JCPD Waterfront Security Meeting: Promoting Public/Private Partnerships

On Tuesday, November 18, 2008, thanks to the leadership of Captain Brian McDonough and Officer Dina Reilly of the Jersey City Police Department East District, the monthly Waterfront Security Meeting was held at Goldman Sachs in Jersey City, New Jersey.

Aside from the public sector attendees which included the Jersey City Police Department, the Jersey City Office of Emergency Management and the New Jersey State Police, private sector representatives included security and human resource representatives from the following organizations:

• Advanced Integration Security
• Allied Barton Security Services
• AXA-Equitable Life Insurance Company
• Barclays Capital
• Brookfield Properties
• Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.
• Care Security Systems
• Charles Schwab & Co., Inc.
• Fidelity Investments
• Goldman Sachs
• John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
• JPMorgan Chase
• Hyatt Hotels
• McRoberts Protective Agency, Inc.
• Mulligan Security
• Pershing
• Professional Security Technologies, LLC
• Risk Protective Services
• Securitas
• Spartan Security Service Inc.
• TD Ameritrade
• The Bank of New York Mellon

As the invited keynote speaker, I was privileged to present When Domestic Violence Spills into the Workplace.

AGENDA

• Why are we Here?
• Domestic Abuse and Violence
• One Life
• Domestic Violence and the Workplace
• Overview and Impact
• Warning Signs
• Awareness and Action
• Lessons Learned: Virginia Tech Tragedy
• Violence Prevention In The Workplace
• American Military Tribute
• Conclusion

Although the statistics on the negative impact of domestic violence in the American workplace are staggering, I stressed the ethical standard we must have when it comes to violence prevention:

"When it comes to even one life, we must do what is right—not what is convenient, politically expedient, or the most cost effective.

"In simplest terms, we must learn to care for one another in our time of need."

It is caring, vigilant and proactive people, not sterile policies and procedures, that is the key to violence prevention in the workplace. By fostering leadership principles to create a culture of respect and unity of effort, employees are more likely to respond appropriately when they see warning signs.

After the presentation, Listen To Their Cries was available to participants. A donation from the proceeds was made to assist the Jersey City Police Department East District initiative for providing Thanksgiving turkeys and meals for needy families.

The Jersey City Police Department is to be commended for their leadership and commitment to the principles of community policing expressed through unity of effort and public/private partnerships cultivated through these Waterfront Security meetings. A special thanks is deserving of Goldman Sachs for hosting the event.

Virginia Tech Panel Report Deficiencies Exposed

In my October 2007 report titled Crisis of Leadership: A Response to the Virginia Tech Panel Report, numerous deficiencies of the governor's official panel were presented including:

• The failure to explain why critical documents were not provided to the panel
• An apparent contradiction to the panel's mission to "provide an independent, thorough and objective incident review of this tragic event…" Executive Order Number Fifty-Three (2007) Virginia Governor Timothy M. Kaine
• Failure to name individuals in the Virginia Tech Policy Group in the context of various findings
• Avoidance of addressing the failure of Virginia Tech leadership to have the campus on high alert during the anniversary week of Columbine
• Blatant irresponsibility of the panel group to make the statement, “So far as the panel is aware, there was no outcry from parents, students, or faculty for improving VT campus security prior to April 16.”
• Distorted semantics on lockdown issues from the President of the University, Charles W. Steger which were not decisively addressed
• Outlandish statements such as the defense of the failure to immediately lockdown
• Insensitivity to the gravity of the double murder with a killer at large by stating, "the general practice at most large universities is not to close when a student dies..."
• Disservice to those who died when they had the right to know of the first two killings at West Ambler Johnston by stating, "Cho, too, could have shot people in the open on the campus…"
• Continuous avoidance for accountability for the failure to immediately communicate to the campus that two killings had taken place and a killer was at large and failing to immediately lockdown
• Failure to ask vital questions regarding bomb threat procedure training and if the campus was informed to be on high alert during Columbine week

Compounding the deficiencies cited in my report are some disturbing revelations highlighted in a November 7, 2008 article titled Kaine defends report on Tech massacre written by David Ress of the Richmond Times Dispatch:

Reprinted from www.inrich.com

Kaine defends report on Tech massacre

November 7, 2008

BY DAVID RESS, TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER

Last month, police and Tech officials disclosed to victims and families discrepancies between the panel report and the events of that day that included:

• The witness interview that led police and Tech officials to mistakenly conclude a gunman was off campus started 46 minutes later than the panel reported.
• Police never searched the rental van Cho drove for almost a month before the attack.
• Tech President Charles W. Steger now says the earliest he heard police had a "person of interest" in the first two shootings that day was at 8:40 a.m. -- much later than the 8:10 a.m. time that a state investigation panel report suggested.
• Despite a detailed report by the panel of the actions of the Policy Group, a gathering of top Tech officials who managed the crisis that morning, those leaders now say they had no clear recollection of conversations. They cited the confusion as they were consulting separately with others on campus and trying to verify reports about the first two students who were shot fatally -- accounts that came from the university police chief.
• Two Policy Group members advised family members of the shooting well before the group issued a general advisory to the campus.
• Policy Group members did not discuss closing the campus. That apparently contradicts what Tech officials told a state investigation panel when one member testified the group members questioned themselves about whether to close the campus.

In my opinion, the reasonable mind can only ask,

"How is it conceivable that the official governor's panel report on the Virginia Tech tragedy; an unprecedented event in American history, be defended when it is laced with errors, deficiencies and a failure to disclose critical information?"

READ MORE

Probe into massacre at Va. Tech continues By David Ress November 11, 2008	Click here to visit site
Kaine defends report on Tech massacre By David Ress November 7, 2008	Click here to visit site
Teachers expressed concern over Cho By David Ress November 2, 2008	Click here to visit site
Victims' kin still seek answers at Virginia Tech By David Ress October 30, 2008	Click here to visit site
Families hear different versions of April 16 events By David Ress October 20, 2008	Click here to visit site
Did Tech shootings spur idea to close? By David Ress September 13, 2008	Click here to visit site
Tech release of records omits key materials By David Ress July 21, 2008	Click here to visit site
Tech not commenting on April 16 e-mails By David Ress June 19, 2008	Click here to visit site
Virginia Tech Blogs	Click here to visit site
Crisis of Leadership: A Response to the Virginia Tech Panel Report	Click here to visit site

West New York School Administrators: Striving for Excellence in School Safety and Character Education

---

The West New York School District continues to provide high quality, sustained, on-going professional development at the district level to all schools. The district model allows teachers the opportunities to continually sharpen their approaches and strategies to support the maximum potential of each student. The professional learning continuum is a confluence of the professional standards for teachers in New Jersey and the Core Curriculum Content Standards that enables all district educators to plan, design, enhance and support higher levels of academic achievement.
— 2008-2009 West New York Professional Development Plan

---

On Wednesday, October 22, 2008, the West New York Schools continued their commitment to developing quality educators through an administrators' professional day presentation titled Transforming Our Schools: The Heart and Brick of School Safety. By invitation of Assistant Superintendent John Fauta, I was privileged to be the speaker for the presentation. This program was developed in response to a directive of the State of New Jersey Department of Education Commissioner as stated in an October 22, 2007 memo:

"Each school district, in accordance with N.J.A.C. 6A:16-5.1, must develop and implement plans, procedures and mechanisms that provide for the safety and security of the district’s schools. The plans must be developed in consultation with law enforcement agencies and be consistent with the format and content established by the Commissioner of Education. Additionally, an annual review and update, as appropriate, are required. Therefore, within 45 days of this memorandum, each district is required to use these procedures as a model to revise, as needed, its existing procedures."

Representatives from all West New York Schools attended the program including:

• Memorial High School
• West New York Middle School
• Public School #1
• Public School #2
• Public School #3
• Public School #4
• Public School #5
• Harry L. Bain School
• Early Childhood School

The content was designed not only to cover the required model security procedures, but to inspire a renewed commitment to the transforming power of teacher.

AGENDA

• Why Are We Here?
  • Creating an Effective Learning Environment
  • Compliance vs. Commitment
  • Transforming Power of a Teacher
• Culture of Gratification
  • Crisis of Leadership
  • Culture of Violence
  • Shattered Communities
  • Filling the Void
• New Jersey School Safety Review
  • New Jersey Department of Education
    School Administrator Procedures: Responding to Critical Incidents – Model School Security Policies
    October 2007
  • New Jersey Department of Education
    School Safety and Security Manual: Best Practices Guidelines
    December 2006
• Unity of Effort
• USDOE / FBI / Secret Service Document Review
  • Practical Information on Crisis Planning: A Guide for Schools and Communities
  • Early Warning, Timely Response: A Guide to Safe Schools
  • Safeguarding Our Children: An Action Guide
  • The School Shooter: A Threat Assessment Perspective
  • The Final Report and Findings of the Safe School Initiative
  • Threat Assessment in Schools
  • Helping Your Child Become a Responsible Citizen
• Reawakening the Heart of America
  • Progress and Priorities
  • Ingredients for Transformation
  • The Altruism Factor
  • Character: the Heart of the Matter
• Call to Action
• Tribute American Military
• Conclusion

I would like to commend the West New York Schools for their commitment to the ongoing professional development of the dedicated administrators to whom the education, safety and well-being of West New York students has been entrusted.

A very special thanks to Dr. Jorge Verea and his wife Lourdes for generously donating a copy of Listen To Their Cries for each administrator who attended this event and for their extraordinary work honoring their daughter's memory through the Rebeka Verea Foundation.

READ MORE

Rebeka Verea Foundation	Click here to visit site
NJDOE—Keeping Kids Safe, Safe Schools Policy and Guidance	Click here to visit site
PRACTICAL INFORMATION ON CRISIS PLANNING: A GUIDE FOR SCHOOLS AND COMMUNITIES	Click here to visit site
Early Warning, Timely Response: A Guide to Safe Schools	Click here to visit site
Safeguarding Our Children: An Action Guide	Click here to visit site
THE FINAL REPORT AND FINDINGS OF THE SAFE SCHOOL INITIATIVE: IMPLICATIONS FOR THE PREVENTION OF SCHOOL ATTACKS IN THE UNITED STATES	Click here to visit site
USDOE—Character Education and Civic Engagement Technical Assistance Center	Click here to visit site
THREAT ASSESSMENT IN SCHOOLS: A GUIDE TO MANAGING THREATENING SITUATIONS AND TO CREATING SAFE SCHOOL CLIMATES	Click here to visit site