Category: Articles, Law Enforcement & Corrections, Resources for Attorneys, Resources for Experts, Safety, Security Security is a Vital Consideration in the Emergency Management Landscape TASA ID: 8635 Traditionally, the role of Emergency Management was defined as a planning and support mechanism dealing with risk and risk avoidance of a broad range of situations and events. Emergency management professionals were normally tasked for disaster planning, emergency communications, operating command centers, and securing funding for mitigation and recovery. Therefore, Emergency Managers have historically had closer relationships with the fire service than the security and law enforcement communities. However, it is undeniable that emergency management is integral to the security of an area or organization, and its integration with the security planning and response landscape is vital in addition to current roles in response to major disasters. Read more
Category: Articles, Law Enforcement & Corrections, Medical & Healthcare, Safety, Security Workplace Violence in Hospitals Prevention, Mitigation and Recovery TASA ID: 2402 The image of today’s hospital being the “safe haven” it was years ago, is no longer true; unless hospitals make the safety of their staff of paramount concern.Security in hospitals is a sliding scale of professionalism; in many hospitals Security still reports to Food or Building Services, as it’s seen as a cost “burden” and one that can be buried in an already fragile budget. Read more
Category: Articles, Crime Investigation, Law Enforcement & Corrections, Safety, Security Displacement of Crime or Diffusion of Crime TASA ID: 10544 In the concept of Crime Prevention through Environmental Design, also known as CPTED (pronounced SEP-Ted), created more than 60 years ago by Tim Crowe, I believe the purpose is to be proactive regarding crime issues. I was in a training program five years ago when someone in the audience asked, “On a street close to my campus, we have drug dealers and hookers. How do I get rid of them?” The lecturer couldn't answer the question, but I knew the answer. Read more
Category: Articles, Education, Resources for Attorneys, Resources for Experts, School Safety/Violence, Security LUCK IS NOT A SCHOOL SECURITY PROGRAM TASA ID: 915 Not a week goes by without yet another security breach report involving a K-12 school, the details surrounding such events as sexual assault, knife attacks, social media threats, guns carried onto school property or an actual shooting. These reports are from every part of the country. Read more
Category: Articles, Computer/Internet, Crime Investigation, Handwriting Examination, Medical & Healthcare, Resources for Attorneys, Resources for Experts, Security, Toxicology “Who Wrote That Email?” Forensic Authorship Attribution and Stylometry TASA ID: 3949 Some cases hinge on the authorship of a document. Whether we want to know about the author of a defamatory email, the source of a ransom note, or the authenticity of a will, one of the most important pieces of evidence is the one that establishes who wrote it. Historically, most documents were handwritten and handwriting experts (today they go by the title “forensic document examiners”) could determine who wrote something from the slant of an f or the height of a t. Even with typewritten documents, they could notice a chipped p or an out-of-line c and identify the specific typewriter that created the document. Physical creation also produces physical variance. Read more
