On Q Professional Investigations

LOS ANGELES— Union officials for police at Los Angeles International Airport gave its support Friday for new legislation that would ban the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) from allowing non-law enforcement personnel to wear metal badges.

The Los Angeles Airport Peace Officers’ Association (LAAPOA) issued the statement commending language in a Department of Homeland Security appropriations bill currently under consideration by lawmakers in

Washington, which includes an amendment that prohibits funding for TSA uniforms that include badges that resemble law enforcement badges.

While TSA screening agents are not sworn officers, the agency reclassified screeners as “transportation security officers” in 2005 in order to boost morale among its ranks. In 2008, the TSA did away with the embroidered logos and provided its screeners with metal badges.

But veteran law enforcement agents like Marshall McClain, President of the LAAPOA, say bestowing the title of “officer” to TSA screening agents and giving those screeners police-styled metal badges has granted agents the outward appearance of law enforcement authority – which they do not possess.

“The main mission of TSA agents is to screen passengers and baggage at the airport,” said McClain. “These screeners have not received law enforcement training and do not perform police functions at our airports so why would we ever allow them to wear police-like badges?”

The LAAPOA also supported a decision by TSA in Jan. 2014 not to arm its officers in the wake of the Nov. 1, 2013, shooting at LAX.

The Appropriations Committee bill will go to the full House floor for a vote in the coming weeks.

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An effort over the past year in Oak Brook to have residents in subdivisions with private roads agree to allow police to enforce the entire Illinois Vehicle Code has proven successful.

The Steeplechase Community Association of Oak Brook, which has 21 homes, is the latest homeowners’ group to agree to the enabling ordinance that allows enforcement. The Oak Brook Village Board approved the agreement July 14.

“We are restricted to what we can enforce on private roads unless those residents agree to the enabling ordinance,” Police Chief James Kruger said. “Having the enabling ordinance in place allows us to better serve the community and provide the same level of service for everyone.”

Without an agreement to the enabling ordinance, police are not able to write tickets for violations of lane usage and vehicle registration. Police also are not able to issue tickets to those driving without a license or with a license that has been suspended.

Bob Sheppel, president of the Steeplechase Community Association of Oak Brook, said the group’s board decided to accept the enabling ordinance because it “goes hand in hand with security.”

Kruger and Village President Gopal Lalmalani reached out to homeowners association presidents a year ago, asking that they agree to the enabling ordinance. Since that time, homeowners associations in Briarwood Lakes, Heritage Oaks and Midwest Chase also have agreed to the ordinance.

“I couldn’t be more pleased with the response we’ve received from our homeowners associations,” Kruger said. “We’ve had a couple of requests for extra patrol, and some have expressed traffic safety concerns. This allows us to have an increased presence.”

Kruger said the Oak Brook Club and Covington Court are the only two remaining eligible subdivisions in the village that have yet to agree to the enabling ordinance.

“They have expressed interest, and we are working with them,” Kruger said.

Two Oak Brook subdivisions with private roads, Breakenridge Farm and Wendell Woods, are not eligible for the enabling ordinance because each has only nine homes. State law requires a minimum of 10 homes to enact the enabling ordinance, Kruger said.

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Twelve alleged gang members face fraud, aggravated identity theft and other charges in connection with a federal indictment accusing them in a money order scheme at banks in the New York area and along the East Coast, authorities said Tuesday.

Eight of the 12 suspects were arrested early Tuesday during a raid at the Van Dyke Houses in Brownsville by Department of Homeland Security agents, U.S. Postal Inspectors and NYPD, officials say.

U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said the case suggests that “members of street gangs, like the Van Dyke Money Gang, have expanded their criminal repertoire to include white collar crimes like bank fraud and identity theft.”

“Today’s arrests dismantle a gang that allegedly used bank fraud and identity theft to line their pockets with cash using a scheme that cost New York banks over $1.5 million dollars,” HSI Special Agent-in-Charge Raymond J. Parmer Jr. added in a press release.

According to the indictment, the defendants fraudulently obtained blank postal and Western Union money orders and printed a specific dollar amount, usually under $1,000 on them. They allegedly recruited bank account holders and used their accounts to deposit the fake orders.

The defendants, allegedly members of the Van Dyke Money Gang, then withdrew the money from those accounts; they used more than 350 accounts for those purposes, the indictment alleges.

The scheme defrauded New York-area banks, as well as ones along the East Coast from Boston to Washington, D.C., out more than $1 million, authorities said.

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The former office manager of Bec-Don Inc. was sentenced to serve three years and one month in federal prison for committing wire fraud in connection with a scheme to defraud the Ringgold, Ga.-based company.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Judy Elaine Henry, 50, of Lafayette, Ga., was the manager of Bec-Don’s office and was authorized to sign checks on Bec-Don’s account. From approximately 2006 through 2014, Henry embezzled more than $500,000 in company funds by writing checks payable to herself from Bec-Don’s account, and by making false entries in Bec-Don’s checkbook and accounting records to make it appear that the checks had been issued to pay legitimate company expenses.

Henry deposited some of the fraudulent checks into her personal account and then used her debit card to spend the stolen money.

Henry was sentenced to three years, one month in prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release, and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $565,005.05. Henry was convicted on these charges on April 23 after she pleaded guilty.

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Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, law enforcement officials and prosecutors have created an around-the-clock “war room” to address the spike in violent crime that has racked Baltimore since the death of Freddie Gray, they said Sunday.

Officials have identified several criminal groups as top targets of the effort.

“We are pushing for an all-hands-on-deck approach to this current surge in violence,” Rawlings-Blake told reporters at a news conference. “We know that crime is not static. Neither can we be. It is important for us to work together and recommit ourselves to that collaboration every single day in order for us to get on top of this crime spike.”

Violence has spiked since Gray, 25, died in police custody in April, and has showed no sign of abating. May saw 42 homicides, the deadliest month in Baltimore in 25 years. From Friday through Sunday, more than 20 people were shot. Seven died, and others were in critical condition.

Interim Baltimore Police Commissioner Kevin Davis, appointed by Rawlings-Blake last week after she dismissed Anthony W. Batts, said the war room — an operations center in which all of the partner agencies are to work together — will “ensure there are no gaps in our intelligence sharing, no gaps in our operational capacities, and no gaps in our overall commitment to identify the small number of folks who are harming our communities.”

Davis said officials have identified “four different groups of bad guys who are responsible for a disproportionate amount of violence in Baltimore City, and we’re going to work around the clock until we get to the point of probable cause to start taking those folks off the streets.

“The citizens of this city deserve nothing less.”

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Reaching Out to Diaspora Communities in U.S. for War Crimes Tips

Five years ago, nearly a dozen former soldiers who served during the Bosnian civil war in the early ‘90s before settling in Arizona were sentenced for lying on their applications for refugee status when they came to the U.S. Last year, a Bosnian-born Minnesota man was arrested on fraud charges for not disclosing crimes—including murder, kidnapping, and robbery—he allegedly committed during his military service in Bosnia-Herzegovina. In January, a Bosnian-born Vermont man was found guilty of lying to get into the U.S. and obtain his naturalized citizenship.

These cases illustrate efforts across multiple agencies and international borders to hold accountable any individuals who committed war crimes or atrocities overseas before entering and settling in the U.S. And Bosnian war criminals represent just a sampling of the subjects being sought. The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) is pursuing more than 1,900 leads and cases on individuals from about 96 countries. The FBI, which works alongside HSI and special prosecutors at the Human Rights Violators and War Crimes Center in Northern Virginia, has pending investigations in nearly a third of our 56 field offices.

Managing the FBI’s role in identifying, locating, and investigating these cases is the Bureau’s International Human Rights Unit (IHRU), which works closely with partner intelligence agencies and the Department of State to identify subjects and gather leads. Agents in the unit then coordinate the FBI’s approach in the field—whether it’s collecting intelligence, developing sources, or just meeting leaders in diaspora communities to make them aware that the FBI is seeking tips on the whereabouts of suspected war criminals and human rights violators.

“We are asking those communities, ‘If you know somebody or if you have heard of somebody who has done those things, let us know and then we’ll go from there,’” said Thomas Bishop, head of the IHRU. “I think in a lot of these communities, people know someone who was involved with something—or they hear about somebody being involved—but they may not know what to do with it. All we need is a tip so we can see if there’s anything to it.”

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A state task force on school security issued a final report Thursday that recommends more police presence, the creation of a school safety academy, and a requirement that all staff and students carry identification, among other measures.

The task force was created two years ago as state officials and educators sought ways to improve safety after the school shooting rampage in Newtown, Conn. in which 20 children and six adults were killed. The group, which included leaders in education and law enforcement, made 42 recommendations in the report.

The report calls for New Jersey to create and fund a “school safety specialist academy” to centralize information, resources and training in one place. The academy would oversee school compliance with safety rules and regulations and conduct a certification program.

For school security staff, the report recommends hiring school resource officers, sworn police officers assigned exclusively to schools, though the high cost of this approach was noted in the report. Schools that use non-police security guards should develop agreements with local law enforcement on qualifications, communications, chain of command and responsibilities, the report states.

The task force calls for more police patrols on school grounds, especially at busy times like the start of the school day, dismissal and at activities and events. Police should also be invited to talk about topics like bullying, “sexting” and school violence in an effort to build trust and cooperation with the community.

The report also urges that the state should require students and staff to carry identification cards in a visible place when school is in session, the task force concluded. It also calls for the state to require school security to have two-way radios in schools with a dedicated channel to talk directly to emergency responders.

The report also recommends practices that are already in place at many schools, such as limiting the number of doors that can be entered; monitoring and staffing entrances; and installing surveillance cameras outside as a deterrent.

Physical improvements like installing cameras and placing metal detectors at school entrances can be expensive and time-consuming in a time when school budgets are tight. Decisions to use those should be left to the school district, the task force wrote.

The report raised questions about the effectiveness of panic alarms that silently and electronically notify police of problems. Gov. Christie vetoed legislation last year that would have required every public school in the state to install panic alarms

An emergency could unfold in a place that isn’t near a panic button, while phone-based panic buttons are at risk of false alarms, the task force wrote.

Education Commissioner David Hespe and Christopher Rodriguez, director of the New Jersey Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness, chaired the task force.

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ALMOST 100 knives, 1,000 tools and 300 cans and bottles of alcohol have been seized by security staff at Bristol courts.

Defendants, witnesses and supporters have attempted to smuggle an arsenal of knifes, screwdrivers, Allen keys and nail files past staff working at Bristol’s Crown and Magistrates Courts between May 2014 and 2015.

A Freedom of Information request submitted by the Bristol Post has revealed a total of 84 knives under three inches were confiscated from people entering the magistrates court during the 12 month period, in addition to three attempts to sneak blades over three inches.

In comparison, there were 13 attempts to conceal knife blades longer than three inches in to crown court, alongside the confiscation of three fixed blades in the period.

This follows a case in North Avon Magistrates Court, Yate, four years ago when a teenager stabbed security officer with a blade made out of a toothbrush handle.

A spokesman from the Public and Commercial Services Union which represents court staff said: “Court staff and the public have been let down by the government, with scores of courthouses closing and cuts to legal aid.

“These things fuel the sense of a justice system that is remote and not set up in the interests of ordinary people, and staff all too often bear the brunt.”

Everyone who enters the Bristol courts is asked to pass through a security gate and can be checked with a hand-held detecting device.

Bags are searched and security guards ask the individual whether they are carrying any banned items.

During the 12 month period 71 cameras and nine recorders were seized at Bristol Crown Court.

Bristol Magistrates also seized 917 “tools” – which include bike helmets, nail files and any item which security staff deem to be a risk – in comparison to 48 at crown.

No one attempted to smuggle genuine or replica firearms.

A spokesman from HM Courts and Tribunals Service said it takes the issue of security within courts “extremely seriously” and has “a robust security and safety system to protect all court users and the judiciary.”

They added: “This system includes mandatory bag searches, metal detectors and surveillance cameras, as well as court security officers who have legislative powers to protect all those in the court building.

“The powers of the court security officers include the ability to restrain and remove people from the building should there be a need.

“Our security system is continually monitored to ensure that it is effective and proportionate and mitigates against the risks faced.”

Last year Parliament revealed that the number of contraband items detected at courts in England and Wales more than doubled in the past three years.

In total 3,713 knives were seized across the country in the financial year 2013/14, compared to 1,574 the year before.

At the time, former shadow justice secretary Sadiq Kjan, told Parliament: “It is staggering that the number of offensive weapons in our courts has doubled in just one year.

“Under David Cameron our justice system is in crisis, and is increasingly violent and dangerous for staff and court users alike.

“Much more needs to be done to stop weapons being brought into our courts as well as protecting our hard working staff.”

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It’s now legal for visitors to enter the Kansas Capitol carrying a concealed firearm without a permit.

Concealed carry became legal in the Capitol last year. A person could take a gun in if he or she presented a permit to the Kansas Highway Patrol officers who provide security at the entrance.

This year, the Legislature passed a bill lifting the requirement that a person get a permit to carry a concealed firearm.

That law, which went into effect July 1, means a person does not need to go through a background check or training in order to carry a concealed gun on the sidewalk or other public spaces, including the Capitol.

“We’re still screening everybody like we did when we were letting people with concealed carry licenses in,” said Officer Patrick Saleh with the Highway Patrol’s Capitol Police. “We still need to check bags and packages for explosives. The only thing that’s changed is we’re not asking them for their concealed carry ID card. But otherwise they’re still coming through the screening center and we’re letting them right in as though they had a permit for it.”

Senate Majority Leader Terry Bruce, R-Hutchinson, one of the main proponents of the new law, said in an e-mail that the Capitol “should be treated just like any other public building in our state” and that “Kansans should be able to exercise their rights under the Second Amendment in this building.”

Gun control advocates say that allowing a person to carry a gun into the Capitol without any minimum requirements poses risks. The Capitol, which houses the Legislature and the governor’s office, is a popular destination for families and for school field trips.

“To allow people to carry loaded, hidden guns without first going through a background check or require any sort of training is a terrible and bad idea for public safety in Kansas,” said Brian Malte, senior national policy director with the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence.

Rep. Travis Couture-Lovelady, R-Palco, who carried the legislation on the House floor, said it would be hypocritical for lawmakers to prevent people from bringing guns into the Capitol, He noted that lawmakers are able enter the building without going through metal detectors or being searched by security.

“I hate the idea of us treating ourselves differently,” he said.

He acknowledged that the Capitol could be a target for a gunman, but said allowing people to carry guns for self defense made the building safer.

“There’s a lot of legislators that are carrying, I’m sure. And there’s a lot of lobbyists that carry every day … and a lot of them are pretty good dang shots, so I feel pretty good about that,” Couture-Lovelady said. “And as far as those that want to do harm to us in the Capitol, if they really want to cause problems, if they really want to have a mass shooting in the Capitol the little metal detectors aren’t going to stop them. All they have to do is get someone in the building and then go to a side door and let people in with the big guns. So I just think it’s another instance of a false sense of security.”

Not all lawmakers are supportive of allowing guns into the Capitol without restrictions.

Rep. Stephanie Clayton, R-Overland Park, said that she doesn’t fear for her own safety but she worries that this makes the building more dangerous for kids visiting.

“I do have concerns for children who are visiting on field trips. I feel like it’s a less safe for the public,” she said. “There’s a different view where as a lawmaker I accept that risk where as a member of the public, do they really need to accept that?”

Clayton said her chief concern was not that there would be an active shooter, but that allowing guns into the building without requiring training increases the risk of a gun going off by accident.

“That’s what’s going to hurt us, is a misfire through a lack of training,” she said.

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The unofficial U.S. postal creed says neither rain, nor sleet, nor heat, nor gloom of night will keep carriers from their rounds. Thieves and vicious dogs, however, may be another matter. So the Post Office is delivering a solution.

In broad daylight in Washington, D.C., last year, two armed men attacked a U.S. letter carrier. He was beaten, bound and robbed.

It was one of more than 400 assaults on postal workers nationwide in 2014, up nine percent in the past five years. That same year, dogs attacked carriers more than 5,700 times.

Virginia carrier Nilo Parin was one of them.

“The dog bit me right here,” he said.

The Postal Service had given Parin no way to call for help — until now.

The Postal Service is shipping all 230,000 carriers new mobile devices with a soon-to-be-activated “panic button.” GPS transmits their location to their supervisors every minute.

Jeff Williamson is the chief of human resources for the Postal Service and gave CBS News the first public look at the devices, which will be rolled out by September.

The new devices also let supervisors warn carriers with alerts, like they did during the recent unrest in Baltimore.

“So when you think about the power of this, the safety element of what this allows us to do from a carrier standpoint is just incredible,” Williamson said.

The devices also allow virtually real-time notifications when their package has arrived and more efficient routes to save time and fuel.

The Postal Service is spending $200 million on this. That’s a lot of money, especially for an organization that lost $5 billion last year and wants to cut Saturday delivery. Can they afford it?

“It’s an investment in our future is what it is,” said Dave Williams, the Postal Service COO. “It’s an investment in the growth of our organization.”

And for those who carry that mail, the new devices are delivering a sense of security.

Does it make Parin feel safer?

“It does,” he said.

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