The health, safety and security challenges that business owners and managers have faced in 2020 have made one thing very clear: COVID-19 has acted as a catalyst for a flurry of investments designed to spur the reopening of retail stores, commercial office space and public venues. Such investments don’t need to be singularly focused on opening the doors, but instead can be part of a more sustainable solution that can offer long-term value and flexibility that can be applied to a variety of situations. This is where smart security cameras connected to the IoT can help.

The National Retail Federation (NRF) will be hosting the NRF PROTECT ALL ACCESS, a free, four-day online event taking place September 22 – 25, 2020, featuring dynamic speakers, a virtual expo highlighting 75 retail security collaborators and networking opportunities catered to the retail security community. With 16 sessions spanning topics from talent and culture to theft and fraud to cyber and digital crime, attendees will have access to the latest information for the loss prevention, asset protection and cyber risk communities.

The American Crime Prevention Institute (ACPI) and SecureBI have partnered to bring online crime prevention training and certification courses to law enforcement agencies and security professionals across the country.

Illegal dumping is a problem in many cities around the world and enforcing laws to prevent it can be quite difficult and resource-intensive. New Orleans has taken a technology-based approach to tackling the problem, and it's working.

The Hamilton County Election Commission in Tennessee plans to utilize money from the Federal Cares Act to focus on physical security in time for the November election.

Delaware's state correctional leaders opened the Department of Correction Intelligence Operations Center (IOC). The statewide facility will be operated by the Special Operations Group within the Bureau of Prisons. The IOC positions will allow the DOC to identify security threats from across facilities, assess them, and proactively act to mitigate those risks.

 

In Oregon, the Portland City Council passed legislation, which bans both city government agencies and private businesses from using facial recognition technology on the city’s grounds.

In the 19 years that have passed since Sept. 11, 2001, Americans have seen significant increases in counterterrorism security in public venues, including more security guards, closed-circuit TV cameras, metal detectors and bag checks. A study by the USC Center for Risk and Economic Analysis of Terrorism Events (CREATE) finds out that people are still willing to pay more for increased security at public venues almost two decades later.

As businesses and schools seek to bring people back to brick and mortar establishments, it’s going to be important to make customers, students and teachers feel comfortable, in addition to simply following guidelines. Customers are going to have to feel that it’s worth going out, versus shopping on-line. For retailers, that comfort might in part be derived from visible occupancy monitoring efforts and automated voice-down messages when people aren’t wearing masks or keeping their distance.

In late February 2020, news broke in the United States that the once faraway threat of a “novel coronavirus” had spread to U.S. soil. As COVID-19 case numbers in major cities grew, stay-at-home orders were put in place, businesses closed, restaurants shifted to take-out only, and retailers adopted curbside service. All of this took place to slow the spread of COVID-19.  Meanwhile, however, hospitals remained open — accepting new patients at the direction of the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and working diligently to adhere to new safety guidelines. During virus, or any pandemic outbreaks, we are acutely reminded of our essential frontline healthcare workers, the critical need to enhance their overall safety, security, and to be as efficient as possible when communicating vital information.