Showing posts with label U.S. Capitol Police. Show all posts
Showing posts with label U.S. Capitol Police. Show all posts

Thursday, May 16, 2024

U.S. Capitol Police: Apparently This Happened Right Under Our Noses



At least this time the Capitol Cops didn't leave a pistol in a men's room or get seen reading The Protocols of the Elders of Zion while manning an access control post. 

But it's still pretty embarrassing to stumble across a baggie of cocaine in a work area, even if "the area is heavily trafficked by various contractors and employees" and is also near where they process prisoners.

Who knows how these things happen, the USCP press release seems to be pleading. 

Possibly some drug testing of those various contractors and employees is in order, but far be it from me to tell the Capitol Cops how to handle embarrassing news.   
 

Saturday, November 5, 2022

Funny Thing About High-End Residential Security
















You can see that funny thing in the photo above. A multimillion-dollar residence, this one happens to be owned by the high government official who is third in line of Presidential sucession, something which has brought unwanted attention to the place, that is equipped with CCTV cameras and various alarm systems, presumably also with some kind of access control devices on the exterior doors, and even occasional security presence outside, but for which nobody thought to provide any kind of barrier against forcible entry. I find that odd. 

See the broken glazings in those french doors at the rear of the house? The fact that some shattered glass is still hanging in the frame is a big clue that the glazings are of laminated safety glass - the same thing you have in your car's windshield - and that material is tough enough to require a few good whacks of a tool to break through, although it is still, obviously, not a forced-entry barrier that would keep even the dumbest intruder outside until police can respond. 

What accounts for that oversight? The homeowners no doubt employ expensive help of all kinds to design, build, and maintain that very nice house in San Francisco. Possibly a security consultant as well? At least, we may be sure they get home security advice from the U.S. Capitol Police. And yet when an intruder came with a hammer, the only things he faced were cameras and alarms, none of which hindered him in the least.

It's as if all the people who gave security advice or sold services to the Pelosis have a repertoire that runs the gamut from A to B - cameras to alarms - and they have no idea what to do about a nut case who brings a hammer.  

Actually, judging by my own experience, that's exactly the way it is for all private sector security contractors and 90 percent of their government sector counterparts. 

At least the incident in San Francisco has reportedly raised questions about home security for Congress.
“Capitol Police Chief Tom Manger sent a memo to House offices on Saturday calling the attack “a somber reminder of the threats elected officials and families face in 2022” and outlining existing security resources that lawmakers have, including residential security assessments and law enforcement coordination.” 
-- snip -- 
“Congress has doled out money to help fortify the Capitol complex in the wake of the Jan. 6 attack. And, in response to pressure from lawmakers, members were informed earlier this year that the House sergeant-at-arms would cover up to $10,000 for security equipment at their homes.”

$10K is enough to pay for consumer grade home alarms, but once again it seems no one is thinking about actual physical barriers of the kind that can keep an attacker outside the house while alarms do their thing to get a police response started. 

The Capitol Police would be well advised to consult with their government partners a little more broadly and find some who have expertise in hard physical barriers - that is, with walls, doors, and windows - that delay forced-entry attacks. 

I'll get them started by pointing to a supplier of French doors that can resist tool attacks. There! As a public service, you can have that advice at no cost.

Wednesday, May 4, 2022

Boom in the Cannon Room



















Roll Call's headline gets it right regarding the latest display of poor weapons-handling by the U.S. Capitol Police. It happened in the CANNON House Office Building. 

Fortunately, the careless officer was only mishandling a Glock, so the potential damage was limited to what could be done with a .40 caliber round. 

Yesterday's negligent discharge of a handgun inside a break room was not the first time the Capitol Police have been exposed as, ah, not very well-trained when it comes to firearms. 

That's not to detract from the superb performance of some individual USCP officers, and in particular these two who stopped a mass killing by a crazed Bernie Sanders supporter who was armed with a serious military rifle. I mean, the officer who ran out onto that Alexandria ball field to confront the shooter while holding only a subcompact Glock had balls in both hands. 
   
At least this time a Capitol Police officer didn't leave a Glock in the men's room, as they have done on an embarrassing number of occasions.

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Congressional Staffers Harrass Long-Suffering U.S. Capitol Police













This story in The Hill has one bit of surprising news - surprising to me, at least - which is that “the [U.S. House of Representatives] does not require criminal background checks to be conducted on the 8,000 staff members who work with lawmakers.” That doesn't seem wise.

The rest of the story is not exactly news. It turns out that Congressional staffers have an inflated sense of their importance. I'm shocked, shocked!

My heart goes out to the U.S. Capitol Police officers who must deal with thousands of the most self-important people in the world every day. If we paid them each a nickel for every time they heard the words do you know who I am? coming from some intern to the junior assistant to the deputy chief of the minority staff of the Subcommittee on Insular Affairs Trade Preparedness Policy Funding and Railroad Pensions, I’ll bet they could all retire tomorrow.

The situation calls for a modern-day “Clubber” Williams ("there is more law at the end of a policeman’s nightstick than in a decision of the Supreme Court”) but you can’t get away with that behavior anymore, not now that there are surveillance cameras everywhere.