Who is at Fault for Armed Robbery?

Recently the city of Nassau was shocked to hear of a bold daytime robbery of a major department store on Bay Street. The location was not so much an issue as there have been numerous criminal incidents on Bay Street. What shocked the town was that this event occurred at about 10am on a Sunday morning. In a recent letter to the editor of the Tribune the writer implies that the police have come under unfair criticism for the apparent lack of presence on Bay Street that may have contributed to the success of this robbery.

Patrols whether on foot or via motor vehicles, by way of police or security personnel are intended to deter potential law breakers and observe potential safety hazards. This along with post duties are probably some of the oldest functions of law enforcement and security services. The implementing of the patrol function should not be haphazard or random. It must be properly planned taking into account time of day, area to be focused on, and especially the occupants and individuals frequenting the area. With this said I reference you to an article I wrote back in May 2009 that appeared in this same publication, referring to the apparent practice of the police to reduce deployment on Sundays. In my article I write of a drive from the Carmichael Road area out to Lyford Cay to the Cable Beach Strip, Downtown and out East and not seeing any police on patrol.

The absence or lack thereof of police patrols regardless of the defense put forward does in my opinion increase opportunities for criminality. The police via their profession must take some responsibility for the level of crime in our society, but in this instance so must the Ministry of Tourism and the affected business. However, and this is a very important however, it is the primarily responsibility of the business owner or individual to take the necessary precautions to ensure that they are protected.

Being quite aware of the various risks concerning or related to their business, one must ask the question is enough being done to prevent crime. They have invited persons into their establishment, and must endeavor to do their best to ensure that the location is safe and secure. Thus my concern is that there has been very little or no criticism of the efforts being taken by local business owners, on Bay Street or where ever, to implement adequate preventative measures.

Further, what are the security requirements for operating a particular business? Here again is an opportunity for government to legislate certain criteria that a business owner must implement as it regards to loss prevention. We cannot simply allow persons affected by crime to get away with blaming the police, government and the criminals, they are not in my opinion sufficiently chastised or mandated to take certain precautions.

Preventative Measures in loss prevention is much more than hiring an armed off-duty police officer. Loss prevention's best practice demands a multilayered approach to safeguarding assets. These layers include but are not limited to:


Security and Crime Risk Assessment

A vital and fundamental first step in any effort to protecting your business that is too often overlooked or conducted with major focus on crime risk and negating the security risks. You have heard me say many times via this column that there are some elementary differences between policing and security. Essentially security is proactive with its major focus on prevention, whereas policing is reactive with a major focus on detection and apprehension. The assessment is a review of your business type, operating hours, location, and policies, with the intent of providing both proactive and reactive strategies.


Initial and Continuous Employee Backgrounds Checking

This initiative is not given much attention after employment, many business owners do not consider that circumstances, finances and ethics can change over the course of the relationship with the organization. These checks should also extend to the service providers, be they the cleaners or the water delivery guy. All of these persons including staff have access to your proprietary information, security practices and business operations. Within reason you need to become intimately knowledgeable of your staff and who they associate with off hours.


Physical Security

Doors, windows, locks, showcases, decorations etc., all speak to the infrastructure and also how items are placed in the space you occupy. A better known concept is called Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) and is the science of placement, angles, and lighting to influence movement and actions for better visibility and surveillance. The attractiveness for customers must be weighed against the perception it may possibly give to would-be criminals.


Electronic Security

This is a vital element of any modern protection program for one simple reason. They are active 24 hours a day and do not take breaks. These systems have become so sophisticated that you can now have alerts emailed to your smart phone inclusive of video. These devices can be placed into 3 major categories.

Intrusion Detection – these are devices such as motion sensors and glass breaks that advise that a restricted or secure area has be accessed.

Panics – This is the device used to alert police and other response personnel that an emergency event is or has occurred. These devices are usually placed at key locations in the business and can be silent or alarm notification. It is very important that a policy on when to activate these alarms is developed and practice as they can also increase risk

CCTV – The ever popular camera system. No other device in my opinion in the last 15 years has been given more attention and perceived to be the ‘magic bullet’ regarding security and safety. Much of the perceived ability of a surveillance system is myth, thus giving rise to unrealistic outcomes. In any event these devices must be trained on staff and customers alike, taking into account panoramas, lighting, camera speed and amount of memory necessary.


Access Control

This component speaks to not only to who enters your business but also how they move in and around your location. The concept has also evolved to what they are able to see be it business operations, the location of cameras, and vaults. A very difficult layer to manage if you are open to the public coming in and browsing your goods, however staff and yourself should be trained to observe for suspicious individuals and behavior.


Awareness Training

A very vital layer as it helps staff to understand the role they play in ensuring a safe working environment. This education must be ongoing, timely, and exciting. There is a vast amount of topics that can be covered from responding to robberies, opening and closing procedures and the importance of confidentiality. The drive of this practice is to develop a team approach to loss prevention and asset protection. This should also include visible signage, and regularly review policies and procedures. The training can be formal via discussions during staff meetings, seminars and workshops or informal via informative fliers posted in staff rooms and notice boards.

Knowledge is power and business owners must be empowered with comprehensive strategies and tactics to reducing their exposure to crime. The fact of the matter is the blame game is not beneficial to any of us in these current conditions just as the layers I mention above, solutions must be multidiscipline with persons contributing to the crime reduction efforts. The police are working but there job becomes more difficult when poor operational practices and apparent disregard become major factors in creating opportunities for crime.


Gamal Newry is the president of Preventative Measures, a loss prevention and asset protection training and consulting company, specializing in policy and procedure development, business security reviews and audits, and emergency and crisis management. Comments can be sent to PO Box N-3154 Nassau, Bahamas, or e-mail info@preventativemeasures.org or visit us at www.preventativemeasures.org

Crime Reduction Strategies: Rules of Engagement

Crime Reduction Strategies: Rules of Engagement

“The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting.”

No folks not some fantasy of mine and yes sometimes this is easier said than done but these are the types of tactics we need to develop. Whereas I am quite aware of the need to fight in necessary, but certainly it would be easier to engage our young men and women before we see them doing the ‘Bank Lane shuffle’, before hear the cries of 'not my good child'. With this in mind, I challenge everyone to reach out via a youth group or in your neighborhood to our young men and women, let them know there is hope.

It is the NBA Playoffs and like some of our not-so-favorite teams it appears that the criminals are leading by several games. What’s the game plan, where are our super stars, and our bench, we need some help As we muddle over what is the next best move, and who is going to make that buzzer sounding 3 pointer, our society is being pounded into the ground. Please note that Gamal is no big fan of the sport of basketball, for reason that will require an article all on its own. I am however a martial artist and ‘Newry Knows Combat’ and basketball like the life has hero's and villains depending on what side you pull for. Let me begin by telling you the secret of combat and self defense, without you even having to step into my school and take one of my self defense classes. Here goes, the key, secret to winning any fight is ‘Speed – Surprise – Commitment’ not skill, resources, or knowledge, but simply the unexpected fast and determined actioning of an assault on specific target. This is how the underdog wins, they eliminate the anticipatory tactics that they have become know for, and do the unorthodox. If you do not believe me then listen to what Sun Tzu, the famous Chinese strategist and tactician has to say;

“Let your plans be dark and as impenetratable as night, and when you move, fall like a thunderbolt.”

And

Be extremely mysterious, even to the point of soundlessness. Thereby you can be the director of the opponent's fate.”

Or better yet as ‘NIKE ‘says ‘Just Do It’

The continued announcement that we are at war with criminals in my opinion projects that the opposing side has a cause worthy of their efforts, justifying their means and bringing creditability to their goals and lifestyle. Frankly this continued declaration of war is empowering the criminal and creating or rather created a culture that is protected and idolized. Then to fuel this accreditation we tell all and sundry of our actions, strategy, and plans. We get on TV, call a press conference and let the whole world know that with this tactic and strategy we will get them this time; only to come the following month in another press conference speaking of the next attack on crime. Please note, the criminals are not making announcement and calling press conference about their success and failure rate. On the other hand they act without hesitation at whatever and whomever they choose. Perhaps they have studied Sun Tzu. The recent robbery of a major department store in the heart of downtown Nassau, is and example of this.

When I teach a class or conduct a seminar on self defense as best as possible I avoid discussions on the numbers or statistics, as this information is of little help when you’re pinned on the ground and a knife at your throat. It is all about fighting – surviving – telling the story, because everyone likes a winner. Similarly I would venture to say that the deviant is not concerned about the crime rate or how much robberies were committed last year and the victim type. These individuals are in it for the championship rings and all.

If our so called ‘War on Crime’ as implied recently by the the May 9, 2011 Nassau Guardians National Review 'Who is winning the War on Crime?. The article speaks about the apparent failure to convict alleged wrong doers. In my opinion a fundamental understanding of this element as Sun Tzu suggest,

'war is a very grave matter for the state, and must not be commenced without due consideration'

is missing from the in the first instance, the Public, The Church, and The Government. If we do not appreciate the detrimental consequences of not subduing this issue then we will be destroyed. In fact I believe we are slowly evolving into a victim society as it appears that we have given up hope on maintaining the normalcy we call civilization. We are making criminals to be warriors or soldiers in an army that is invading our country. At this point in our history we as a country must realize that we must be better prepared to deal with crime, and begin preemptive attacks long before the police go chasing and investigating. Definitely before they are sent before the courts, all of these are reactive responses; leave us as a society playing catch up. This is insanity as we know that crime is and will happen; why we are not better prepared at this point is unacceptable.

Sun Tzu says this about war;

“The art of war teaches us to rely not on the likelihood of the enemy's not coming, but on our own readiness to receive him; not on the chance of his not attacking, but rather on the fact that we have made our position unassailable”

The criminal is here, they will come and they are not going anywhere. So what are you, rather what are we going to do? Essentially we must be prepared to seize opportunities when they present themselves and become flexible and adaptable to changing trends and culture. As it stands now, the approach to reducing crime is stagnant and producing minimal results, the Guardians Article cannot be anymore clear. The return for investment in man hours, be they at the policing level or persecutory level cannot be compared to the cost increased crime is having on our value of living. It would appear that we are fighting a losing battle.

As mentioned in previous articles it is better empowering social services, schools and the NGO’s like swim clubs, martial art schools, the Boys Brigade, Scouts and Pathfinders with finances to support their proven tactics. Creating legislation that gives these agencies and organization more teeth to affect their programs. When teaching self defense I do not teach wait for them to attack and then counter, I teach if you see 2 guys walking towards you ‘get ready – be ready’, you are already losing if you are reacting to the attack. Yes I do teach walking or running away if you feel overwhelmed, but where does a country run, where can the public hide? We must face this situation head on, but we have to change our approach. When we are responding to crime by buying more police cars and hiring more prosecutors we are losing.

Know who your friends are, your enemies will reveal themselves!

I am of the opinion that the death of Osama bin Laden at this point in history has very little affect on the current global terrorism community. In fact his killing has the potential to be of more harm than good. Certainly from a political standpoint it gives the current President a good boost, never the less terrorism is here to stay. Terrorism despite its fanfare and apparent ‘aweing’ of the public is and will always be a criminal act. An as all criminals do, the terrorist seeks to use fear to accomplish their goals and draw attention to their particular cause. The events over the weekend regarding the capture of the ‘Most Wanted Man’ in US history can provide many great lesson for us here in the Bahamas regarding the crime situation and creating a safe community if only the perception of the same.
But before we dive in, for those of you cannot be bothered, I will give you a heads up as to what lessons I believe can be learnt from this ‘historical event’. The lessons learnt are:
1. Know who your friends are, your enemies will reveal themselves.
2. Crime in the long the run does not pay, however the ride can be pretty sweet.
3. There is nothing wrong with a little aggressive persuasive discussion.
I can, as I am sure many of you can recall what you were doing on that dreadful September morning back in 2001. It is amazing how time flies as it is now ten years ago as the world watched the airlines crash into New Yorks World Trade Center. This is how the public knowledge of the name Osama bin Laden and Al Qaeda began, but definetly his first appearance in the global community. He and his group were in fact well known to the United States.
Osama bin Laden was on the world intelligence radar more than 15 years, from the Carter, Reagan, Clinton Administration, in fact an opportunity existed for the former US President Clinton to give the go ahead back in 1998. However they were unable to mobilize and Clinton declined to do so. At the time the US had invested much financial and human capital into the region and it appears that it became a decision based on timing, logistics, and priority, unfortunately as they say hind sight is 20 / 20.
So here we have a known and wanted terrorist, as by this time Al Qaeda had already orchestrated 2 attacks on US Embassies in Africa, yet no action was being taken to aggressively subdue and capture the individual. Thus allowing the group to gain courage and intensity into what we saw happen in September 2001.
Quite similarly we have the same condition here in the Bahamas, as we have our own type of terrorism. The citizens are afraid and being intimidated by criminals and the current violent crime trend. Listening to the police and government officials who indicate they know the offenders and worse yet know where they are; however it appears that government and its agencies are powerless to deal with the matter. What does this say to the ‘domestic terrorist’ the young man and woman walking, driving and living in our communities who we call friend and family. I believe just like the other bin Laden’s of the world; boldness and recognition is being sort after, so they too are planning their own 911 event. They will become bolder, and openly aggressive and violently challenge what call civilized.
But alas what can be done about these individuals who seek to corrupt our way of living by jeopardizing our safety. Put them jail and throw away the key you say, I say first you must catch them and secondly let’s really consider this whole concept of jail. Now it took the most powerful country in the world nearly 20 year to catch one man, do we have 20 years? I think not, and really that amount of time is unacceptable, but it appears that unless friends and neighbors are prepared to give up friends and neighbors we are in for a long ride. The dilemma of course now is determining who are really yours friends as opposed to those who are just giving you lip service. That is to say Bahamas, how many of us are really dedicated to benefit of the nation as opposed to those of us who are only concerned about selfish gain no matter what.
What can we learn from the Pakistani’s Government apparent friendship with the United States; who prior to September 11, were known to be promoting and encouraging Islamic Radicalism via support of terrorist groups like Al Qaeda. However, by their seemingly cooperation by giving the US access to airspace and land operations, they somehow became an ‘alley in the war against terrorism’. Never mind the US writing off several million dollars in debt owed by this country. But bear in mind that the Osama bin Laden had close relationships with Pakistan ISI (their equivalent to the CIA) and the Taliban. The November 2001 Wall Street Journal States,
“Despite their clean chins and pressed uniforms, the ISI men are as deeply fundamentalist as any bearded fanatic; the ISI created the Taliban as their own instrument and still support it.”
Further in his book ‘Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, and Bin Laden, from the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2001 Steve Coll states “According to notes taken at the meeting, Clinton says he had “asked repeatedly for Pakistani help to bring Osama bin Laden to justice… [Sharif] promised often to do so but had done nothing. Instead, the ISI worked with bin Laden and the Taliban to foment terrorists.”
I may be strongly criticized for this statement, but really folks have we seen any major decrease in crime by a policy of public participation. Frankly, who you think is your friend is not your friend and my neighbor is only concerned about my wellbeing if he / she feel it will benefit them. This is unfortunate in a country the size of the Bahamas that it appears that criminals are getting away with murder. Certainly this is not true for all of our relationships, however there is enough of a deficiency to really make one wonder.
Next week our discussion will continue on just this point, are the criminals getting away.., does crime pay?Gamal Newry is the President of Preventative Measures, a Loss Prevention and Asset Protection Training and Consulting Company, specializing in Policy and Procedure Development, Business Security Reviews and Audits, & Emergency and Crisis Management. Comments can be sent to P.O. Box N-3154 Nassau, Bahamas or, email info@preventativemeasures.org or visit us at www.preventativemeasures.org