20 AMERICAN POLICE BEAT: OCTOBER 2017 H ere’s a good rule to keep in mind if you’re interested in the boom- ing private security business. Whatever is a disaster for actual law enforcement is likely to be a gold mine for companies that rent out security guards. Here’s a recent headline from Newsweek: “Charlottesville cops refused to protect synagogue.” While the headline is obvious “click-bait,” and the story is more complicated than that, it’s a still an excellent example of what many refer to as “disaster capitalism.” Jewish community leaders in Charlottesville told Newsweek that they hired armed security to protect its synagogue for the first time recently after local law enforcement would not assign an officer to the house of worship de- spite the gathering of neo-Nazis. Alan Zimmerman is the presi- dent of the Congregation Beth Israel in Charlottesville. He says the local Jewish community was obviously terrified by white su- premacists chanting “Blood and soil!” and other Nazi slogans. Zimmerman says the police department agreed to assign “an observer” near the building but they never followed through. Zimmerman said several cos- tumed “militia” types appeared to be casing the synagogue. “For half an hour, three men dressed in fatigues and armed with semi-automatic rifles stood across the street from the temple,” he wrote in a blog post. “Had they tried to enter, I don’t know what I could have done to stop them, but I couldn’t take my eyes off them, either.” “Several times, parades of Nazis passed our building, shouting, ‘There’s the synagogue!’ followed by chants of ‘Seig Heil’ and oth- er anti-Semitic language. Some carried flags with swastikas and other Nazi symbols,” Zimmerman wrote. Zimmerman said the in-person threats came with online threats as well. He says he discovered that Nazi websites had posted a call to burn the synagogue after which the community leaders took the precautionary step of removing the Torahs, including a Holocaust scroll, from the premises. Zimmerman told the Jewish worshippers that it would be bet- ter if they exited the synagogue by the back entrance, “and to go in groups” to protect each other. “This is 2017 in the United States of America,” he wrote. Needless to say – this is all great news for the private security indus- try. Anytime the government, be it local, state or federal, can’t get the job done for whatever reason, there’s always a free market solu- tion just a phone call away. More Americans are relying on private security for policing services, protection The failures in Charlottesville have and will create more opportunity for those that say, “Don’t call 911 – get a gun or some armed guards” A fan of Nazi propagnda wears his Hitler quote t-shirt with pride in Charlottesville. 2ND POLICE RECRUITMENT & RETENTION SUMMIT San Diego, CA December 4-5, 2017 FINANCIAL RESEARCH ASSOCIATES PRESENTS Engage with active-duty officers and subject matter experts from across the country to ensure that you’ve built the most effective and well-qualified workforce possible. Use code GSM124 for 15% off Call (704) 341-2647 or register online events.frallc.com/G1017?dvce=1 This event may qualify for POST CREDITS!