ARA's Response to Recent Murders

[TowNews]

On December 12th, a Nation Recovery agent was shot and killed in California. On December 13th, a B&S Collateral Recovery camera car driver was shot and killed and the accompanying repossession agent seriously wounded and hospitalized by gunfire in an upscale Alabama neighborhood. This marks two recovery agents murdered in two days and seven recovery agents murdered in the last six months. 
 
As an industry, we’re grieving – for the loss of life, for the loved ones they leave behind, but also for the state of our industry. Our agents and our staff are in more danger than ever. We go to bed each night praying, wondering if our staff will be alive the next day. This isn’t and shouldn’t be normal. 
 
President Roosevelt once said, “Great thoughts speak only to the thoughtful mind, but great actions speak to all mankind.” It’s time to take action. What would it look like for our industry to stop waiting solely for our lobbyist, our government, our councilmen, our lenders, or even our associations to take action? What would it look like if ALL associations across the country put aside any biases they have towards other associations, forwarders, lenders… and decided to take action? 
 
Our recovery agents need body cameras and body armor to protect them and serve as a deterrent. Police officers wear them for a reason, and they statistically are proven to save lives. What if we worked to ensure every recovery company in the nation had body cameras and body armor for their staff? Yes, they are extremely costly, and most recovery companies cannot afford them. What if we started a fund for ANY recovery company who cannot financially afford to purchase this equipment to have access to body cameras and body armor? What if…? 
 
If you’re the head of a recovery company, recovery association, lending or forwarding company, it's time to come together and have a meeting of the minds to make this happen. It’s literally a matter of life and death. Let’s start with a Zoom call in January, and plan to meet in person in Q1. Let’s make 2024 the year we make changes that will impact the safety and well-being of every person who works in the recovery industry. Let’s make it the year where we have no causalities in the recovery industry. 
 
Please email me at vaughn@houstonrepo.com or call me at (972) 877-1130, if you’d like to be part of this movement for change. 
 
Vaughn Clemmons 
President of Automobile Recovery Bureau, Inc. & American Recovery Association (ARA)