THE DECADE IN REVIEW AND LOOKING AHEAD TO THE FUTURE OF SECURITY

More skills and expertise, more training and knowledge, more technology. The 2010s saw profound changes in the security industry. The advancements, if anything, will accelerate in the decade we’ve just begun.

More Security Guards Than Police Officers

As global threats increase, so does the need for security. In the past decade, the number of security officers surpassed the number of full-time, sworn police officers. By 2018, the number of police

officers in the U.S. stood at 686,665, according to Statisa.com. By comparison, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported more than 1.1 million security guards and gaming surveillance officers during the same year.

That trend is worldwide. Many countries in the Americas, Europe and Asia report that they employ more security officers than police officers.

Not only will those numbers continue to grow, but the skills of security officers will become increasingly sophisticated. The security officer of the 2020s will have a greater understanding of using technology to enhance security capabilities. There’s no substitute for human eyes, ears and analysis, but augmenting humans with high-tech tools will be a major shift in the industry during the coming decade.

Technology: What’s Here, What’s Coming

When the past decade started, a minority of security employees used technology as part of their day-to-day duties. Today, the vast majority do.

Much of that is technology we now all take for granted, such as using smartphones to track patrol officers and to report incidents. Clients, too, are using more technology, because of a drastic change in the industry.

Specifically, there’s been a global move away from proprietary hardware and software to plug-and-play equipment, which is much easier to install, upgrade and expand. With new capabilities being added so quickly, systems and equipment go out of date within two or three years, and upgrading quickly and economically has become critical.

In addition, the coming years will see greater use of technology in three areas:

Artificial intelligence
Drones
Robots

What Artificial Intelligence Can Do

Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly adding more analytical and observational capabilities. It can be very expensive to have multiple human operators constantly monitoring the perimeter of a corporate campus to watch for a vehicle driven by a dangerous, disgruntled former employee. But AI can monitor and analyze the images from multiple high-resolution cameras in real-time and then alert a security officer if a vehicle matching the description is spotted.

AI can also, say, flag a vehicle that’s been spotted in an area where it shouldn’t be, or flag a suspicious vehicle that’s been seen in the same area multiple times over a short period. If the same person has been seen behind the building three times after midnight in one week, are they casing the facility and planning a break-in? AI can alert officers before the break-in occurs.

Many secure government buildings are already using AI to enhance perimeter security, and that same technology will be increasingly used in the private sector during the 2020s.

Drones on Patrol

Whether backed by human operators or artificial intelligence, drones can monitor every square inch of a campus, office park or other group of buildings much more efficiently than security officers on patrol. Drones can easily monitor areas such as rooftops that are difficult for humans to watch.

Drones can also be mobilized to quickly respond to any potential incident, providing high quality, real-time audio and video to security officers and others. They can be programmed to track heat sources or detect smoke to provide early warnings of fires.

The Human Touch

We have a logistics client who needs to ensure food safety. The client’s facilities process the contents of over 950,000 vehicles a year, and we employ advanced technology to ensure that every truck arrives in perfect condition, sealed correctly, so the client knows its contents are safe when the vehicle arrives at a grocery store.

Thanks to technology, our analytics shows that the number of potential issues has been slashed by almost 80%.

But humans will always be important and critical. Cameras and artificial intelligence can confirm that a seal is on a handle, but only a security officer can determine whether that seal is actually snapped closed. Trained personnel can spot signs of tampering and know what they’re seeing, while a camera cannot.

All of that means that human beings will still need to be an integral part of the security process. But over the next decade, security officers will be more educated, better trained, and more comfortable and familiar with how to use security technology. Clients will still want the human touch.

To discuss the impact of these trends on your organization, please call Sunstates Security at 866-710-2019 or email us.

HOW TO GET THE MOST FROM YOUR SECURITY PARTNERSHIP

In many organizations, managers aspire to certain perks. Such as the corner office, the big desk, the fancy furnishings, or power lunches and high-level meetings where important decisions are made. Sunstates Security managers are a different breed. They practice project-based management, a simple idea that yields better service for clients. With project-based management, Sunstates operates more efficiently, provides competitive pricing, and delivers more hands-on service to clients.

Simply put, Sunstates security officers and managers go above and beyond every day. The results: Our client retention rate is 95%, significantly above the industry average.

Project-Based Management:

With project-based management, managers spend more time out in the field, visiting client sites and talking to security officers and clients, than they do in their own offices. This has a number of advantages for clients and Sunstates:

Develops closer relationships between managers and security officers, as well as between managers and clients. Managers can listen to concerns, solicit suggestions for improvement, and make decisions on the spot.
Gives security officers and clients the opportunity to discuss concerns, issues, and suggestions that might not make it into a formal report, but are important enough to address.
Ensures our employees follow the security plan that is custom-tailored to each client and site.
It provides opportunities to improve those plans, as well as other security policies and procedures, immediately on-site.

Those site visits and conversations can be fruitful. When a client mentioned that no one routinely checked fire extinguishers to make sure they were operational and up to date, we added that to our operations manual. Now, every fire extinguisher has a bar code and is checked regularly. When a client casually mentions to a visiting manager that a door was defective (and the replacement was delayed), we added an hourly check of that door to the duties of every patrolling security officer.

A formal report might have no mention of these minor items. However, they help make a facility and employees more safe and secure.

Best Practices in Working with Sunstates:

When a Sunstates manager visits a client site, here’s how to take advantage of that visit:

Offer or brainstorm ideas for improvement to processes or services, no matter how small. We are always willing to learn new or refined processes.
Share ideas or ask questions. Ongoing communication is critical.
Point out items or situations, even temporary ones, that can increase safety and security.
Don’t feel reluctant to bring up any concern or issue; that’s why our managers are on-site.

Sunstates managers receive thorough training to ask for suggestions and to recognize good ideas. Please take advantage of this opportunity to upgrade your security program continually.

For more information on how Sunstates Security manages on-site security, or for an evaluation of your existing security, please call 866-710-2019 or email us.

SECURITY BY DESIGN: BEST PRACTICES IN SECURE ENVIRONMENTS

Image for Security by Design Post Most commercial buildings begin with an architect and a designer. Outside, a landscaper or landscape architect will usually be tapped to provide the esthetic surroundings.

Open floorplans. Glass walls. Lots of windows. Outside, beautiful plantings.

These features may be pleasing to the eye. But they also can significantly compromise safety. Security would be greatly enhanced by including a security expert on the initial design team.

The Four Aspects of Designing for Safety

There are four key elements to corporate security:

Access control, especially in shared spaces
Landscape design that emphasizes security
Interior design that mitigates potential threats
Security-minded policies and procedures

Element 1: Access Control

Access control can be challenging when a building or campus is shared by different organizations. But there are several best practices that can mitigate the potential for security issues:

Individual access control for each office or tenant
A centralized communication system, such as a PA, to warn all occupants of potential or actual threats
Building-wide access control, so only those who belong in the building can enter
Security systems or personnel that can flag unusual activity

Consider, for example, the auto mechanic who was terminated at a West Coast auto dealership after weeks of poor performance, threats to co-workers, and other red flags. He went to his vehicle, retrieved a gun and returned, killing two former colleagues before committing suicide. Incidents such as this highlight what many businesses are now following as a best practice:

Have employees park in a secure area with controlled access
Restrict employees from visiting their vehicles during the workday or monitor employees who do so

Element 2: Exterior Design

Parking areas, pathways and landscaping should be designed with two goals in mind: perimeter security and elimination of hiding places.

Perimeter security means establishing layers of security, typically with multiple checkpoints and many opportunities to spot potential security issues. Ideally, this strategy positions the initial access control so that a would-be intruder would be stopped before being able to enter or penetrate a facility or campus.

For landscaping, the key is to eliminate not only hiding places for intruders attempting to enter the building, but also places where someone could attack or otherwise harm employees and visitors heading towards or away from the building.

Element 3: Interior Design

The same glass walls and bullpen-type seating areas that give a space a light and airy ambience have a serious drawback. In the event of an active shooter or other incident, employees have nowhere to hide. Walls, offices and secure doors make it possible to hide from an intruder.

Employees have three options when confronted by an active shooter: run, hide or fight. Interiors should be designed to maximize all three of those options. In addition, entrances should have a holding area that can be secured to prevent an intruder from entering the inner offices.

Element 4: Policies and Procedures

None of these steps, of course, will effectively mitigate potential security threats without employee training in the proper policies and procedures to spot and react to security issues.

For organizations without an internal security chief, a security consultant that offers employee training can be an invaluable resource. Security training should be part of every new employee’s orientation, and refresher training should be mandatory and regularly scheduled.

For information on how Sunstates Security can use technology and personnel to provide greater security, or for an evaluation of your existing security systems and strategies, please call 866-710-2019 or email us.