Letter from the President

Spring has arrived, the days are getting longer, and we can pat ourselves on the back for having weathered an unusually cold, snowy winter. In addition to challenging weather, the winter also brought us an aborted plot by a 23-year-old Nigerian student, Umar Farouk Abdulmutalib, to blow up a U.S. plane flying from Amsterdam to Detroit on Christmas Day; a guilty plea in a Brooklyn courtroom by Najibullah Zazi, an airport shuttle bus driver, who admitted plotting to detonate potent explosives in New York’s subway system; and, most recently, a failed attempt by a Pakistani-American suspect to detonate a car bomb in Times Square.

Terrorism is alive in America, which means that private security industry must be more committed than ever to training and deploying highly professional security officers who are alert and responsive to the risks and threats that continue to emerge in our communities today. After all, it was an alert citizen, not an intelligence operative, who notified authorities about a suspicious car, which was found to be carrying explosives in Time Square. Security officers deployed by our companies also serve as vigilant watchdogs to the many threats and dangers that are present in our cities and towns.

As a member of the Governor’s Security Guard Advisory Council, I have the opportunity to remind Albany leaders in both state and city government that it is not in the best interests of the safety and security of New Yorkers to impose costly and burdensome new regulations that would have a negative effect on security companies and on their employees. We all must join the fight against unfavorable legislation like the Cusick Bill (A8070) and a newly introduced similar bill by Assemblyman Lentol (A10554) by vigorously engaging in the activities of ALDONYS and recruiting new members to work along with us.

There is also the “Surreptitious Video Surveillance Act of 2010,” a bill introduced into Congress by Senator Arlen Specter that is of concern to investigators conducting video surveillance and corporate security regarding the use of video cameras. Members who attended the recent ALDONYS seminar in Vernon Downs heard Bruce Hulme, ISPLA director of government affairs, discuss the ramifications of this proposed bill and other federal legislation. I commend Bruce on his energetic efforts on behalf of our industry. Bruce is an important partner in helping to protect us from illconceived federal legislation and overburdensome regulation. During the remainder of my term as your president, I will continue my efforts to strengthen the organization by promoting our mutual interests and by increasing our membership and our visibility so that we can achieve our goals. 

In my New Year’s message, I urged each of you to recruit one new member to ALDONYS. To those of you who have done so, I thank you. For those still working on it, I encourage you to continue your efforts.

The business of security is changing rapidly, as are the needs of our customers. This is no time for complacency, as recent terrorist activity attests. Our advocacy is essential to the health and professionalism of our industry. The safety and security of all New Yorkers depend on the success of a vibrant public-private partnership for safety and security.

Sincerely,

Robert Tucker