G4S under fire after nun breaks into US nuclear facility

[joethemechanic]

The under-fire Olympics security firm G4S is facing further embarrassment after an 82-year-old nun broke into a US nuclear facility, forcing it to shut down.

By Nick Allen, Los Angeles9:30PM BST 03 Aug 2012
Sister Megan Rice, along with two male accomplices aged 63 and 57, allegedly used bolt cutters to get in to the Y-12 national security complex in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.
It is the US government's only facility for storing weapons-grade enriched uranium, a key component in nuclear bombs.
WSI Oak Ridge, the contractor responsible for protecting the facility, is owned by G4S, which failed to provide enough security guards for the Olympics. That led to the British government having to use military personnel for the Games.
The groups's chief executive Nick Buckles recently told MPs the Olympics fiasco was a "humiliating shambles for the company."
In the latest debacle Sister Megan, from Nevada, got through four fences to gain access to the Highly Enriched Uranium Materials Facility, which holds the enriched uranium.

She is then alleged to have spray painted the building and poured human blood on it as a protest.
A spokeswoman for G4S declined to comment when contacted by Reuters. A spokesman for the US National Nuclear Security Administration said: "We're taking this very, very seriously,"
All nuclear operations have been temporarily stopped at the facility following the security breach, and security personnel will undergo training.
Sister Megan and her two alleged accomplices were charged with trespassing, and could face a fine of up to $100,000 and up to a year in prison

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/wor...fter-nun-breaks-into-US-nuclear-facility.html

 

[for_his_glory]

Wackenhut subsidiary

G4S subsidiary Wackenhut, in September of 2005, faced allegations of security lapses at seven military bases where it was contracted to provide services. The company claimed the accusations were false and promoted by a union seeking to enroll its employees.[43]

In March of 2006, whistle-blowers employed at Wackenhut released information to the press revealing that the company cheated on an anti-terrorism drill at a US nuclear site. It also performed poorly on another drill at a separate location. The allegations claimed that Wackenhut systematically violated weapons inventory and handling policies and that managers showed new hires spots at the facilities where they could take naps and cut corners during patrols.[44]

In July of 2007, US Senator Bob Casey urged Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne to re-examine federal plans involving Wackenhut and its operations at US nuclear facilities, public transit systems and the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia. The Senator said the company was responsible for short-changing its employees.[45]

The following winter, the New York Times reported that the Exelon Corporation would replace Wackenhut as an in-house security provider at ten US nuclear power plants. This followed the discovery of guards sleeping while on the clock.[46]

In 2012, the Kansas City Star reported that three protestors were found in a secure area at the Y-12 National Security Complex.[47]
Death of Jimmy Mubenga

In October 2010, three G4S-guards heavily restrained and held down 46-year old Angolan deportee Jimmy Mubenga on departing British Airways flight 77, at Heathrow Airport. Security guards kept him restrained in his seat as he began shouting and seeking to resist his deportation. Police and paramedics were called when Mubenga lost consciousness. The aircraft, which had been due to lift off, then returned to the terminal.[48] Mubenga was pronounced dead later that evening at Hillingdon hospital.[49] Passengers reported hearing cries of "don't do this" and "they are trying to kill me." Scotland Yard's homicide unit began an investigation after the death became categorized as "unexplained". Three private security guards, contracted to escort deportees for the Home Office, were released on bail, after having been interviewed about the incident.[48] Nobody was charged for the death of Mubenga.

In February of 2011, The Guardian reported that G4S guards in the United Kingdom had been repeatedly warned about the use of potentially lethal force on detainees and asylum seekers. Confidential informants and several employees released the information to reporters after G4S's practices allegedly led to the death of Jimmy Mubenga. An internal document urged management to "meet this problem head on before the worst happens" and that G4S was "playing Russian roulette with detainees' lives."[50] The following autumn, the company once again faced allegations of abuse. G4S guards were accused of verbally harassing and intimidating detainees with offensive and racist language.[51]
Security lapses at Oak Ridge Nuclear Laboratory

On 24 January 2012, the Knoxville News Sentinel reported that a Wackenhut security guard slept while on the job at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory and had also used an unauthorized mobile telephone while inside the high-security facility. Photographs of the incidents were distributed to the publication, as well as the lab, Wackenhut and the US Department of Energy, which oversees the plant's operations. The facility houses approximately half a ton of Uranium 233, enough for nearly 250 improvised nuclear detonations.[52]

On 3 August 2012 the sole facility in the US for storing enriched uranium, protected by a US subsidiary of G4S was breached by 3 protesters, identified as Megan Rice, an 82 year old Nun, Michael Wallis, 63 and Greg Boertje-Obed, 57, who got as far as the outer wall of the uranium building and allegedly daubed it with slogans and splashed it with human blood. Operations at the site were suspended following the breach.[53]
Failure to meet London 2012 Security Contract

In March 2011 the London 2012 Organising Committee (LOCOG) announced that G4S Secure Solutions (UK) has been appointed official Security Services Provider for the London 2012 Olympic Games.[54]

On 2 June 2012 Sarah Hubble, a member of staff employed by G4S to check applications for staff applying for the 13,000 vacancies, described the process as a shambles which could compromise the safety of athletes and spectators at the Olympic Park. She made claims that vetting staff themselves had not been vetted and that sensitive personal details of applicants were left lying around the office; G4S described the allegations as "false" on 2 June 2012.[55] Subsequently G4S were reported describing the allegations as "inaccurate".[56]

On 12 July 2012 it was announced that 3,500 British troops would be deployed at the 2012 Summer Olympics due to a shortage of adequately trained G4S security staff, with Labour MP Keith Vaz claiming that, "G4S has let the country down and we have literally had to send in the troops."[57] Shares in G4S later dropped 9% after the firm claimed it faced a possible £50 million loss as a result of failing to provide sufficient trained staff for the 2012 Olympic Games.[58] On 17 July, the company's Chief executive, Nick Buckles, appeared before the Home Affairs Select Committee, where he apologized for the organisational failings, expressed regret at having taken on the Olympic security contract, and agreed in principle to pay bonuses to soldiers drafted at the last moment as replacement security staff.[59] Pressed by Labour MP David Winnick, he was forced to admit that organizational situation had become a "humiliating shambles."[60]

In Newcastle G4S were replaced by 500 staff from local security firms for Olympic events.[61] In Scotland G4S were stripped of the security role with it passing to Strathclyde Police.[62] At Dorney Lake, the Olympic rowing and canoeing venue, a G4S manager reported G4S radios were not working so staff were relying on personal mobile phones to communicate; G4S confirmed the venue was being manned by military personnel after 66% of rostered G4S staff were failing to show. The venue manager reported parts of the CCTV system had already been replaced by Army patrols and a complete army takeover was "on the cards".[63]

On 20 July 2012 a G4S guard, Thomas Hall from Norwich, was arrested on suspicion of communicating a bomb hoax and criminal damage to an Olympic venue, ExCel; he was subsequently charged and remanded in custody.[64]

On 21 July 2012 about 40 G4S contracted guards staged a protest outside Old Trafford the home to Manchester United over allegations they have remained unpaid since 6th June 2012.[65]

On 22 July 2012 a contractor reported that a third of his expected staff had not turned up; instead he was sent a group of mainly female, teenage students with minimal training, whom he turned away as he did not feel comfortable leaving them for night duties.[66]

On 23 July 2012 a G4S guard providing security for football athletes at the Chesford Grange Hotel, near Kenilworth, Coventry was charged with theft of a mobile phone.[67]

On 28 July 2012 a G4S security guard was reported to have spat at a soldier of 35 Engineers and called him a "baby-killer" at Lords cricket ground after the soldier asked to search him.[68][69]

Following the Olympics contract failures, the Chief Constables of Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire are to recommend abandoning outsourcing work to G4S. They have been backed by Jim Paice, the agriculture minister and Conservative MP for South East Cambridgeshire.[70]

 

[abide]

The under-fire Olympics security firm G4S is facing further embarrassment after an 82-year-old nun broke into a US nuclear facility, forcing it to shut down.

By Nick Allen, Los Angeles9:30PM BST 03 Aug 2012
Sister Megan Rice, along with two male accomplices aged 63 and 57, allegedly used bolt cutters to get in to the Y-12 national security complex in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.
It is the US government's only facility for storing weapons-grade enriched uranium, a key component in nuclear bombs.
WSI Oak Ridge, the contractor responsible for protecting the facility, is owned by G4S, which failed to provide enough security guards for the Olympics. That led to the British government having to use military personnel for the Games.
The groups's chief executive Nick Buckles recently told MPs the Olympics fiasco was a "humiliating shambles for the company."
In the latest debacle Sister Megan, from Nevada, got through four fences to gain access to the Highly Enriched Uranium Materials Facility, which holds the enriched uranium.

She is then alleged to have spray painted the building and poured human blood on it as a protest.
A spokeswoman for G4S declined to comment when contacted by Reuters. A spokesman for the US National Nuclear Security Administration said: "We're taking this very, very seriously,"
All nuclear operations have been temporarily stopped at the facility following the security breach, and security personnel will undergo training.
Sister Megan and her two alleged accomplices were charged with trespassing, and could face a fine of up to $100,000 and up to a year in prison

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/wor...fter-nun-breaks-into-US-nuclear-facility.html

What was the motive. A nun

 

[joethemechanic]

What was the motive. A nun

I guess she wanted to show how poorly secured the site was.

If an 82 year old nun could break in, what could a well prepared terrorist do?

 

[abide]

I guess she wanted to show how poorly secured the site was.

If an 82 year old nun could break in, what could a well prepared terrorist do?

You are so true.


So all the talk about homeland security is more froth than beer. I am sure terrorists probably saw this article. I think the governments need to assess their relationship with G4S. The Olympic fiasco is something that should never have occurred. Their interest seem to be more in the financial side rather than the security side. They are responsible for security for our airport here. Hope they are doing a better job.

This is really no laughing matter. THE MIND BOGGLES AT WHAT COULD HAVE HAPPEN IF A TERRORIST(S) had entered, my mind cannot even conceive of the terror that would face the US government.