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LEAPS
Houston
Jeff Moore
LEAPS Chairman
State Board Vice President, ASSIST
Executive V.P., ASSIST Gulf Coast Region
State Chairman �Assault Against A Security Officer�
Blue Moon Investigations Security & Protection
Hello again to everyone from the big city of Houston. My name is Jeff Moore and I am the chairperson for the Houston LEAPS program.
LEAPS in Houston has really been picking up. We meet every other month on the last Thursday at the South Central HPD Station. The station is located at 2202 St. Emanuel, Houston, TX 77004. Let me again give a very big thank you to my good friend and brother in blue, HPD Officer Joe Sanchez, for his assistance in coordinating the speakers and setting up the meetings. We have had some great speakers the last several months that I would like to tell you about.
Our speaker in July was Officer Duane Grooms from the Department of Homeland Security Border Patrol. Grooms informed us that since Sept. 11, 2001, the U.S. Customs, INS, Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Border Patrol have all been put under Homeland Security. He stated that this way the different departments were able to communicate more effectively.
Grooms also informed us that the major role of customs was to stop the smuggling of narcotics, cash and counterfeits into our borders. Their department processes per day, on the average, about one million passengers, 700,000 illegal aliens, 60,000 trucks, 500 vessels, 2,500 aircraft and 350,000 vehicles. When asked how many busts were made a day, we were told they made about 70 arrests a day for various items, 1,000 illegal aliens were deported, 100 narcotic busts, 10 currency seizures and 175 agriculture violations. I thought those numbers were a little low considering how big this great country is.
The presentation by Grooms was fantastic and we enjoyed the information he presented.
In September, our speaker was Senior Officer Paul LaSalle with the Houston Police Department�s DWI Task Force. This was also a very informative meeting and we learned a lot about the effects alcohol has on us and our driving.
LaSalle shared some very interesting statistics with us. For example, did you know that in 1994 more than half of the nation�s fatal crashes were caused by drunk drivers? We also learned that on a typical Friday or Saturday night, one out of seven persons driving are intoxicated. The really disturbing news was that in 2000, Texas was the leading state for alcohol related crashes and is 11 percent of the national total.
Once police departments started receiving better training, the DWIs went down by one-third. This was due to more people getting caught. There is a lot that security officers can learn from this course. Our officers who attended were taught the signs and observations of when a person is intoxicated. Those signs included blood-shot eyes, soiled clothing, fumbling fingers, slurred speech, smell and abusive language.
La Salle brought some glasses that simulated what it is like if impaired by alcohol. The officers wore them and tossed a ball to one another. It was amazing to see how this simple task could not be performed. If you have not had this type of training, it is well worth the time and a must for all security officers.
By meeting every other month, security and law enforcement professionals are getting a chance to interact with each other off the street. It is amazing how much we all have in common. We must find common ground if we want to achieve our goals of making our cities a safer place to live. As we all know, we cannot do it without 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 in Houston. It is only two hours of your time and is a great way to learn more about all types of security issues. We must all take a part in supporting our profession if we want others to do the same.
If you have any questions about LEAPS or ASSIST meetings here in Houston, contact me at
[email protected]. I will be happy to answer your questions.
Until next time, take care out there and be safe. Remember, it does not work unless we all take part and make it happen.
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