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In partnership with federal government organizations, Titan Security Group is sharing the latest information released by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) related to the situation in Israel. The following public service announcement was posted on October, 10, 2023 by the FBI:

From the FBI:

SUMMARY

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) are issuing this notification to advise of an ongoing issue of potential public safety concern consequent to the Hamas attacks in Israel. The FBI and DHS are actively monitoring the situation in Israel and any implications these horrific terrorist attacks pose to the domestic threat environment. As with any potential threats to the United States, we will coordinate with our partners to ensure they have the resources and information necessary to keep our communities safe.

THREAT

While we continue to collect and analyze intelligence from a variety of sources, we do not currently have specific intelligence reflecting additional attack planning against the United States stemming from the HAMAS attacks in Israel which began on October 7, 2023. However, foreign terrorist organizations and their supporters remain committed to attacking the United States within and beyond our borders. In recent years, there have been several events and incidents in the United States that were purportedly motivated, at least in part, by the conflict between Israel and HAMAS. These have included the targeting of individuals, houses of worship, and institutions associated with the Jewish and Muslim faiths with acts of physical assault, vandalism, or harassment.

Anti-Semitism permeates many violent extremist ideologies and serves as a primary driver for attacks by a diverse set of violent extremists who pose a persistent threat to Jewish communities and institutions in the United States and abroad. Foreign terrorist organizations have exploited previous conflicts between Israel and HAMAS via media outlets and online communications to call on their supporters located in the United States to conduct attacks. Some violent extremists have used times of heightened tensions to incite violence against religious minorities, targeting both Jewish and Muslim Americans.

Event/Protest Best Practices

As always, if you “See Something, Say Something.” For life-threatening emergencies, call 911. To report suspicious activity, call 855-RPRT-2-S4 (855-777-8274).

For more information on protests or activity related to the situation in Israel, please visit the Titan News and Resources page here: https://titan-security.com/news-and-resources/

About Titan Security Group

Titan launched in 1994 with a vision for a better way to provide security services to the Midwest. Today, Titan is one of the largest security companies in North America, scheduling approximately 130,000 hours per week, employing more than 3,600 security staff, and has enjoyed over twenty-nine consecutive years of successfully serving our clients across a wide range of industries. Titan delivers results to clients through flexible, customized security solutions, and superior customer service. The Titan approach combines traditional security staffing with electronic security systems to provide integrated, efficient, and customized safety and security solutions from a single source.

In partnership with our cross-sector public safety organizations, Titan Security is taking the following steps to support our clients and staff members in the anticipated events related to Mexican Independence Day on September 16, 2023.

UPDATE FROM THE OFFICE OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AND COMMUNICATIONS – FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 15 AT 8:30PM CT:

The Central Business District is closed to incoming vehicular traffic within the boundary from ​Division to 18th Street and from DuSable Lake Shore Drive to Halsted Street for public safety reasons due to large car caravans. Plan accordingly and allow extra time if traveling in the area.

Residents who live or work in the affected area and all critical care workers will be allowed access at one of the access points below.

ACCESS POINTS

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From the City of Chicago:

Mexican Independence Day is a day of commemoration of culture and the City of Chicago encourages those celebrating to do so safely and responsibly. We remind those participating in events to be respectful of their neighbors and communities, as well as workers at critical facilities such as hospitals. They should also be mindful of first responders and emergency vehicles that are required to pass through areas where celebrations are occurring citywide. The City is taking the appropriate measures to ensure the safety of all residents around Mexican Independence Day commemoration activities.

The Chicago Police Department (CPD) and the Chicago Office of Emergency Management and Communications (OEMC) has been preparing for the upcoming Mexican Independence Day celebrations. In addition to regular meetings to coordinate resources, CPD and OEMC will be working throughout the weekend to manage traffic and public safety and OEMC will activate the Emergency Operations Center to monitor events citywide. Car caravans that create a threat to public safety will not be tolerated. We also remind everyone that drag racing and drifting are not only illegal, but dangerous. Anyone in violation of the ordinance will be held accountable.

If road closures are needed, the following intersections will be access points to the downtown Chicago area: 

Titan Security’s Response to Added Security Coverage:

In addition, Titan’s Managers including Senior Leadership team members are active to support staff and clients.

Precautions to Take

The Office of Emergency Management and Communications (OEMC) reminds private sector firms to ensure their street-facing cameras are in good working order and recording is enabled.

The OEMC Operations Center will be monitoring accordingly. However, because situations develop and change rapidly, additional attention to monitoring news media and other sources for rapidly developing events and updates would be prudent.

OEMC issues alerts and notifications needed to keep residents and attendees up to date on weather conditions and emergencies.

Know Before You Go

For safety and preparedness at your fingertips, residents and festival goers are encouraged to download the Chicago OEMC App. The public safety tool provides safety information, preparedness tips, emergency alerts, weather information and more in the palm of your hand. Users will also have access to current forecasts, radar, and other weather-related information as well. The app is available through the Apple App and Google Play stores or visit the website, Chicago.gov/OEMC.

Questions?

If you have any questions or concerns regarding security coverage, please contact your Titan representative or the Titan office at (312) 902-3400.  We will continue to communicate with you via email and at http://securechicago.com/posts/.

As always, if you “See Something, Say Something.” For life-threatening emergencies, call 911. To report suspicious activity, call 855-RPRT-2-S4 (855-777-8274).

Opinion and Thought Leadership
By Tom Henkey, CEM
Director of Emergency Management, Titan Security Group

From a high-level perspective, the greatest emerging problem facing homeland security and emergency management professionals is not any single challenge but rather the speed of emerging challenges. Taken in isolation, there may be an argument to be made that any individual risk or hazard is the greatest threat facing U.S. homeland security professionals. Strong and valid cases could be made for climate change, the opioid epidemic, violent crime, malign foreign governments, foreign terrorist organizations, or domestic violent extremists to be the single greatest emerging challenge.


Yet, ultimately, it is the pace and tempo of these evolving and metastasizing challenges which represents the greatest strain on our national emergency management and homeland security enterprises. Rather than a single hazard emerging as the clear and present danger which must be addressed, it is rapidly emerging patterns of change which pose the greatest strain on the current structure. Frequently magnifying these challenges is an obsolete warning network based on outdated predictive modeling.


The challenge is, in essence, a more rapid evolution of threats than of mitigations. This disparity impacts organizations regardless of sector – private, public, or nonprofit. This same mismatch was cited by panelists in the recent Center for Homeland Defense and Security (CHDS) webinar “America in 2023 and Beyond: Changes in the Homeland Security Landscape.” Rather than citing a single isolated issue or challenge that provided the most concern – particularly for professionals working in an all-hazards environment – panelists focused on the rapidly evolving threat landscape.


Just a handful of concrete examples help to make this “meta-challenge” all the more clear:


As these examples readily display, it is not merely a lack of information that is hampering effective planning and mitigation efforts to address these challenges, but also outdated methodologies and datasets. Decision makers are therefore faced with obsolete information in an accelerating change environment – a two-headed monster which foretells a very challenging future indeed.

All is not gloom and doom, however. The homeland security enterprise has rapidly evolved before, driven by rapid shocks and emerging threats. The lasting outcome of today’s premier challenge will depend on the enterprise’s ability to do so again – rapidly and systemically. Successful adaptation will rely on recognizing the threat posed by rapid change to the status quo, and establishing effective information streams to plan and act accordingly.

About Titan Security Group

Titan launched in 1994 with a vision for a better way to provide security services to the Midwest. Today, Titan is one of the largest security companies in North America, scheduling approximately 120,000 hours per week, employing more than 3,600 security staff, and has enjoyed over twenty-seven consecutive years of successfully serving our clients across a wide range of industries. Titan delivers results to clients through flexible, customized security solutions, and superior customer service. The Titan approach combines traditional security staffing with electronic security systems to provide integrated, efficient, and customized safety and security solutions from a single source.

Winter months present additional hazards that are typically not factors during warmer weather – specifically, slip and fall concerns. With snow and ice-covered conditions, you run the risk of taking major falls, which can lead to serious injuries. Here’s tips to keep in mind to avoid slip and fall accidents during the winter months.

Prevention

Education is essential in preventing winter weather-related injuries. Consider the following recommendations to prevent slip and fall injuries during the winter months:

If You Begin to Slip…

About Titan Security Group

Titan launched in 1994 with a vision for a better way to provide security services to the Midwest. Today, Titan is one of the largest security companies in North America, scheduling over 120,000 hours per week, employing more than 3,600 security staff, and has enjoyed over twenty-nine consecutive years of successfully serving our clients across a wide range of industries. Titan delivers results to clients through flexible, customized security solutions, and superior customer service. The Titan approach combines traditional security staffing with electronic security systems to provide integrated, efficient, and customized safety and security solutions from a single source.

In cold and/or wet conditions, common dangers include frostbite, slips and falls, as well as vehicle accidents. Taking simple precautions can help us all prevent accidents and injuries. Here’s some winter weather safety tips you can take to stay safe this season.

General Precautions

Keep exposed skin to a minimum when working or transitioning an outside post – exposure or frostbite can occur in just a few minutes. Wear multiple layers to preserve body heat. And remember to drink plenty of water even in the winter months, as rapid dehydration can occur in cold temperatures.

Preventing Slips

Areas that may become slick and require extra caution include stairs, ramps, tile floors, parking lots and metal parts of equipment. Remember, ice is twice as slippery at 30˚F as at 0˚F.

Driving Safety

Slips can happen when entering and exiting your vehicle, so be cautious. Use a three-point stance when getting in and out of your vehicle. Use a grab-bar or doorframe for stability. Be aware that the vehicle itself can lose traction, causing hazardous skids.

About Titan Security Group

Titan launched in 1994 with a vision for a better way to provide security services to the Midwest. Today, Titan is one of the largest security companies in North America, scheduling approximately 120,000 hours per week, employing more than 3,600 security staff, and has enjoyed over twenty-seven consecutive years of successfully serving our clients across a wide range of industries. Titan delivers results to clients through flexible, customized security solutions, and superior customer service. The Titan approach combines traditional security staffing with electronic security systems to provide integrated, efficient, and customized safety and security solutions from a single source.

In cooperation with our cross-sector safety partners and the City of Chicago Office of Emergency Management and Communications (OEMC), Titan Security is sharing important safety information and guides provided by the OEMC to use in emergency situations. For more information regarding this information and the latest updates in the City of Chicago, please visit: https://t.co/ARdsKJVW1N

Make the Right Call Emergency Number Guide

1922_001 (1)Make the RightCall updatedDownload

Recognize the Signs of Terrorism-Related Suspicious Activity

18_0701_seesay_indicatorinfographicDownload

See Something, Say Something Brochure

See_Say_Trifold_Brochure_Chicago 508Download

Pole Marker Identification Program

Pole Marking Flyer UPDATED 102521 KLDownload

Guide to 9-1-1 Caller Anonymity

OEMC Call Anonymous – FlyerDownload

Smart911 Fact Sheet

Smart911_FactSheet_chicago1-1Download

Safety Tips Near/During Large Events and Protests

As always, if you “See Something, Say Something.” For life-threatening emergencies, call 911. To report suspicious activity, call 855-RPRT-2-S4 (855-777-8274).

About Titan Security Group

Titan launched in 1994 with a vision for a better way to provide security services to the Midwest. Today, Titan is one of the largest security companies in North America, scheduling approximately 115,000 hours per week, employing more than 3,000 security staff, and have enjoyed over twenty-eight consecutive years of successfully serving our clients across a wide range of industries. Titan delivers results to clients through flexible, customized security solutions, and superior customer service. The Titan approach combines traditional security staffing with electronic security systems to provide integrated and efficient, customized security solutions from a single source.

In partnership with our cross-sector life-safety organizations, Titan Security is taking the following steps to support our clients and staff members in the wake of activity related to Mexican Independence Day on September 17, 2022 and the proceeding days until further guidance from the city is provided:

In addition, Titan’s Managers including Senior Leadership team members are active to support staff and clients.

From the City of Chicago Office of Emergency Management and Communications:

Residents who live or work in the affected area will be allowed access with a driver’s license or work I.D.

Precautions to Take

The Office of Emergency Management and Communications (OEMC) reminds private sector firms to ensure their street-facing cameras are in good working order and recording is enabled.

The OEMC Operations Center will be monitoring accordingly. However, because situations develop and change rapidly, additional attention to monitoring news media and other sources for rapidly developing events and updates would be prudent.

Sign Up for Emergency Alert Program for Business

The City of Chicago Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection (BACP) and Office of Emergency Management and Communication (OEMC) has created an emergency alert program specifically for Chicago’s businesses. Local business owners and managers should text “CHIBIZ” to 67283 or visit www.chicago.gov/chibizalerts to opt-in to receive targeted emergency alerts for the business community via CHIBIZ Emergency Alerts. Businesses that opt-in will also be directed to submit a few business-specific details so that BACP and OEMC can send targeted alerts to specific areas of the city as needed.

Questions?

If you have any questions or concerns regarding security coverage or Titan’s Civil Disturbance Support, please contact your Titan representative or the Titan office at (312) 902-3400.  We will continue to communicate with you via email and at http://securechicago.com/posts/.

As always, if you “See Something, Say Something.” For life-threatening emergencies, call 911. To report suspicious activity, call 855-RPRT-2-S4 (855-777-8274).

In cooperation with our cross-sector safety partners, Titan Security is monitoring the events around the 2022 Lollapalooza Music Festival, set to be held Thursday July 28 through Sunday July 31. The following information includes street closures, primary entrances, peak traffic times, and additional precautions being taken by public sector departments:

Dates: July 28-31, 2022

Street Closures: Columbus from Roosevelt to Monroe. Monroe from Michigan to DuSable Lake Shore Drive. All east-west streets from Monroe to Roosevelt; Michigan Ave to Columbus

Primary Entrances: Ida B. Wells and Michigan; Columbus and Monroe

Show Times: Gates open at 11:00am, with last act ending at 10:00pm nightly

Peak Entry Times: 2:00pm to 5:00pm

Peak Exit Times: 9:00pm to 11:00pm

Attendance Count: Estimated at 100,000 per day

Weather Forecast: Sunny with highs in upper 70s/low 80s all four days; adjacent underground parking garages designated as severe weather shelters 

Chicago Police Department: Extra resources on site, including bike teams, drones, etc.

Chicago Fire Department: Extra resources on site, including bike teams (plus private ambulances)

Public Works: Extra resources on site, including prepositioned salt trucks and snow plows

For Emergencies: Call 911; Non-emergencies call 311

Map of Events:

Safety Tips Near/During Large Events

As always, if you “See Something, Say Something.” For life-threatening emergencies, call 911. To report suspicious activity, call 855-RPRT-2-S4 (855-777-8274).

About Titan Security Group

Titan launched in 1994 with a vision for a better way to provide security services to the Midwest. Today, Titan is one of the largest security companies in North America, scheduling approximately 80,000 hours per week, employing more than 2,000 security staff, and have enjoyed over twenty-seven consecutive years of successfully serving our clients across a wide range of industries. Titan delivers results to clients through flexible, customized security solutions, and superior customer service. The Titan approach combines traditional security staffing with electronic security systems to provide integrated and efficient, customized security solutions from a single source.

Titan Security was pleased to attend the monthly meeting of the Chicago Public-Private Task Force (CPPTF) on the morning of Thursday, March 10, helping to represent the cultural properties and commercial high-rise sectors. The group, co-chaired by the Office of Emergency Management and Communications and ChicagoFIRST, brings together organizations and associations from the private, public, and nonprofit sectors to address common concerns.

About Titan Security Group

Titan launched in 1994 with a vision for a better way to provide security services to the Chicagoland community. Today, Titan is one of the largest security companies in North America, scheduling approximately 80,000 hours per week, employing more than 2,000 security staff, and have enjoyed over twenty-seven consecutive years of successfully serving our clients across a wide range of industries. Titan delivers results to clients through flexible, customized security solutions, and superior customer service. The Titan approach combines traditional security staffing with electronic security systems to provide integrated and efficient, customized security solutions from a single source.

“Thought Leadership” by Tom Henkey, CEM
Director of Emergency Management

Given what has taken place between March 2020 and March 2022, you may be forgiven if you can’t quite recall what “normal” was like.

After all, the past two years have seen a massive international disruption in the form of a viral pandemic, driving a global economic recession. We’ve had widespread civil unrest and mass demonstrations, extreme weather patterns, plus unprecedented political violence in our nation’s capital. And now we have the largest conflict in Europe since World War II (on top of simmering civil wars in Syria, Yemen, and Ethiopia).   

“The only thing constant is change” is a maxim for a reason. After an extended period of relative stability, we seem to be living in very unsettled times. And there appear to be no immediate solutions to these widespread foreign and domestic crises.

There are many, many different lenses through which to examine these challenges. Political. Public health. Financial. International relations. Cultural. Societal. And this would merely scratch the surface.

Yet from a strategic organizational perspective there is one striking commonality: the status quo is not a fixed point. In other words, change has been the one constant over the past 24 months. The organizations and entities which have adapted and evolved during this period have been those which enjoyed relative success. Organizations which were overly rigid in their perceptions or actions have been those which suffered the most.

If we are to truly take the long view, the most valuable lesson from these volatile times may be the importance of understanding that status quo is not the norm. In other words, we cannot presume that the most critical factors in our operation are fixed and unchanging. On the contrary, we should be looking at how large-scale disruptions in one part of our operations may impact the whole. Preparedness and flexibility are emerging as invaluable traits.

The recent Russian aggression in Ukraine is a prime example. The two nations had been involved in a significant border dispute since Russia seized and annexed the Crimean peninsula in 2014, and started a proxy war leveraging Russian-speaking Ukrainian citizens in the eastern portion of the country. The situation was deeply disruptive locally and cost thousands of human lives, but its significant impacts did not extend beyond the immediate region.

That all changed in the last week of February when Russian artillery shells screamed across the border into Ukraine, followed by columns of tanks and armored personnel carriers. A regional conflict very suddenly became the world’s problem. Locally, the status quo did not hold.

Germany openly provided lethal aid and weapons systems to Ukraine, its first such international shipment in at least three decades. Finland and Sweden are now publically considering joining the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) to bolster their defenses against Russian aggression. More than one million refugees streamed out of war-torn Ukraine into neighboring states in just one week of conflict. Regionally, the status quo did not hold.

Sanctions and massive financial penalties were quickly leveled against Russia, from across the political and geographic spectrum. Alliances which stood unchallenged for decades suddenly shifted as the clear and obvious aggressor faced pariah status at the United Nations. In an already unsettled global market, oil and grain prices skyrocketed as two key producers and distributors actively fired shells at one another. Internationally, the status quo did not hold.

The real lesson for organizations large and small is that a distant conflict can have massive impacts on local, regional, and international levels. This interconnectedness is what makes global political and economic systems resilient and functional (most of the time). It also means that any organization that failed to prepare for an alternate shipping route, alternate grain supply, or a spike in fuel costs was going to be in for a true and lasting shock.

We don’t yet know if we have truly turned a corner on the COVID pandemic. We can’t be sure that we have seen the worst of the civil unrest or political violence here in the U.S. We cannot be positive about how the outcome of the invasion of Ukraine will affect long-term commodity prices and availability.

But we can be assured that change is a constant. And we can be certain that organizations truly preparing for shocks and disruptions will fare better in the long term.