Jersey City Police Department Waterfront Security: Leadership, Partnerships, Prevention

As requested by the Jersey City Police Department I returned on Tuesday, February 18, 2014 to deliver my presentation titled Leadership Principles: Crisis Planning, Community Partnerships, Violence Prevention. The event, held at The Westin Hotel Jersey City Newport was for the Waterfront Security Community, a public-private partnership of numerous law enforcement agencies and companies throughout Jersey City.

Testimonial
"...your presentation: Leadership Principles: Crisis Planning, Community Partnerships, and Violence Prevention was very well organized and delivered and was extremely well received by the attendees. Look forward to speaking with you and working together on future projects."
Jersey City Police Department, East District Commander

This presentation was a continuation of events on these issues which I have conducted nationwide for many years and recently in New York City at five venues covering museums, hospitals, landmark properties including the New York Stock Exchange, fire safety officials and cultural properties. Attendees have included security professionals, property managers, the NYPD and the FBI.

Today's event addressed contemporary concerns in America and solutions as follows:

• Contemporary Concerns-Alleviation of Suffering-Essential to the Preservation of Society
  
• Head on Collision: Leadership Crisis / Culture of Violence
  
• Mitigation / Prevention / Preparedness / Recovery
  
• Culture of Preparedness / Unity of Effort
  
• Lessons Learned: An American Tragedy
  
• Reawakening a Sense of Purpose and Dedication
  
• American Military Tribute
  
• Conclusion

This is one of numerous initiatives I have conducted for the Jersey City Police Department and companies throughout the city over the years including:

Jersey City Police Department Waterfront Security Event: Community Policing Par Excellence May 17, 2011

On Tuesday, May 17, 2011, the Jersey City Police Department held their monthly Waterfront Security Event for corporate representatives, private security personnel, emergency responders and law enforcement officials. This initiative is an outstanding community policing program that forges a unity of effort partnership benefiting security and safety in Jersey City.

As the featured speaker I delivered a presentation titled Layoffs: An Alarming Trend Endangering Company and Community Safety. It identified serious issues in contemporary American society as well as practical solutions and responses including:

• A culture of callousness, violence and death
  
• Alarming rise of police fatalities
  
• Company and law enforcement layoffs
  
• Domestic violence spilling over into the workplace
  
• Virginia Tech lessons learned: principles of crisis planning
  
• Workplace violence prevention: warning signs and employee terminations
  
• Target hardening and security vulnerability assessments
  
• Threat assessment teams

As with all of my presentations, it concluded with a tribute honoring those making sacrifices serving our nation in the military, especially those who have made the ultimate sacrifice.

The Jersey City Police Department, especially represented by East District Commander Captain Joseph A. Connors and Community Relations Officer Dina Reilly are to be commended for this initiative. It is a community policing program par excellence that fosters law enforcement partnerships with the entire Jersey City community.

Jersey City PD Waterfront Security...Domestic Violence Prevention at the Workplace-November 19, 2008

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.