Learning The Ropes

It was six years ago that I first put to paper my designs for an in house 40 hour training course. The plan was a full year ahead of the State's regulation that would expand the eight hour Powers to Arrest training to a full forty hours of instruction known as AB2880.
My 40 hour course would apply to all newly hired employees, and would closely parallel the BSIS model in terms of its content. There was the mandatory Cultural Diversity, and Observation and Documentation courses which were required to be completed within the first six months of employment. Once done, an employee was classified as "Security Guard 1". If an individual was so motivated he/she was open to further their career prospects and go all-out for the "Security Guard2" classification which included the basic BSIS firearms and baton courses. In completing these courses, an employee was then eligible for promotion to vehicle patrol assignments.
Now all of this sounded great as a concept and was eventually accepted by BSIS as our official training policy. However, in practice this was a course we never taught. Because not one of the employees whom we hired in 2003-04 made it beyond their first six months with the company. This was not for a lack of communication on our part.We had spelled out what our expectations were right at the start, and followed up with reminders at the three month mark, and finally near the end ; "Time is running out...” Some were surprised that we would actually let them go for failing to complete the training. Others seemed puzzled. But none complained. They simply picked up their final wages and left.
The fact that AB2880 became law on July 1st, 2004 did not change the dynamic. The few newly minted officers we came across had only eight hours of initial training. One by one, they too fell off the roster for their refusal to follow up with the balance of their required training. For the time being, I decided it would be better for us to simply stay with the sure thing of choosing from the still large populace of pre-AB2880 applicants.
While this satisfied BSIS regulatory requirements, there was still the issue of my own 40 hour training program. In its first incarnation, the bulk of the curriculum would be taught at one of the local security training schools. At that time, I was looking to train entry-level employees to work in unarmed fixed post assignments. However, by now, I had decided that Select Patrol would focus itself exclusively as a provider of vehicle patrol services, and would no longer market fixed post services. Thus eliminating a path for entry level workers. I had to go back and re tool my program to meet the training requirements of armed patrol officers.

My challenge was not so much in identifying the specific skills needed to perform successfully as a vehicle patrol officer as much as it was to be able to learn these well enough to teach to others. Some of the more unique skills had to do with the firearms. In addition to shooting skills, an armed patrol officer must also know how to guard against his/her weapon from being snatched from its holster and used against the officer.

Unfortunately ,Weapon Retention is not something that is taught at most of the security training schools that I am familiar with here in the L.A. area. Now, there are those out of state schools with the cool names, but I did not have the budget to send my people to any of those.For this, Ed Aguero, our day patrol supervisor, and I studied Lenny Magill's Handgun Retention Techniques DVD. While I can't say that Ed and I became black belt masters from watching a single DVD, we did learn some techniques that my people had never been exposed to previously.

For our class on verbal communication, we used the performance evaluations designed by Lt. Phillip Satterfield. This is an old but highly practical method of role playing scenarios that many security firms have utilized for over 20 years. This addresses the most difficult part of any security officer's job; dealing with people. We could see the frustration that some of our students felt as they attempted to verbally maneuver with angry clients, quarrelling couples and the mentally disturbed. This was probably the only "practice" our people would receive ahead of finding themselves in a real encounter. Here they could see that getting angry themselves did nothing to calm a tense situation. A lesson better learned in our classroom than on the job.

The final class in the series has to do with emergency preparedness, and our overall disaster plan. A new item we added to our trucks this year is a basic emergency survival pack for the officer's survival following a disaster - most likely an earthquake. In addition to a food bar, and water we included a hart hat, work gloves and a 100 foot length of kermantle rope. The idea is that an officer can toss a rope to someone who may be down a hillside or an embankment. As part of the training I taught the class how to tie five basic knots; square knot, two-half hitches, Bowline a figure eight and a sheets bend. It took me a week to learn, but to my surprise my students had the figure eight mastered in about five minutes. A teacher's joy.

DW

It Came Down To The Wire

This week a client in Los Angeles has taken the extraordinary step of installing razor wire along the walls of a long-vacant plant to keep out the large group of homeless drug users who had invaded the property.



For three years, we have patrolled the large vacant commercial property which is in a state of limbo as neighborhood residents and the properties' owners debate its future. For the most part, our tours had been uneventful. We did have an odd gnome who haunted the one of the buildings on a regular basis. His name was Don, and he liked to wander the corridors of the building and talk to himself. We considered him more of a nuisance than a criminal.

Don was mild mannered in contrast to the posse of a dozen or so men who descended on the property in late March. They used bolt cutters to slice off our padlocks and installed their own. Although we had detected their presence early, there was little we could do to keep them out.
We contacted SLO Art Gallegos of LAPD Wilshire Division. We had met Officer Gallegos at the property back in February. He walked us through the paperwork for the No Trespass Authorization which allows us to arrest persons for trespass on the property. He also recommended the grounds be thoroughly cleared of overgrown shrubbery and debris.

Once all of these steps were completed, the owners of the property made the decision to top the walls and fencing with coiled barbed wire. This was not an easy decision to reach. The owners were reluctant to install barbed wire in a mixed use neighborhood in such close proximity to homes. However, there was no other choice. Of the nine men Gallegos and his officers identified in one afternoon sweep, four were taken into custody for parole violations. During the clean up operation there were dozens of spent hypodermic syringes scattered about the rooms of the building where the men had camped.

Clearly, the owners of the property chose to do what was in the best interests of the communities' safety.


DW

More Street Lighting in Echo Park

Select Patrol has teamed with The Echo Park Security Association and Positive Energy Group to enhance street lighting in the Echo Park and Angelino Heights communities.

With the recent spike in thefts from automobiles in the residential neighborhoods, Select Patrol has partnered with the North East area's leading crime prevention organizations in an effort to identify locations for added street lighting. The light itself is provided through the DWP's Utilitarian Light Program which installs regular street lighting fixtures on existing power poles.
The plan is to go through the community, and assess lighting needs street by street. This will be completed by a volunteer group made up of Select Patrol staff, EPSA members and other neighborhood residents. They group will identify each proposed lighting location by pole number and the nearest street address. A compilation of all proposed sites will be presented to the DWP for approval.
The goal of the plan is to improve illumination and remove the shadows where crimes may be committed easily under the cover of darkness. It is not the intention of this effort to drastically alter the look of the neighborhood at night by installing the type of high-intensity lighting many resident would find objectionable.
In addition to the installation of new street light fixtures, the volunteer group shall also report to city council staff locations where existing street lamps are obscured by trees. The project to identify proposed locations is estimated to take six weeks from start to finish. It is not known how long the process will be before new lighting is installed. However, submitting a community wide request for lighting is far more efficient than one street light at a time.
For more information on how to become involved please contact Select Patrol at 323.644.1014, or email selectpatrol@earthlink.net