Small & Alone

One of the things I remember doing is developing plans to
use all the armed personnel in a given area in the event of an emergency. We compiled a list of all the public and
private police and security guards in our jurisdiction. Then we contacted each agency and discussed
emergency planning with them one on one. Later we began to meet with them as a group to discuss what each
organization could bring to the table in the event of an emergency.

We also discussed communication with one another. We developed a fax network to communicate to
one another. If we had a major crime or
other incident we notified the others in the network so they would be aware of
what was happening. It did pay off. Police developed several good leads and even
made arrested based on Field Interview reports from private security guards who
had spoken to suspicious people on their property they contacted.

By networking with other agencies you get more eyes on the
ground and maybe a little help in a major incident. The biggest problems are communications and
bureaucratic resistance. Sometimes
developing this kind of network can take a long time, but it can really be worth
the trouble, that’s what the SGT Says.