University, College and School Security
First, our heart goes out to the family, friends and my niece at Virginia Tech.
Consultant vs. Salesperson
When you have a safety related problem, where do you go for answers? Many habitancy turn to a safety salesperson. This salesperson may offer a aid like safety guards or a product like safety alarms. To receive total safety protection, it is best to speak with a safety counselor and not a safety salesperson. A counselor can propose you in all areas, where a salesperson can only propose you on products or services their company offers.
Consultant
A safety counselor is a man trained in many areas from communications to alarms. They can review, propose and contribute solutions to many problems. If you have a safety problem, you first need to speak with a safety expert. After you receive options, then you can seek out a safety salesperson that meets your requirements. Never go to a salesperson first. This is where 99% of the collective makes a mistake. If you want to buy a car, would you talk with a tire salesperson?
A counselor will visit your location, guide a detailed inspection and originate a full report on their findings. Such a report might consist of things like worker habits, ease of access, landscaping problems, transportation weakness, optic needs, and much more.
To get the full picture of your safety needs and solutions to strict problems, you need an specialist in many areas. A safety counselor can contribute you with options and sources to meet your requirements.
Consultants may also recite details like placement of camera's, types and needs for lighting or safety film on glass. They can also recite things like emails related to threats, pupil interaction and area warning systems.
A counselor will promote their background and your needs in all areas, where a salesperson will only promote their product or aid as related to one or two areas.
Salespeople are Not Consultants
Security Salesperson
A safety salesperson is a man which offers a product or aid that their company sells. Many times, this is the extent of their job. Some salespeople are just starting in the company and lack the knowledge. Some salespeople have been in the company and have a petite amount of knowledge. Then you may encounter the specialist salesperson. This type of salesperson will make you think that their product or aid will be the respond to all your problems.
Now, we do not want to put down safety salespeople, as they do play a major part in the safety industry. You as the buyer need to understand that a safety salesperson may only be able to talk about their product or service. Many states have dissimilar requirements for consultants and safety salespeople. Ask to see your salesperson's state safety id. If the id says counselor and sales, then they can consult. If it just says sales, then they can just sell.
There is no singular solution to safety at a location. No salesperson should ever propose a buyer that their product or aid will cure all. Just because you were sold camera's does not mean a man can not break in a window. Just because you were sold an alarm law does not mean your student's cars will not be damaged. For good security, you need to look in all directions, not just one or two.
There are more safety salespeople than are safety consultants. Many salespeople try to act like a consultant, but a counselor will not act like a salesperson. A salesperson will sometimes be given a basic level of training, where a counselor may receive years of training in many subjects. A safety counselor is many times former forces or a former police officer. A safety salesperson could have been a golf pro the day before. I have seen all types.
Before you risk lives and property, you need to check out your safety advisor. Ask your local police department to recite the guidance given by your safety expert. Most of all, understand that good safety will wish several solutions.
Good Luck!
P.S.
Yes, there is a former golf pro out there selling electronic safety law to company sites in our area. So just because they sell it, does not mean they know it. Check them out and forget the company Bs they feed you at times.
Human Error
Who is watching? You may have camera's or guards protecting your site. One of the biggest problems with safety is human error. habitancy tend to sleep on the job, play on the job, look the other way or even think an event is not prominent sufficient to report. This is wrong and should be corrected.
Lives and asset are protected by habitancy that make just above a basic wage. Many of these habitancy have petite study and skills. Many of these habitancy do not care about you, your habitancy or your property. Face the facts, these habitancy are there for the paycheck and that's it.
Do you know what a real safety specialist makes per year? A real safety specialist makes on the median over 0,000 a year. A real safety specialist will use their former training to safe you and your property. A safety guard makes on the median about per hour or about ,000 per year. They will use their one day training to safe you and your property.
Which would you rather have protecting you and your property? Why would you cut cost to safe lives so prominent to others? Real safety will cost. There is an old saying; "You get what you paid for".
Protection
The best level of safety you can have is to hire off duty police officers to work at or patrol your location. An off duty officer still has full arrest powers and knows how to cope many types of problems. Speak with your local police department for more information.
The next option you have is to hire Conservers of the Peace (Cop). These are extra police officers beloved by the court law in your area. The officer has full arrest powers, but is petite to face a singular area. This area can be your site or even a city block.
You could use armed safety officers. These officers have petite arrest powers. They may be able to arrest if; (a) on your site only, (b) with owners permission, (c) with safety company's permission, (d) beloved by the state. This option puts great risk on the asset owner for legal damages if things go wrong.
Last option is to use an unarmed safety officer. This is the worst thing you can do if you are seeing for security. An unarmed safety officer is acting as a regular person. Many state do not allow them to make an arrest. They are good only for id checks, to open a door or to give man directions. Many companies will use unarmed safety guards because they are cheap. Then the company will complain when they have safety related problems. You get what you pay for!
Related Problems
Security related problems may include: Lazy people, Sleeping on the job, seeing the other way, Failure to report all events, Tampering with equipment, Stealing from asset owners, Giving out obtain information, mental it's a joke, Failure to corollary Sop, Leaving the site without approval, Unprofessional toward employee's and guest and much more.
Guards
Security company's will enter into a ageement with a company or site. The ageement may wish habitancy to sit at the site and monitor events. The ageement does not state how much training a man needs. It does not state how long a man has been in the industry. It does not state how much sleep the man got the night before working. Because many safety contracts do not reflect these areas, a safety company will put just about anyone on the site.
I have seen safety guards be interviewed on the spot, be given a reading test, handed a uniform that did not fit and located on a site to work that night. The safety company's only requirement is to keep the proper amount of bodies on a site. They could care less if the man knew anyone or not. It's company and profits to them.
If you ageement or hire guards, you need to test them. Once a month, you should have man unknown to them, try to get past the guards and then corollary the trail. Did the guard stop the person? Did the guard report the events? Were the proper habitancy notified? Test like this can help imporve your safety and force guards to come to be ready for a real event.
Another method you need to use is monitoring. You need to link any camera's to a inexpressive location. This can be your office or the internet. Once every few days, look in on the camera images and then call a guard. Tell them they did a good job checking an id or let them know you were watching and just wanted to say they were doing a good job. This does two things for you. One thing it does is let the guards know you are watching them and the other thing it does is lets them know they are doing things right.
Last thing you should do is watch the face of your building. Many guards think they are out of camera view and will try to do things they should not do. Some will go to their vehicle and sleep, some will meet a friend face and chat for an hour or so. Other will try to sneak things out or into the building. Watching face once a week will let you know what is literally going on at your location.
One company I know had a question with missing laptops. They advised the guards to check each man with a laptop to see if they had approval to take off it from the building. After a week, the guards relaxed on their duties. The owner then had man enter the building, pack up all the laptops on one floor and hide them inside the building. When the guards checked the floor, they noticed all the laptops were gone. The owner then advised he was the one whom hid the laptops to prove a point. After that event, there were no more missing laptops. Sometimes you have to scare the guards into doing their job.
Installers
You may be having an alarm or camera law installed. Do you know if the installer is legal? Many company's fail to check out their installers. They think the safety company has done their job and the man is ok. This is the wrong way to think. This is your building, your safety or camera system, your safety against crime, why would you not check out everyone.
The state and federal agencies check out everyone related to the facility or aid of their safety equipment. They look at the company, the salesperson all the way down to the man pulling the wire. You should do the same thing.
When it comes to a safety tool installer, many installers must pass a background check conducted by the state. Once a man is beloved by the state to install safety equipment, the state will issue them a safety id. The installer is required to carry the id anytime they are installing.
As the asset owner, you can check out to see if the installer is legal or not by request to see their state safety id. They are required by law in many states to show the id when requested by the asset owner. If they refuse or give you some lame excuse, then call the police. A police officer can check to see if the man is beloved by the state to install safety equipment.
Now, you may say "Why do I need to check their id?". Some companies will use unlicensed or unregistrated habitancy to install systems when the workload is high. Others will use illegal contractors to cut cost. Giving out obtain data or data related to a customer's safety system, to an unapproved man is against the law in many states.
This shady man can get your safety code, learn placement of devices, learn when you are there and much more. They may return later to clean you out. All the time check to see if the installers are legal. Do not trust the safety company's word. I have seen some top safety companies use illegal contractors to install safety equipment.
The Review
The first thing you should do is walk off your asset about 20 feet. Turn around and look. You need to make notes as to what you see. Are there trees blocking the view from a police car driving by the site? Are there items laying around that can be used as weapon? Is all the lighting working? What else do you see wrong?
Doing things like this is called a safety check. This should be done once a week. Keep records of any changes made by your staff.
You can start with adjusting shrubs and trees. This is one of the biggest problems. habitancy hide behind them, they have done this for 50 years and will continue to do so in years to come. Do not help them out. Never install a high shrub fence near a doorway. Keep all tree branch's about 10 feet away from the building.
Pick up any items laying around. Have all ladders stored away and secured after being used.
Wait until dark and check all face lights. Look for dark areas near the building and any parking areas. If using camera's, you may want to install Ir spotlights.
You want to look at the windows and doors. Are there broken windows? Are doors left open? Are habitancy retention doors open for others? Have locks been improved and are they being used? Is there safety film on the windows or glass areas?
Look at the parking area. How far does one have to walk to get to their vehicle? Do safety officers walk habitancy to their car? Do you offer a movable safety patrol unit to tour the face of the building?
Do you need to install barriers to direct vehilce or human traffic in an additional one direction.
Hidden Cameras
Are there strange habitancy sitting around face watching your building? Are there habitancy using video cameras?
Have you conducted a Rf video sweep for inexpressive cameras. Visitor's and students can install inexpressive video cameras inside your school and learn when you enter an area. Some students install or even wear inexpressive cameras to report illegal images of women undressing. Do the sweep, you may be surprised at what you find.
A uncomplicated wireless video receiver is related to a small handheld monitor. Walk to an area and tune the receiver from one end to the other, very slowly. Watch the monitor to see if you get a picture. If you get a picture, then use the image to id the location. Do not take off the camera. Wait to see who goes to check the camera. That should be the man whom installed it. Once you id the installer, then you can perceive the police.
Monitor internet traffic at your school. Many habitancy know about the internet, but there are only a few of us whom remember the newsgroups on the back of the internet. Some students will post threats and other data on these newsgroups. Have your computer specialist install a keyword monitoring system. This will alret you when extra keywords are used on your computers.
Threats by Cellphone
Students have turned to manufacture threats by cellphones. This can be a threat toward an additional one pupil or to the school. Place signs up that restrict cellphone use while on school asset or during main school hours. Talk with students about getting threats by cellphone, let them know you are there to help.
There are so many areas face of a building, that recite to security. Speak with a safety counselor for advice.
Equipment
The list of tool that can be used is very long. On the face you can install Ir Beams to alert you of habitancy walking near a building or use inexpressive microphone's to hear man walking across the grass. You can use request for retrial activated camera's to see movement or install thermo sensors to pick up a person's body heat.
You can look at the option of driveway sensors, air pressure sensors, perceive sensors under door mats, grounding sensors on handrails and even use sensors that detect body odor.
For the inside, you have camera's, door contacts, card readers, bio sensors, pressure mats, glass breaks, microphone's, heat sensors, changing air pressure sensors, request for retrial sensors, Ir beams, microwave sensors, Rf sensors and many more.
Think First
A safety counselor can recite your site and contribute you with options. We have listed just a few things that may improve safety at your school. Each location is dissimilar and should be reviewed on it's own merit. Once you have the list of corrections that are needed, you can then perceive a safety salesperson in that field.
Other areas to reconsider are computer security, area horns, paging systems, panic button keychains for insturctors, Rf taging law for instructors and students location while on the property, cellphone 211 notification system, urgency locking law for inside doors, able to lock classroom doors, safety doors or safe rooms, classroom urgency phone system, microphone's in classroom ceiling, face urgency video patch for police.
You may also want to use an Rf remote command operate center. This is a wireless unit worn on the arm or held in your hand. You can open doors, view camera's, lock out card readers, lock doors and more, all from up to 1/4 mile away from the site. It is a law used in some jails to take back operate of a command center if taken over by inmates.
Always look into and report any man or students that you reconsider a threat to others. Set up your own safety team. Modernize your Sop to meet today's students and technology. Spend the money for a consultant. They may save you money in the end. No site, not even a jail is 100% secure. You can only do your best and that is all anyone will ever ask of you. Do not go the cheap route, it may cost man their life.
Read more at http://www.securitytoday.net
About Me
I just wanted to share some of my knowledge with everyone and hope you have learned something. I write a weekly magazine at http://www.securitytoday.net for anyone curious in learning more.
Over 15 years in the sales, design, install and aid of electronic systems. Background in obtain communications, electronic safety systems, cctv, matv, card access, fiber optics, Bio systems, fire, professional audio/ video, gate controls, wireless devices, Rf uplink/downlink and more.
Most up-to-date major position was to heal safety systems for 40 locations to consist of a bridge and 2 tunnels damaged by the attacks of 9/11 in Ny/Nj. I was picked out of over 10,000 habitancy for the ageement due to high skill level in many areas. This ageement was funded by an urgency act of Congress. I then worked to form a new electronic safety law to withstand time to come attacks.
I provided supporting form for a million electronic safety proposal for British Airways asset at Jfk airport.
I was requested to sit in on the first phase for the restructure of nationwide airport electronic security, under a new Tsa ageement with Lockheed Martin in Virginia, Usa.
I have been a major installer on high safety jails in Virginia.
I have built a broadcast station for the Us President at a forces post and related it back to the White House.
I installed a broadcast Tv station for the Us Coast Guard in Nc, Usa.
I was former communications coordinator for World Cup Soccer '94 in Florida and before that I was a obtain Communications specialist with the Us Army, teaching and repairing major transportation systems.
I have several awards from the Us Pentagon and the forces for new inventions.
I am willing to work under ageement with your site to recite your need of electronic law improvements.
I am Ceo of Young Media Group, Llc and furnish several publications and video's related to the electronic safety industry and music industry.
Visit www.securitytoday.net or www.youngmediagroup.net [http://www.youngmediagroup.net]
School protection - Reviewing Your Options
