“Self Loathing Whacker”?

This update we will take on something a little more personal but still having to deal with this site. It has been reported to me indirectly and directly that I am a “self loathing whacker” because of my views on this web site. I tried to research the origin of this comment but was banned from there. I asked people who made this comment and was given a grade school response of “shut up whacker”, “look at the whacker talk”, or just plain blocked from any conversation. All mature ways of answering a simple question when you are name calling.

So I found out today why I have been labeled a “self loathing whacker”. Apparently if you dislike something, you must be that thing you dislike. This is the only reason I must dislike whackers/wannabes are because I am one myself. Also it was told to me that I hate people who use lights because I can not use them myself.

We will start with the former. I dislike whackers/wannabes because I have a strong opinion on the subject. When I have a strong opinion I try to express it. This opinion is formed from several run-ins with whackers, and people trying to buy lights from me to look like the police.

The latter is just false. I was a member of a volunteer fire department for over six years. I had the opportunity to use lights and actually did for about 4 of those years. I had the same opinion then as I did now. So how would it make sense that I hate people who use lights when I couldn’t use any of my own?

This name calling and allegations are great example of the maturity level of some on the internet. If someone had a problem with me, they could send me a message and I would reply. Those who are involved in the above statements either blocked me via AIM, or banned me from their web site when I tried to ask them about the above statements. I’ve always been under the directions that if you have something to say about someone then be prepared to explain your actions. I do that with this website when I get complaints or allegations pop up on other message boards. I give anyone every opportunity to contact me and ask me why my views are the way they are or why I say certain things. Only a person with a grade school mentality avoids direct contact while trying to act like they know every bit of you.

Security Guard vs. Police Officer, Is there really a difference?

There are a lot of people who think law enforcement and security have the same responsibilities. They do not. They might share some of the specifics but security is there for show of presence, to report, and be a good witness. Very few states have laws on the books which give any security personnel the same powers as law enforcement officials, even on private property. Most security companies are legit but some people who work for them are there for ulterior motives. I worked five years in the security field and have seen the whack jobs and people who thought they were one with the police. Security companies should strive NOT to look like the police but most do as this helps confuse the public into respecting them. By imitating the look of the law enforcement community, security professionals give the public a false sense of training and experience that the security field just doesn’t have. Most security companies give the bare minimal of training to legally certify their guards to carry the tools and weapons they do. The average training for a security guard is 1 week for all of the certifications for OC, handcuff, PPT, baton, and firearms training excluding FTO. This is pale in comparison to the 8-16 weeks of academy and +1 month FTO most law enforcement officers receive.

Most security companies try to hide this by looking like law enforcement officials though.

This has always been a problem between the two types of careers. The role and image of the security officer has taken a hit due to this confusion. Most home brew security agencies are started by wannabes or people who couldn’t cut it being a real police officer. These agencies for the most part are the problem with the security image. I want to state this is not true with all start up agencies but there is a problem with most of them. A lot of smaller companies lack the education and experience needed for a true security agency and try to imitate the law enforcement community with the tactics and dealing with the public. Again, the law enforcement and security fields are two different animals.

The typical image of a security guard is one that mimics that of a police officer. The security guard might have a full size 3” duty belt with nothing on it. I’ve seen security guards with their belts so full of stuff that they could hardly move. I’ve also seen these setups on guards who spend 95% of their time sitting in a vehicle driving from property to property. A few guards forget that all of the weapons and glitter are a mere deterrent and nothing more. The oversight is these guards think they are super human with a superman belt. I remember seeing a security guard working for a local company who had two sets of handcuff cases, a Glock handgun with tactical light/laser in holster, dual magazine pouch, OC pouch, key fob, tactical light, and full size baton with holder. This was a “corporal” who yelled at another guard in front of the public for not referring to him as “sir”. This corporal only drove around from property to property checking on his subjects. What would he need all of those items for? A common and effective setup in his case would have been one primary weapon (firearm), magazine pouch, a secondary non-lethal or less-than-lethal weapon such as OC or baton and a set of handcuffs. Security guards should never need tactical gear unless they are performing a protection service then they are probably trained to use it.

Another thing you might notice is a lot of security agencies use fancy terms to avoid the security image. I’ve seen everything from “special police” to “security enforcement”. The terms like “special police” are just confusing. When the public sees the term they think SWAT or another specialized police division. They don’t think of a private agency that observes and reports. The term “security enforcement” is also another confusing term. What are they enforcing? You can make sure that a company’s rules are enforced but you can’t do much else other than observe and report. The security guard’s job is supposed to be a passive one and not one of proactive hands on enforcement.

If you agree or disagree with the above, be sure to talk about it on our forums by click here or clicking the button on the left hand menu. Registration is easy and free.

CVPI's shouldn't be used to imitate their old job.

There has been recent discussion in a few of places regarding former police vehicles seeing new life sporting lights and sirens. I’ve always had strong opinions regarding this matter as most whackers and wannabes will zoom in on former equipment to refit it and show it off or make themselves feel special. We will talk about different abuses of retired police vehicles starting with security companies.

A lot of times security companies will buy retired police vehicles and try to outfit them to look like active police vehicles. These security companies lose the focus that security and law enforcement are TWO different career fields and they try to imitate the law enforcement community. A lot of times you will see security companies using CVPI (Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptor) or Impala 91C (Police package Chevy Impala) vehicles marked with decals and fitted with lights making them look like police vehicles. There are several problems with this and the first ones would be that security companies are confusing the public and giving the operators of these vehicles more mental power than they should have. You can stick anyone into a police style uniform and make them drive a police look a like vehicle and they will get a boost of mental power from the reactions they get from the public. This is a popular reason for people who can’t make it into law enforcement to hire on with security companies. The negative result of this is this gives the public a false sense of safety. When people are in danger they run to police or fire vehicles. Police or fire vehicles usually have the training and means of communication to deal with most emergencies. Security professionals on the other hand do not have this type of training and are trained in a limited fashion to perform the tasks of their current location or job site. Very rarely will security officers be trained in anything else other than pose a presence, observe, and report.

The second misuse of retired police type vehicles is those who buy them and refit them with emergency lighting to get a mental rush from the reaction of the public. A lot of times you will see them fitted with used or older emergency equipment and random antennas plugging the holes where antennas were installed during the vehicle’s active career. This type of owner will claim they use the car as a side job or they are a “collector” although the car might be their daily driver. A collector of such equipment usually only operates the vehicle at shows or traveling to/from car or collector shows. A collector of emergency equipment usually doesn't have it installed as the elements will harm mint or good condition emergency warning equipment.

The third reason these vehicles are used is by volunteer fire fighters and EMS to look more official. Some volunteers will buy retired police vehicles and outfit them with the lights and sirens allowed by their state or department. Although there are some out there who have legitimate reasons for using a retired police vehicle, some do it to be closer to looking like the real thing. A lot of volunteers who do this will use emergency lights, spot lights, and other added accessories to make their vehicle look “real” and might even take steps to add decals to add some realism to their vehicle.

There are more reasons for civilians to use retired police cruisers but this gives you an idea. Some of the above might say that these models have a tougher suspension or have an improved electrical system. However, by the time these vehicles hit the civilian market, the added options are worn out or null. Most of these options can be added to any civilian vehicle also. Most police vehicles are driven 24/7 and have over 100,000 miles on them before being sold. Very rarely you will see people driving retired vehicles from other professions sporting the profession specific equipment. How many people are driving around old taxi cabs with the “taxi” sign on the top or old construction/contractor trucks with ladder racks and ladders not being used but still installed? Something to think about.

A mad CVPI owner....

I have been getting a few emails on this subject so I will talk about it this week. A couple of weeks ago I posted a couple of images of a fully outfitted CVPI (Crown Victoria Police Interceptor) with a clear and amber Whelen Edge light bar and a siren. These were submitted though the web site with no explanation. I posted the images with a small commentary making fun of the fact that it was setup like a police car, and it was. These were on this web site for almost a week when I received the following email:

I dont know who placed my picks of my car on your web site but its kind of offensive! theres people who collect mustangs, camaros, corvettes, etc i happen to like former police cruisers theres a lot of people out there like me who collect the same. the use of the clear lights are brighter for the side thing that i do when i escort heavy or damaged trucks across town. so is having a new style led bar on a white suv for your work posers you tell me? as far as who posted my picks on this site without my permision through elights you will be found! DONT STEAL MY FREGGIN PICKS!!!

I was sleeping from my job (work nights) and didn't get a chance to read the email and he sent me this email about four hours later:

my car and lights are used in the field and after reading your faq page i nor my car belong on this site so......TAKE MY (admin edit) PICKS OFF OF YOUR SITE!!!!!!!

He sent these emails to policeposers@gmail.com which are then part of the policeposers.com collection and can be used at our discretion. So he claims having a fully outfitted police look-a-like car is the same as having any type of sport car. Then trying to use this car, with its lights as part of a “moving” job is a decent reason to look like a police car. Escort vehicles are usually smaller trucks or medium to small sized vehicles for maneuverability. Not retired, run down police cars fitted with lights that make them look like a police car. All at the same time he started his whining on another message board and proceeded to have a fit about his pictures being stolen off of that message board and sent to me. Although I don’t know where the pictures were taken from, they weren’t “stolen” from anywhere. Pictures posted on the internet are in free domain unless they are clearly marked with a copyright or on a site that copyrights them. Both were not the case. Images hosted on a free host are accessible by the public through search engines or through viewing of public user directories. Images hosted on remote servers can be used for anything unless they are hosted on a page that has a copyright.

Arm chair lawyers were saying that what I was doing was slanderous. Slander is spoken words meant to hurt someone’s character. Someone saying “Johnny is a dodo head” is a good example of slander. Libel is the word that these arm chair lawyers were looking for. Long explanation short, Libel is printed material used to deface someone’s character. Typing “Johnny is a dodo head” on a web site could be considered libel. A better explanation can be found here.What I posted on this web site is not considered libel. “Why” you might ask? Simple, I don’t post identities on this web site. As you might notice, I blot out all identifiable features and try to keep the identity hidden. If a person recognizes the vehicle or the area the pictures are taken in, then they just do and there isn’t anything I can do. I’ve been accused of walking into this web site haphazardly but I have done my research.

I removed the pictures from the web page due to the fact it was creating such a big storm on another server. I did not break any laws by having them here or what I said but it was best to remove the source of the problem rather than fight the battle alone. The thread from the message board was deleted to prevent people from starting new ones so I received some questions on what happened. This update explains most of it. I also received some hate mail which I will also show, Enjoy.

“What you are doing is hurting private emergency lighting usage”

Actually no. Nothing hurts private emergency lighting usage more than whackers, wannabes, and imposters. Abusing something that should be respected is hurting it more than anything else. I bring a face to the problem and if making a problem public is bad, then we are in a screwed up society.

"I hope you don't hurt any volunteer firefighters in your witch hunt"

Unless volunteer fire fighters/ems like using a ton of amber lights or try to look like the police, no. All of our submissions are carefully reviewed and if there is a chance that a vehicle is used for something legit, then we throw the submission out. Most volunteer agencies (legit ones that is) never use 100% amber or amber/clear setups on police style vehicles. If the vehicle is part of a certified group who uses lights, then those submissions also get tossed. It's pretty obvious with the differences between whackers/wannabes and legit and legal setups.

"You must be full of hate to have a web site like this"

I wouldn't call it hate but more of a distaste more than anything. This web site is a hobby. As with most hobby's I don't dwell on it when I am not working on it. Like owning lights or pen caps, it's just a hobby and how deep you dive into it rates your obsession.

"Owning lights is a right and there's nothing wrong with it"

I agree 100%. However there is a difference between being a collector and a user. It is OK to own lights and to display them in your private domain proudly. However, collectors don't put them on their daily driver vehicles and find ways to try to use them. I covered this difference on this page.

"Your web site sucks, your web site is worth $42.00 and your message board has 4 registered users with all of the messages posted by one person"

Actually, for a web site that opened in early September and under constant improvements, I didn't expect much more. The $42.00 thing is a code I posted on the main page to get an idea of how many "back links" my web site has. At the time I got this email, the message board had only been public for about 8 days. I didn't expect a flood of people and mainly designed it for a place for people to submit content or talk about my web site.

That is all I am going to cover with this update. For those who are offended by my updates and general web site, please take it up on our message boards. Don't take your tirades or whining to another web site or message board. You can read the details here. Next week I'll discuss the use of retired police style vehicles that are fitted to look like the real thing. Also I am looking for staff writters who want to help out our cause. More details can be found here.

For this weekly update we have a submission from a viewer.

Image #1 | Image #2

This gem appears to be owned by someone who works for a security company.

He has the following items listed as installed:

-44 " Federal Signal Smart Vector

-1 SMC 1 signal master control

-1 SS2000 smart siren control

-1 Cobra 29 wx peaked and tuned

-1 Uniden 510 pro on a dummy load

-1 Cb antenna

-1 Radio Shack Pro 96 Digital scanner

-2 rear strobes

What we have here is a clear case of whackerism. If this person's company required lights, then they would supply them a vehicle. Most, if not all companies will issue you what they want you to use to keep down on liability. There are amber strobes on the front bumper. Only time lights are on the front bumper/grill area is for responding to something. Even an untrained happy helper only needs lights to the rear when helping that lucky stranded motorist. If you do need amber lights for you're job and it's not mandatory, then stick with a dash light that's stored away when not in use or even a mini-light bar. A vector was designed to be on response or high profile vehicles. Any other vehicle it is overkill. If this person was a light collector then the lights would be on display in his home or garage, not on his vehicle trying to look official. I'll leave it at that, you make the call.