History of Violence

Check out our new video clip on youtube about Behavioral Profiling and the History of Violence. 

It’s important to note that sometimes violence is sparked due to a person’s fear.  This fear can be either real or imagined, the fear of being attacked can escalate the rate of becoming violent.  The blood rushes to the large skeletal muscles making it easier to maneuver swiftly.  When a person gets angry blood rushes to the hands, making it easier to engage with a weapon or fight an opponent.  The heart rate increases.  The rush of adrenaline triggers an action stance.  Anger gives the person a feeling of energy and power.  It is seductive and euphoric, therefore, making it very difficult to keep under control. 

When the subject reaches the point of rage he/she engages in negative self-talk, precipitating the anger to a level of rage.  Once the person is in “rage”, the window of opportunity for defusing is almost impossible.  At this point the subject becomes incapable of rationalizing.  The amygdala (located in the f ront temporal lobe of the brain) appears to be the source of the “rage” emotion.  However, without an amygdala, recognition of feelings and passion would be absent.

The point to remember most is to try and locate if a subject has a history of violence.  If the answer is yes, then the subject has a higher probability of being violent in the future, however, if you can’t find any violence in the background do not put your guard down, this point is just one of many aspects of a threat assessment.   Remember, it is not always the subject who is outwardly angry, it may be the one who is quiet and alone that may be prone to acting out.

We’ve talked about airport security on this blog on other occasions, so when a barrage of airport and airline information flooded the Internet, we felt it important to bring it to our readers’ attention.  It would seem that the airline industry is doing pretty well despite the economic crisis.   We can only hope that the security systems employed at airports and by airlines are doing equally as well if not more so.

Verified Identity Pass, Vigilant Solutions and Flo Corp. we the three companies approved by the Transportation Security Administration to pre-screen frequent fliers using finger-prints, iris scans and background checks. The customers of all three companies paid up to 200 dollars for an ID card that would let them speed through security. However, not long ago all three were shut down or suspended, in some cases even before customers could use their new identification cards.

Verified Identity Pass dominated the field until June 2009, when it closed, its competition following its footsteps not long after. The initial fall was blamed on an inability to negotiate with creditors, but many feel it was the result of poor management.   Company clients are in an uproar at having to stand in line again, but those of us who worry about flight security are hard-pressed to feel sorry for them.  Paying a large sum of money does not guarantee security.

For 40 years, Delta Air Lines had special customer service agents nicknamed “red coats” in most major airports. However, in 2005, when Delta filed for bankruptcy protection, these agents were cut to save money. Now having recovered from their fear of bankruptcy, Delta is bringing back their “red coat” agents who will be able to answer any questions and even print boarding passes from hand-held devices. Their return was announced summer 2008, a year later Delta is employing a strong number of 600 “red coat” customer service agents in some of the larger airports in the United States.

Of the 100 busiest airports in the nation, Long Beach Airport had the lowest average domestic airfare for the first quarter of 2009, according to a report from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics. Their average was only 207 dollars even when taxes were included while the highest average price went to Huntsville International Airport in Alabama at 505 dollars.

Long Beach also came fourth on the report for the biggest year-to-year average price decrease with a 16% drop.  Long Beach visitors weren’t only pleased with the price decrease, but also the fact that the airport’s security check flows smoothly and quickly.  Of course, this could have more to do with the fact that Long Beach is a small airport than expert management.  It’s more expensive counterpart, Huntsville, incorporated a security screening center as part of a multimillion dollar expansion in 2007, which might explain higher taxation.

-Xela Shultis & Justine Bayod Espoz

When a fellow student accused Savana Redding in 2003 of giving out prescription strength ibuprofen at school, she was required to remove her clothing to complete a search for the drugs in question.  The court ruled that the school officials had no evidence that students were in any immediate danger, nor did they have any grounds to strip-search the teen, as there was nothing suggesting that the pills may have been in her bra or underwear except that they were nowhere else to be found.

Many people are shocked that it took the US government six long years to decide that forcing an eighth-grader to strip in school, without first contacting her mother, is an unjust and humiliating act, making this a “moral victory” for many.

The Court has laid down limitations on school officials regarding the use of strip-searches, something that worries Justice Clarence Thomas, the one Supreme Court member who ruled against Redding.  Thomas feels that the court has now signaled to all wrongdoing students the “safest place to secrete contraband in school.”  While his concern is valid, the rest of the Court felt that there was a line that should not be crossed and that Principal Wilson had done just that, demonstrating a gross “abuse of authority” according to Justice Ginsburg.

Due to Thomas’ concern and the fact that Redding’s rights were not “clearly established” in a situation such as this, the Court ruled that Wilson could not be held responsible for financial compensation. Although this is a crushing blow to the Redding family’s lawsuit, Savana is not disappointed.  Because of what happened to her, the rights of students are now very “clearly established.”

-Xela Shultis

Who would have guessed that this tradition of door-to-door missionary duty would lead to salvation of another kind?  Apparently, the Orem, Utah-based (a town with a mostly-Mormon population) company Pinnacle Security did.

When millions of traditional jobs dried up last year at the start of the recession, at least 100,000 Americans became “direct salespeople,” otherwise known as door-to-door salesmen. More than 15.1 million people are now selling items such as cosmetics and household items door to door.

Pinnacle Security took this business model and ran with it, and now approximately two-thirds of Pinnacle’s 1,800 sales representatives for the summer are former Mormon missionaries.  Although many former missionaries work for other direct-sales companies, Pinnacle has deployed them in 75 cities nationwide.

All Mormon men in their early twenties are required to work as missionaries for the Mormon faith, to test the fortitude of their faith and to spread the word of Mormonism. In effect, they’ve been training for this job their whole lives.  Sent to foreign countries for a year at a time, these men become fluent in the languages of the countries: Spanish, French, Chinese, Russian, etc.  They all grown thick skins and seem almost immune to rejection, and most importantly, they learned how to talk to people.

Interest in security products is up this year – a recession indicator – as people react to a perceived increase in crime that is not necessarily the reality.  And while interest is up, the ability to pay for security systems is down.  Many consumers interested in security products are unable to pass the credit checks Pinnacle requires.  As Pinnacle struggles to attract consumers by charging less than a hundred dollars for installation and only $40 per month, it is apparent that the recession is hitting hard and that even weathered ex-missionaries will have to give it their all to clinch some much need sales.

-Justine Bayod Espoz and Kaitlin Cimini

Photo by Greg Robbins on Flickr

Swine-Flu

What to Do If You Get Flu-Like Symptoms
May 5, 2009 6:49 PM ET

Background
The novel H1N1 flu virus is causing illness in infected persons in the United States and countries around the world. CDC expects that illnesses may continue for some time. As a result, you or people around you may become ill. If so, you need to recognize the symptoms and know what to do.

Symptoms
The symptoms of this new H1N1 flu virus in people are similar to the symptoms of seasonal flu and include fever, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, body aches, headache, chills and fatigue. A significant number of people who have been infected with this new H1N1 virus also have reported diarrhea and vomiting. The high risk groups for novel H1N1 flu are not known at this time but it’s possible that they may be the same as for seasonal influenza. People at higher risk of serious complications from seasonal flu include people age 65 years and older, children younger than 5 years old, pregnant women, people of any age with chronic medical conditions (such as asthma, diabetes, or heart disease), and people who are immunosuppressed (e.g., taking immunosuppressive medications, infected with HIV).

Avoid Contact With Others
If you are sick, you may be ill for a week or longer. You should stay home and avoid contact with other persons, except to seek medical care. If you leave the house to seek medical care, wear a mask or cover your coughs and sneezes with a tissue. In general you should avoid contact with other people as much as possible to keep from spreading your illness. At the current time, CDC believes that this virus has the same properties in terms of spread as seasonal flu viruses. With seasonal flu, studies have shown that people may be contagious from one day before they develop symptoms to up to 7 days after they get sick. Children, especially younger children, might potentially be contagious for longer periods.

Treatment is Available for Those Who Are Seriously III
It is expected that most people will recover without needing medical care.

If you have severe illness or you are at high risk for flu complications, contact your health care provider or seek medical care. Your health care provider will determine whether flu testing or treatment is needed. Be aware that if the flu becomes wide spread, there will be little need to continue testing people, so your health care provider may decide not to test for the flu virus.

Antiviral drugs can be given to treat those who become severely ill with influenza. These antiviral drugs are prescription medicines (pills, liquid or an inhaler) with activity against influenza viruses, including H1N1 flu virus. These medications must be prescribed by a health care professional.

There are two influenza antiviral medications that are recommended for use against H1N1 flu. The drugs that are used for treating H1N1 flu are called oseltamivir (trade name Tamiflu ®) and zanamivir (Relenza ®). As the H1N1 flu spreads, these antiviral drugs may become in short supply. Therefore, the drugs will be given first to those people who have been hospitalized or are at high risk of complications. The drugs work best if given within 2 days of becoming ill, but may be given later if illness is severe or for those at a high risk for complications.

Emergency Warning Signs
If you become ill and experience any of the following warning signs, seek emergency medical care.

In children emergency warning signs that need urgent medical attention include:

Fast breathing or trouble breathing
Bluish or gray skin color
Not drinking enough fluids
Severe or persistent vomiting
Not waking up or not interacting
Being so irritable that the child does not want to be held
Flu-like symptoms improve but then return with fever and worse cough

In adults, emergency warning signs that need urgent medical attention include:

Difficulty breathing or shortness of breath
Pain or pressure in the chest or abdomen
Sudden dizziness
Confusion
Severe or persistent vomiting
Flu-like symptoms improve but then return with fever and worse cough
Protect Yourself, Your Family, and Community
Stay informed. Health officials will provide additional information as it becomes available. Visit the CDC H1N1 Flu website.
Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Throw the tissue in the trash after you use it.
Wash your hands often with soap and water, especially after you cough or sneeze. Alcohol-based hand cleaners are also effective.
Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth. Germs spread this way.
Try to avoid close contact with sick people.
If you are sick with a flu-like illness, stay home for 7 days after your symptoms begin or until you have been symptom-free for 24 hours, whichever is longer. Keep away from other household members as much as possible. This is to keep you from infecting others and spreading the virus further.
Learn more about how to take care of someone who is ill in “Taking Care of a Sick Person in Your Home”
Follow public health advice regarding school closures, avoiding crowds, and other social distancing measures.
If you don’t have one yet, consider developing a family emergency plan as a precaution. This should include storing a supply of extra food, medicines, and other essential supplies. Further information can be found in the “Flu Planning Checklist”
Links to non-federal organizations are provided solely as a service to our users. These links do not constitute an endorsement of these organizations or their programs by CDC or the federal government, and none should be inferred. CDC is not responsible for the content of the individual organization Web pages found at these links.

On March 11, 2009 at around noon, Perdo Navarro, a 74 year-old retired cab driver, reported to a public clinic in Moratalla, Murcia (Spain) complaining of respiratory problems.  At the time, a nurse scheduled him for an appointment that same day at 7PM.  Instead of attending his appointment, Navarro visited a clinic in a neighboring town and upon his return to Moratalla went on a shooting spree at the clinic that had turned him away earlier.

That night, Navarro killed the on-call, 34-year-old, family medicine resident Dr. María Eugenia Moreno Martínez and seriously wounded an EMT, who ran into the hospital when he heard the gun shots.  The death toll would have been much higher if Navarro’s gun hadn’t jammed.

The incident sent shock waves throughout Spain, a country in which the ownership of firearms is illegal and gun crime is rare in comparison with the US.  However, doctors and union leaders alike say that this event is a clear indication of the danger that doctors face on a daily basis at the hands of disgruntled patients.

The doctor’s union in Murcia has gone so far as to claim that the incident at Moratalla could have been avoided had the clinic had better security.  In fact, those in charge of occupational risk at the complex in question had requested changes to the emergency alert system, a request that was denied because the clinic already had emergency alarms and was considered a low risk facility.

Doctors’ unions nationwide have been clamoring for increased security measures that have, for the most part, fallen on deaf ears.  With doctors across Spain up in arms about the murder of their colleague, several different unions publically demanded improvements to the Assault Prevention Plan, demanding advances in its implementation, as well as the administration’s follow-up on violent cases and an emergency meeting between the Sectorial Bureau of Health and the Safety and Health Committee.

-Justine Bayod Espoz, Marketing Manager for Picore 

Thanks to the work of Children’s Health Fund and its mobile health clinics, many survivors of Hurricane Katrina have had access to doctors and psychologists that they otherwise would never have seen.  However, a recent study by the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University has found that this commendable effort has not been able to provide nearly as much help as is necessary to keep child survivors physically and mentally healthy.

Tens of thousands of children and teenagers lost everything to Hurricane Katrina, and now, three years later, the symptoms of this loss and the underlying problems it has caused are coming to a head.  Child survivors are falling behind at school, acting out and have disproportionately high rates of physical and mental illness, and their parents are doing little better, as they too suffer from depression and anxiety, as they struggle to scrape together a living.

Upon reviewing the charts of children treated by the Children’s Health Fund, researchers at the Mailman School found that 41% of children under the age of 4 had iron-deficiency anemia, which is generally caused by poor nutrition and can lead to developmental problems and academic underachievement.

The study also found that 42% of the children who lived in trailers laced with dangerous levels of formaldehyde had allergic rhinitis or an upper respiratory infection.  Plus, over half of the children aged 6 to 11 were found to have behavioral or learning problems.

The study concluded that not only has the health of child survivors of Katrina not improved, but it has declined alarmingly.  Yet medical care and counseling are nearly impossible to find, and children in the East Baton Rouge School District are waiting as long as two years to receive testing for learning disabilities.

Doctors and educators agree that stability is what these children need most.  This theory is backed by the gains of those families that have managed to lay down roots over the past few years and resume a healthy life.

However, it is important to keep in mind that many of the problems doctors are witnessing were not caused by Katrina, but rather exacerbated by the hurricane.  Toni Bankston, former director of mental health at the Baton Rouge Children’s Health Project, explains that children who had no serious problems before the storm are likely to recover well.  But she estimates that only about 60% of children lacked these sorts of problems before Katrina hit.

If that remaining 40% is left without proper counseling, treatment and guidance, Bankston predicts that the children in question will fall so far behind in school that they will have little to no chance of catching up.  “What you’re looking at is our future juvenile justice, our prison population,” she grimly prognosticates.

-Justine Bayod Espoz

These numbers are evidence enough that assaults and other acts of aggression within the workplace must be avoided at all costs.  The retail industry is one of the sectors most impacted by physical workplace violence, which isn’t surprising when considering that not only do disgruntled employees factor into the equation, but also unhappy customers and criminals.

NIOSH and the FBI have broken down retail store violence into four categories of assault:

Criminal Intent – violence committed when there is an intent to commit robbery or theft.  Retail businesses tend to focus most of their attention on this type of assault as they tend to be the quite costly and are more common than the other forms of retail store assault.  Most retail establishments decrease this threat by taking proper precautions, such as the use of drop safes to deter theft, never handling cash when alone in the store and never exiting the rear door at night with cash.  A store design and layout that includes a security camera system, well lit interiors and exteriors and open spaces that allow greater visibility from inside and outside of the store can also help deter thieves.

Customer Violence – customers that are unhappy with a product/service or its cost can quickly become aggressive if not promptly diffused.  Clients that have been drinking or doing drugs can be particularly dangerous, as they may be unwilling to listen to reason or leave the premises.  In these cases, it is best to placate the individual until local police can take over.

Co-worker Violence – it is in every worker’s best interest to report any aggressive behavior amongst co-workers and especially any threats of physical violence.  Management must take charge before the problems escalate and lead to physical aggression, and if taking charge means taking disciplinary measures or terminating an employee, so be it.

Domestic Violence in the Workplace – sometimes it is impossible to keep domestic problems from spilling over into the workplace.  Domestic violence and stalking can both lead to a potential assaults at work.  Management should watch for absenteeism and signs of stress and physical violence and encourage any suspected victims of domestic violence to contact a crisis response team or employment assistance program to seek help.

-Justine Bayod Espoz

During the 2005 season of American Idol, a young woman by the name of Paula Goodspeed appeared before the judges to perform her rendition of “Proud Mary.”  Prior to performing in front of Paula Abdul, Simon Cowell and Randy Jackson, Goodspeed revealed in an interview with Ryan Seacrest, “I really like Paula Abdul a lot.  She’s really cool.”  

 This second revelation, probably should have been just enough to make the producers of the hit show question whether this “fan” should be placed in a situation in which she was going to meet and be judged by Abdul, especially when her singing would more aptly be described as caterwauling. 

Once in front of the judges, Abdul refrained from making any outright negative commentary, while Simon Cowell unleashed the downpour of ridicule for which he is famous, taking a swing at her voice and her braces with one “foul” swoop.

It was this brief encounter between Abdul and Goodspeed that many believe led to Goodspeed’s suicide on November 11, 2008.  Goodspeed, 30, is believed to have overdosed on prescription medication while sitting in her car parked in front of Abdul’s L.A. home.  A photograph of Abdul hung from the review mirror and Goodspeed’s license plate red “ABL LV”

Psychoanalyst Bethany Marshall explained to ABC News that Goodspeed “may have felt that her life as she knew it was over simply because she was criticized on this show.”  She goes on to describe that programs such as American Idol can lead to trouble. “If you have a personality disordered, fragile, vulnerable contestant, who is very sensitive to criticism, you put the image of them being criticized on YouTube, on TMZ, plastered in front of millions of people, they are not Teflon coated, they cannot handle it.”

Despite reports from one of Abdul’s neighbor’s stating that she’d seen a woman sitting in Goodspeed’s car in front of Abdul’s house during the early mornings leading up to the suicide and Abdul’s claim on Barbara Walters’ US Radio show that Goodspeed was an obsessive fan who’d been sending her “disturbing” letters for 18 years and who had followed her home after her audition on American Idol, some members of Goodspeed’s family insist that she was not a stalker.

Since the suicide, Abdul has also claimed that she pleaded with the producers not to allow Goodspeed on the show and says that they paid no attention to her request, insisting that “it would make good television.”  And when Walters asked her why she remained on the show if she felt that she was being endangered, she answered that it was because she was “under contract.”

-Justine Bayod Espoz, Marketing Manager for Picore Worldwide

The Internet can be a blessing and a curse, but when it comes to protecting our children, it’s a vast unknown.  How do we keep our children away from porn and hate sites?  How do we know that our children aren’t using the Internet to communicate with the “wrong” people?  How do we keep our children safe on the Internet, when they spend hours online each day conducting research for school, looking for entertainment and socializing?

The most extensive study of study of U.S. teens and their use of digital media was released last week, reporting that American youth is developing important social and technical skills online.  The study also suggests that the Internet and social networking sites give marginalized teens, the so-called “freaks and geeks,” a space to meet others like them and develop a support network.

But like everything else online and off, social networking sites also have a dark side that more often than not involves adults, youths and inappropriate behavior.  Of course, the first scenario to come to mind is an adult luring a teenager into a sexual relationship, but there is a newer form of Internet crime that is equally as brutal and taking place in the ever-evolving realm of social media.  Online bullying is what caused 13-year-old Megan Meier to hang herself in her bedroom closet on October 17, 2006 in Dardenne Prairie, Mo.

Megan’s suicide was prompted by a slew of personal attacks posted on her MySpace page by “friends” and her online “boyfriend” Josh Evans.  The epithets were just enough to push the teen on depression medication over the edge.  It wasn’t until six weeks after Megan’s death that her parents learned that Josh Evans didn’t exist, that he was the fabrication of Lori Drew, the mother of one of Megan’s ex-friends.

Drew used this fake identity to woo Megan and later turn on her, by publicly posting Megan’s messages to Josh, insulting Megan and urging other teens to participate in the emotional roast.  Drew’s motives were simple; she was avenging her daughter and trying to discover whether Megan was spreading gossip.

Missouri authorities launched an investigation but concluded that there was no statute under which to charge Drew. However, U.S. Atty. Thomas P. O’Brien indicted Drew in Los Angeles on the theory that because MySpace is based in Beverly Hills, under his jurisdiction.  Drew is currently being tried for providing false information to set up the MySpace account, and using it to “inflict emotional distress.”  She faces up to 20 years in prison.

The Internet offers new methods by which to inflict abuse and cruelty, and parents may be at a loss when it comes time to protect their children from this new online threat.  Megan Meier’s mother only allowed her daughter to use MySpace under parental supervision and controlled her MySpace password, but that wasn’t enough to save Megan’s life; a sobering fact that makes us all wonder what else we can possibly do to keep our children from the monsters that hide in the anonymity of cyber-space.

-Justine Bayod Espoz