Today's integrated technologies are transforming school safety approaches, enabling districts of all sizes to implement effective, scalable security solutions.

Integrated Technologies are Transforming School Safety

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Frank Costa, President Nexgen Protection Services – 

 

An active shooter situation is often cited as being extremely rare among school violence incidents in our country. Nevertheless, when one occurs, it’s always devastating, often unpredictable, and evolves quickly. Whether at a school, a house of worship, or anywhere for that matter, one is still too many.

Today’s integrated technologies are transforming school safety approaches, enabling districts of all sizes to implement effective, scalable security solutions. These systems address unique local needs and facilitate compliance with emerging legislation. By leveraging the power of interconnected systems and devices, real-time communication, and data insights, schools can create a flexible and responsive security infrastructure that is efficient and effective.

SOURCE: 

Securing K-12 Schools From the Inside Out. Security Today, August 2024.
#protectionservices #securitystandards #publicsaftey  #mobilesecurity #securitythreats

 

High Level Security Protocols for the Transportation Industry is Critical

High Level Security Protocols for the Transportation Industry is Critical

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Frank Costa, President Nexgen Protection Services – 

 

The transportation industry is a complex and dynamic environment where efficient management of physical keys, vehicles and shared devices is critical to ensuring smooth operations, reducing costs and maintaining security. Every day, more transportation facilities are using modern electronic key and asset management systems to better secure, audit and manage the important assets that keep operations running smoothly.

Expediting efficiency. Fleet vehicles are the lifeblood of the transportation industry, particularly for larger facilities, but managing their access and usage can be challenging, especially if they’re located at multiple sites. Key cabinets play an integral role in fleet vehicle management by controlling and monitoring vehicle access, which increases driver accountability, plus they ensure even use and instill safer processes. 

With dedicated features to track vehicle mileage, fuel levels, parking location and vehicle faults, key cabinets allow administrators to monitor vehicle usage in real-time, set specific permissions and access levels for each driver, receive alerts when a vehicle is due for maintenance or service, track vehicle locations and monitor parking assignments.

 

SOURCE: 

Ceravolo, R. Securing the Flow of Operations. Security Today, 07/18/2024.
#protectionservices #securitystandards #publicsaftey  #mobilesecurity #securitythreats

 

Machine Learning Lends Transformative Advances in Physical Security

Machine Learning Lends Transformative Advances in Physical Security

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Frank Costa, President Nexgen Protection Services – 

 

In physical security, machine learning can speed up investigations by assisting security teams in finding relevant information quickly. Machine learning helps analyze data that hasn’t been organized or labeled. By identifying patterns or possible relationships between data, such tools help security teams, law enforcement, and other staff gain a better understanding of an incident or important correlations between trends. 

On the operations side, machine learning helps organizations better leverage their physical security investments. Machine learning can help glean actionable insights from the system data to ramp up productivity. This often leads to improved operations.

 

SOURCE: 

Matusek, F. Transformative Advances. Security Today, 07/23/2024.
#protectionservices #securitystandards #publicsaftey  #mobilesecurity #securitythreats

 

Enhanced Surveillance with AI-Enabled Audio Cameras

Enhanced Surveillance with AI-Enabled Audio Cameras

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Frank Costa, President Nexgen Protection Services – 

Audio analytics, available in many AI-enabled cameras, can add context to what operators see on the screen, helping them validate assumptions. If a glass-break detection alert is received moments before seeing a person on camera, the added situational awareness makes the event more actionable.

 

SOURCE: 

Barbosa, R. Enhanced Situation Awareness. Security Today, 07/24/2024.
#protectionservices #securitystandards #publicsaftey  #mobilesecurity #securitythreats

 

Retailers-Must-Implement-Ironclad-Loss-Prevention-Strategies

Retailers Must Implement Ironclad Loss Prevention Strategies

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Frank Costa, President Nexgen Protection Services – 

One of the biggest threats to retail profits is “shrink,” or preventable losses due to theft or human error. Retail shrink accounts for billions of dollars per year in lost revenue, so it’s in retailers’ best interests to have a comprehensive set of standards designed to avoid these losses. 

The rise of retail organized crime, cyberattacks, and new methods of theft have made reducing shrink harder than ever for retailers. In order to be prepared for these modern threats, retail store owners and managers must have ironclad loss prevention strategies in place, as well as the tools to enforce them.

SOURCE: 

Shein, M. Reassessing the role of loss prevention, Security Magazine, 04/04/2024.
#protectionservices #securitystandards #publicsaftey  #mobilesecurity #securitythreats


Security Guards Employ Body Cameras for Theft Prevention

Security Guards Employ Body Cameras for Theft Prevention

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Frank Costa, President Nexgen Protection Services – 

Body cameras are just the latest in a slew of security measures retailers have taken, such as locking up products behind glass cases and removing self-checkout stations. 

When people know that their actions are being recorded they tend to behave differently. The advertisement of body worn cameras in use can deter members of the public from behaving antisocially, abusively or aggressively.

Retailers are also working more closely with law enforcement and devoting more internal resources to investigating theft.

 

SOURCE: 

Store security guards employ body cameras for theft prevention, KTV FOX 2, Jun 6, 2024.
#protectionservices #securitystandards #publicsaftey  #mobilesecurity #securitythreats



Organizations-need-guidance-and-direction-from-a-strong-security-leader

Organizations need guidance and direction from strong security leadership.

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Frank Costa, President Nexgen Protection Services – 

“The greatness of a leader is measured by the achievements of the led. This is the ultimate test of his effectiveness.” — Gen. Omar Bradley

Organizations need guidance and direction from a strong security leader. To mitigate threats the security team needs to prioritize the risks and threats that are of the utmost importance to the business and then devise a strategy to mitigate those risks and threats. 

Strategy should result in a number of initiatives designed to improve the security posture of the business. The security team should gear up to implement those initiatives, staying true to the strategy and plan along the way.

 

SOURCE: 

Altizer, A., Crowder, S. Leadership is more than a noun, Security Magazine, 07/01/2020.
#protectionservices #securitystandards #publicsaftey  #mobilesecurity #securitythreats



Mitigate-Workplace-Violence-By-Promoting-A-Culture-Of-Safety

Mitigate Workplace Violence By Promoting A Culture Of Safety

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Frank Costa, President Nexgen Protection Services – 

Workplace violence is an increasingly recognized safety issue. An act or threat occurring at the workplace that can include any of the following: verbal, nonverbal, written, or physical aggression; threatening, intimidating, harassing, or humiliating words or actions; bullying; sabotage; sexual harassment; physical assaults; or other behaviors.

Mitigate workplace violence by establishing support from human resources, staff, legal services, security, risk management and other areas of support. Promote a culture of safety to create a healthy work environment, which leads to improved job satisfaction, less absenteeism, reduced turnover and nurse retention.

 

SOURCE: 

Moro, J. Mitigating workplace violence through duty of care, Security Magazine, 06/07/2023.
#protectionservices #securitystandards #publicsaftey  #mobilesecurity #securitythreats


Drones-Can-Monitor-Scenes-Remotely-To-Assess-A-Security-Threat

Drones Can Monitor Scenes Remotely To Assess A Security Threat.

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Frank Costa, President Nexgen Protection Services – 

From limited budgets to staffing shortages, public sector agencies are often challenged with performing more services in less time with fewer resources. 

Drones have a variety of applications across the public sector. Security agencies can monitor scenes remotely when conducting crowd control. This visibility is also helpful when coordinating responses, as they can determine the number of personnel needed to secure a threat. 

 

SOURCE: 

Galloway-Dawkins, R., How mobile technologies can transform emergency response, Security Magazine, 11/20/2023.
#protectionservices #securitystandards #publicsaftey  #mobilesecurity #securitythreats

 

The Presence of Security is Still The Best Deterrent to Crime

The Presence of Security is Still The Best Deterrent to Crime

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Frank Costa, President Nexgen Protection Services – 

CVS, Target and other chains have barricaded everything from toiletries to cleaning supplies. It’s backfired in almost every way. Different products experience different theft rates, depending on store location and other factors. 

Beyond the financial impact of these crimes, the violence and concerns over safety continue to be the priority for all retailers. Professional security services is a strong deterrent, forcing criminals to think twice before they try to steal something. Security guards also handle vandalism and disturbances, ensuring customers’ shopping experience remains peaceful.

 

SOURCE:  Mull, A., Retailers Locked Up Their Products—and Broke Shopping in America, Bloomberg.com, 8/01/2024.
#protectionservices #securitystandards #publicsaftey  #mobilesecurity #securitythreats