Blogs

Employees and visitors entering three federal buildings in Boston last week were no doubt surprised to learn that for the first time in years they needn't take off their shoes, coats or belts to pass through security screening.

It happened "without any fanfare or news conferences," according to a report from WGBH. What did happen was that the Federal Protective Service, which is responsible for protecting employees, contractors and visitors at federal facilities, decided, after studying the Boston sites, to use the Thomas P. O'Neill Building, John F. Kennedy Federal Building and John W. McCormack Post Office and Courthouse in a pilot project that could streamline and standardize similar screening processes nationwide.

The O'Neill building houses Homeland Security, Secret Service, Social Security and the Deparments of Justice, Labor, Agriculture, Commerce, Housing, Treasury and Small Business.

"It has not become official yet, but it is an option being tested, " Jacqueline Yost, chief public affairs for FPS, told WGBH.  "We are continually assessing our process ... to make sure we continue to be as efficient as possible while securing federal facilities, employees and guests."

I'll be attending my first ISC West show in Las Vegas next month. I've got lots of booth visits booked, and I plan to attend a couple of the educational sessions pertinent to end users. I hope you'll benefit from my posts from the show and soon thereafter.

If you'll be there, please stop by the "Meet the Editors" event from 9-10 a.m. Wednesday, April 10, at the ISC West Media Stage, located right outside the entrance to the show floor.

After nearly seven months on the job, I still consider myself somewhat of a newcomer to the industry, so all introductions and insights—and news—are most welcome. I'll be at "Meet the Editors," along with Martha Entwistle, executive editor of SDN and editor of Security Systems News, and Tess Nacelewicz, managing editor of Security Systems News. Emma Procter, new managing editor of SSN Gulf; Tim Purpura, group publisher; Cath Daggett, advertising coordinator for the publications; and Kerry Rasor, Midwest advertising rep, also be there to greet you and answer any questions.

Looking forward to it! Please stop by and say hello.
 

New Pope Francis has been giving his security detail headaches, according to an article I just read in USA Today. Seems the pontiff, praised for being a man of the people, is just too much of-the-people sometimes.

He seeks out  "impromptu contact with the public at every opportunity," the newspaper said, walking into crowds, driving around in an open-air Popemobile and stopping to bless people and kiss babies.

"There's no doubt that each time he does something like that the risks for him are increased," Massimo Blanco, president of Italy's National Association of Public and Private Security Experts, told the newspaper. "It's much harder to protect someone who follows his own script and who loves public contact than it is someone who stays behind the barriers and keeps a certain distance."

Such papal public interaction has been curtailed since Pope John Paul II was shot in 1981 while riding through St. Peter's Square. But, Blanco said in the news report, if the pope, informed about the security risks, wants to stop and kiss a baby or two, well, he's the pope and he gets to do what he wants.

Security has increased in the decades since the 1981 shooting. "The pope's security details are among the best trained in the world, employing new technologies ranging from video surveillance to databases of potential suspects, security experts say," the newspaper said.

Now that's a security site visit I'd like to make.  Anyone have any contacts at the Vatican?

It was a $500 million dollar heist that has stymied investigators for more than two decades. But on March 18, some new information was revealed about the theft of 13 pieces of valuable art from Boston's Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. Paintings stolen included masterpieces by Rembrandt, Vermeer, Degas and Manet.

On the 23rd anniversary of the theft, the FBI, the museum and the U.S. States Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts released new information about one of the largest property crimes in U.S. history.

The FBI is appealing to the public for help in what it has deemed one of its Top 10 Art Crimes.

The FBI believes it has determined where the stolen art was transported in the years after the theft and that it knows the identity of the thieves. "The FBI believes with a high degree of confidence that in the years after the theft, the art was transported to Connecticut and the Philadelphia region, and some of the art was taken to Philadelphia, where it was offered for sale by those responsible for the theft," Richard DesLauriers, special agent in charge of the FBI Boston office, said in a prepared statement. "With that same confidence, we have identified the thieves, who are members of a criminal organization with a base in the Mid-Atlantic states and New England."

After the attempted sale, the FBI's knowledge of the art's whereabouts is limited, it said.

The statute of limitations has passed for the crime of art theft and authorities now are focused on recovering the art, to the tune of a $5 million reward.  "With this announcement, we want to widen the 'aperture of awareness' of this crime to the reach the American public and others around the world," DesLauriers said in the statement. Meanwhile, it continues its search, both in and beyond the Connecticut and Philadelphia areas.

Anthony Amore, the museum's chief of security, noted in the statement that the reward is for "information that leads directly to the recovery of all of our items in good condition. You don't have to hand us the paintings to be eligible for the reward."

Anyone with information about the artwork should contact the FBI or the museum directly or through a third party, said Special Agent Geoffrey Kelly, who is the lead investigator in the case and a member of the FBI's Art Crime Team. Tips may also be submitted online at https://tips.fbi.gov.

The publicity campaign includes a dedicated FBI webpage on the Gardner Museum theft, video postings on FBI social media sites, publicity on digital billboards in Philadelphia region, and a podcast. To view and listen to these items, visit the FBI's new webpage about the theft: www.FBI.gov/gardner.