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Arson

The National Fire Protection Association estimates

that losses due to incendiary fires and those of "suspicious origin" amounted to $206 million in 1970. The largest proportion of these fires was associated with educational and commercial buildings. Types and Costs of Private Preventive Measures

The most recent and thorough investigation of this area was a

study conducted by The Rand Corporation for the Justice Depart11/

ment.

While the report has not yet been officially released by

LEAA, some of its findings have been widely published. These show that the costs of private crime prevention in 1969 were over $3.3 billion. Of this, $800 million was spent for equipment such as locks, iron grills, deterrent lighting, TV systems and mirrors. The remaining $2.5 billion went for. services, of which $1.6 billion represented costs of special police and in-house guards; also included was $620 million for private contract guards, $123 million for armored car services and $120 million for central alarm systems.

The Rand study also indicated that while public law enforcement expenditures increased 90 percent between 1960 and 1969, private security expenditures are estimated to have increased 150 percent during that period. In 1969, the private security forces employed 290,000 guards and watchmen (36 percent of all security forces).

Among the many reasons cited for growth of private security

efforts are the following:

Increasing business losses due to crime.

Rising insurance rates and the expansion of

categories for which property insurance cannot

be obtained.

Insurers requiring the use of private security

systems or granting premium discounts when

private security measures are taken.

This study also indicated that the growth of personnel in private security has not been accompanied by training programs adequate for the field. In the Rand sample of 275 guards, about two-thirds had received no training before being put to work, and some 60 percent of guards with pistols were given no firearms training at all. The study indicates that over half of the guards surveyed never entered high school and that only 18 percent completed high school. The study concludes that unless better training is provided, a rising number of

lawsuits associated with private security acts such as false arrests,

bodily injury and property damage can be expected.

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FEDERAL PROGRAMS AGAINST CRIME

The concern for the control of crime against society as a whole

has stimulated numerous extensive studies in the past, and the

recommendations of these studies have led to the development

of some major anti-crime legislation.

The Small Business Administration major recommendations included such items as the following:

Improving architectural design to eliminate

protruding ledges, wooden doors, inadequate

locks, and the like.

Including security requirements in building codes.

Using central station alarms more extensively.

Developing a non-lethal bullet.

Educating the businessman to take routine precautions

such as not placing items in clear view, installing

night lighting, and avoiding loose door and window fittings.

Introducing new passive devices such as ax-resistant

glass.

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Federal efforts:

follow-up surveys every two or three years,

similar to the 1969 survey.

expansion of educational efforts in this area.

monitoring progress of the insurance industry

in providing crime insurance.

The President's Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration

of Justice primarily focused on police procedures and corrections

reform in its recommendations. The recommendations of concern to

this report were those urging better police recording and fact-gathering methods. The report also proposed that business associations should contribute to the improvement of the data base.

Several corrective measures have grown out of these recommendations, including perhaps the two most important pieces of anticrime legislation in recent government history. These are: the

Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 and the Omnibus

Crime Control Act of 1970.

The Law Enforcement Assistance Administration was established

by Title I of the Omnibus Act of 1968. The major programs of LEAA

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provide grants to state and local governments to improve law

enforcement procedures. However, the Administration also has the

directive to improve the collection and dissemination of crime

statistics through its National Criminal Justice Information and Statistics Service. The 1972 Federal Budget allocates $9.7 million

of the $698 million LEAA budget to this service.

The LEAA also has a National Institute of Law Enforcement and

Criminal Justice, which develops and demonstrates new and improved approaches, techniques, systems, equipment and devices to strengthen and improve law enforcement. This Institute has been allocated $21 million of the 1972 budget. It is currently coordinating a

program to review existing standards for locks and alarm systems which was recommended in the SBA report.

In September 1971, the Senate Aviation Committee held hearings to determine how the best preventive methods can be developed against airport cargo crime. In the Department of Transportation, the Office of Civil Aviation Security is now operating anti-hijack programs and assisting in the development and installation of airport cargo security

devices.

While these are the main preventive and corrective efforts

currently conducted by Federal agencies, a continuing concern

for the impact of crime on specific types of commercial activities is obviously needed.

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