Street Level Red Teaming: The Cop Killer

By Fred Leland

What is your preconceived perception of what I (the person who wants to assault or kill) you looks like? Is it a person with raggedy closes, long hair and a ratty looking beard who comes from the poor side of town? Or is it a Charley Manson lookalike you have in mind? Do you perceive me, the one who will assault or kill you if given the opportunity by only my size and physical characteristics? Have you ever given any thought to what makes me tick (COP KILLER MINDSET)? Have you thought about why on most occasions I will avoid YOU, the cop? But if cornered or about to be taken off the street and put into jail, I will do everything in my power to remain free. That everything includes assaulting or killing you if necessary. You see Mr. Policeman I have made the decision, I will not go, I will not be arrested, and you will not stop me, long before I have met you.

The fact is we cop killers come in all shapes, sizes, colors and socioeconomic backgrounds. But we cop killers do have some things in common the cop should be aware of, apply to his knowledge base and then develop the skill set to observe, orient ,decide and act accordingly when the cop, offender and circumstances encounter on the street. Continue reading

Street Level Red Teaming: Assessing The Situation From the Adversarial Point of View

Red Teaming-an approach to understanding our adversary and the methods they use. Red teaming or playing the role of our adversaries is an outstanding way to gain insights into not only the mindset  of our adversaries but in to the methods they use in carrying out their operations. Red Teaming helps us apply the lessons from history and current events and truly attempt to understand the approaches that have been used in the past and that have been adapted to the future as well as what new methods may be developed by the vast array of adversaries, terrorist, gangs, criminal enterprises, or individuals who would do violence. 

“A deeper understanding of each group’s unique “mindset” (ideology, strategic agenda, leadership) and operational behaviors (operational capabilities, modus operandi, targeting preferences) can enable a more precise and advantageous assessment of not simply what the group is capable of attacking, but what the group wants/intends to attack, as well as how the group is likely to conduct operations. “

John Sullivan and Adam Elkus have teamed on numerous pieces I feel are very helpful to law enforcement and private sector security becoming more effective in dealing with both conventional and unconventional threats. Adaptive Red Teaming: Protecting Across the Spectrum is another must read article that will help in detecting, deterring, disrupting and  preventing violence. Continue reading

Broadside: Learning from shooting rampage..Fred Leland Interviewed on Workplace Violence Prevention Strategies

I had the opportunity  to sit down with Mel Robbins on the NECN show Broadside with Jim Braude. The topic of discussion was on work place violence prevention strategies. Leveraging the lessons learned!

LESC in The News Reducing the Risk of Workplace Violence

Reducing the risk of workplace violence NECN Video Report

NECN: Peter Howe, Stoneham/North Attleborough, Mass.) - It's a question no boss ever wants to think about -- but then along comes a workplace shooting like Tuesday's Connecticut horror: How do I keep my employees safe from a disgruntled, possibly deadly, colleague?

Security experts say it's impossible to prevent all incidents. But they say there is a lot bosses and supervisors should think about to significantly reduce the risk of workplace conflict turning murderous.

"When you're going to fire an employee, or you suspect that something's wrong with an employee and you're going to counsel them, the best thing to do is a threat assessment,'' says Daniel M. O'Neill, president and CEO of Applied Risk Management in Stoneham, Mass. . A former Army Ranger and Harvard Business School graduate, O'Neill co-authored with three colleagues a book after the Virginia Tech shootings called "The Handbook For Campus Threat Assessment & Management Teams."

He says bosses disciplining or firing someone -- like Hartford Distributors was doing with alleged mass-murderer Omar Thornton, 34, after accusing him of stealing beer from the company -- can't ask enough questions about the problem worker ahead of time.
Questions O'Neill urges supervisors to ask the problem worker's co-workers include: "Do they have a history of violence or becoming violent? Is there any fascination with weapons? Does the person have weapons? Is there increased alcohol consumption? Financial problems? You want to create a full picture of the person before the termination.''
Experts also say when it comes to workplace security, take a cue from homeland security: If you see something, say something.

Fred T. Leland Jr. is director and principal trainer with Law Enforcement & Security Consulting in North Attleborough, Mass., and a lieutenant with the Walpole, Mass., police. Of spotting disgruntled workers who may turn homicidal, Leland says, "The number one thing we can do is take advantage of people is how I like to put it, the people who work in your office space.''  Continue reading

Dragging American Military Culture into the 21st Century

Summary:  Our soldiers fight using 21st century weapons but ancient methods.  Under the stress of a decade-long and running long war against adaptive but poorly equipped enemies, our military slowly evolves from its WWI doctrines (massed firepower, 2GW), towards methods used by the Wehrmacht in WWII ( maneuver war, 3GW).  The origin of these doctrines lies in the century following Prussia’s defeat in the Napoleonic Wars.  Here Donald Vandergriff describes what’s happening and why it is necessary. Continue reading

Upcoming Workshops

• Basic Firearms Safety Course: Holiday Inn Express North Attleboro Saturday September 11th 2010 10AM-3PM

• Workplace Violence Prevention Adaptive Strategies Sept 16th 2010 6PM-9PM North Attleboro Massachusetts

Information on LESC Programs of Instruction

Contact:

Fred T. Leland Jr.
Founder and Principle Trainer
Law Enforcement & Security Consulting
Phone: 508-298-2023
fred@lesc.NET
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