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School security officer shot with pellet gun http://www.privateofficer.com
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Authorities are investigating an incident that occurred Friday morning at an area school where a security officer was shot. Police said that the security officer, who was on duty at the Reading High School was shot with a pellet gun at around 8a.m.
According to school officials, a staff member at the school was looking out a window and observed a student with a gun outside the building and notified school security officers.
Security officers responded to the area and located the teenager and the teen ran with security officers in pursuit of him. During the time when the officers tackled and subdued the suspect the weapon discharged and security offcier Alejandro Rodriguez was struck in the stomach.
The officer was taken to a local hospital, evaluated and released.
Reading Police responded and the student was taken into custody and arrested.
The 11th grader was being held at the Berks County Juvenile Detention facility on charges of aggravated and simple assault, endangering another person, and possession of a weapon on school grounds.
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Security Beat Around The World www.privateofficer.com
Security Beat Around The World http://www.privateofficer.com
Mississauga Canada A 23-year-old Mississauga man is facing charges after a suspected gang member tried to grab a Peel Regional Police officer’s gun in a bizarre incident at Square One Shopping Centre last night.At around 6:30 p.m., mall security officers began watching a group of men they suspected were wearing gang colours, something that is prohibited at the mall.They asked one of the men to leave the premises, but he refused, according to Peel Police.A Peel Police officer on patrol attended the area to assist security personnel in their efforts to eject the man. But, when he again refused to leave the premises, the officer attempted to arrest him. The man began to physically resist the police officer and subsequently grabbed for, and attempted to remove, his holstered gun. Fortunately the officer was able to retain control of his firearm and arrest the man, Peel Cst. Samantha Nulle said.Charged with assault with intent to resist arrest and disarming a police officer is 23-year-old Tyrell Anderson. He appeared in Brampton court today.
Rugby England
A security guard was injured when he was attacked while patrolling a construction site in Rugby.
The man was working on the new bypass near Cawston when he was assaulted by four men who threw stones at him, injuring his face. A quantity of diesel fuel was also stolen from the site. The four men escaped by car and on foot.
United Kingdom
A security firm was fined £95,000 today after sending out unlicensed guards and staff with criminal convictions to look after a string of high street stores.
Shops all over the country including Sainsburys supermarkets, Boots and WH Smith were being guarded by unlicensed staff after Securiplan implemented a “shambolic management” of new laws.
Securiplan, which has been running since 1959, made a “commercial decision” not to apply for licenses for hundreds of guards, Southwark Crown Court heard.
The new laws, introduced in March 2006, made it an offence for security companies to undertake “licensable conduct” without the permits or for companies to use unlicensed guards
Securiplan admitted 19 counts of “using an unlicensed security operatives” between March 19 and September 2, 2006.
Despite repeated warnings from the Security Industry Authority, the Government body which licenses guards, Securiplan failed to comply with the new requirements.
A number of inspections found as few as one out of 59 guards on at any one time had a valid license.
Richard Whittam, QC, for the prosecution, said the charges focused on 18 guards.
He said: “Of the 18 guards that feature in the indictment, 11 were ultimately rewarded licenses and applications of seven were refused on the basis of criminal convictions previously recorded against them.”
He added:“This was a commercial decision taken by a successful company within the industry.”
He said that the whole security industry had been warned in 2004 that the news laws about licenses were being introduced.
“The issue for the need for licenses was raised at a directors meeting in September 2004 and the attitude of the company was that it didn’t believe licensing would happen and that Securiplan would not do anything unless the customers paid for it,” he said.
Following an initial inspection on March 23 of 29 sites, it was discovered only one of 59 guards that were being deployed had licenses.
Mr Whittam said the Hillingdon-based firm, which has an estimated annual turnover of £85 million, appeared to be “sleeping at the wheel” and rather than “surrender a contract” they continued to deploy the unlicensed guards.
Stores which were affected by Securiplan’s “shambolic management” of the new law include two Arla Food stores, six Boots stores around London, finance company Experian Ltd, in Nottingham, Romec Ltd in Chesterfield, Derby, a Tesco Express store in Harwich, Bolton and two WH Smiths in Mansfield and at Victoria Railway station, in London.
Andrew Mitchell QC, for Securiplan, insisted that this was not a firm of “cowboys”.
Ordering the company to pay £95,000 costs, Judge Geoffrey Rivlin said Securiplan had “steadfastly failed to comply” with the licensing laws.
The firm will also pay £550,000 in prosecution costs at a rate of £100,000 per month.
The judge said: “This was the consequence of a deliberate commercial decision which was arrived that the heavily stretched SIA would take no action against them.’ Judge Rivlin said although the firm has lost millions of pounds in contracts since committing the breaches this was largely ’self-inflicted.”
Ellesmere Port England
Two men attempted to rob a security officer as he entered an Ellesmere Port bank carrying cash cartridges.
The 53-year-old Wrexham man was walking from a security van towards the front entrance of Halifax on Marina Walk, Ellesmere Port, when he was approached by the men.The thieves attempted to steal the cartridges from the officer but the robbery was unsuccessful and they escaped empty handed. They jumped into a dark blue saloon car driven by another male, and sped off towards Civic Hall.The security officer was not injured during the attempted robbery that took place at 10pm on Tuesday, November 11.One man has been described as being of average height, large build in his late teens. The other man was wearing a white scarf.Police are appealing for witnesses. Anyone with any information should contact the Western Specialist Investigation Unit on 01244 613140.
A stash of knives, razor blades and other potential weapons seized at the Halifax provincial courthouse has Crown attorneys calling for a permanent metal detector.
“I’m fearful for myself, for everybody that works here,” said Rick Woodburn, president the Nova Scotia Crown Attorneys Association. “It’s scary knowing that all these weapons are coming into our courthouse and there’s nothing we can do about it.”
The metal detector is not a permanent fixture at the Halifax provincial courthouse. It’s brought in for cases considered a potential security risk, such as the bail hearing Thursday of two men charged in a big drug bust off the Eastern Shore this fall.
The machine was beeping constantly throughout the day. Sheriffs seized a number of items, including a razor blade, a box cutter, a small knife and a lighter that looks like a .22-calibre handgun.
“The sheriffs even said that if someone had come in and they would have seen it, they would have taken them down,” said Woodburn.
The items are legal and were later returned to their owners.
CBC News was told that the people who brought the items to court had nothing to do with the drug bust case that sparked the extra security in the first place. Some of the other people in court included those involved with parking tickets and small claims matters.
But in the wrong hands, Woodburn said, the items could be weapons. That has Crown attorneys saying the metal detector should be in use all of the time to ensure the safety of everyone in the courthouse.
“If there is a metal detector up, at least we can have confidence knowing that a lot of this stuff won’t be getting in,” Woodburn said.
Christine Mosher, executive director of court services for the Justice Department, said threat risk assessments are done and security is beefed up as needed.
“It’s my view that the courtrooms are safe,” Mosher said.
Police are looking for two men who assaulted a security guard in Darwin’s CBD on Tuesday night.
Officers say the 20 year old was hit by two men outside the Lost Arc nightclub.
Police say the fight broke out at 3:35 am when the security guard removed a man from the nightclub.
They say two of the man’s associates went outside and assaulted the security officer.
The men then fled the scene.
Both of the offenders are described as Caucasian, one was wearing a hat and black singlet and the other was wearing a red and white shirt.
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Police search for killers of well known Fla. couple www.privateofficer.com
Police search for killers of well known Fla. couple http://www.privateofficer.com
Detectives say they have not ruled out any possibilities, but based on their conversations with neighbors and relatives, they believe the attack was likely a home invasion.
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BYU student charged in robbery www.privateofficer.com
BYU student charged in robbery http://www.privateofficer.com
A Brigham Young University lacrosse player went from shoplifter to robber Tuesday after slugging a store employee in the process of stealing four shirts.
According to an Orem police news release, 18-year-old Sean Petersen entered the Zumiez clothing store in University Mall on Tuesday afternoon with a friend. Witnesses reported that the pair requested a dressing room and stayed inside for more than 20 minutes before exiting the room with bulging shirts.
Two store employees noticed the pair and believed they may have been trying to steal clothing from the store. Petersen and his friend reportedly left the store, at which point they were immediately confronted by an employee asking them to return inside.
According to the news release, Petersen and his friend started to run and were chased by the employee. They ran through the Mervyns store and into the parking lot, where the pair allegedly split up and continued to run.
The store employee caught up to Petersen in the parking lot and a passer-by helped him bring Petersen back to the mall. However, Petersen reportedly turned and punched the employee, breaking his nose, and punched the other man as well.
Officers were called to the scene by other Zumiez employees and Sgt. Theron Leany spotted Petersen hiding in some bushes near the Carrabba’s Italian Grill on the south side of the mall parking lot. Leany went to the restaurant, but by the time he got there Petersen had left. He reportedly had left behind the four stolen shirts as well as his jacket and shirt, which he had removed to change his appearance.
Petersen was then found hiding underneath a table in an empty banquet room in the restaurant, where he quickly surrendered when confronted by officers.
“Petersen was in such a state of fright that he could hardly communicate, but did manage to tell officers as he climbed out from underneath the table, ‘OK! You got me!’ ” the release stated.
He reportedly later gave up the name of his accomplice, who officers are still searching for.
Petersen was booked in the Utah County Jail on charges of robbery and assault. Orem police Lt. Doug Edwards said he is unsure whether the second man has been found yet, but when he is found his charges will be far different from those Petersen faces.
“I do know that he’s not in the same kind of trouble his friend [Petersen] is in,” he said.
According to the release, the shoplifting incident became a robbery when Petersen used force in the course of the theft. Edwards said Peterson is charged with a second-degree felony, while a shoplifting charge is only a Class B misdemeanor. Where robbery is concerned, Edwards said it does not matter whether a candy bar or a large sum of money is stolen.
“There is no monetary scale for robbery,” he said.
Edwards said chasing after a shoplifter can be risky business. In this case there was no weapon and the store employee was able to stop Petersen. However, Edwards said he would have felt differently if the employee had been a 5-foot tall woman rather than a man.
“Every case is different,” he said. “Certainly, you take off after someone who’s desperate, you take your chances.”
BYU spokeswoman Carri Jenkins said Petersen will now be required to undergo a review by the Honor Code Office to determine any action taken on the university level. Until the office makes a decision on the matter, Petersen’s standing on the lacrosse team will be up to the coach.
Jenkins said she could not speculate on what the Honor Code Office would decide in the case, but she said the office has the power to make the decision before the case is criminally resolved.
“The Honor Code Office does not have to wait for them to finish their review,” she said.
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Police search for shoplifters who assaulted security agent www.privateofficer.com
Police search for shoplifters who assaulted security agent http://www.privateofficer.com
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It’s a high-quality photo, so we’re hoping that the public will be able to identify the suspects,” Police Lt. Jeff Miller said.
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8 Yr old charged with double murder of father, friend www.privateofficer.com
8 Yr old charged with double murder of father, friend http://www.privateofficer.com
St. Johns Police Chief Roy Melnick says the boy is charged with two counts of premeditated murder after the shootings Wednesday.
Killed were the boy’s father, 29-year-old Vincent Romero, and 39-year-old Timothy Romans.
Melnick says police arrived at a home shortly after the shooting and found one victim just outside the front door. The other was found in an upstairs room.
Melnick says the boy initially denied involvement but later confessed.
St. Johns is a community of about 4,000 people more than 150 miles northeast of Phoenix.
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Store post shoplifters name to ward off others www.privateofficer.com
Store post shoplifters name to ward off others http://www.privateofficer.com
David Reynolds
StarNewsOnline.com Occasionally, people get out of their car at Party Suppliers, take a look at the door, then turn around and leave. It’s not because the store off New Centre Drive in Wilmington is closed, only that they’re no longer accepting the kind of business they’ve been getting from some customers.
The store has taken numerous steps to stop shoplifters – everything from installing clear-image surveillance cameras to hiring staff to patrol aisles, said owner Michael Davis Sr. But their newest step has people on notice even before they enter the store.
Party Suppliers has posted a banner by its entrance with surveillance pictures of customers who have left without paying. And while a falling economy may spur some to steal, store staff said it also has prompted other customers to identify them in exchange for a reward.
“We probably get 100 people stopping a day,” to look at the surveillance photos posted by the front door, Manager Jennifer Meadows said. “It’s not only helped with identifying people that have shoplifted, but it has deterred people” from stealing.
Problem and solution
Davis, the owner, said shoplifting was so bad in recent months that it was hurting business and he had to act. Some shoplifters, which he called “boosters,” are so brazen they’ll load up a cart with paper products and party favors and head for the door, not stopping even when employees confront them.
Store employees have been insulted, hit and shoved while trying to stop shoplifters, he said.
“I think it’s driven by the economy,” he said. But he also said, “Some steal for recreation, or for a friend who is having a party. They go in with a shopping list.”
So the store is helping the Wilmington Police Department by identifying suspects for detectives.
Detective Craig Melville said he and other property-crime investigators have hundreds of cases each year, and in many cases they have little to go on.
Surveillance cameras and store clerks who write down the license plate numbers of suspected shoplifters help, he said, but Party Suppliers offering rewards to customers who identify thieves is going a step further.
“It’s great,” said Detective A.S. Heflin, adding that it’s always helpful when crime victims help police help them.
After a customer identifies someone in the pictures, a Party Suppliers staff member calls police. Detectives run the name through a database and if the person has been arrested before, police have a mug shot to compare to the surveillance image. When there’s a match, Party Suppliers gives a reward.
Heflin said she’s recently charged two people with misdemeanors, either with theft or assisting theft, based on tips from the store’s customers. Others have been identified and charges are pending, she said. Not only have suspects been arrested, but the surveillance footage increases the chances the charges will stick in court, Heflin said.
But in one case, Meadows said, she didn’t even need to pass a tip along to police. After one shoplifter saw her picture posted by the store’s entrance, she was so embarrassed she turned herself to police so the store would take the picture down, Meadows said.
“Definitely since we started this, it’s slowed down a lot,” she said of the shoplifting problem. “I can’t believe how well it works.”
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Security officer nabs purse snatcher www.privateofficer.com
Security officer nabs purse snatcher http://www.privateofficer.com
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Police said Salvador Hernandez-Mejia grabbed a woman’s purse right in front of Peterson’s Market on Southwest 10th and Morrison streets.
As the woman stood outside Peterson’s Market right along the MAX tracks police said that the robber came up from behind her and grabbed her purse.
A security officer told police that he was following his usual routine when he noticed the man and woman struggling right outside the market.
To make matters worse, officers said the robber hit the woman with her purse.
The security officer, who works at Peterson’s Market, ran out and tackled the robber, and subdued him police said.
“I see some guy hit that one lady and another guy he hit that guy and I go to help because that guy he try to run,” said the security officer Mario Alon. It all happened so quickly.
Hernandez-Mejia was arrested on charges of assault and robbery.
Police said he’s an illegal immigrant so he also has an immigration hold on him.
The victim was clearly distraught as she talked to detectives but she appeared to be OK.
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