Security: Philosophy and Prevention of Crime

Life is a Security Detail
(notes taken at a church security half day 
seminar and fleshed out a little)

     Everyone reading this lives and works in or around buildings of some sort which is adjacent to other buildings, structures and infrastructure. Not necessarily restricted to ‘city dwellers’, many live in small towns and rural settings in which you might see more airliners flying over in a day than cars coming down your road. Anywhere there are people there can be people who do not have the best interests of others like you would hope they would. I am fond of the photo circulating social sites that show a herd of sheep and the caption is “find the wolf”. Soon your eyes settle on the one photo-shopped sheep that has a long nose, narrow predator eyes and pointy ears; although roughly the same color.

     We all should have had a reality check by now and are responsible for ourselves and others. So of all our daily duties, and sometimes rather unconsciously, we are engaged in safety and security. But not always.  “Is that car going to wait or pull out in front of me?” “Does that child have a parent or is the parent behind the SUV taking care of things?” “Who in the world has sprayed graffiti on the side of this Taco Bell restaurant?” “Why has someone parked in my spot?” “The closest parking to the grocery store is next to this contractor van. I wish I wasn’t in a hurry I would park farther away.” “Why did that rider want to get out way down here by the Garden Center when its closed and he could have been dropped off in front of the store.”

Profiling

Let us get something out of the way real fast and clear up the matter of profiling. Profiling is not about being suspicious of someone in the mall because their pants are hanging down around their butt showing their colorful boxers. All they needed was a better daddy. It isn’t about a white man with tattoos covering his arms and face to the point he looks like a fire survivor. It isn’t about someone with a beard that looks Mediterranean but could be from Mexico. And it isn’t about a person with a boxy old car with a $4,000 stereo system setting on top of wheels that look like they were taken from a Roman chariot.

This is what profiling is- “Profiling is a quick study of human behavior while at the same time having situational awareness and pro-actively identifying threats.” - Ray Johnson, Security Instructor, Tarpon Springs, FL

There are 6 domains in profiling. They are mentioned below in a subsequent section.

OODA Loop

The Limbic System of the brain is the center of the OODA Loop.  As it is said what goes into the mind comes out in life.  Next time you are in a public place, say a restaurant, shut your eyes and try to remember what the people look like around you. Their approximate age, what they are wearing and how many are in a group. Then repeat the info to someone at your table.

Observation is sensing yourself and the world around you.

Orientation is the complex set of filters of genetic heritage, cultural predispositions, personal experience, and knowledge.

Decision- A review of alternative courses of action and the
selection of the preferred course as a hypothesis to be tested. This is a simple heuristic where not all information is available for a certain solution but enough to make a guesstimate maybe even based on intuition or instinct.  The amygdala portion of the brain is responsible for this.

Action- Testing of the decision selected by implementation.


"The notion of the loop, the constant repetition of the OODA cycle, is the essential connection that is repeated again and again. Put simply, Boyd advances the idea that success in war, conflict, competition even survival (self-defense) hinges upon the quality and tempo of the cognitive processes of leaders and their organizations. War can be construed of as a collision of organizations going their respective OODA loops. "
-Frans Osinga from the book Science, Strategy and War- The Strategic Theory of John Boyd   (this is a 300+ page PDF book)


Below are the 6 possible domains that make up security profiling.  Other important terms used in professional security implementation and training include:
Kinesics
"Kinesics is the interpretation of body motion communication such as facial expressions and gestures, non-verbal behavior related to movement of any part of the body or the body as a whole. The equivalent popular culture term is body language, a term Ray Birdwhistell, considered the founder of this area of study, neither used nor liked (on the grounds that what can be conveyed with the body does not meet the linguist's definition of language). Even so, many people use the term." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kinesics

Biometrics
"...metrics related to human characteristics. Biometrics authentication (or realistic authentication)[note 1] is used in computer science as a form of identification and access control.[1] It is also used to identify individuals in groups that are under surveillance. This product by Hewlett-Packard is just one example.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/10567293/Sophisticated-surveillance-coming-to-Auckland

Biometric identifiers are then distinctive, measurable characteristics used to label and describe individuals.[2] Biometric identifiers are often categorized as physiological versus behavioral characteristics.[3] Physiological characteristics are related to the shape of the body. Examples include, but are not limited to fingerprint, palm veins, face recognition, DNA, palm print, hand geometry, iris recognition, retina and odour/scent. Behavioral characteristics are related to the pattern of behavior of a person, including but not limited to typing rhythm, gait,[4] and voice." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biometrics


Proxemics
"study of human use of space and the effects that population density has on behaviour, communication, and social interaction.[1] Proxemics is one among several subcategories in the study of nonverbal communication, including haptics (touch), kinesics (body movement), vocalics (paralanguage), and chronemics (structure of time)." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proxemics


Iconography
"the identification, description, and the interpretation of the content of images: the subjects depicted, the particular compositions and details used to do so, and other elements that are distinct from artistic style. " Colors, shapes, art and non-art feeding the observation portion of the OODA loop as it pertains to security.

Geographics
The area around you and what you are limited in doing or free to do and also how the area might enable threats.

Atmospherics
“The collective attitudes, moods, and behaviors present in a given situation or place.” is it celebrational, competitive, recreational, or public activity such as a listening event like a concert or public speaker? What are the normative behaviors of people in these situations; what they should be that would cause someone else to stand out if even for a moment?
https://www.usconcealedcarry.com/situational-awareness-lets-stay-left-bang/


In situational awareness we employ a simple formula of reasoning. Combining learning and understanding to cultivate knowledge about a given situation.

Responding to Christmas

Browsing YouTube this evening I found a Fox News video titled something about 'The War on Christmas'.  Realizing this is a place where I can contribute in a valuable way I tried to set the tone or reset the tone for discussions.  People of all faiths other than Christianity have many reactions to the huge deal the Christmas celebration has been made in to.  But especially atheists are upset and keep repeating the same old tripe.

Here was my response:

     Everyone's first response to this premise (War on Christmas) is always going to be ignorant, abrupt, savage or flippant. So for any meaningful commentary you'd best review a compilation of facts found here: http://christianity.about.com/od/christmas/f/christmashistor.htm I could not even watch the rest of this video because it begs the same questions that atheists have blurted out for centuries- They want God to come down and dance a jig for them, do some cool magic tricks and take them back in time to do scientific investigations as to whether a virgin conception is possible. They would be dragging their MRI machine and a generator with them in the time machine. THEN and only then would they believe that God is who He said He is. Obviously from my phraseology you can tell I'm a believer. 

     So with that the very simplest explanation I can give you as to why Christmas exists is that God came to earth and put on a man suit as one of 3 persons in the trinity. God the Son came the way you did but did not leave the way you will. He was and is considered a gift to mankind because our sins make us undeserving of forgiveness. Like(sic) if someone paid off a loan you have that you know you could never repay. People who have received this gift of forgiveness understand what a gift is. We give gifts, its in our nature to do so...part of our divine component if you will. For centuries Christians have wished so much to pass along this gift that they tied their celebration to existing festivals of a pagan nature. 

     A tug of war for the soul that will never end until something happens. "The term Christmas appeared in Old English as early as 1038 A.D. as Cristes Maesse, and later as Cristes-messe in A.D. 1131. It means "the Mass of Christ." This name was established by the Christian church to disconnect the holiday and its customs from its pagan origins. As one fourth century theologian penned, "We hold this day holy, not like the pagans because of the birth of the sun, but because of Him who made it." For various and sundry reasons Christmas is offensive to many when other festivals of the world are not.   


     Jesus Christ is the stone that causes men to stumble. He is the stone the builders rejected but that is the capstone. The foundation stone is Peter's confession that Jesus was the Messiah. That is why Peter's name was originally Simon and Jesus renamed him "Rock" in another language. So people just be honest in your living. If you are not a Christian please wish people a happy holiday because they probably are having one. And if you are Christian just be simple and wish people a Merry, Happy, (insert your positive adjective here) Christmas.