About Global Safety & Security

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Harold C. Patin

Harold Patin, Chairman & Founder of GLOBAL sought a unique opportunity in that he served in the Army Intelligence for three (3) years in the early 60's, half of which was in the Orient and was then hired by the Federal Bureau of Narcotics (FBN), U.S. Treasury Department, in New Orleans, then transferred to San Antonio. These were the early days of drug enforcement and the number of enforcement agents was small. Harold worked mostly in San Antonio and Austin, Texas, but also on assignments along the entire Texas - Mexican border. In 1967, Harold transferred to the Bureau of Drug Abuse Control (BDAC) and moved to Dallas, Texas. Six months later, he moved back to New Orleans, LA. In April 1968, President Lyndon Johnson created the Bureau of Narcotics and Danger Drugs [BNDD] (Justice Department). Harold and all the other federal agents involved in drug enforcement were transferred into the new agency.

Harold became an Assistant Group Supervisor, then Group Supervisor. In 1969, Harold was appointed Special Agent in Charge (SAC) of the Jackson, MS office while he still remained Group Supervisor of Group #1 Enforcement Group in New Orleans. During this time the government was building a modern, much larger enforcement agency and Harold saw the agency grow from a few hundred (285) agents in the world to thousands. Also, during the time the agents under Harold's supervision and management made record breaking cases of international and national importance. The arrest of several international heroin traffickers tied to the "French Connection" and the seizure of 100 pounds of pure heroin near Miami from Buenos Aires; the arrest and conviction of a conspiracy to manufacture and distribute nationally methadone, including the seizure of the working lab in Tupelo, MS, the PhD chemist who operated the lab and the high level heroin dealer in Baltimore who was distributing the drug. A total of 10 pounds of pure methadone was seized and evidence indicated over 100 kilos had been produced and distributed mostly on the U.S. East Coast.

Another big case was the arrest of Jerry Garcia and the Grateful Dead in New Orleans. The real target was the backer of the rock bands, who was the top LSD manufacturer and distributor in the world. The case made headlines everywhere and inspired a song (Truckin') by The Dead. The key violator later was imprisoned in California, convicted & went to prison. Remarkably LSD availability and use declined steadily until it virtually disappeared by the end of the 20th Century.

President Richard Nixon created the Office of Drug Abuse Law Enforcement (ODALE) in 1972 and it was staffed mainly with BNDD Agents, Harold was transferred to ODALE as the Task Force SAC. This was a large unit composed of BNDD and most other Federal agencies plus State & Local police and several Federal prosecutors. The primary mission was to wipe out heroin. President Nixon then created the Drug Enforcement Administration (D.E.A.) in 1973. Harold automatically became a D.E.A.Supervisory Special Agent. Thus making Harold perhaps one of the few, if not the last one still alive, to have been in the FBN, BDAC, BNDD, ODALE & DEA. With in depth experience in every type of drug at all levels of abuse and violations, Harold also was assigned to Training and Education positions. This took him all over the USA lecturing on drug enforcement and setting up schools, workshops and seminars.

Harold foresaw a need to educate and inform the private sector of the impending consequences of employees working under the influence of chemical substances.

Due to the success of DEA nationwide and especially in New Orleans, heroin became nearly impossible to find by 1976. The major part of the drug abuse problem then shifted to legally available narcotics and dangerous drugs. Harold was put in charge of a special enforcement group targeted at illicit drug diversion by licensed practitioners. In a couple years, this group had neutralized the drug diversion problem in Southern Louisiana and Mississippi. A number of physicians and a couple pharmacists were shut down, charged and prosecuted successfully or turned over to the licensing boards. The drug diversion epidemic came to a halt but occasionally rears its head again and again. But in 1976 the violators were over 50 strong.

Toward the end of Harold's career with DEA, he was approached by several private, major corporations for assistance with rampant, small scale drug problems within industry. This was not DEA's mission, but a small amount of drug abuse in a refinery, truck, steel mill, nuclear power plant or any variety of businesses can be deadly. Harold developed a presentation “Drugs at Work; The Problem & The Response”. Many corporate entities were ready to sign up and promote him.

After serving the D.E.A. and its predecessors for 17 years he decided to retire and focus his attention on the private sector. Quickly, many companies began to seek out his expertise to train their supervisors, employees and implement drug detection programs. In the beginning (1981-1990) drug abuse in the workplace was rampant and productivity was low as accidents were high. Harold's services detected many in violation of company policies and he developed his own protocols to deal with searches, investigations and drug testing.  When the government began to mandate drug testing for Federal employees and certain industries such as the Federal Drug Testing Program and D.O.T Mandatory Testing Regulations, GLOBAL had long been established.

Harold had implemented and recommended many best practices such as chain of custody, enzyme immune assays for screening, gas chromatography and mass spectrometry for all screen positives, professional collections, establish cut off levels, blind proficiency sampling, medical review of positives, supervisor training, and employee education and referrals long before the D.O.T.'s mandatory regulations were established. Being ahead of the curve and delivering the best possible service to each customer has always been one of our company's most valuable traits. After all, we are America's Pioneer in Drug Free Workplace Services.

Alicia Patin Bouchon

Alicia Bouchon is the younger of Harold Patin's two daughters.  Like her father, she was born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana.  Undecided on whether to pursue a career in nursing or follow in her father's footsteps, she enrolled in Charity Hospital School of Surgical Technology and quickly decided that working in healthcare was not for her.  She has since spent the last 24 years at GLOBAL and has literally climbed her way to the top.  She is currently the President of this expanding corporation and is key in taking the company to new heights with new technologies and proven methods for the 21st century client. 

Beginnings at GLOBAL

After high school, like most young men and women, Alicia was unsure of what she really wanted to do.  She tried her hand at nursing but found it gruesome.  She also had a quick career in the beauty industry but, at her father's request, began working full time at GLOBAL in 1990. Harold Patin had started GLOBAL nearly 10 years earlier and was looking for a trustworthy employee to help in his successful and well known drug and alcohol testing, detection, and education business.  Being exposed to the drug prevention business her whole life was a big asset for the company. Alicia had also worked at GLOBAL as a receptionist part time during high school and summers and thought she may be able to add something to the company.  She quickly advanced in the company, proving that she was imperative to the day to day operations.  In 1995 she was named Chief Financial Officer and began daily responsibilities for most of the company's vital functions.

GLOBAL saw a rough spot when Alicia's father and President of GLOBAL had a stroke.  Alicia had to move into the leadership role while Harold recovered.  Her number one goal was running a professional and successful business, and while many clients knew of this misfortune, they never felt their business was compromised by his absence.  With God's hand, Bouchon lead the company with innovative ideas and technologies and continued to show that GLOBAL was the leading TPA.  In 2001, Alicia was named Vice President. Also, with God’s blessing, Harold returned to work in good health in about 2 months.

Taking GLOBAL to the Next Level

After being named Vice President of GLOBAL, Alicia took it to the next level. The Internet was changing the way the business world started operating. Like her father, she wanted to maintain the company's track record of being ahead of the curve by creating a program that customers could access through the Internet. These programs, e-Reports, and e-Randoms revolutionized the drug testing business. GLOBAL was the first drug testing company that could offer a data base that their customers could access through the Internet to handle their result reporting and random programs. Later she upgraded our program to Global-LIVE! which gave customers the opportunity to log on to their account to see if a participants results were in, what tests were still pending, what participants needed to still take a drug test, and a variety of other helpful information right at the tips of their fingertips.  This innovation was just one of many changes that helped GLOBAL move its way into the 21st Century - the age of technology.

Continuing to be ahead of the Curve

In November of 2009, Alicia was named President of GLOBAL.  She immediately started working toward new projects that would continue to expand and diversify GLOBAL's services while maintaining excellent customer service and professionalism.  Recently GLOBAL began conducting DNA testing at their main facility; they have also started offering their seminars in a DVD Training version.  She continues to expand business in the drug testing field representing many corporations that follow the Department of Transportation rules, government agencies, drug court programs, probation programs, and companies that require auditing and reporting requirements. Alicia prides herself on her diverse clientele who are completely satisfied with GLOBAL's very detailed, accurate, timely, and professional management.

GLOBAL Gives Back

GLOBAL has expanded their endeavors by giving back to the community.  GLOBAL is currently involved with Ronald McDonald House, Susan B. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, and Toys for Tots in the Greater New Orleans Area.

Alicia dedicates her time, talents and money to local and international Christian organizations and provides many services to non-profit and Christian organizations at little or no cost.

Harold is also involved with Catholic Charities, Cornerstone Builders Mentors. This is a program for one on one mentoring of a child who has a parent or parents incarcerated. This is usually for a drug related problem. Harold mentors two young boys and has helped bring the program to others.