In the decade after 9/11, antiterrorist training and strategies have focused on combating the threat from without – al Qaeda and Muslim extremism, with the bulk of our human and technology resources going into public transportation facilities.
Phillip Riordan, vice president for student life at Lynn University, Boca Raton, Fla., has added a third gatehouse recently to provide access control to his campus. But he knows that the guardhouses are more than modular buildings.
Security integrators play an interesting and integral role in the security industry – they are part salesman, part customer service agent, part repairman, engineer, consultant… the list could continue. So with all of these competing roles, how do you, as a security executive, sort through the options to find a security integrator who will work with you in the long-term, not just plug in the cameras and walk away?
Bart Szafnicki follows the news every day. Mainly, it’s because his colleagues will be racing towards the action to break or report on a story. Szafnicki is Vice President Corporate Security for Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. (TBS, Inc.), which has brands and businesses all over the world, including CNN.
How far does one camera feed go – to a dispatcher or monitoring station? What if it could go to every security vehicle in an organization – giving security personnel minute-by-minute updates on what’s happening and where their services are most needed? With wireless mesh, it can, and more.
Jim Frankild sought out technology to improve his situational awareness. Timothy Phelps wanted security video for judge-pleasing evidence. Wes Hill created a unique metropolitan area network. J.B. Van Hollen rolled out a crime alerting system. In Chicago, at the NATO Summit earlier this year, one of the world’s most sophisticated integrated security systems bridged myriad transportation, school, street and even home cameras to safety contain protesters. And Bryant Garrett finally turned in his VCRs for state-of-art technology. Then there is Ken Deck, who had to concentrate on protecting a vulnerable perimeter.
“Forewarned, forearmed; to be prepared is half the victory.” - Miguel de Cervantes When unexpected security situations arise with travelers abroad, there is a marked difference in response between trained individuals and those who are untrained. When facing security or safety challenges, the trained traveler or expatriate responds in accordance with what they have been taught and learned; they have protocols and pre-briefed responses as threats present themselves.
For some retail enterprises, Big Data can include smaller steps such as the integration of security video into a sprawling mall of information.
Another pet from the information technology arena, Big Data is a loosely-defined term describing data sets so large and complex that they become awkward to work with using traditional database management tools.
When voters in the Longview Independent School District (ISD) in east Texas approved a $266.8 million bond issue in 2008, it paved the way for construction of seven new elementary schools, three new middle schools and a complete renovation of Longview High School. Recognizing the critical need for a secure environment for students, staff and school visitors, the bond also provided funding for a new, district-wide video surveillance system.
Aurora, Colorado. Penn State. The Indiana State Fair.
These recent tragedies were clearly driving the agendas of speakers and attendees at the 2012 National Sports Safety and Security Conference and Exhibition in New Orleans early last month. The conference, hosted by the National Center for Spectator Sports Safety and Security (NCS4), tailored its speaker lineup around some of these recent issues – active shooter protocol, sexual misconduct policy and weather risk mitigation.
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