CHICAGO – SUMMIT SECURITY

BY DON BABWIN

CHICAGO (AP) _ A day after President Barack Obama announced that his hometown would host simultaneous NATO and G-8 summits next spring, few details were available about who would attend and how many protesters might follow. But former U.S. Secret Service Agent Joseph LaSorsa said there is one thing that’s certain. “You can safely say that during that time Chicago is going to be the safest city on the planet,” said LaSorsa, a security expert with his own company in Florida.

Talk to LaSorsa and others, and the consensus is that by the time Obama and new Mayor Rahm Emanuel welcome world leaders to their hometown, countless security measures big and small will already have been put in place in a city already known for one of the most extensive camera surveillance systems in the country.

From tracking the movements of terrorists to crawling down manholes to ensure explosives aren’t hidden to removing newspaper racks _ or anything else that could be thrown, set fire to or used to hide a bomb _ officials will have spent millions of dollars and thousands of hours planning for any threat they can imagine.

Nothing is too big in an effort that will involve world leaders, hundreds of entourage members and dozens of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies. And nothing is too small, as Chicago Police showed before the Democratic National Convention in 1996 when a commander sent crews to smear grease on statues in Grant Park to make sure that protesters could not climb them, as they did during the violence-marred 1968 Democratic National Convention.

The stakes could not be higher for the nation’s third largest city which will become the first American city other than Washington, D.C. to host the NATO Summit.

“There’s always some terrorist group that would love to get a bomb in there or assassinate a national leader,” said John Thompson, a security expert in Canada.

It’s almost certain that the summits will be a magnet for protesters, something Seattle learned in 1999 when 50,000 protesters shut down meetings of the World Trade Organization as police fired tear gas and rubber bullets during rioting that resulted in 600 arrests and $3 million in property damage.

Still, the summits are a coup for new Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who in his effort to pull the city out of desperate financial straits, pushed for hosting the meetings with Vice President Joe Biden when Biden attended his inauguration in May.

“From a city perspective, this will be an opportunity to showcase what is great about the greatest city in the greatest country,” said Emanuel, who added that the summits offer what he called an “unprecedented” chance for economic investment and job creation for the city.

To pull it off, though, millions of dollars will have to be spent. That was Georgia’s experience when it hosted the G-8 Summit in several locations in 2004.

“There were more public safety resources committed to it than have been seen in anything for us going back to the Civil War,” said Sgt. David Gay of the Savannah Chatham Metropolitan Police Department.

Crews were dispatched to ring key buildings with fences, put up concrete barriers or build checkpoints. Investigators were dispatched to check out the smallest tip or keep tabs on protesters, like the detectives who showed up at a real estate office to look at the contract a protest group had signed to rent a conference hall. And there were the training sessions in which officers were drilled on spotting suspicious things like water bottles that contained ice _ which, if hurled at a police officer could cause serious injury.

Gay said they were also trained to be to look closely to see which protesters walked stiffly or wore clothes too bulky for the hot weather, possible signals that they had put cardboard under their clothes to serve as body armor for non-body piercing bullets riot police use. At the same time, police in riot gear trained in parks in preparation for the protesters that have been a part of these meetings _ particularly after what happened in Seattle in 1999. By the time the summit was held on Georgia’s coast, there were thousands of police officers and National Guard troops patrolling roadways and bridges, or manning gunboats.

Gay said there were so many law enforcement officials involved, that what few protesters did show up were almost outnumbered by undercover officers. “When they did march, (police officers) were able to influence where they went.”

They also foiled the efforts of not-so-smart crooks who tried to commit crimes while the summit was being held. “We had some poor soul trying to commit a robbery one night and there must have been 12-15 police cars there,” he said chuckling.

Whether officers drill in Chicago remains to be seen, but the department has a head start when it comes to security, starting with a still growing camera surveillance system that former Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff has called the most extensive and integrated network of its kind in the nation. Further, events like election night in 2008 in Grant Park when thousands of people poured into Grant Park to see the newly-elected president and this year’s visit to the city by the president of China have become almost routine.

“These went off without a hitch,” said former Chicago Police Superintendent Jody Weis in an e-mail to The Associated Press.

When you think of the city of Miami, Florida and the profession of private investigator, you typically see a lot of chases, gunshots, beautiful kidnapped models, and wacky side kicks. The thing is, that is what movies and television would have you believe that the life of a Miami Private Investigator is like. The truth is a little less exciting. While a Miami PI plays a vital part in a variety of different cases, said cases typically don’t have to do with kidnapped supermodels and international jewel smuggling. For the most part, a private investigators work centers around such things as missing persons, infidelity, surveillance, insurance fraud, workers compensation cases, etc. While it may not be as exciting as what you see on television, a Miami PI is perfect is you need information and you need it now.

Both private and public entities hire PI’s to do work. Police agencies and security firms tend to hire a Miami Private Investigator because they are able to get information that other’s can’t seem to. Most of this information is there for people to find, but only a experienced private investigator will be able to find. For the most part, a lot of these cases have to do with missing person’s. These aren’t always kidnapped people, but instead those who skipped town on bail or on things like alimony or child payments.

When it comes to private entities hiring a Miami Private Investigator, the gambit runs from individuals who may think that their mate is having an affair, or companies that think that an employee may be taking advantage of workers comp or insurance. Companies lose billions of dollars per year on workers compensation and insurance fraud. That’s enough money to double and triple check each case. If they feel like something is up with a particular case, they will typically have a PI on retainer that they will send out to servile the person they think is cheating the company. This is completely legal, and because it is so widespread, it’s vital to most companies out there.

If you are looking to get the services of a Miami Private Investigator go online to get more information. In a big city like Miami you have a wide variety of options so make sure that you do your research.

Whenever you see a private investigator on television, they are typically living the exciting high life where they uncover a terrorist plot, find the missing person, and then get the girl at the end. The life of a true Fort Lauderdale Private Investigator is not that exciting, at least not in regards to what you see on television With that said, though, private investigator’s do play a big role in a large amount of cases out there. Whether it’s a missing person’s case, surveillance, insurance fraud or workers compensation fraud, people call up a private investigator for a variety of different cases. If you are one of those people who needs a private investigator you will also find that there are a good amount of options out there. The key is finding one that specializes in the field that you need.

One of the main reasons why a company would contact a Fort Lauderdale Private Investigator is for insurance or workers compensation fraud. If someone claims that they were hurt on the job and they are getting paid for staying at home and recovering because they “can’t do what is required of them”, may companies out there will hire a private investigator to make sure that everything is “kosher”. It’s not so much a trust issue, it’s the fact that so many of these cases end up being some type of fraud that if you think anything is up it is always better to be safe then sorry.

Another big part of a Fort Lauderdale Private Investigator’s work load has to do with missing persons. Now, this isn’t solely the missing person’s cases that you see on television, they cases typically have a lot more to do with people who have skipped out of town after a court course, or have not been moving from state to state so that they don’t have to pay child or spousal support. This isn’t necessarily “exciting” work, but it is something that is important, especially when it comes to bringing people to justice.

If you are in the market for a Fort Lauderdale Private Investigator for whatever reason, go online to find information on what you need to look for and what your options are. It may take a little research, but you will find what you need.

Different Types of Bodyguard Services

Bodyguard services are meant to provide utmost security to VIP contingents as well as to important individuals in their own right. These personal guards are considered an essential and often classy part of an entourage involving the individual being protected. That is why there are different types of these security details which are offered by many reputable companies that provide strong men with diverse protective abilities.

A DUI Attorney San Diego advised, the different bodyguard services include those who offer personal escorts to personalities in different capacities. These provide close surveillance to their important charges such as business moguls, heads of state as well as delegates in another country. The other facilitation that is given in this form is that of security chauffeurs who act in the same vein as personal guards while in the line of duty as the person’s driver. This often happens in government circles as well as in highly sensitive private entities.

There are also bodyguard services that are statutory in nature and form a part of a large escort. These are employed by one company and are supposed to be on close duty when accompanying a personality who is deemed to become a possible target to criminals or snipers. The most celebrated form of this form of protection is the one which acts as protection unit to a VIPs in various capacities. They mount a security unit either as professional chauffeurs or permanent security people said a best San Diego DUI Lawyer.

Different bodyguard services are provided to important people in many walks of life traversing both the private and public sectors. The companies provide select personnel who can form a part of an enlarged security detail or act as confidential personal guards. These are trained in the most professional ways and can be relied upon by people in need of guards from not only private companies but also individuals and government officers.

by Lisa Lerer

Being a high-powered executive may not be financially risky, but it’s certainly dangerous. Or at least, that’s a reasonable conclusion based on the millions some companies spend protecting their top brass.

Executive compensation reports filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission over the past several months revealed exactly how much companies spend to protect their top executives. According to the filings, some take security seriously, outfitting “C-level” employees with cars, planes and home alarm systems. Others skimp on safety costs, paying nominal amounts for minimal security systems.

Leading the pack is Oracle, which spent $1.8 million protecting Chief Executive Larry Ellison last year–a 40% increase from the year before. And that sum doesn’t even cover all of Ellison’s security costs: The billionaire also spent his own money installing top-of-the-line security systems in his Malibu and Woodside, Calif., estates.

Other technology companies aren’t quite as generous–or as paranoid. Google spent $532,755 protecting Chief Executive Eric Schmidt and $33,196 on founder Larry Page’s transportation, logistics and personal security. And the company spent nothing on co-founder Sergey Brin’s security.

So is Ellison in more danger then Google’s famous founders? Not necessarily, say security experts. Most likely, they argue, neither company is fully disclosing their security spending, but are instead folding some of them into expenses that aren’t listed in SEC filings. “Those executives are most likely not revealing their high-end costs,” says Bruce Alexander, president of executive protection consulting firm All Source Consulting Group. “I would guess that they are under-reporting.”

And Page and Brin may be an exception: More and more frequently, large companies are accepting security expenditures as a necessary cost of doing business. They figure that their top executives are some of the company’s most valuable assets, and they want to treat them accordingly. As Ford Motor explained in its April proxy report, “the benefits of providing these programs outweigh the relatively minor costs associated with them.” Ford spent $1 million last year protecting its top executives and members of the Ford family.

Corporations aren’t the only ones worried about security. Americans spent about $25.9 billion on professionally installed electronic security products and services last year, according to a study by Security Sales & Integration magazine.

So what does an executive get for a million dollars? Google and Oracle wouldn’t comment. But Alexander and other security experts say that most of money usually goes to “gates, guns and guards.”

The biggest cost is labor. Typically a top executive will contract with a company to provide guards at their home, both for screening visitors at a gatehouse and stationed around the perimeter of their property. Each guard costs about $60 an hour. Execs may also hire round-the-clock bodyguards for their family, similar to those used by celebrities. Personal bodyguards charge an annual fee that starts at $75,000.

The perceived risks increase when execs travel outside the U.S., and so do the fees. Prominent execs hire additional manpower when they travel to high-crime countries. The guards travel with the executive, find secure drivers and investigate the corporate jet for potential security breaches like unidentified luggage. They scout out hotels, meeting rooms and restaurants in advance

“If we need to get the client out of town or a venue, we know what to do and where to go,” says Jeff Bilyeu, president of the Bilyeu Group. The Virginia-based company provides private security guards for executives, diplomats and heads of state, at a steep cost: Each guard can bill up to $1,500 a day plus travel expenses.

Home security hardware is also a big part of the cost. “They all have heavily guarded facilities,” says Frank Burke, president of Monrovia, Calif.-based home security company USA Alarm Systems. Top-of-the-line alarm systems can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars or more depending on the size of the estate. As you’d expect, a Manhattan loft costs less to secure then Ellison’s 23-acre Woodside, Calif., estate. The most expensive systems feature high-resolution outdoor cameras, reinforced windows, motion detectors and facial recognition scanners.

Safe rooms are a popular home security feature. The rooms are designed like upgraded 1950s bomb shelters, with air filters to screen out biological agents, dedicated phone lines, bathrooms and closed-circuit TV systems. Depending on the features, safe rooms can cost in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. “The cost of the safe room is limited only by the threat you are intending to protect [against],” says Alexander.

The third major security cost is for transportation. Many companies require their top executives to use corporate jets or cars for security and time management purposes. Bank of New York spent $959,000 on chauffeur services for its top executives, according to its March 14 proxy. That number may not include the cost of securing the cars and planes, says Alexander. A guard has to “advance” the trip, screening everyone who services the vehicles, from the cabin cleaning crew to the caterers. The cars are often kept in a separate, secure garage guarded by motion detectors and cameras to prevent tampering. “You can’t leave the car or plane alone,” says Alexander.

Some execs would love to be left alone. But their companies claim they can’t afford to let them: High-end security, with all its guards and cameras, is a balance between protection and privacy.

Joe LaSorsa doesn’t need references to convince potential clients that he can protect them. His I-hide-my-eyes-behind-sunglasses-and-I-probably-take-no-prisoners gaze is likely enough. But then there are his references.

Former Presidents Reagan, Ford and the Bush’s, for example, whom LaSorsa protected during his 20-year career with the U.S. Secret Service, three of them on the elite Presidential Detail. If LaSorsa, could protect the likes of them, he reasoned, then the less prominent but more wealthy clientele he hoped to cultivate would believe he could protect them, too, and buy what he wanted to sell – safe rooms, fortress-like refuges supplied with food, water, electricity and communications that can cost upward of $100,000, into which residents of a home under attack by robbers, kidnappers or other bad guys can retreat while summoning help.

The former Secret Service agent, who has 37 years in the security industry altogether, quickly regrouped, took out a home equity loan and in May 2002 opened J.A. LaSorsa & Associates in an office around the back of a two-story professional building on a nondescript stretch of Federal Highway in Pompano Beach, Fl.

He has now moved his main offices to the Gold Coast of the ‘First In Flight” State of North Carolina.

“I believe North Carolina and some areas such as Raleigh, Charlotte, New Bern, Havelock, Moorehead City, Beaufort, Cape Carteret, Swansboro, Jacksonville, Greenville, Fayetteville, etc. have a tremendous market of those individuals and companies who have a need for a high-end security consultant,” said LaSorsa, who cuts an imposing figure at 5 feet, 11 inches and 210 pounds.

A top security consultant agreed.

“If he has knowledge that sets him aside from other people and he can develop a good following of individuals who are in need of that kind of protection, I think he will be very successful,” said former Broward Sheriff Nick Navarro, now head of Fort Lauderdale-based Navarro Security.
“The product he’s selling is himself. If he can market himself, it will be a good thing for him,” Navarro said, remarking that a security company founded two decades ago in Virginia by former presidential guard Chuck Vance sold last year for a reported $67 million.

In 1998, two years after he retired from the Secret Service, he opened a security consultancy in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., where he then lived with his wife and three sons. But there wasn’t a lot of demand for what he had to offer, even in a place where well-heeled socialites descend for the summer horse racing and concert season.

The family relocated to South Florida the following year. After stints directing security at two local corporations, he decided to try again. This, despite the fact that the region is already home to about than 900 private investigation agencies and 3,600 licensed private investigators, according to state records.

After nearly two years, things are going pretty well, LaSorsa said, and getting better. Initially, with some $60,000 invested, he was netting between $4,000 and $5,000 monthly from fees ranging between $75 and $150 an hour plus expenses. That covered the nut and has allowed him to start drawing a salary.
More recently things have gone even better. He now commands rates for services ranging from $125 to $300 per hour.

Still, not everything has worked out as planned.

Demand for safe rooms was low despite heightened security concerns in the aftermath of Sept. 11. LaSorsa believes that’s in part because nothing’s happened in other areas to make those at risk believe they need security and in part because the faltering economy makes even people with money reluctant to spend what they have, especially given that 24/7 security on just one person can cost upwards of $1 million annually.

“The 9-11 attack placed a lot of focus on home and personal security. But not a lot of people building rooms,” he said, seated at a desk surrounded by memorabilia from presidential trips – the 1985 Summit of Industrialized Nations in Geneva, the London Economic Conference in 1991 and the bus tour Bill Clinton took after snagging the Democratic presidential nomination in 1992. “Many people with high net worth are being very prudent. I think it’s a mistake, because they’re still very wealthy. They are public figures in one way or another and need to be concerned about their security and their family’s security.”

But with flexibility born of long training to deal with the unexpected, LaSorsa adjusted his business plan mid-course. Safe room design and construction remain among LaSorsa’s services, but he’s added a menu of other offerings, including security expert witness services, security consulting – re: security and vulnerability assessments; residential, yacht and business security systems; bodyguard protection at home and while traveling; confidential investigations; school and workplace violence awareness training and intervention services; and executive protection training seminars.

LaSorsa’s clients appear to be satisfied.

Fort Lauderdale personal injury attorney Gary hired LaSorsa to analyze security at the crime site.
“I was impressed by his pedigree, specifically that he was on the personal security detail for President Reagan,” said Lazarus, adding that LaSorsa was able to find witnesses other investigators couldn’t and that he has used the former agent regularly. “He’s an expert witness who can testify as to the foreseeability of a crime at a particular location.”

LaSorsa said that other clients – he keeps their names confidential for obvious reasons – have retained him to develop corporate security plans, guard executive offices after potentially disruptive personnel moves, investigate potentially bogus workers’ compensation claims, find embezzlers and convince them to return the money they stole and even to design the occasional safe room – three in South Florida and one in upstate New York.

And he’s promoting a solar-powered wireless perimeter security system that can be quickly installed to protect the perimeter of an estate, aircraft or a docked yacht.

Promoting yacht security, of course, means attracting the kind of clients who own yachts and it’s to them that LaSorsa aims his marketing. He’s taken ads in magazines that cover life’s finer things for those who can afford them, including the DuPont Registry, Robb Report and Ocean Drive . He’s even designed some security rooms, four modest installations in South Florida, North Carolina and one high-end under construction in upstate New York .

But LaSorsa is only beginning to capture that elusive high-end clientele he mapped his business plan to pursue. He’s off this week to conduct three executive protection seminars in Australia that developed after a Melbourne man attended one of LaSorsa’s seminars here.

He’ll then spend a week at an undisclosed destination providing security for a vacationing international business consultant from Palm Beach County and his family.

“I’m not doing too much close-in security,” LaSorsa said. “I’m beginning to think that many people still think that they’re not vulnerable.” LaSorsa is convinced that’s flat-out wrong.

“The wealthier you are the more of a target you are,” he said, predicting that world crackdowns on terrorist finances may spark the kind of kidnappings-for-ransom South American rebel groups use to fund their activities. “It’s not only going to be international terrorism coming to the shores of the U.S. I see the foreign kidnapping plague becoming a U.S. plague.”

Joe LaSorsa can be reached at www.lasorsa.com

By Dr. Clint Van Zandt
FBI – Retired

Recent media reports would have you believe that crime has shot out of sight because of the economic woes our country had encountered over the past two years.

“Murder rates increase drastically and home burglaries on the rise” shout some headlines, while others warn you to lock your car because they are disappearing at an ever increasing rate. National statistics, however, appear to suggest otherwise concerning the potential correlation between high crime and bad financial times, but one current statistic is crystal clear. Our youth, especially young black males, are dying at a rate totally disproportionate to society around them, and it’s getting worse on a daily basis.

Murder, Mayhem and the Economy

While headlines and TV talking heads across the country continue to assure us that we are indeed in the middle of a recession, what some suggest is just one benchmark on our way to a full-blown depression, others have linked these doom and gloom financial predictions to a suggested increase in crime across America. In 2008, New York City (NYC) experienced 522 recorded homicides, a dozen more than Chicago experienced in the same year, yet in 1990 the Big Apple suffered through a mind numbing 2,262 murders, over 6 new killings every day, while in 2003 Chicago dealt with 601 murders, ninety more than last year. Nonetheless, researchers have their own studies to suggest that when wages and national unemployment fall, crime rates rise, especially for less-educated men.

In “the windy city,” Chicago, the state’s largest city that is awaiting the appointment of yet another new state governor, this because half of that state’s last eight governors have wound up in prison, property crimes are up 3 percent and robberies up almost 10 percent. These same studies suggest that in every recession since the 1950′s crime rates have gone up, but wait; this wasn’t the case in “the great depression,” so how do these researchers account for that fact? To begin with, they point out the increase in the number of males between 17-25, the age and sex of their “typical offender,” therefore flooding America’s cities with a lot of young men with time on their hands and no work to fill their empty hours, therefore suggesting these same young men are turning to crime as their numbers and their idle hands increase.

Do we need a 21st Century WPA?

Should this all be true, President Obama needs to be a quick study of history when he considers the way President Roosevelt dealt with unemployment in the 1930′s. Many will recall the Works Progress Administration (WPA), a national organization that in the 30′s and 40′s put 8,500,000 out of work people to work on 1,410,000 projects that built highways, roads, and streets, while repairing 124,031 bridges, public buildings, parks and airports. Another lesser known but equally effective New Deal program was the National Youth Administration (NYA), a national employment program that ran from 1935 to 1943 as part of the WPA.

By the late 1930′s, over 330,000 high school and college age youth were employed by the NYA doing various work projects while another 160,000 young men and women were employed in part-time work, to include job training. The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a similar 1930′s national organization that moved young men away from their homes to locations where they could work on projects. The CCC, a quasi-military organization that also dealt with the unemployed of that time, would also see hundreds of thousands of young men get jobs during the great depression. It, like the NYA, contributed to the building of our national infrastructure, one now sorely in need of repair all across American, and at that time gave 10′s of thousands a paycheck when both they and their country needed their work the most.

While I like the idea of affording the unemployed the chance to march off together, side by side, to earn a paycheck while learning new job skills and saving our country from falling into massive disrepair, I must first question the willingness of the unemployed to march to such a tune, and the ability of such programs to reduce both the chance of future bread lines and the suggested growing ranks of criminals who could turn to crime as a means of financial survival.

The Criminal Reality of our Recession

A recent report by the US Conference of Mayors appears to support the idea that violence and drug-related crimes do go up during times of national economic recessions, something that many people believe to be “a no brainer.” But while murder spiked in some cities, it was down in others. Milwaukee, Wisconsin, for example, saw local murders drop 33% last year, while other cities like Cleveland, Baltimore, Philadelphia, Detroit, and LA all reported fewer murders in 2008 than were reported in 2007. The FBI, as the national repository of crime statistics, reports that violent crime in America fell by 3.5% and property crime dropped by 2.5% last year. This was the same on a national level with car thefts, larcenies, and burglaries; while arsons dropped 5.6% (though with so many businesses and homes falling into foreclosure, I would suspect that the crime of arson for profit, to include insurance fraud, could increase if times do not get any better.)

The toll that this recession is taking can, unfortunately, be measured in more than dollars and cents and points on the Dow. We have, for example, witnessed mass murders in homes across the country related to the country’s ongoing financial challenges, to include the distraught and heavily in debt LA black man who, this past week, shot and killed his wife, their five children and himself after both he and his wife were fired from their jobs. Then there was the case of the former millionaire Indian man from California who, in October 2008, became despondent over his own similar financial challenges and shot his wife, three sons, mother-in-law and himself to death. Race, as we know, is no determinant when someone has reached the end of their rope and can no longer hold on, a situation more and more families across America are facing.

People in Peril

But maybe the crime researchers are wrong concerning the direct connection between crime and the economy, perhaps this relationship cannot be proven, at least for the time being. What is true and beyond dispute, though, is that one segment of our society is seeing an increase in crime, that being the African American community. Former Governor Mitt Romney, in his ill-fated run for President, when asked what he would do to deal with “black on black crime,” was chastised by members of the black community for evoking Bill Cosby’s remarks, ones echoed by other prominent blacks such as National Public Radio and Fox News contributor Juan Williams. These and other black icons have suggested that the lack of individual responsibility within the black community was more responsible for black crime than was “systemic racism.” Many hope that the election of President Obama will stop the use of the numerous used up racial stereotypes by both blacks and whites, and will also put an end to the incidents of outright corporate blackmails in America that are thinly disguised as racially-related boycotts, ones in reality stirred up by members of the community who are more concerned with themselves and their own personal gain than what might be best for the community they suggest they represent.

As was the case with Mitt Romney, somehow whites are not allowed to discuss black crimes as we are, of course, not black. Why 13% of the population is charged with committing a disproportionate percent of the crime in this country is something we are not supposed to talk about, without being called a racist that is. While I am not a racist, I am concerned, truly worried about the youth of today, especially black youth. Since we are looking at sociological studies, let’s consider one recently conducted that indicates that black teenagers are being murdered at an ever-increasing rate. Black males between the ages of 14 and 17 saw a 40% increase in their numbers who were killed last year vs. the year 2000. Almost 1,000 14-17 year-old black males shot someone to death in 2007, up 38% from the year 2000, this while national murder statistics increased only 8% during the same period.

In 2007 there were over 17,000 reported homicides for which slightly over 10,000 people were arrested; half of them black, with almost 10% of these arrestees under the age of 18. For comparison purposes, during 2007, 385 white males in the same 14 to 17 age group shot someone to death.

Who or What is to Blame?

While racism seems to be blamed for almost every social failure, it is obvious that all segments of our society, white, black, brown and otherwise need embrace the words of Bill Cosby, someone who, like many, learned a valuable lesson from the 1987 NYC Tawana Brawley case, one like so many others that proved that all parents of all races need to be responsible for their children. While most adults will agree that teenagers need the help and guidance of their parents, with 50% of marriages ending in divorce, many teens wind up as latch key kids or fall under the care of an overworked and underpaid mother or grandmother. Cosby was dismissed by some for his remarks suggesting that individual responsibility, parental responsibility and education were needed to pull these challenged youth out of trap of poverty and crime, and that failure to realize this was the reason for the crisis in the black community and that such challenges could not all be laid at the feet of racism. For his remarks he was labeled as a rich elitist who had lost touch with his roots, but I’ve already had blacks tell me that President Obama does not represent the black community because he had a white mother and grew up in Hawaii. If anything, our new President may represent the best of all of us, and surely has the interest of all Americans at heart as he struggles with these terrible times of war and financial crisis.

So while some crimes in some locations have increased since we entered the current economic recession, others have not, preventing the easy conclusion that crime must go up in times of recession. We need to find ways to employ the unemployed and put our national work force back to work to build the United States into the great nation it still has the potential to be. With, for example, almost 30% of our nation’s 600,000 bridges rated structurally deficient, it could easily take 12 billion dollars per year for 20-30 years to repair and shore up these overpasses to prevent occurrences like the August 2007, collapse of the I-35 bridge over the Mississippi River in Minneapolis, one that resulted in the death of 13 and injured 145 and closed that main thoroughfare for over a year.

President Obama needs the Wisdom of King Solomon

While our new President clearly recognizes the perilous economic straits that our country is in, he also needs to see and deal with the social and infrastructure challenges we 210 million Americans collectively face. We are facing 800 billion dollars of debt to stimulate our economy. While our underemployed and unemployed may not readily embrace a 21st century version of the WPA and related programs, it appears clear that we will need some type of national employment program to help us pull ourselves up by our collective boot straps and fix our broken infrastructure, this while protecting one very vulnerable group of our fellow countrymen, young black men, from imploding during our ever increasing time of national social and economic challenge.

After all, shouldn’t the American people who need this massive financial stimulus the most be able to earn a salary while improving our country for the sake of our children and grandchildren? This will be our legacy, one way or the other, for future generations to come.

I make the following comments, 1) as I do provide Executive Protection Training in the private sector; 2) I am a Security Expert and a CPP (Security Professional); and, 3) I have over 90,000 hours of E.P. work and time under my belt during my previous (38) years in this industry – (20) with the Secret Service and (18) in the private sector.

Many EP operatives do not understand or will not accept, that ‘High Risk” EP is a small field within our industry – with great financial compensation, if….. you are working ‘Real” ‘High Risk’ Details. If you are allegedly working a ‘High Risk’ Detail and you are NOT enjoying the benefits of ‘high financial compensation’, then, you ARE NOT working a “real’ ‘High Risk’ Detail, or – you are simply working for less $$ than you should or are worth. (You also should consider what you think your life is worth and to whom you would be leaving your lavish compensation to!!!)

Having said that, the majority of our work in the private sector is (1) to (2) man escorts, and essentially, ‘baby sitting’ details working the client’s spouse or children, estate security details or business ‘workplace violence’ security details (which, so many in this industry exaggerate and classify – by calling it ‘E.P. work.

There are many schools out there. You have to decide where you want to spend your money and how much money you wish to spend. I can tell you from experience, we, quality E.P. firms in the industry do not get more excited or more interested in a applicant or “protection agent” because he spent $ KKKK’s or more on a long term training course. Any “quality” training certificate looks the same on your wall or on your resume. What firms who work E.P. look for is experience, knowledge and how many “real protection details” and how many “real advances” you have conducted. We don’t care about how many celebrities you have “escorted” or how many ‘wall’, ‘door’ and ‘hall’ posts you have listed on your resume.

Clearly however, breaking into the industry isn’t easy, but, you DO have to break in somewhere.

You DO need to obtain training, however, much of the training can be obtained less expensively on your own, without paying the enormously high dollars charged by some of the venues out there. For example, you can and should get your firearms, CPR & first aid and defensive driving training ON YOUR OWN (most if which you may already have). Keep in mind, any course can be extended to include these items, BUT, YOU will PAY for those additional items!

Also, it is NOT TRUE you cannot learn the fundamental Concepts and Principles of EP in ten, five or three days. You CAN! I provide Executive Protection training (specifically, three day training courses). I teach and I do cover ALL the EP fundamentals and pack the course with at least three or more ‘actual working protective exercises’, practical Advance Work exercises, formations, and weapons takeaways exercises. However, You don’t get employed in this industry by the number of training certificates you have hanging on your wall.

Novices are a great pool of $$$ victims out here. They do not know they should limit the amount of $$$ spent on training certificates and increase time spent on NETWORKING, NETWORKING, and NETWORKING! Then, with some initial work experience and contacts developed, you should move along in this industry either as a ‘free lancer’ or, as a ‘business owner’.

When conducting your training venue research, you should examine and review the course content; examine the credentials of the instructor(s) and, then look at the cost. I realize I teach E.P. and it appears I am advocating my course as the ‘best’ solution or answer.
No, not true.

You can take my course or take any other reputable course out there that fits the parameters I just set forth. There are many good, ‘quality’ E.P training courses that do not necessarily ‘exploit’ the novices, just because the novices ‘really do not have a handle on the truth’ and believe that ‘weapons training and being a martial arts expert and being big and brawny are the necessary criteria for EP agents in our world. IT is the furthest thing from the truth, if you plan to be a EP Professional.

Many individuals in the field may disagree with my statements. Probably, due to many or most of them having attended the higher priced, extended or ‘high risk’ courses – and, realistically, because it just may be their only selling point.

Many people spend a fortune on their training and then realize what’s important is: who they know and their past or recent ‘real’ work experience.

Further, EP Agents need to be Security Consultants’ as well as basic ‘Agents’ in our field. They need to really understand and know how to deal with various EP and protective situations and how and when to apply countermeasures (both human and electronic). They also need to know what our real limitations are in the private sector and really need to understand there are some situations we should absolutely stay away from, because we do not have the ‘real’ resources in the private sector to adequately fight the ‘real jackal’. And, above all they need to understand how to conduct a ‘Threat Assessment’ (and , I said a ‘Threat Assessment’, not a Security or Risk Assessment; not a ‘Lifestyle Assessment’, I am referring to a Assessment of a real and bona fide or imminent threat against a Protectee, site or a venue – that is current and ongoing). That skill requires the proper training and investigative skills and that has to be learned. Unfortunately, not too many of the EP operatives working out here understand or know the differences between the ‘Threat Assessment and the Security or Risk Assessment or the ‘Lifestyle Assessment’. They claim they do, but so many of them really do not.

Novices should be looking at spending their money acquiring that knowledge and not being subjected to the typical exploitation of the novice which exists out there -which is the reason why there are so many schools and training venues.

Then, there’s the other side of this field. Running your own business. This is a horse of a different color! Even if you free-lance, you are essentially running a business!

You will probably need to learn the following: small business start up, local licensing requirements, marketing and advertising and up selling from one aspect of the business to the other.

In addition to marketing and advertising, you will need to become proficient at pricing and selling your services; at NOT compromising your rates and learn to allow some prospective customers become someone else’s customer, because you realize they are not your type customer. This is all assuming you are running a “real” business and not just going through the motions and “trying to survive”. Too many PI’s and security firms have the mentality that they should accept what the client wishes to pay, because something is better than nothing. Wrong!!!! You need to learn to work ‘smarter and not harder’.

Hopefully, you attempt to do some of the right things to make your situation work for you to become successful and I hope this helps you and other novices get a clearer picture of the industry and at the same time, places some TRUTH out in the open.

Joseph A. LaSorsa, CPP

J.A. LaSorsa & Associates
1645 SE 3rd Court
Suite 102
Deerfield Beach, FL 33441-4465
(U.S. SECRET SERVICE – RET.)
954-783-5020 (24 hour contact)
www.lasorsa.com
e-mail: jal@lasorsa.com

Training in any security field is obviously critical – but, it is a combination of Training, Experience and Networking that get you jobs!

Making in the private sector depends on what you classify as “making it”. You need to decide which skill sets you need to develop.
1) the entrepreneurial skill sets;
or
2) the worker skill sets;

If you are looking to be financially successful, you need to develop the entrepreneurial skill sets. If you wish to pursue a “living”, then pursue # 2.

The skill sets are at different ends of the spectrum. However, you will need #2 to be successful at #1.

Prior military or L/E experience the private sector is NOT the ‘Be ALL’ and ‘End All’ as some think it is.

If you’ve attained quality experience in a prior Law Enforcement or Military career, then the that background and experience becomes somewhat significant. However, keep in mind what those two experiences really provide. They are law enforcement or possibly criminal investigative experiences or aggressive and tactical, strategic offensive ‘killing’ experience. There is no doubt some really good E.P training available in the LE or military world, BUT, not all former LEO’s or military have it. There are too many charlatans out here who claim to be good at what we do, but they’re NOT! So many people in our business, get the necessary state licensing and then, they claim they have the requisite background and experience and then, presto – they are out there doing E.P. and claiming they are the E.P agent extraordinaire.

The agent that impressed me the most since I retired from the Secret Service in 1996, did not have a L/E background. He did have a former military background, but he had no E.P experience. It was all combat experience in the first Gulf War.

He was trained by Pinkerton Investigations and Consulting. He was good at all of the below points and understood them well!

I say all this, because what so many EP operatives do not understand or will not accept or understand, is they need to be Security Consultants’ as well as ‘Agents’ in our field, in order to really understand and know how to deal with various EP and protective situations and how and when to apply countermeasures (both human and electronic). They also need to know what our real limitations are in the private sector and really need to understand there are some situations we should absolutely stay away from, because we do not have the resources in the private sector to adequately fight the ‘real jackal’. And, above all they need to understand how to conduct a ‘Threat Assessment’ (and , I said a ‘Threat Assessment’, not a Security or Risk Assessment; not a ‘Lifestyle Assessment’), I am referring to a Assessment of a real and bona fide or imminent threat against a Protectee, site or a venue – that is current and ongoing). That skill requires the proper training and the investigative skills and that has to be learned. Unfortunately, not too many of the EP operatives working out there understand or know the differences between the ‘Threat Assessment and the Security or Risk Assessment or the ‘Lifestyle Assessment’. They claim they do, but so many of them really do not.

This having been said, “Security Consulting, Investigations and Security/Protection” is our ‘world’. If you are to succeed in this field in any capacity, you need to attain the following skill sets:
1) security consulting (get a good book on the subject, perhaps through ASIS or call me and then, study it);
2) investigations as conducted in the private sector (especially corporate type investigations);
3) the civil and criminal implications and limitations on both of the above in the private sector;
4) executive protection concepts and procedures (get training);
5) suggest you join A.S.I.S. (American Society for Industrial Security) and consider pursuing the CPP certification. Go to their website (https://www.asisonline.org/) and find out what they’re about and what the CPP designation is all about. In my opinion, if you can eventually pass the CPP exam, you will be fairly qualified to become a entry level security consultant.

Before I retired from the Secret Service, I joined a study group and we worked diligently for four months, and then we took the CPP exam. We passed, but, we would not have passed if we had not studied the Asset Protection manuals and other resources, to prepare for this exam, which covered the above first four points and more! Keep in mind, as a USSS agent, I had exposure to protective and physical security issues which most former L/E’s DO NOT – and, I would not have passed this exam w/o studying hard!

You will need to learn about “risk mitigation” and how, everything we do in this field, touches on this ‘concept’! It is critical to learn.

Then, there’s the other side of this field. Running your own business. This is a horse of a different color! Even if you free-lance, you are essentially running a business!

You will probably need to learn the following: small business start up, local licensing requirements, marketing and advertising and up selling from one aspect of the business to the other.

In addition to marketing and advertising, you will need to become proficient at pricing and selling your services; at NOT compromising your rates and to learn allow some prospective customers become someone else’s customer, because you realize they are not customer at your level. This is all assuming you are running a “real” business and not just going through the motions and “trying to survive”. Too many PI’s and security firms have the mentality that they should accept what the client wishes to pay, because ‘something’ is better than ‘nothing’. Wrong!!!! You need to learn to work ‘smarter and not harder’.

Joseph A. LaSorsa, CPP