Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 4034 AMERICAN POLICE BEAT: AUGUST 2016 T here’s a massive security crisis in the United States right now that no one is likely to want to touch with a ten-foot pole. The fact of the matter is that we’ve outsourced a lot of what cops used to do to the private sector. Now in- stead of a law enforcement officer who passed a psycho- logical examination guard- ing the federal courthouse, we get Omar Mateen. Mateen was an employee of G4S, formerly Wacken- hut. The name change came after a series of scandals at the many private prisons the company operates in the U.S. and around the world. G4S was also forced to pay back the British government for egregious overbilling for services during the 2012 Olympics. But it’s not the fraud that we need to be worried about here – although that’s cer- tainly an issue. What’s of most concern to many Americans is the outcome of monetizing po- licing services and what can happen when those compa- nies fail to screen homicidal psychopaths like Mateen. G4S employed Mateen since Sept. 2007. The company, the largest security firm in the world, operates in more than 110 countries and has over 623,000 employees. G4S is headquartered in Britain. “We are deeply shocked by this tragic event,” said John Kenning, the company’s regional CEO for North America, in a statement. “Mateen underwent com- pany screening and back- ground checks when he was recruited in 2007 and the check revealed nothing of concern. “His screening was repeat- ed in 2013 with no findings,” Kenning said. That’s just amazing. Mateen was nothing short of a ticking time bomb wav- ing a red flag. Maybe G4S employees didn’t hear about Mateen threatening a sheriff’s dep- uty and his family in 2013. The deputy in question allegedly made a comment about the Middle East, which infuriated Mateen, reported St. Lucie County Sheriff Ken Mascara. “Omar became very agi- tated and made a comment that he could have Al Qa- eda kill my employee and his family,” he told the TC Palm. “If that wasn’t bad enough, he followed it up with very disturbing com- ments about women and Jews and then went on to say that the Fort Hood shooter was justified in his actions.” This is apparently the kind of guy we’ve hired to keep people safe in and around federal courts. After Mateen threatened the deputy, the FBI decided that there wasn’t any cause for concern. And that was after multiple interviews. So when everyone’s so worked up about terrorism that they’re willing to sac- rifice their Constitutional rights and pay out the nose for protection from the likes of Omar Mateen (working on a government contract), what is being done about making sure that there aren’t more Mateens working as security guards at sensitive locations? The answer is nothing. G4S has an army of at- torneys and lobbyists, and money talks. And this is where a lot of the folks that have been saying the so-called war on terror is about commerce as opposed to security are likely to say “told ya so.” Homeland Homeland insecurity insecurity This just one of the ways the federal government is “keeping us safe.” If you were expecting some Congressional hearings, or even some public discussion, you were sorely mistaken. Security is big business. NSA WEBINAR SERIES Featuring a new educational webinar on the second Thursday of each month at 2:00pm ET. Visit www.sheriffs.org/webinarsapb to view upcoming and archived webinars.