Latest
What’s Wrong With This Picture?
Blog on Retail Security • posted 05/14/12
Consider the following research hypotheses: (1) If a retailer raises employee wages, they’ll experience less employee theft. (2) Prior loss prevention experience predicts better store detective performance. (3) Crisis simulation/training is the best predictor of a firm’s crisis readiness. Now, guess which of the three was found to be untrue? Continue…
Recent
Does Rand Paul Have a Point—Or Just Way Off Base?
Blog on Department Management/ Organization/Surveys • posted 05/14/12
The plan of Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) to disband the TSA and return airport security to airports and carriers isn't going anywhere (more underwear bomb revelations took care of that), but it does focus attention on an important question. To what degree should individual business units and sites craft security and how much should be handed down from corporate? IOFM Research examined how companies currently handle this choice. Continue…
They Leave the Light On, But Is It Safe?
Blog on Risk/Threat Analysis • posted 05/14/12
It is necessary to review the safety and security features for any property on a recommended travel list, or otherwise gain assurance that the property has security measures sufficient to keep traveling employees safe. This checklist tool is a composite of measures that many companies now prefer to be standardized in the hotels their personnel frequent in select destinations. Continue…
Pick Your Prevention
Blog on Workplace Violence • posted 05/07/12
Based on a survey of top security executives, the accompanying solutions tool reveals what the preferred prevention strategy is for different industries. Continue…
Contract Guards Today: Reliable & Ethical—But Out of Shape?
Blog on Contract Security • posted 05/07/12
IOFM recently surveyed companies that use contract security officers (Security Guard Firm Ratings & Benchmarks Report). In the areas of character and personal qualities, what do clients think about their firms’ officers? Continue…
Is Your Investment in Security Cameras a Waste?
Blog on Crime Prevention Strategies • posted 05/07/12
A local official looking into why security cameras failed to catch the recent theft of a gazebo from a community garden lamented, "This is the third time I have requested camera footage and the third failure." It’s not the kind of theft that can break a business, but it’s exactly the type of crime that video surveillance is supposed to prevent or solve. We’ve dug into public reports of failures in video surveillance schemes to offer this list of 8 practical warnings. Continue…
Is it Time to Throw Money at the Problem?
Blog on Workplace Violence • posted 04/30/12
We’re not suggesting that companies take away workers’ coffee, but maybe we should be spending more than one-thirteenth the amount to keep workers safe as we spend to keep them caffeinated. Continue…
Wal-Mart, Bribery, And An Investigation Protocol Worth Millions
Blog on Investigations • posted 04/30/12
Wal-Mart de Mexico allegedly used cash—and lots of it—to bribe government officials to obtain permits. While employee misconduct isn’t new, it can land employers in hot water like never before, so internal investigations need to be faster and more complete than ever. Continue…
Perception of the Economy Matters—To Security Directors As Well As Obama
Blog on Risk/Threat Analysis • posted 04/30/12
Consumer sentiment remained steady in April. Americans are thinking the economy will slowly improve, but aren’t yet ready to cut loose with their credit cards. It has widespread implications, from the likelihood of a second term for President Obama to the future of retail sales, but is the public’s attitude toward the economy also a good leading indicator for security directors? Continue…
Choices, Choices, Choices
Blog on Budgets/Security ROI • posted 04/23/12
The rapid advancement in security technology is great but the choices it creates can be dizzying. It’s no longer: Should we have a guard or buy a camera and VCR? It’s: Should we get an IP camera? Maybe store video in the cloud? Maybe contract for remote monitoring over the Internet? This management tool can help compare the relative value of different security options. Continue…
Poor Security Can Cut Revenues in Half
Blog on Physical Security • posted 04/23/12
Security directors can find it hard to show security has value, but sometimes the news makes the case for us. Here’s one example. Continue…
Way Beyond Google: Online Investigation Tips and Tools
Blog on Investigations • posted 04/23/12
Online investigations have multiple ap-plications, including identifying anonymous antagonists; criminal investigations; vetting business partners; stalking cases and threat assessments; and executive protection. Here is what is in one top investigator’s toolkit. Continue…
All Eyes on the Courts
Blog on Legal/Legislation/Regulations/Compliance • posted 04/16/12
Several interesting legal cases are currently rolling through the courts, including the Supreme Court's mulling over the constitutionality of the new health care law and the second degree murder trial of Trayvon Martin shooter George Zimmerman. There have also been some interesting security cases, with important implications for security directors. Continue…
12 Bomb Threats in One Day? It Happens
Blog on Emergency/Crisis Management • posted 04/16/12
We feel mightily this week for the folks in the campus security office at the University of Pittsburgh. Since Feb. 13, when a threat was discovered written on the bathroom wall of a science center, the school has been hit with a barrage of bomb threats. A total of 57—some scrawled on walls, some sent via email—have been received, including one dozen bomb threats on a single day, April 9. Building evacuations and reopenings have become routine, according to the campus paper. In addition to fraying nerves, it can be costly—here are some ways to keep losses in check. Continue…
3 Questions That Your CEO Hopes You Can Answer
Blog on Risk/Threat Analysis • posted 04/16/12
The New York Times shed light last week on the not-so-secret practice of companies citing “safety and security threats” to make private jet travel for executives more palatable to shareholders and score hefty tax breaks all around. Of course, taking advantage of tax rules hardly diminishes the importance of the executive protection mission. We examine the evolving challenge with a focus on new scams, not-so-private planes, and qualities that make for the best close protection agents. Continue…
Out of View? In Danger
Blog on Workplace Violence • posted 04/09/12
On April 2, a jury in New York City convicted a maintenance worker of killing a cleaning woman in the high-rise where they worked a few blocks from the World Trade Center site. A four-day search for the worker ended when her body was found stuffed inside the building’s air-conditioning duct. Prosecutors said Joseph Pabon tracked the worker down as she cleaned alone late at night on a deserted floor of the building and smothered her, covering her mouth with duct tape. Question: Does your workplace violence prevention plan include the threat this type of worker faces? Continue…
How Do You Gauge Success?
Blog on Budgets/Security ROI • posted 04/09/12
There are very different ways to approach performance measurement—from casual data collection to full blown measurement systems. This benchmark resource examines how common are the different collection types for organizations of different sizes. Continue…
Is There a “Rogue, Vigilante Security Guard” On Your Force?
Blog on Security Staff Management • posted 04/09/12
The shooting of Trayvon Martin is putting a spotlight on all cases involving private security where deadly force is questionably used, especially when there is a racial difference between officer Continue…
Eye-Catching Technology at ISC West
Blog on Technology • posted 04/03/12
“Video analytics is a dead technology,” was just one of several provocative statements by presenters at ISC West. (In upcoming issues of SDR, we’ll critically dissect them.) For now, though, a quick look at some of the technology and companies that caught our eye at one of the largest security trade shows of the year. Continue…
Bizarre Cockpit Meltdown: Just Another Day for Some of Us
Blog on Emergency/Crisis Management • posted 04/03/12
Last week, on the day many of us were flying into Las Vegas for ISC West, one Sin City bound airplane was forced to take an unexpected detour after a scary incident involving an unhinged Jet Blue pilot. In a couple of ways, Lauris Freidenfelds, head of security for Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, said he could relate. Continue…
