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Newsletter for
May 2005 Inside this issue Runaway Bride Hit to Victims Credibility "The used key is always bright." Benjamin Franklin
When Jennifer Wilbanks, 32, decided to flee her hometown to avoid her lavish 600-person wedding, she did a drastic disservice for all women.
Wilbanks vanished from Duluth, Georgia, and turned up on Albuquerque claiming to have been abducted while jogging. A massive search for her ensued after her disappearance and national publicity about her abduction was rampant. Investigators focused part of the case on the fiancé, John Mason. The groom-to-be was subjected to a polygraph test. He passed. Police wanted another test.
When Wilbanks surfaced in Albuquerque, her claim of being abduction soon deteriorated into a confession that she staged the whole thing. While Georgia officials may not charge her with anything, the real crime she committed is that when someone IS abducted, the response is sure to be more muted, less enthusiastic because of Wilbanks' misguided actions.
Dentists Trained to Spot Abuse
Because 60 percent of abuse cases involve head and neck trauma, dentists are in a unique position to be able to spot -- and report -- signs of family violence.
The University of Minnesota's School of Dentistry and the Program Against Sexual Violence have created a program to help patients affected by domestic and sexual abuse and violence.
A report by the Justice Department's Office for Victims of Crime urges the training be integrated into other dental schools and dental hygiene programs.
The Border Patrol's Tucson Sector, which covers the U.S. - Mexico border for all of Arizona (except Yuma), reports that shootings and assaults against its agents are increasing. During the first six months of this year, there have been 132 assaults on agents, including 15 shootings. In comparison, there were 118 assaults for all of last year. Officials attribute the increase to the Border Patrol's efforts to shut down drug runners and smugglers of illegal immigrants.
The Minuteman Project which generated national attention on the U.S. - Mexico border has spawned the formation of another group to watch the border south of San Diego. Called the "Friends of the Border Patrol", the group is gathering volunteers to patrol the border from the ocean to Imperial Valley.
“So we must ask, what is the function of a wrestler’s body? One function is strength. Another is explosive power. Some others are: muscular endurance, isometric strength and flexibility. Along with these functions a wrestler must have the physical stamina and mental concentration to instantaneously and continuously react to whatever his opponent is doing, while pursuing the moves that he wants to execute. We can improve all of these functions through weight training, running, calisthenics, wind-sprints, technique practice, meditation and hard wrestling.”
Matt Furey
Old Burglary Methods Still Work
They may be oldies, but apparently they are still goldies.
I've had some exposure to a case where homes are being burglarized through a method that we've talked about before in this newsletter and you, probably, have heard over and over -- a ring of thieves takes house keys from customers at a car wash and gets their home address from the registration in the car.
In this particular case, the car wash key thieves didn't even try to make a copy of the house key, they just physically took the actual key off of the victim's key ring.
The victim in this case has a habit of exiting her house through her garage and does not physically lock the door from the garage to the house. She does lock all of the other exterior doors including a side door into the garage. She believed that simply closing her garage door was enough to secure her house. I bring up this point for two reasons:
As it turns out, the thieves had a day or two to case her house and still let themselves in with her house key after she had left for work.
This ring of burglars were busted when local police arrested one on an unrelated warrant and found him to be in possession of stolen property. The victim in this case is fortunate to get a lot of her property back because she did have the habit of having her property (particularly jewelry) engraved.
It's not high-tech, but you can be victimized by the old tried and true methods. Remember to lock your doors. Set your alarm. Protect your keys and secure your personal information.
Visitor Access Control Still Vital to Security
Speaking of low-tech...
Your access controls on visitors to your facility or company is still a very vital component to security.
Case in point, there has been a recent spate of visitors attempting to gain unauthorized access to hospitals. In Indiana, men tried to gain access to emergency rooms at three different hospitals. In Los Angeles, Boston and Detroit, people carrying clipboards tried to gain access to hospitals by claiming to be inspectors with the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations.
In the Indiana incidents, evidence found in a car indicates that one of the men is on the FBI Terror Watch List. The impostors in L.A., Boston and Detroit might have been looking for drugs or sensitive patient information.
In these cases, guess what was the low tech security device used to thwart the perpetrators -- employees. It was other employees who challenged the imposters forcing them to leave without breaching security.
Make sure your employees feel empowered to have a hand in their own security. Let them know they will be supported by leadership. In most work and school violence, there were a number of people who knew of the threat beforehand.
Have a badge or credentialing system which is simple, robust and consistent. People should be able to tell at a glance who does -- and doesn't -- belong in the building.
The Problem with Folding Knives
“The biggest problem with folders [folding combat knives] is getting them into action. Just like a pistol draw at close quarters, a knife draw must often be preceded by a combatives empty-handed technique to clear a path for the weapon. I see that when students are excessively weapon-focused during the initial moments of the attack (unexpected attack), they invariably fumble their access. Those who clear the attack and then access their gun or knife do much better.”
Gabe Suarez
Could Simple Greed be Downfall to National Security?
More than 2,000 illegal immigrants have been able to obtain driver's licenses by bribing state employees in at least three states.
Arrested for selling licenses are employees in the Florida motor vehicle agency, an employee at the Michigan Secretary of State office and an employee at the Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration. The Michigan state employee had an accomplice in Iraqi. The greedy state employees were getting up to $1,000 per fake license.
Federal authorities are concerned with the bribes because they could provide a threat to national security -- all but one of the Sept. 11 hijackers had managed to obtain driver's licenses or I.D. cards.
Why Aren't You Training in Shoes?
Most of the empty hand training environments I've been in are strictly a no footwear proposition. You are usually on mats, in the ring, or maybe a polished wood floor. If you are training in karate, ju jutsu, Tae Kwon Do, kung fu, Muay Thai, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, or judo, you are barefoot.
But, unless you only plan on fighting in your house, by the pool or at the beach, chances are you are going to be wearing shoes. And for good reason, virtually all other locations -- either urban or rural -- are not foot-friendly.
The exception to this would be if you habitually wear flip-flops or sandals, there might be times when you are essentially barefoot. (See the Sept. 2003 newsletter item where I found myself almost fighting in two instances when I was only wearing flip flops).
To contribute to the realism of your training, you should be doing training with your shoes on as well as off.
Go here if you want to access the newsletter archives.
Train like your life depends on it. Someday it
might.
Brad Parker
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