Public sector security - Expert commentary

A defibrillator can save the life of a person suffering from cardiac arrest – but it is most effective when used in the first few minutes of the patient collapsing. Studies have shown that a shock given within the first three minutes provides the best chance of survival and even one minute of further delay can substantially lower the chances of recovering. Public Access Defibrillators (PADs) were created to allow untrained members of the public to deliver life-saving treatment in those pr...

The COVID-19 pandemic is the defining global health crisis of our time. In order to be able to fight against it, mask detection and temperature measurement have become daily routines for everyone. In this situation, Merit LILIN, with over 40 years of experience in IP video manufacturers of IP cameras, recording devices, and software, have created a cost-effective COVID-19 solution to ensure end-user health and safety. Temperature measurement Many solutions should provide temperature informatio...

Many industries are, to a greater or lesser extent, in the throes of digital transformation. As with any change programme, digital transformation efforts often under-perform against expectations. Yet, the number of digital transformation programmes continue to increase, as commercial pressures intensify. As security professionals we need to embrace our role in digital transformation, as security is everybody’s business. For all those people weary of hearing about digital transformation an...

The industry faces numerous challenges in the coming year. Physical and cyber security threats continue to become more complex, and organisations are struggling to manage both physical and digital credentials as well as a rapidly growing number of connected endpoints in the Internet of Things (IoT). We are witnessing the collision of the enterprise with the IoT, and organisations now must establish trust and validate the identity of people as well as ‘things’ in an environment of in...

Public spaces in cities and suburbs are important places for community development and promoting outdoor recreation. These areas may include main streets, parks, promenades, band shells and fields. Such locations are often utilised by public event planners for community activities, including summer festivals, wintertime ice skating rink installations, music concerts and art fairs. As the year drew to a close, holiday and Christmas markets as well as major New Year’s Eve events, presented...

According to the reports of not-for-profit organisation Gun Violence Archive, the year 2018 has seen 323 mass shooting incidents as of November 28 in the United States. This number is 346 for the year 2017 and 382 for 2016 (more statistics are available here), with “mass shooting” defined as cases where four or more people are shot or killed in the same time period and location. While definitions of mass shooting vary with organisations in the US, the count of over 300 incidents per...

Timely and important issues in the security marketplace dominated our list of most-clicked-upon articles in 2018. Looking back at the top articles of the year provides a decent summary of how our industry evolved this year, and even offers clues to where we’re headed in 2019. In the world of digital publishing, it’s easy to know what content resonates with the security market: Our readers tell us with their actions; i.e., where they click. Let’s look back at the Top 10 article...

There’s only so much a corporation can do to counteract the threat of a major incident. You can ask everyone to be vigilant and to report anything suspicious, but you cannot stop someone intent on deliberately starting a fire, threatening a work colleague with a knife or something much worse. And of course, most businesses recognise that even routine events – such as burst pipes, IT system failures, extreme weather event or power outages – can have significant consequences unle...

Last week, the Schedule 84 Suppliers Research Panel participated in reviewing the 2018 contracting year with the GSA Schedule 84 leadership team. Our panel group consists of experienced contractors and consultants meeting for a monthly conference call. Schedule 84 is the GSA Schedules Contract for Total Solutions for Law Enforcement, Security, Facilities Management, Fire and Rescue. Our opinions are part of a research programme to provide valuable feedback to the GSA Schedule 84 programme and...

When a child goes missing in a large, crowded mall, we have a panicking mom asking for help from the staff, at least a dozen cameras in the area, and assuming the child has gone missing for only 15 minutes, about 3 hours’ worth of video to look through to find the child. Typical security staff response would be to monitor the video wall while reviewing the footage and making a verbal announcement throughout the mall so the staff can keep an eye out for her. There is no telling how long it...

Facial recognition has a long history dating back to the 1800s. To track down criminals, such as infamous bandits Jesse Woodson James and Billy the Kid, law enforcement would place “Wanted Alive or Dead” posters advertising bounties and soliciting public cooperation to help locate and even apprehend the alleged criminals. In addition to the bounty, these posters would include a photo and brief description of the crime, which would then be circulated to law enforcement agencies arou...

When asked about what the market should be thinking about in 2018, I am left offering an answer that serves as an urgent call to action: prepare yourself for change! The security industry is soon likely to see a dramatic shift from the traditional segmentation of commercial and residential security. Smart phones, mobile technologies, cloud computing, and having everything provided ‘as a service’ in peoples’ lives means users of buildings have a new set of expectations. In many...

Video surveillance as a service (VSaaS) is not just for commercial organisations. Federal, state and local governments can also realise benefits from the technology—and use it to deliver an integrated video surveillance system that addresses some of their unique security needs. Video Surveillance as a Service (VSaaS) What is VSaaS? Simply stated, it’s a cloud-based video surveillance solution that is packaged and delivered as a service over the internet. The price varies depending...

In recent news, trucks, lorries and vans have been the weapon used in terror attacks around the globe, and other sources suggest that autonomous vehicles, particularly self-driving trucks and lorries, could be a reality sooner than we think. It poses the question: How can we prevent autonomous vehicles from being used as weapons in terror attacks? Accessories for terror attacks We already have ‘self-driving’ technologies in the cars which are on our roads today, from lane-departur...

Throughout 2017, customers have been increasingly looking for technological answers to a plethora of their business needs, and the surveillance industry has seen a rapid boost because of this. In particular, we’ve seen more organisations harness video to fulfil much more than just their security requirements. Combining physical and cyber security Businesses are now using surveillance to address areas such as health and safety, sales and marketing as it fast becomes more of a business opp...

In 2017 we saw a lot of new construction projects, and many existing buildings upgraded their security systems to include high-resolution cameras and better-quality recording systems. Because the economy is stronger, many businesses and municipalities increased their security budgets for large-scale and public projects due to terrorism threats in public places.   Smart cities became more popular One of the bigger trends we saw in 2017 is the growing popularity of smart cities...

The early October wildfires in Northern California and recent spate of hurricanes in the Southeast and Puerto Rico reinforce the fact that the healthcare community is in need of more stringent attention to organised and community-supported Emergency Management. Regulating healthcare facilities With the potential for catastrophes in the future, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has been working on "All-Hazards" Emergency Preparedness for several years and published CMS-3178 -...

The 2017 decision of the British electorate to leave the EU was a shock to many within and beyond the UK. It is one of the most significant decisions in the UK’s history. It reflects a long-running uneasiness with the land mass across the Channel, not only because of geographical separation but also because of cultural disconnection. The UK is one of few European countries not to have been occupied or oppressed since the Norman invasion of 1066, and hence has an independence of spirit whi...

Today ‘terrorism’ has become a word we use and hear every day. The goal of terrorism is a media product - information delivered to nearly every house in the world. So, the weapon of terrorism is information. Therefore, the way we defend and prevent terrorism must also be based on intelligent processing of information - and an early awareness of potential threats and effective preventive action may eliminate most attacks. Video analytics, automated surveillance and AI decision-making...

There have been many changes in the healthcare environment over the past decade. The Affordable Care Act has been established, severe weather events are on the rise, violence along with active shootings continue to increase, behavioural health patients present treatment challenges and hospitals continue to consolidate to increase purchasing and service capabilities. Over the next decade, healthcare will continue to transform. Emphasis will be on financial reform, violence response, emergency pre...

In today’s world, businesses face a growing threat landscape. Looking back on just the past few months, there have been increased incidents of workplace violence (the recent New York city hospital shooting), terrorist activities (London Bridge attack, Manchester attack), and cyberattacks (Petya and WannaCry). While critical events have become more frequent, more complex, and costly to businesses, organisations’ emergency communications systems, plans and processes have remained surpr...

Crime prevention may require changes to the structure, added surveillance cameras, effective access control methods Given the vast amount of litigation, businesses and property owners must find a system of adherence towards safe and secure premises to avoid multimillion dollar verdicts. In the business of law, negligent security is a rapidly growing niche field and the number of lawsuits continues to increase. Why? The obvious answer is the current lack of uniform security pro...

Utility security staff have a responsibility to ensure they can identify risks associated with security threats Protecting North America’s power grid is a thankless job. Day in and day out, the good citizens of the United States and Canada wake up with the assumption that when they get out of bed each morning and flip on the lights, the room will illuminate, the coffee pot will come to life and their mobile phone will have been fully charged. After all, we live in a mode...

With the current state of economic uncertainty, there is a huge opportunity in 2017 for perimeter intrusion detection (PID) manufacturers to reach the commercial market. Petty crime rates, such as theft and vandalism, are on the rise and, as a result, small business owners are looking for new security options to enhance their current camera and alarm systems. Often thought of as complicated, expensive, and only for high-value applications, PID has a chance to change its perception in the years...

Predicting where or how security access trends would develop in 2016 was an educated guess at best. We did, however, forecast continued growth in the areas of wireless readers; smartphone usage as a credential; and more migration to web-based software/hardware solutions.In hindsight, we were not so far off the mark. Wireless security systems proved to be a growing option for extending an access control system and a practical solution for retrofits. Smart phone credentials gained popularity by fr...

The shift from wired to wireless access control was expected to gather pace in 2016—and that has happened. This year we at Assa Abloy surveyed a large cross-section of security professionals, seeking their insight into the changing market. Comparing our data with research we did in 2014 showed a clear trend towards wireless access control.   Wireless access data Our 2014 survey found 23% of commercial properties using a wireless or hybrid wired/wireless access control s...

There will likely continue to be high numbers of lone wolf and soft target attacks in the year ahead. The drivers behind these tragedies are a confluence of self-radicalisation, social media, violent extremism, and mental illness. They will require our skills as security professionals — observation, investigation, interviewing, due diligence — like never before.   Looming in the background of these physical attacks is the prospect of combined physical and cyberatta...

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) in the United States fosters health insurance coverage for workers and their families, and requires national standards for electronic health care transactions.   The law’s privacy provisions include protection of information related to any individual’s health status, provision of health care, or payment for health care. There are also additional health privacy laws specific to California. Inter...

Budget cuts are causing councils to scale down their systems, or decommission them altogether Budget cuts in England and Wales are leading to cameras being switched off to save money. But why is this happening and what could be done to minimise the impact on public space CCTV systems? The UK could be described as the CCTV “capital” of the world, with between 4 million and 6 million cameras deployed, according to a British Security Industry Association study in 201...

There is a contrast between high levels of security inside Westminster and little to no security outside the safe environment The fatal attack on 41-year-old Jo Cox, a Labour member of the British Parliament, on the street in her district in West Yorkshire in Northern England, is increasing calls for greater security of Members of Parliament (MPs). Cox was stabbed and shot to death June 16th outside a library in Birstall, where she was meeting with constituents. There have be...