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License Plate Recognition (LPR): Secure, Intelligence Led Approach Retail Protection

License Plate Recognition (LPR): Secure, Intelligence Led Approach Retail Protection

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Frank Costa, President Nexgen Protection Services – 

Retailers are increasingly focused on establishing additional layers of control – so it makes sense why License Plate Recognition (LPR) is becoming a common talking point when it comes to LP strategies.

The scope of loss prevention has expanded to human safety first and foremost. This shift is matching the rise of Organized Retail Crime and violence in stores.

LPR systems use high-resolution cameras and other systems to capture and convert images of license plates into alphanumeric text, which can then be cross-referenced. Retailers worldwide have adopted LPR (sometimes known as ANPR) increasingly as an important component of their security strategies.

 

SOURCE: 

Elevating Retail Security Integrating License Plate Recognition and

Audio Detection into Your Safety Strategy, Loss Prevention Magazine, 12/10/2023.
#protectionservices #securitystandards #publicsaftey  #mobilesecurity #securitythreats

 

Cargo theft involves the manipulation of data and identities to gain access to freight under false pretenses.

Cargo theft involves the manipulation of data and identities to gain access to freight under false pretenses.

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Frank Costa, President Nexgen Protection Services – 

Organized retail crime (ORC) has been the buzzword in the retail loss prevention world for well over the past decade. During that time, the lack of support from the criminal justice system has certainly negated most of those efforts.

Criminals will establish fake trucking and brokerage companies with the sole intention of stealing cargo. They go through the same process as legitimate carrier information, registration, obtaining insurance, and operating authority. These companies then start completing legitimate jobs to establish a history of work performed. Once established, the thieves target high-value loads within their customer network to steal.

Insist on placing disposable GPS trackers inside your high-value loads. These cost-effective devices eliminate reverse logistics and device management while providing complete visibility of your freight, in real-time, from anywhere around the world. If and when a theft were to occur, you could follow the load in real-time from your phone to assist law enforcement in finding its exact location.

As of now, there is no silver bullet that will stop these thefts from occurring. But understanding the problem, training your staff, and installing protective measures will certainly act as a shield to help fend off these criminals.

SOURCE: 

Tabor, J. Strategic Cargo Theft: What It Is, How It Started, and What You Can Do to Stop It, Loss Prevention Magazine, 10/01/2024.
#protectionservices #securitystandards #publicsaftey  #mobilesecurity #securitythreats

 

Rising Workplace Violence Necessitates The Need For Implementing A Structured, Approach To Incident Response.

Rising Workplace Violence Necessitates The Need For Implementing A Structured, Approach To Incident Response.

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Frank Costa, President Nexgen Protection Services – 

Every year, thousands of American workers report being victims of workplace violence, with assaults resulting in 57,610 injuries in 2021-22 alone, according to the National Safety Council. 

These alarming statistics underscore the urgent need for managers and safety professionals to implement a structured, approach to incident response. By adopting this proactive strategy, businesses can not only respond effectively to violent incidents but also mitigate future risks, ensuring a safer environment for all employees.

Most Common Challenges in Proper Incident Response

  • Information overload can occur in the chaos following an incident, making it difficult for staff to capture all relevant details accurately. As a result, important information may be missed or recorded inconsistently.
  • Communication breakdowns often arise when attempting to quickly alert nearby locations about potential threats, especially in the absence of a standardized communication system.
  • Connecting the dots between incidents can be challenging without a centralized system that allows for data comparison across different locations and time periods, making it difficult to determine if an incident is isolated or part of a larger trend.
  • Resource allocation becomes guesswork when there are no data-driven insights to guide decisions about where to deploy additional measures, particularly in high-risk areas or during specific time periods.
  • Learning from incidents is hampered when there isn’t a systematic way to analyze past events, leading to missed opportunities for implementing lessons that could prevent future incidents.
  • Balancing speed and thoroughness is a common challenge, as the urgency to respond quickly to violent incidents often conflicts with the need for thorough data collection and analysis.

 

These challenges require a thoughtful, systematic approach to incident response. By addressing these issues head-on, businesses can significantly improve their ability to respond to and prevent violent incidents, creating safer environments for employees and customers alike.

SOURCE: 

Workplace Violence Reporting: Proper Responses to Violent Incidents, Loss Prevention Magazine, 09/26/2024.
#protectionservices #securitystandards #publicsaftey  #mobilesecurity #securitythreats

Shrink From Theft Significantly Impacts Small-To Medium-Sized Retailers

Shrink From Theft Significantly Impacts Small-To Medium-Sized Retailers

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Frank Costa, President Nexgen Protection Services – 

SMB retailers operate on narrow profit margins, they typically don’t have the budget or resources to invest in the training, security systems, and personnel to combat theft like larger retailers do. Offenders might also be more familiar with SMB retailers’ store layouts and know they lack specific security measures. If smaller stores with weaker security are located near larger stores with more robust protection, there might be an issue of displacement in which offenders pass by the big box shop for the mom-and-pop.

A low cost solution to theft prevention for SMB retailers is partnerships. Many law enforcement organizations have community policing units, where officers are specially trained to interact with local businesses and citizens to help them solve problems. SMB retailers can connect with this unit or a liaison and invite them to the store to dispense free crime prevention advice.

 

SOURCE: 

Fritsky, L. For Small- to Medium-Sized Business Retailers, Thwarting Theft Needn’t Come with High Effort or Costs, Loss Prevention Magazine, 10/09/2024.
#protectionservices #securitystandards #publicsaftey  #mobilesecurity #securitythreats

TSA Final Rule Enables Continued Acceptance of Driver Licenses at Airport Security Checkpoints

TSA Final Rule Enables Continued Acceptance of Driver’s Licenses at Airport Security Checkpoints & Federal Buildings

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Frank Costa, President Nexgen Protection Services – 

Consistent with the Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA) efforts to enhance the passenger experience, TSA published a final rule in the Federal Register that would allow passengers to continue using mobile driver’s licenses (mDL) for identity verification at TSA airport security checkpoints once REAL ID enforcement begins on May 7, 2025.

The final rule, effective November 25, 2024, allows states to apply to TSA for a temporary waiver of certain REAL ID requirements written in the REAL ID regulations. Once approved, those state mDLs will continue to be accepted at TSA airport security checkpoints. TSA will publish on its website a list of states where mDLs are approved for federal acceptance. After emerging industry standards and federal guidelines are finalized, TSA intends to issue a future rule making to set more comprehensive requirements for mDLs that will eventually replace the waiver provisions established by this rule.

 

For more information on REAL ID, please visit TSA.gov/real-id. For more information about TSA’s use of digital identification, please visit TSA.gov/digital-id.

 

SOURCE: 

Anderson, L. TSA final rule enables continued acceptance of mobile driver’s licenses at airport security checkpoints, federal buildings, Security InfoWatch, 10/25/2024.
#protectionservices #securitystandards #publicsaftey  #mobilesecurity #securitythreats

A Security Management Platform Must Manage Events In Real Time To Manage Crisis.

A Security Management Platform Must Manage Events In Real Time To Manage Crisis.

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Frank Costa, President Nexgen Protection Services – 

The security sector has  adopted cloud-based artificial intelligence or machine learning resulting in revolutionary changes in access control, video surveillance and emerging areas like threat detection and drone identification.

A security management platform must provide clarity and control to act for greater efficiency and serve as the foundation for continuously improving security. It should optimize security operations, streamline services with real-time status updates, and manage events and team responses in real time to enable efficient management of sites, systems, events, users and data.

 

SOURCE: 

Byerly, T. Optimizing Security and Business Performance with Clarity and Control

The Essential Role of Digital Platforms in Security Management, Security Today, 09/10/2024.
#protectionservices #securitystandards #publicsaftey  #mobilesecurity #securitythreats

 

An Effective Physical Security Plan Starts with Deterrence, Detection, Delay, & Response.

An Effective Physical Security Plan Starts with Deterrence, Detection, Delay, & Response.

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Frank Costa, President Nexgen Protection Services – 

Deterrence, Detection, Delay, & Response.

Physical security technology helps to control access, monitor behavior, and respond to potential threats, thus enhancing overall security posture. It involves securing organizational assets from harm due to physical events, including natural disasters like fires and floods, and human-inflicted dangers like theft and vandalism.

Elements of an effective physical security plan–

  1. Deterrence: Deterrence can encompass various equipment such as signage, security cameras and door access systems. It also includes physical barriers such as doors, locks and walls.  
  2. Detection: Technologies used for physical security detection measures are sensors, alarms and automatic notifications via video management software. 
  3. Delay: Simple security measures such as additional doors, locks and security guards can help delay incidents. More advanced physical security technology, such as key card access and mobile credentials, can make it more difficult for unauthorized users trying to enter a building.  
  4. Response: A response strategy such as building lockdowns or automatically notifying emergency services is critical. 

Successful and effective plans should include these technologies to ensure that a facility can prevent physical threats and take necessary action if a security breach occurs.

 

SOURCE: 

Berg, D. Playing a Crucial Role, Security Today, 09/1672024.
#protectionservices #securitystandards #publicsaftey  #mobilesecurity #securitythreats

Artificial Intelligence Technology Delivers Proactive Security

Artificial Intelligence Technology Delivers Proactive Security and Efficient Crisis Response.

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Frank Costa, President Nexgen Protection Services – 

The early days of artificial intelligence technology (AI) and facial recognition in video surveillance were often inaccurate and prone to false positives, limiting their effectiveness. Continuous advancements in AI algorithms and processing power have significantly improved the accuracy and reliability of these technologies.

Artificial intelligence and cloud technologies have become mainstream in the video surveillance industry.  Cloud-based solutions offer scalable, flexible storage and processing capabilities, reducing the need for on-prem infrastructure. 

True artificial intelligence will enable even more sophisticated analytics, predictive capabilities and autonomous decision-making. As technology continues to evolve, the possibilities for enhancing security and operational efficiency are limitless.

 

SOURCE: 

Hile, R. Teaching Old Dogs, New Tricks: 21st Century Video and Video Integration, Security Today, 09/16/2024.
#protectionservices #securitystandards #publicsaftey  #mobilesecurity #securitythreats

 

License Plate Recognition Technology

License Plate Recognition Technology Is A Powerful Tool To Track Individuals Movements Through Vehicles.

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Frank Costa, President Nexgen Protection Services – 

License plate recognition technology, also known as Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) or LPR (License Plate Recognition), is a surveillance system that captures vehicles’ images and identifies their license number. It uses optical character recognition on images to read vehicle license plates. 

The technology provides the ability to capture an image of a license plate code, convert the code into readable text, and compare it to a registration database for identification. License plate recognition technology is used for vehicle management operations such as ticketless parking, tolling, ITS, stolen vehicles detection, smart billing, and many other applications.

Many police departments tout them as tools to enhance community security, reduce crime, and make communities safer. The technology collects data about neighborhood crimes, including burglary, home theft, vandalism. 

Civil rights groups have cautioned ALPRs pose a potential violation of privacy. ALPRs collect and store data on the cars they scan, and this data is often kept for years with few or no restrictions to protect privacy rights.

 

SOURCE: 

Wolfe, C. WHITEPAPER: Building Robust ORC Cases with License Plate Recognition Technology. Loss Prevention Magazine, 04/01/2024.
#protectionservices #securitystandards #publicsaftey  #mobilesecurity #securitythreats

 

Body Cameras Deliver Enhanced Security and Accountability

Body Cameras Deliver Enhanced Security and Accountability

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Frank Costa, President Nexgen Protection Services – 

Retailers seek effective solutions to the growing issues of theft and violence, the adoption of body cameras has emerged as a promising way to enhance security and accountability. This technology offers not just a way to record events as they unfold but it also serves as a preventive measure by visibly demonstrating that customer behavior is being monitored.

Body cameras can be strategically implemented to address these challenges, providing both immediate and long-term benefits to retailers. The operational, technological, and strategic advantages of integrating body cameras must be carefully considered. It’s important to ensure that all stakeholders are equipped with the knowledge to make informed decisions.

SOURCE: 

Wolfe, C. WHITEPAPER: Top 10 Points for Retailers to Consider Before Purchasing Body Cameras. Loss Prevention Magazine, 06/21/2024.
#protectionservices #securitystandards #publicsaftey  #mobilesecurity #securitythreats