In a new Solutions by Sector webinar presented by SECURITY and SDM, Jim Sawyer, director of security services for Seattle Children’s Hospital for more than 30 years, recommends that every progressive security team should adopt a “zero incidents” philosophy. A “zero tolerance” philosophy is having a strong response after an event; whereas, zero incidents emphasizes prevention to make sure there is never an event in the first place. “I think that’s the optimum standard that every security team should work towards,” Sawyer says. “You can build a philosophy that endorses a therapeutic work environment where you absolutely have no events.”

Sawyer is a crime prevention and personal safety presenter, a nonviolent crisis intervention certified instructor, a member and presenter with Homeland Security, and a president and past president with the Washington State Crime Prevention Association. The webinar, “Zero incidents versus zero tolerance: Achieving a violence-free environment through verbal de-escalation, optimum customer service, and intuition,” can be viewed here.