Res. No. 569
Resolution calling upon the New York State Legislature to allow municipal legislative bodies to adopt more stringent legislation in relation to training, background checks and licensing/registration for private security personnel to address the deficiency of current security measures.
By Council Members Vallone Jr., Addabbo, Jennings, Koppell, Liu, Recchia, Stewart, Weprin, Gennaro, Sanders, Sears, Reed, Quinn, Katz, Gentile, Seabrook, Boyland, Yassky, Gerson, Avella, Brewer, Monserrate, James, Martinez, Provenzano, Baez, Palma, McMahon, Jackson, DeBlasio, Reyna, Serrano, Rivera, The Public Advocate (Ms. Gotbaum), Gallagher, Lanza and Oddo
Whereas, New York City is arguably one of few cities in constant heightened security alert that has already been and continues to be the most prominent target for acts of terrorism; and
Whereas, The Department of Homeland Security has indicated that the private sector, particularly large financial institutions, have been put on heightened security alerts and increasing private security measures are prevalent now more than ever; and
Whereas, The 9/11 Commission states that despite the events of September 11th, "the private sector remains largely unprepared for a terrorist attack" and urged the adoption of uniform preparedness standards for private security; and
Whereas, Recent articles demonstrate that the private security industry is one of the fastest growing industries in the nation; there are possibly twice as many private security personnel as there are public safety officers and if adequately educated, can serve as a valuable first line of defense; and
Whereas, As the first line of defense in combating terrorism, other local threats, and natural disasters, private security guards need to be well equipped to handle bomb-threats, evacuations, crowd control, communications and other emergency response protocol; and
Whereas, Surveys and interviews of security guards show that a large portion of them feel vulnerable and lack training in anti-terrorism or other disaster related efforts; and
Whereas, In order to rectify the sense of vulnerability felt by private security guards, the New York Police Department has been involved in several initiatives in training, educating and working with them including the Area Police/Private Security Liaison (APPL) and the NYPD Crime Prevention Section which provides individual borough liaison teams and security teams, who conduct security surveys and lectures for private and government facilities; and
Whereas, Additionally, Local 32BJ, the New York City chapter of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), launched an innovative labor-management security training program called New York Safe & Secure in conjunction with the NYPD; this program increased training for security guards including observation skills, communication and access control among other strategies; and
Whereas, Despite the tremendous efforts of the NYPD and SEIU 32BJ, inadequate requirements set forth by state law severely limits the expectation that all security personnel will be appropriately trained, licensed and investigated, thus considerably hindering the overall success of these programs; and
Whereas, According to the Security Guard Act of 1992, current training requirements mandated by the State of New York include a basic 8-hour pre-assignment training course for all security guards, a 16-hour On-the-Job training course, a 47-hour firearms training course for special armed security guards, an 8-hour annual in-service re-certification course for all guards and an additional 8-hour annual in-service training course for holders of special armed guard registration cards; these limited training devices, often in the form of videos, are highly insufficient for emergency preparedness during a crisis; and
Whereas, According to the Security Guard Act of 1992, current investigations and background checks, specifically fingerprint inspections, are limited to the state level; in light of the threat of terrorism, the investigations and background checks should be modified to the federal level, requiring all fingerprints to be crosschecked with FBI databases; and
Whereas, Private security employees are an untapped resource for anti-terrorism and threat prevention tactics; adequate training, licensing and background checks of all security personnel will allow for a more powerful preliminary line of defense that will significantly enhance public safety; now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Council of the City of New York calls upon the New York State Legislature to allow municipal legislative bodies to adopt more stringent legislation in relation to training, background checks and licensing/registration for private security personnel to address the deficiency of current security measures.
NK
9-3-04