will be bad eggs but there are in any organization. I know one other security organization had similar problems after catching some looters early on they suddenly become the enemy/suspects. It was we are meant to be here & are helping you. At times it has seemed even now there is more emphasis on those legitimately working there than actual looters.

Another issue that freeing up police will take care off is what was observed in this disaster. They came to help but many of them had never experienced an earthquake little lone the ones Christchurch is getting & like many they were shocked when a good one hit. In fact we called later shakes the attitude adjusters. For many locals it was "here we go again so lets get it over with".

None of this information will help those breaching anymore as it is generally known in Christchurch that claims the cordon is working are not true. In fact when we returned to the red zone after the looting it was the locals who were able to tell us how it happened & which building had been looted. Others in the wider Christchurch community have also been able to tell us details when we had been told to keep quiet about it.

So the red zone secure? Not likely!

It is no wonder so much looting has been discovered. Claims that much of it probably happened in the first few weeks or is mainly by workers are wide of the mark from what I or others have observed.

The easy pickings early on were out in the eastern suburbs.

As one Maori Warden informed us the inner city was more targeted inititially everytime the cordon was reduced. Looters were hitting those premises in the newly opened area, he was catching them making them drop their goods then letting the next police patrol know where the goods were. That also allowed them to start getting eyes on the CBD & where the weaknesses were.

It seems that virtually everyone that wants to knows how insecure the cordon really is except Civil Defence now CERA, the police, the military, Operation Suburb & the new volunteers. It really is a circus!

www.foxhoundsecurity.co.nz