5-19-98
6-2-98
6-7-98
10-10-98
11-28-98

The private Security Officer Quality Assurance Act was first introduced in September, 1992, and since that time, the bill has changed to reflect Republican control of the Congress.  Even so, the current version of the Barr-Martinez bill retains at its core the authorization of private security officers. Fingerprints are routed from the employer to a clearinghouse, to the FBI, then to the regulatory agency following the FBI background check.  The NAtional Association of Security Companies supports the legislation because its members are committed to enhancing the professionalism of the private security industry.  In today's mobile society, a check of the state criminal records may miss important out-of-state information about an applicant for a security officer position.  NASCO recognizes passage of the bill as a public safety issue.  see JLC  editorial comment
From a column by Gail M. Simonton, Executive Director and general counsel for NASCO.  Also contact the National Association of Security and Investigator Regulators web site at  NASIR .

Protecting Public Transportation from Terrorists Transportation Systems as Targets Metropolitan public transportation networks are enticing targets for terrorists because they typically carry large numbers of people in a concentrated, predictable geographic area under routine time frames. They also are highly accessible. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, there were 702 violent attacks against transportation and transportation infrastructures worldwide in 1996. Fewer than 2 percent of these attacks occurred in the United States. In addition, the U.S. Department of State recorded 296 international terrorist attacks in 1996. Ninety-two of these attacks - or nearly one third - were against transportation and transportation infrastructures.

European, Middle Eastern, and Asian Countries rely on their public transit systems more heavily than the United States and have experienced more terrorist attacks than the United States. Yet even officials in these more experienced countries could not prevent the Sarin gas attacks on the Tokyo subway or bombings on PAris trains. Most American cities give responsibility for transportation security to their municipal law enforcement agencies. although some larger municipalities support specifically designated transportation security forces. These officers are trained to handle assault, larceny, vandalism, fare evasion, and similar offenses, but most lack the specialized training and advanced protective gear and equipment needed to respond to the enormous death and destruction that can occur in a terrorist attack.

 For more information, and to order free publication from NCJS: e-mail your questions for the service.

Structured for Success

 Have you ever found out after hiring someone that they lied to you during their interview? There are basics of the structured security interview that can help you improve your interviews. These include:

 one on one" interviews, careful observation of the applicant's behavior in response to your questions, asking "yes/no" questions more effectively so you can get a better read on the applicant's response, and asking tough questions to elicit information that is rarely given voluntarily.

For more information on this subject, a copy of the magazine, and/or a subscription to Business & Facility Concepts, e-mail your request today.

The Thief on Your Payroll

Most white collar criminals work alone; in fact, less than a third of the estimated $80 billion white-collar crime market involves collusion. As for the remaining two thirds, don't expect the perpetrators to all fit the profile of the aloof or the introverted employee. Many white-collar criminals outwardly demonstrate all the qualities one looks for in an employee - devotion to the job, trustworthiness and high integrity.

White collar criminals see opportunities all around them in many workplaces by virtue of the lack of controls and poor or non-existent audit efforts. Companies that conduct business without established or published policies and procures regarding operational, financial, administrative, or security concerns, are susceptible to theft or fraud. Depending on the amount of assets that seem vulnerable, the white-collar criminal will measure the risks associated with being caught - and proceed accordingly.

(originally credited to: article written by Lou Tyska, Director of Planning for Pinkerton Consulting, originally printed in Pinkerton Solutions magazine, 1997)

A solution to the problem of customers remembering their passwords, PIN numbers, and security cards is biometrics, by which an individual is identified by inherent biological traits such as fingerprint, retinal pattern, or simply voice. Veritel Corporation, a partner of Periphonics Corporation, plan to integrate vocal biometric identifiaction into automated call-processing applications. Veritel's technology works over any phone, analyzing two digitalized voice sample of a passowrd and placing them into the voiceprint system.
Contact Wired News

Passwords and laptops can be stolen easily.  So who are your people? It is important to know, especially when you consider that the majority of security breaches are accomplished, not by rogue hackers, but by a comapny's own employees - often a company's own IT staff.
Contact Stan Gibson at PC Week for more on this story

About 3 million violent crimes occur each year in which victims perceive the offender to have been drinking at the time of the ofense.  Among those victims who provided information about the offender's us of alcohol, about 35% of the victimizations involved an offender who had been drinking. About two-thirds of the alcohol-involved crimes were characterized as simple assaults.

Two thirds of victims who suffered violence by an intimate (a current or former spouse, boyfriend, or girlfriend) reported that alcohol had been a factor.  Among spouse victims, 3 out of 4 incidents were reported to have involved an offender who had been drinking.  By contrast, an estimated 31% of stranger victimizations where the victim could determine the absence or presence of alcohol were perceived to be alcohol-related.

For about 1 in 5 violent victimizations involving perceived alcohol use by the offender, victims also reported they believed the offender to have been using drugs as well.  Data for 1995 from the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) of the FBI indicate that about one-half the incidents described by the investigating officer as alcohol-related were between offenders and victims who were intimates.

NIBRS data shows that about 7 out of 10 alcohol-involved incidents of violence ocurred in a residence; the hour beginning at 11 p.m. was the most frequent time of occurrence; and in about 2 in 10 incidents involved the use of a weapon other than hands, fists, or feet.

Back         Continue to next page

 Home