March 2024 — How to Sneak Aboard an Airplane, and More Security News

There’s a lot going on in the world of physical risk and vulnerability; it’s nearly impossible to keep up with the latest news and developments. We’ll keep you informed with the best content to keep your organization safe and secure. Check out the top news and headlines from the past month.

Spring Break violence: Miami Beach chiefs say 'we’re shutting the door on' the holiday

From The Mirror: Officials in Miami have vowed to "shut the door on Spring Break" following years of violence after two new crackdown measures were introduced. Thousands of partygoers in Florida head to Miami Beach for spring break which is where university students have a week or two off to let their hair down, but it has increasingly seen an increase in violence and lawlessness. It has recently been mired in public disorder, shootings, and stampedes, and officials now are cracking down on the violence by banning alcohol in public. In addition, smoking tobacco and marijuana on beaches and parks is also banned.

Our take: Spring Break has long been known for hard partying, and violence often comes along with that. Violence has been on the rise partly because the Miami police have funding and personnel issues; with fewer officers, more parties are getting out of hand.

Man Arrested for Using Boarding Pass He Photographed Off Fellow Traveler's Phone

From Gizmodo: A Texas man was arrested in Salt Lake City earlier this month after he was discovered roaming around on a Delta Air Lines flight without a designated seat to call his own. How did he get on the plane in the first place? The man allegedly photographed a fellow passenger’s boarding pass without their knowledge and successfully used it to board the flight.

Our take: This is a huge gap in security. The fact that a photographed boarding pass was able to get a stowaway on an airplane should not be possible. It’s also surprising that someone who was not supposed to be on a flight was able to get through security. It may be time for Delta and other airlines to review their procedures.

Michigan school shooter's father convicted of manslaughter

From Reuters: A Michigan jury on Thursday convicted the father of a teenager who fatally shot four classmates at a high school near Detroit of manslaughter after prosecutors argued he bore responsibility because he and his wife gave their son a gun and ignored warning signs of violence. James Crumbley, 47, was found guilty in his trial, carried out a month after his wife, Jennifer Crumbley, was found guilty on manslaughter charges stemming from the shooting. James Crumbley faced four counts of involuntary manslaughter, one for each of the victims at Oxford High School in the 2021 shootings. Jurors began deliberating on Wednesday.

Our take: The convictions of the Crumbleys creates a new precedent for legal action related to mass shootings. This is the first time parents have been held accountable for a school shooting; the courts looked at the parents buying the gun for the shooter, its storage, and their failure to get their son needed mental health care. These rulings will hopefully send a message to other parents that ignoring the warning signs will lead to consequences.

ISC West is coming up

From ISC West: From April 9-12, the International Security Conference & Exposition – also known as ISC West – is taking place in Las Vegas. ISC West is the leading comprehensive and converged security trade event in the U.S drawing thousands of security and public safety professionals.

Our take: Circadian Risk is thrilled to be at ISC West this year. We will be at the RAD/AITX booth, #20131, at ISC West. We’d love to meet with you; reach out and book a meeting with us.

March’s Top Security Grants

FEMA’s 2024 Targeted Violence and Terrorism Prevention (TVTP) grant: The Targeted Violence and Terrorism Prevention Grant Program provides financial assistance to eligible applicants to develop sustainable, multidisciplinary targeted violence and terrorism prevention capabilities in local communities, to pilot innovative prevention approaches, and to identify prevention best practices that can be replicated in communities across the country. Grant closes: May 2

Systems-Based Approaches to Improve Patient Safety by Improving Healthcare Worker Safety and Well-Being: The purpose of this grant is to advance system-level approaches to improve patient safety by improving healthcare worker safety and well-being. Patient safety cannot be fully achieved without healthcare worker safety and well-being. This NOFO will contribute to AHRQs goal of reinvigorating the patient safety movement by adding fresh perspectives and insights of healthcare professionals to efforts to improve patient safety. Grant closes: 2029

About the Author

Daniel Young

Founder & Chief Innovation Officer

Daniel has been a security and risk advisor for more than 10 years, and is passionate about helping companies to better understand their risks to undesirable events on a daily basis. Dan previously served as the Regional Bioterrorism Coordinator for District 1 in Michigan, where he was instrumental in preparing communities for catastrophic incidents. He has also acted as the Private Security Liaison for the City of Lansing’s Critical Infrastructure Team, which identified and documented deficiencies in the city’s critical infrastructure.

He is a Co-Founder of the CSO Risk Council, a think tank of seasoned security professionals and thought leaders with extensive experience in managing the physical security and risks of large enterprises consisting of multiple sites and whose mission is to create a better process to develop and share innovative solutions and pertinent information with organizations to improve safety and security risk by providing a forum to discuss best practices and recommendations for specific risk scenarios and to network with other enterprise security professionals.