”Plugged In” to Law Enforcement

Vandalism is a crime that affects hundreds of thousands of businesses and individuals every year across the United States. Most of us see it in the form of graffiti, broken window glass, torn down signs, or other senseless destruction of property. The vandal is a scoundrel that the American public has come to know and tolerate to a degree.  There are obviously more important issues of personal safety, home invasion, and violent crime that grab our attention more than the acts of the vandal.  Vandalism is not important to us until our property is destroyed or defaced.  As a former police officer and police chief, I can tell you first hand that the crime of vandalism is not on the top of the charts in regard to the allocation of resources. There are bigger fish to fry, and rightfully so. That being said, the victims of repeated vandalism that account for literally tens of thousands of dollars should expect a more than cursory investigation by the police.  Sadly, sometimes that does not occur, and they must turn elsewhere.

That “elsewhere” is often times a security guard company or, as in the example I’m about to give you, a professional security consultant.  Vandalism is not often thought of as a component of asset protection. Yet, when my property manager client approached me and told me that they had $15,000 worth of vandalism in the last six months and the owners feared they were going to lose tenants because of this “crime” wave, it was obvious they needed help to resolve the problem. The police investigator assigned these cases had other higher dollar property crimes as a priority and could not give this recurring vandalism problem the time it deserved.  I had a client frustrated with the police response, needing more resources devoted to the issue than the police could provide.  That is one reason they looked to me, as they knew I had law enforcement contacts that might allow them to cut back on the costs they were incurring for a continuing roving guard service and to allow them to return to a positive cash flow for their property.  The outcome was good – the problem was analyzed more thoroughly, directed patrols were deployed and a suspect put into jail soon after I was retained. But that is not the bottom line.

The true bottom line of this story is this: Most asset protection begins and ends with the prevention of crime - “Crime” being the key word.  For good prosecution of criminal offenses, you must have some cooperation and interest of the police.  If you can’t make that happen on your own, then who you turn to next must have the contacts and make the inroads in law enforcement to generate the appropriate interest in your problem. Nobody does that better than someone who has “been on the job” and can talk the talk with those that will eventually provide the help and make the arrests.  So when you compare security consultants for the purpose of creating the liaison you may need with law enforcement, look for the one that has the past experience in the field. In situations like this one, likely you will get the deserved help you need with less hassle when working with an ex law enforcement officer.  Palmer Security Consulting can create that opportunity for you.

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