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The University of Arizona, like major research universities across the country, found that many of its grants and contracts were tied to higher levels of access security. Access to buildings with old-fashioned keys and locks or cards with magnetic strips swiped into pin pads didn’t provide the amount of security the University was looking for. So the school made the switch to smart cards.

What does it take to motivate today’s security officer? If you know, please tell me. I have tried to get the most from every worker I encounter. When I fail, I cannot help but wonder what is wrong with my approach or with me. I’m open to new ideas and will read what the latest experts have to say. Lately, I have been motivated to try the suggestions from two authors who wrote books on motivation and human nature: one book by Daniel Pink titled “Drive - The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us” is a look beyond the traditional carrot and stick approach. The other is by Paul Lawrence and Nitin Nohria and is titled “Driven How Human Nature Shapes our Choices.” I think motivation and choices are two inseparable concepts.

Do you think that keys and locks are the oldest man-made security tool? Forget it. Guardhouses go back hundreds, if not thousands of years as a place a person would sit or stand, observe, control access, alert others and take occasional action such as dumping hot oil over the wall. These permanent and temporary structures, built in or brought in, are used in most every country. 

Since the Security Executive Council launched six years ago, it and its research arm, the Security Leadership Research Institute (SLRI), have studied the shifting shape of the security profession and its drivers. Through in-depth, ongoing research, development of the Collective Knowledge™ process, and trend tracking, we have learned much about the changes that have affected security, as well as the personal and external factors that help determine leadership success.

Add dirty hands, dust buildup, vandals, salt spray, electromagnetic interference and even explosions to the rain, sleet, snow and the gloom of night that can affect operation of access control systems, and especially readers in harsh conditions. And there is the stress on readers that must handle intensive traffic or electrical situations that can knock out gear for a period of time.

Four years after a student gunned down 32 people in a rampage, Virginia Tech University officials remain adamant that they did nothing wrong by waiting two hours to warn the campus that a gunman was on the loose. Virginia Tech says it acted reasonably based on standards in place at the time and doesn’t deserve the $55,000 fine that the U.S. Department of Education imposed on the school for violating federal law with its response the day of the shootings. As of press time, they had yet to decide on whether or not to appeal the fine.

It runs only 4.2 miles long, but it’s the economic engine of the entire state of Nevada. The Las Vegas Strip is arguably one of the most popular destinations for tourists world wide. Nineteen of the world’s 25 largest hotels by room count are on the Strip, with a total of more than 67,000 rooms.           

In today’s environment of overseas manufacturing and supply chains spanning oceans, miles, and cultures, securing a logistics network can be a moving target. In addition to smuggling and cargo theft, certain areas of the world are also high-risk regions for drug-related violence, political unrest, corruption and terrorism. To effectively manage product flow in high-risk areas, supply chain security programs should have robust processes in three key areas: recognition, evaluation and control of emerging threats.

Ty Morrow knows that Freeport, Texas, is “where fun happens.” He also knows that bad things could happen; and, as chief of police, it’s his duty to see that fun overpowers the bad. And one recent addition to his staff is a wireless network that supports security video in this coastal city.

Money moves from bank to retailer and back to bank. Just as important, personal information accompanies any electronic transaction. Security magazine editor Diane Ritchey and SDM magazine editor Laura Stepanek brought together financial, banking and retail professionals and a security integrator to discuss how their industries are similar but yet have such differing security needs from other segments.