PRESENTED BY IRA A. LIPMAN
CHAIRMAN AND PRESIDENT
GUARDSMARK, INC.
TO THE HARVARD CLUB
OF NEW YORK
THE HARVARD CLUB
NEW YORK, NEW YORK

MARCH 4, 1991

THANK YOU FOR INVITING ME TO SPEAK. I’M DELIGHTED TO HAVE THIS OPPORTUNITY TO EXPRESS TO YOU DIRECTLY HOW MUCH I VALUE THE RELATIONSHIP THAT EXISTS BETWEEN HARVARD AND GUARDSMARK. OUR ASSOCIATION HAS BEEN MUTUALLY REWARDING. IN RECENT YEARS, GUARDSMARK HAS HAD EXCELLENT SUCCESS IN RECRUITING HARVARD GRADUATES. WE ARE VERY PLEASED WITH THEIR CONTRIBUTIONS TO OUR COMPANY AND THEY, IN TURN, APPRECIATE THE OPPORTUNITIES THEY HAVE HAD TO HELP EXTEND GUARDSMARK’S REPUTATION AS THE BEST COMPANY WITH THE BEST EDUCATED WORKFORCE IN THE PRIVATE SECURITY INDUSTRY. IN FACT, TOMORROW MORNING, WE’RE GOING UP TO CAMBRIDGE TO TALK WITH SOME MORE UNDERGRADUATES AND BUSINESS SCHOOL GRADUATES ABOUT JOINING OUR GROWING COMPANY.
SECURITY SERVICES IS CLEARLY NOT ONE OF THE MANY INDUSTRIES FACING WORKFORCE REDUCTIONS. OUR WORKFORCE IS EXPANDING AND, OF COURSE, WE ARE VERY PROUD OF OUR INDUSTRY’S STEADY AND SUSTAINED GROWTH.
OUR SOCIETY AS PRIVATE SECURITY COMPANIES TAKE OVER MORE OF THE FUNCTIONS TRADITIONALLY PERFORMED BY PUBLIC POLICE FORCES.
THE POLICE LACK BOTH THE PERSONNEL AND THE BUDGET TO PROTECT ALL OF US FROM ALL OF THE CRIMINALS. THE VERY NATURE OF LAW ENFORCEMENT HAS CHANGED OVER THE YEARS. POLICE MUST NOW REACT. THEY JUST DON’T HAVE THE RESOURCES TO BE PROACTIVE ANYMORE.
THAT’S WHERE THE PRIVATE SECURITY INDUSTRY COMES IN. PRIVATE SECURITY AUGMENTS PUBLIC LAW ENFORCEMENT. IT TAKES OVER SOME OF THE PREVENTIVE DUTIES THAT PUBLIC POLICE ARE NO LONGER ABLE TO STAFF OR FUND.
RESPONSIBILITY. THAT’S WHY I WROTE HOW TO PROTECT YOURSELF FROM CRIME. PEOPLE NEED A HANDBOOK TO GUIDE THEM IN PREVENTING CRIME. THEY WANT TO BE PROACTIVE, BUT THEY DON’T ALWAYS KNOW HOW TO THWART CRIME IN THEIR OWN LIVES.
TONIGHT I’D LIKE TO HELP YOU WITH THAT. I’D LIKE TO GIVE YOU AN OVERVIEW OF CRIME IN AMERICA. WHERE ARE WE NOW? WHERE ARE WE HEADED? AND MOST IMPORTANT, WHAT CAN WE DO TO ALLEVIATE THE PROBLEM OF CRIME?
WHERE WE ARE NOW WITH REGARD TO CRIME IS NOT WHERE WE WANT TO BE. CRIME IS A PERVASIVE, GROWING, AND COSTLY PROBLEM. IN DIRECT MEASURABLE FINANCIAL TERMS, OUR LOSSES DUE TO STREET CRIME ARE $11 BILLION ANNUALLY. ORGANIZED CRIME, AT LAST COUNT, REDUCED THE COUNTRY’S GNP BY $18.2 BILLION, REDUCED EMPLOYMENT BY 400,000 JOBS, AND RAISED CONSUMER PRICES BY 0.3 PERCENT ANNUALLY.
CAUSED BY BUSINESS CRIME. EMPLOYEE THEFT COSTS AMERICA $50 BILLION EACH YEAR. TIME THEFT ALONE-FAKE SICK DAYS, TAKING CARE OF PERSONAL BUSINESS, EXTENDED LUNCH HOURS, AND SO ON-COSTS US $100 BILLION A YEAR. DRUG ABUSE BY EMPLOYEES COSTS UP TO $75 BILLION A YEAR. FRAUD AND EMBEZZLEMENT ROB OUR FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS OF MORE THAN $1.2 BILLION A YEAR. OVERALL, WHITE COLLAR CRIME IS THOUGHT TO COST OUR COUNTRY AROUND $200 BILLION ANNUALLY. AND THAT IS PROBABLY A VERY CONSERVATIVE ESTIMATE.
INCURRED BECAUSE OF CRIME: INTERNAL AUDITS, INCREASED INSURANCE, AND PRIVATE SECURITY ARE SOME OF THESE OTHER COSTS. NOR DO THE LOSSES TAKE INTO ACCOUNT THE VIRTUALLY LIMITLESS FUNDS NEEDED FOR PROGRAMS TO HOUSE AND REHABILITATE OFFENDERS, AND THE LONG-TERM THREAT TO OUR COUNTRY CREATED BY UNPRODUCTIVE CITIZENS WHO DRAIN, RATHER THAN ADVANCE, THE NATIONAL ECONOMY. WHEN INDIRECT COSTS SUCH AS THESE ARE FACTORED INTO THE EQUATION, THE COST OF CRIME TO SOCIETY IS VIRTUALLY IMPOSSIBLE TO CALCULATE.
CRIME OF ANY KIND IS UNSETTLING. BUT THE CRIME STATISTICS RELEASED BY THE FBI IN OCTOBER 1990 HIGHLIGHT ANOTHER WORRISOME ASPECT OF THE PROBLEM: CRIME IS BECOMING MORE VIOLENT.
IN REVOLUTION, CUT OUR TEETH WHILE TAMING A WILD CONTINENT, AND TESTED OUR ADULTHOOD WITH THE SIX-GUN AND THE BOWIE KNIFE. FROM THE WILD WEST HEROICS OF WYATT EARP TO THE CELLULOID CREATIONS OF JOHN WAYNE, VIOLENCE AND MEN OF VIOLENCE ARE PART OF BOTH OUR PAST AND OUR PRESENT. UNFORTUNATELY, IT SEEMS THAT VIOLENCE WILL PLAY AN EVEN LARGER PART IN OUR FUTURE. LAST YEAR, VIOLENT OFFENSES- WHICH REFER SPECIFICALLY TO MURDER, RAPE, ROBBERY, AND AGGRAVATED ASSAULT-ROSE 10 PERCENT NATIONWIDE IN THE FIRST SIX MONTHS OF 1990 COMPARED TO THE SAME PERIOD IN 1989.
IN TERMS OF MURDER, THE UNITED STATES IS IN A CLASS ALL BY ITSELF. A STUDY OF INTERNATIONAL MURDER STATISTICS FROM 1986 AND 1987 SHOWED THAT THE U.S. COMPARED VERY UNFAVORABLY WITH OTHER COUNTRIES. THE OVERALL U.S. MURDER RATE WAS FROM 2.6 TO 8 TIMES HIGHER THAN THE RATE IN THE OTHER NATIONS STUDIED.
MURDEROUS NATIONS IN THE STUDY. BUT BELGIUM, SWITZERLAND, FRANCE,
GREECE, IRELAND, POLAND, AND ENGLAND ALSO POSTED RATES
SIGMELCANTIA: _1_,OWER THAN THOSE OF THE UNITED STATES. _SO DID NEW
ZEALAND, ISRAEL, NORWAY, FINLAND, CANADA, SWEDEN, AND SCOTLAND. IN
ALL THESE COUNTRIES, YOUNG PEOPLE BETWEEN THE AGES OF 15 AND 24
WERE MURDERED AT RATES RANGING FROM 0.3 TO 5.0 PER 100,000. THE U.S.
RATE WAS AN ALARMING 21.9!
PUT ANOTHER WAY, AMERICANS BETWEEN THE AGES OF 15 AND 24 ARE BEING
k KILLED 73 TIMES MORE OFTEN THAN JAPANESE, AND 22 TIMES MORE OFTEN
THAN DANES, PORTUGUESE, AND WEST GERMANS. ONE OF THE STARTLING
EFFECTS OF OUR COUNTRY’S RECORD MURDER RATES IS THAT OVERALL LIFE
EXPECTANCY FOR ALL AMERICANS ACTUALLY DECLINED LAST YEAR FOR THE
FIRST TIME AFTER YEARS OF STEADY IMPROVEMENT.
ALL. MOST OF L’S PROBABLY KNOW SOMEONE WHO HAS BEEN VICTIMIZED, BECAUSE, EACH YEAR, ONE IN EVERY FOUR AMERICAN HOUSEHOLDS IS TOUCHED BY CRIME.
WHAT’S THE OUTLOOK FOR CRIME IN THE FUTURE? DEMOGRAPHICS AND TECHNOLOGY ARE TWO FACTORS THAT ARE PLAYING AND WILL CONTINUE TO PLAY KEY ROLES IN DETERMINING THE SHAPE OF CRIME IN THE FUTURE.
IN THE CONTEXT OF DEMOGRAPHICS, THE SURGE BEGINNING TO OCCUR IN THE 15 TO 24 AGE BRACKET MEANS THAT VIOLENT CRIME WILL CONTINUE TO RISE, AT LEAST FOR THE FORESEEABLE FUTURE. THIS IS THE AGE GROUP THAT HISTORICALLY HAS COMMITTED THE GREATEST PORTION OF ALL VIOLENT CRIME.
SHOW A DISPROPORTIONATELY LARGE LNVOLVEMENT OF YOUNG BLACK MALES. BECAUSE OF THE GREATER CONCENTRATION OF BLACKS IN LARGE URBAN CENTERS AND BECAUSE THE BLACK GENERATION CYCLE TENDS TO BE ABOUT 3 YEARS SHORTER THAN THE WHITE GENERATION CYCLE, THE CHILDREN OF BLACK BABY BOOMERS WILL REACH THEIR CRIME-PRONE YEARS SOONER.
THE EFFECT IS ALREADY BEING FELT. OF THE NATION’S 20 LARGEST CITIES, BOSTON, DALLAS, MEMPHIS, MILWAUKEE, NEW YORK, PHOENIX, SAN ANTONIO, AND WASHINGTON HAVE REPORTED RECORD MURDER RATES FOR 1990.
WHITE COLLAR CRIME WILL INCREASE DRAMATICALLY AROUND THE YEAR 2000 AS THE LAST OF THE BABY BOOM POPULATION MOVES INTO ITS MID- THIRTIES. THE TREND IS ALREADY DEVELOPING. SINCE THE EARLY 1970s, ARREST’S FOR WHITE COLLAR CRIME HAVE INCREASED UP TO 90 PERCENT.
COMMITTED BY WOMEN. BETWEEN 1971 AND 1982, ARRESTS OF WOMEN FOR LARCENY, AUTO THEFT, BURGLARY, AND ARSON WENT UP BY MORE THAN 50 PERCENT. AND BETWEEN 1983 AND 1988, THE NUMBER OF FEMALE INMATES IN OUR JAILS ALMOST DOUBLED. THIS TREND WILL CONTINUE AS WOMEN MOVE INTO THE WORKFORCE AND ARE GIVEN OPPORTUNITIES THAT WERE FORMERLY GRANTED ONLY TO MEN.
OFFENDERS AS WELL. WITH THE END OF MANDATORY RETIREMENT, MORE SENIOR CITIZENS WILL REMAIN IN THE WORKFORCE. ALREADY, MANY WHO HAVE RETIRED ARE BEING DRAWN BACK BY THE SHORTAGE OF TEENAGE WORKERS TO STAFF BUSINESSES SUCH AS FAST-FOOD RESTAURANTS AND RETAIL ESTABLISHMENTS. THIS TRANSLATES LNTO MORE OPPORTUNITIES FOR OUR SENIOR CITIZENS TO COMMIT CRIMES-A TOPIC THAT WILL BE DISCUSSED AT GREATER LENGTH IN A FUTURE ISSUE OF THE LIPMAN REPORT. IT ALSO TRANSLATES INTO AN AGING INMATE POPULATION WITH THE ATTENDANT NEED FOR ADDITIONAL MEDICAL SERVICES AND PERHAPS EVEN FOR SEPARATE CORRECTIONAL FACILITIES DESIGNED FOR THE ELDERLY.
EXPLAIN THAT THIS PUBLICATION IS A MONTHLY REPORT PUBLISHED BY GUARDSIVIARK FOR SENIOR-LEVEL CORPORATE EXECUTIVES AND SECURITY DIRECTORS. ITS CIRCULATION IS IN EXCESS OF 35,000 PER MONTH. THE LIPMAN REPORT ADDRESSES A WIDE RANGE OF SECURITY TOPICS AN]) PRIDES ITSELF ON BEING IN THE FOREFRONT OF OPINIONS AND ISSUES RELATED TO SECURITY. OUR MOST RECENT REPORT ON TERRORISM HAS BEEN PARTICULARLY WELL RECEIVED.’
TILT INTO OUR INFORMATION ECONOMY, AND AS OUR EMPLOYEES SPEND A LARGER PORTION OF THEIR TIME MANIPULATING DATA RATHER THAN WIDGETS, THE VALUE OF KNOWLEDGE GROWS ENORMOUSLY. LAST YEAR, THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF JUSTICE ESTIMATED THAT THERE WERE 10 MILLION MICROCOMPUTERS IN THE WORKPLACE AND PROJECTED AN INCREASE TO 34 MILLION BY 1994. BECAUSE SO MUCH CRITICAL DATA IS STORED IN THESE MACHINES, THEFT OF TRADE SECRETS-FORMULAS, PROCESSES, DIAGRAMS, MARKETING PLANS, NEW PRODUCT BLUEPRINTS, AND REPORTS ON RESEARCH IN PROGRESS-WILL GROW CONCURRENTLY.
CAN CAUSE INESTIMABLE DAMAGE. THE 9-HOUR OUTAGE THAT SHUT DOWN AT&T’S LONG DISTANCE SERVICE ON ,JANUARY 15, 1990 WAS THE RESULT OF A SOFTWARE BUG. BUT THE RESULTS OF COMPUTER CRIME CAN BE FAR MORE MALIGNANT. A REPORT ISSUED TWO MONTHS AGO BY THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES WARNED THAT TERRORISTS MAY BE ABLE TO DO MORE DAMAGE WITH A KEYBOARD THAN WITH A BOMB, AND THAT THE MODERN THIEF CAN STEAL MORE WITH A COMPUTER THAN WITH A GUN.
COMPUTER CRIME ALONE HAS BEEN ESTIMATED TO COST AMERICAN BUSINESS WELL OVER $114 BILLION EACH YEAR. A FLORIDA STUDY REPORTED IN 1989 INDICATED THAT 1 OUT OF 4 BUSINESSES SURVEYED HAD BEEN VICTIMIZED BY COMPUTER CRIME. AND THOSE FIGURES, OF COURSE, COUNT ONLY THOSE INCIDENTS THAT ARE DETECTED AND REPORTED.
COMPLETED JUST A FEW WEEKS AGO INTERVIEWED FORTUNE 500 EXECUTIVES LIKE YOURSELVES ON THE TOPIC OF TERRORISM. MORE THAN HALF OF THE RESPONDENTS ARE CONCERNED THAT THEIR CORPORATIONS WILL BE TARGETS OF TERRORISTS. MORE THAN ONE-THIRD THINK THAT THE CITY IN WHICH THEIR HEADQUARTERS IS LOCATED WILL BE A TARGET.
THERE IS AMPLE BASIS FOR THESE OPENIQNS, THE FBI BELIEVES THAT TERRORISM WILL NOT END JUST BECAUSE THE WAR IS OVER. ON THE CONTRARY: THE FBI EXPECTS TERRORISTS TO ATTACK WHEN ATTENTION IS RELAXED. TERRORISM IS A POOR MAN’S WEAPON. IT IS PRECISELY BECAUSE OF THE WAR’S OUTCOME THAT SJPPO1ERS SAD_DAM aljUSSELN_ ARE EXPECTED TO VENT THEIR RAGE AT THEIR HUMILIATING DEFEAT IN ORGANIZED COMBAT BY STRIKING AT LIGHTLY DEFENDED TARGETS.
OF EVERY SORT AND CAPABILITY HAVE MADE TERRORISM A MORE SOPHISTICATED AND LETHAL PRACTICE AND, IRONICALLY, A SAFER AND THEREFORE MORE ATTRACTIVE PRACTICE FOR CRIMINALS.
WHAT ARE SOME WAYS WE AS CITIZENS AND AS BUSINESSPEOPLE CAN ALLEVIATE THE PROBLEM OF CRIME? THERE ARE MANY FACTORS THAT CONTRIBUTE TO CRIME. SOME, LIKE DEMOGRAPHIC FACTORS, ARE SIMPLY BEYOND OUR CONTROL. SOME, LIKE DRUG USE, ARE ALREADY AREAS OF INTENSE ATTENTION BY LOCAL AND NATIONAL FORCES. SOME, LIKE FAMILY INSTABILITY, REQUIRE COMMUNITY INTERVENTION PROGRAMS TO SUPPORT YOUNG PARENTS AND TO SUPPLY MENTORS AND ROLE MODELS FOR DISADVANTAGED YOUTH. BUT SOME CAUSES OF CRIME, I BELIEVE, CAN BEGIN TO BE ALLEVIATED BY NATIONAL COMMITMENT TO SPECIFIC INITIATIVES.
CAN DO SOMETHING ABOUT. UNEMPLOYED PERSONS COMMIT MORE CRIMES THAN EMPLOYED PERSONS-AND ARE ALSO VICTIMIZED AT HIGHER RATES. UNEMPLOYMENT AND UNDER-EMPLOYMENT LEAD TO DEPRIVATION AND DESPAIR AND NURTURE THE SUBCULTURE OF CRIME. POVERTY LURES PEOPLE TO DRUGS WITH PROMISES OF EASY MONEY. DRUG TURF WARS LEAD TO VIOLENCE. AND VIOLENCE CAN DESTROY COMMUNITIES.
CREATING A KIND OF SELECT VOLUNTEER ARMY-A RESERVE ARMY THAT IS A VARIATION ON THE CONCEPT OF A DOMESTIC PEACE CORPS. THE SELECT VOLUNTEER ARMY WOULD BE RUN BY THE MILITARY AND WOULD BE HOUSED AND TRAINED AT MILITARY FACILITIES BY PERSONNEL ALREADY IN THE ARMED FORCES. THESE SPECIAL VOLUNTEERS WOULD WEAR UNIFORMS, WOULD SIGN UP FOR A PERIOD OF 2 TO 4 YEARS, AND WOULD BE DRAWN, WHERE POSSIBLE, FROM THE LEGIONS OF THE HOMELESS, THE DISADVANTAGED, AND EVEN THE INCARCERATED WHOSE OFFENSES ARE LESS SERIOUS.
ARMY. THEY COULD EVEN ASPIRE TO WEST POINT. THOSE WHO ARE UNSUCCESSFUL-AND THERE WOULD BE THOSE WHO WOULD NOT SUCCEED- WOULD FLUNK OUT OF THE PROGRAM. AFTER TRAINING, VOLUNTEERS WOULD RETURN TO THEIR HOME CITIES WHERE THEY WOULD HELP CONSTRUCT HOUSES, ASSIST IN NATURAL DISASTERS, AUGMENT POLICE FORCES, AND HELP TO REBUILD DECAYING INFRASTRUCTURES. IF SUCH A PROGRAM WERE ORGANIZED AND ADMINISTERED EFFECTIVELY, THE POSITIVE RIPPLE EFFECTS WOULD TOUCH THE LIVES OF ALL OF US.
WOULD BE ENORMOUS. THE MOST IMPORTANT ADVANTAGE IS THAT HOPELESS, CRIME-PRONE PEOPLE WOULD REGAIN SOME DIGNITY. THEY WOULD BEGIN TO OVERCOME THE STIGMA AND DISADVANTAGES OF NOT HAVING A JOB. IN THE PROCESS THEY WOULD LEARN A TRADE AND EXPERIENCE THE BENEFITS OF WORKING WITH POSITIVE ROLE MODELS.
ANOTHER IMPORTANT ADVANTAGE WOULD BE REDUCTION IN THE ENORMOUS COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH MAINTAINING SOME OF THE UNPRODUCTIVE MEMBERS OF SOCIETY. OUR PRISON POPULATION HAS EXPANDED SO GREATLY THAT 37 STATES ARE UNDER COURT ORDER TO CONTROL OVERCROWDING. THE NATIONAL COUNCIL ON CRIME AND DELINQUENCY CALCULATES THAT AVERAGE INCARCERATION COSTS PER PRISONER PER YEAR ARE BETWEEN $20,000 AND $25,000. IF THE AMORTIZED COST OF THE CELL IS INCLUDED, THESE COSTS RISE TO $40,000 PER PERSON PER YEAR. THAT’S JUST ABOUT THE COST OF SENDING TWO STUDENTS TO HARVARD!
COULD LEAD TO MUCH-NEEDED MODIFICATIONS IN OUR CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM. THE MINDSET THAT DIRECTS OUR CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM IS 75 YEARS OLD. WE SHOULD NOT BE CLOGGING OUR COURTS WITH PROCEEDINGS AGAINST DRUNKS AND PROSTITUTES. WE SHOULD NOT BE FILLING SCARCE AND EXPENSIVE CELLS WITH PETTY CRIMINALS. WE SHOULD NOT TIE UP THE VALUABLE TIME OF LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIALS TO PROSECUTE PERPETRATORS OF VICTIMLESS CRIMES. PETTY CRIMINALS SHOULD NOT GO TO PRISON AND VICTIMLESS CRIMES SHOULD BE HANDLED OUTSIDE OF THE SYSTEM. APPROPRIATE CATEGORIES OF OFFENDERS COULD BE CHANNELED INTO THE SELECT VOLUNTEER ARMY.
WE SHOULD ALSO LOOK INTO THE USE OF ARBITRATION TO SETTLE CIVIL CRIMES. AND WE SHOULD RE-EVALUATE OUR SENTENCING GUIDELINES. WE NEED 1991 PRIORITIES AND THINKING TO DIRECT OUR CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM BECAUSE WE HAVE 1991 PROBLEMS.
CAN DO SOMETHING ABOUT. I BELIEVE THAT WE CAN BEGIN TO CONTAIN VIOLENCE BY ACTING PRUDENTLY TO LIMIT THE PROLIFERATION OF WEAPONS. ECONOMIC DISTRESS CAUSES POWERLESSNESS. OFTEN, FOR THE POWERLESS, OWNERSHIP OF A WEAPON CONFERS A KIND OF POWER. IT IS NO COINCIDENCE THAT IT IS LARGELY AMONG THE DEPRIVED AND DESPAIRING MEMBERS OF SOCIETY THAT THE PROBLEM OF WEAPONS AS AN ACCESSORY TO CRIME IS SPIRALING OUT OF CONTROL.
I AM NOT ANTI-GUN. I BELIEVE CERTAIN PEOPLE SHOULD BE AUTHORIZED TO OWN AND USE GUNS. BUT I ALSO BELIEVE THAT ALL GUNS SHOULD BE REGISTERED AND THAT LAWS TO ENSURE COMPLIANCE WITH REGISTRATION SHOULD BE UNIFORM IN EVERY STATE. WE REGISTER OVREARS; VOLUNTARILY REGISTER OUR VCRs AND COFFELMACHINES. I BELIEVE IT’S EQUALLY IMPORTANT TO REGISTER ITEMS WHICH, IN THE WRONG HANDS, CAN BE USED TO INFLICT SO MUCH DAMAGE ON OUR POPULATION._
SUGGESTS STRONGLY THAT THE AVAILABILITY OF GUNS IS A SIGNIFICANT FACTOR IN THE NATION’S RISING RIDE OF VIOLENT CRIME. IN 1989, AMONG OTHER VICTIMS, 127 CHILDREN WERE KILLED BY FIREARMS. HUNDREDS MORE SUFFERED INJURIES FROM GUNSHOT WOUNDS. OUR CHILDREN ARE IN DANGER. WE MUST DO SOMETHING TO STOP THE VIOLENCE.
ALTHOUGH THE ISSUE REMAINS CONTROVERSIAL, EMOTIONAL, AND OPEN TO DIVERGENT INTERPRETATIONS, STATISTICS SUGGEST THAT STRICTER AND ENFORCED CONTROL OF WEAPONS NATIONWIDE MAY HELP TO STEM THIS TIDE.
WHILE THERE ISN’T TIME THIS EVENING TO DISCUSS ALL MY RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FIGHTING CRIME, I’D LIKE TO TELL YOU MY VIEWS ON TWO OTHER AREAS OF MAJOR CONCERN THAT I BELIEVE WE CAN DO SOMETHING ABOUT. MANY OF THE POINTS I AM ABOUT TO DISCUSS, AND MANY IMPORTANT AREAS I CAN ONLY TOUCH ON, HAVE APPEARED AS RECOMMENDATIONS OR PREDICTIONS IN THE PAGES OF THE LIPMAN REPORT.
DRUG ABUSE THROUGH THE USE OF PRE-EMPLOYMENT DRUG TESTING. SUPPORT FOR WORKPLACE DRUG TESTLNG IS BECOMING WIDESPREAD, AND COMPANIES WHICH HAVE INSTITUTED SUCH PROGRAMS REPORT BENEFICIAL RESULTS. THE SEPTEMBER ISSUE OF A LEADING INSURANCE INDUSTRY PUBLICATION REPORTED THAT, OF COMPANIES USING PRE-EMPLOYMENT DRUG TESTING, 77 PERCENT CITED IMPROVED QUALITY OF JOB APPLICANTS; 63 PERCENT CITED IMPROVED WORKPLACE SAFETY; AND 56 PERCENT CITED FEWER DRUG PROBLEMS IN THE WORKPLACE. AND THIS IS ONLY A PARTIAL LIST.
I AM PROUD TO SAY THAT GUARDSMARK, ALREADY A LEADER IN THE INDUSTRY IN THE THOROUGHNESS OF OUR SCREENING PROCEDURES, HAS NOW INSTITUTED PRE-EMPLOYMENT DRUG TESTING FOR ALL APPLICANTS TO THE COMPANY.
OF THE PRIVATE SECURITY INDUSTRY-BOTH ON THE STATE AND NATIONAL LEVELS. IT’S A MISSION THAT WILL PAY UNTOLD DIVIDENDS IN SAFETY, SECURITY, AND PEACE OF MIND.
CRIME PREVENTION IS NOT ONLY A CONCERN OF THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM. IT IS INTIMATELY RELATED TO BUSINESS SUCCESS. SECURE COMMUNITIES ENCOURAGE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, HOUSING REHABILITATION, RETENTION OF OLD BUSINESSES, AND ATTRACTION OF NEW ONES. THESE CONDITIONS, IN TURN, PROMOTE EMPLOYMENT AND PROSPERITY. IT IS CLEARLY IN THE BEST INTEREST OF BUSINESSES TO ADDRESS THE CAUSES OF CRIME AND TO WORK TO REDUCE OPPORTUNITIES FOR CRIME IN LOCAL COMMUNITIES.
REMEDIES ARE COSTLY AND SOMETIMES SLOW TO WORK. BUT NOT TO ACT IS DANGEROUS AND FAR MORE COSTLY.
AND TO INITIATIVE RATHER THAN INCARCERATION, BUSINESS CAN TARGET DIRECT ACTION IN SPECIFIC AREAS TO HELP REDUCE CRIME AND ITS DAMAGING AFTERMATH.