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LEAPS
Houston
Jeff Moore - LEAPS Chairman
Executive V.P., ASSIST Gulf Coast Region
State Chairman, �Assault Against A Security Officer�
Blue Moon Investigations Security & Protection
Hello again from Space City Houston. My name is Jeff Moore and I am the chairperson for the Houston L.E.A.P.S. program. As usual, L.E.A.P.S. in Houston has been up to great things. In case you did not know, we meet every other month on the last Thursday at the �New South Central HPD Station.� It is located at 2202 St. Emanuel, Houston, TX 77004. Many thanks go out to my good friend and �brother in blue,� HPD Officer Joe Sanchez for all his assistance in coordinating the speakers and setting up the meetings.
We have had some great speakers over the last several months. In November of last year, James Odem with the mayor�s �Anti-Gang� task force spoke with us. It was an absolutely incredible meeting. Sixteen of my officers attended this meeting to hear more about this important topic. If you own a security company, you know how much gangs affect all of us in the security profession. This was one of the most informative meetings I have been to in awhile. We learned there are well over 100 gangs in Houston alone. We have many national gangs including the Bloods, the Crips, MS-13�s but we also learned about the gangs that are specific to our demographics. Our officers were taught what to look for as well as what colors and symbols belonged to what gangs. We learned that there are national gang days. For example, Feb. 11 is �Crip Day� and March 11 is �Blood Day.� These days you can expect to see heavy numbers of that specific gang on the streets where we patrol. Our speaker also advised us that their gang unit aids in getting gang members out of the gangs and back into society. This can be a challenge because many are hesitant to leave. Mr. Odem presented a 30-minute video clip of young kids getting �jumped� into gangs and what they have to go through. It was shocking to see what extremes today�s youth will go to just to belong or be a part of something. Many questions were asked, however, everyone left with a better sense of understanding regarding this important issue.
The speaker for our January 2007 meeting was martial arts and self-defense instructor, Sensai Cherry. Master Cherry is a sixth degree black belt with more than 30 years of experience. This very interesting class was a demo on how to use self-defense. A big thanks goes out to Sgt. John Deloach of Blue Moon Investigations and Security. During the demo, we were shown how to control several types of confrontations.
Several of the security officers asked Master Cherry to demonstrate certain maneuvers that could be used while handcuffing a suspect. It was quite alarming to see how quickly a situation could get out of control. The biggest lesson learned that day was to always expect the un-expected and never underestimate whom you are about to confront. Master Cherry also participates in many fundraisers and works with kids after school teaching them discipline and the importance of staying out of trouble. What a great guy Master Cherry is and what a super presentation we had. If your LEAPS region or ASSIST region has not had a self-defense demo, you should definitely consider one. Everyone in attendance enjoyed the presentation.
By meeting every other month, we, security and law enforcement professionals are getting a chance to interact with each other off the street. It is amazing how much we have in common. We must find a common ground to stand on to achieve our goals of making our cities a safer place to live. As we all know, we cannot do it with out each other that is why it is imperative that we learn to respect each other and how to work together as a team. I would like to see more security company owners and their officers getting involved with the LEAPS program here in Houston. It takes only two hours of your time and is a great way to learn more about all types of security issues. We must all take part in supporting our profession if we want others to do the same.
I hope to see all of you at our next meeting, May 31, at 10 a.m. at the New South Central HPD Station located at 2202 St. Emanuel, Houston, TX 77004. If you have any questions about these meetings or our ASSIST meetings here in Houston, please do not hesitate to contact me at
[email protected]. I will be happy to answer your questions. Remember, it does not work unless we all take part and make it happen. Take care out there and be safe.
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