Hi-Tech-Consulting

“Shining Light on Nonlethal Weapons”
Security Management (12/07) Vol. 51, No. 12, P. 24 ; Spadanuta, Laura

Torrance, Calif.-based Intelligent Optical Systems has developed the LED Incapacitator (LEDI), a nonlethal weapon that temporarily blinds people and makes them feel nauseated. The device, which resembles a flashlight, features bright light emitting diodes (LEDs) that prevent eyes from focusing for several seconds, similar to the impact of a magnified picture flash. The LEDI has several advantages over other nonlethal weapons, according to Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Commander Sid Heal, who consulted on the device. For instance, the LEDI does not have any lasting effects after a person becomes adjusted to the visual over stimulation. And, unlike pepper spray, which can sometimes hit police officers as well as suspects when used during an incident, there is no risk of cross contamination. There are other benefits as well. Heal noted that there are not any additional expenses related to the LEDI after the purchase of the flashlight and the rechargeable batteries that power it. The device could eventually be used by law enforcement and security forces to subdue violent subjects, depending on how well it does in tests at the Pennsylvania State University’s Institute for Non-lethal Defense Technologies.
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“Using Technology to Improve Emergency Management”
Chronicle of Higher Education (12/21/07) Vol. 54, No. 17, P. 22

Colleges are placing a greater emphasis on disaster planning after the spring 2007 shootings at Virginia Tech. Many technology companies are now marketing alert systems to colleges that could help improve communication in an emergency scenario. The technology includes text devices, video, and cell phones that can be used to send messages to academic buildings and residence halls. However, security experts warn that technology will not provide a one-step solution for emergency management. Security officers and police are the first to be involved in a disaster situation, with up to 30 minutes passing before a university president and chief information officer is informed of the situation. Forming a disaster plan is vital for any college campus, even if an alert system is in place. “CIO’s many times think this is just a technology issue,” said Marshall University CIO Jan I. Fox. “But you have to communicate. If you are not sitting down with your head of security, your safety officers, your president, and people who understand what has to happen in an emergency, it means absolutely nothing.”
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“Pictures Through the Air”
Access Control & Security Systems (11/01/07) Vol. 50, No. 12, P. 16 ; Fickes, Michael

In the aftermath of the 2005 London terrorist attack involving three underground trains and a bus, the transit system’s video system enabled Scotland Yard to weed through the footage as part of its investigation. However, transit authorities in the United States increasingly are employing wireless video systems as a means of curtailing crime and speeding up the emergency response. Wireless video systems use multiple small nodes to transmit signals and establish a network, with these nodes placed on the buses and trains, police cars, poles lining city streets, and subway tunnel walls, among other locations. Because constantly transmitting videos from numerous buses and trains would burden the network, drivers are equipped with radios to communicate with law enforcement and transit headquarters, as well as panic buttons that send emergency alerts and mark the video for a specified time period. The wireless video systems installed on the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority buses create wireless networks with police cars within range, allowing officers to view the cameras as necessary. Grants from the Department of Homeland Security are enabling transportation authorities to install cameras in transit vehicles; and, despite the added costs, some experts recommend mesh networks. With mesh networks, cities benefit from being able to offer WiFi hotspots to commuters, as well as sell network time to advertisers.
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Security Management (12/07) Vol. 51, No. 12, P. 54 ; McCaffery, Kevin

An organizational plan for responding to threats in the workplace is important, but it is also critical to teach employees how to handle such an event to ensure their safety. When presented with a possibly threatening individual, it is important for one to maintain control. This begins immediately after the threat, when acting in a calm and professional manner denies the fear response that the aggressor is hoping to provoke, which diminishes the force of their threat. A hostage negotiator recommends an eight step process to defuse threatening situations, beginning with identification if the two parties have no met before. In dealing with a threatening person, it is important to let them communicate what they are upset about while limiting the amount of venting. After hearing the problem, it is wise to restate their problem in different words, avoiding aggressive terms. Once the problem is confirmed, it is necessary to tell the aggressor what they should do. The best way to do this is to begin with a series of two or three questions that they will answer “yes” to, then stating a fact before making a request. It is important to carefully explaining the positive and negative options, which will hopefully help the threat realize what they have to lose if they do not cooperate. If the aggressor still does not cooperate after hearing these options, the negotiator recommends giving them one last opportunity to defuse the situation. This is the fourth time they are being asked to cooperate, and if they do not agree, then it is time to call in management or security. This plan can help defuse many potentially dangerous situations, but the negotiator makes a point to emphasize that the average employee is not a hostage negotiator, and should call help if they personally feel threatened.
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“Innovative Surveillance”
Security Technology & Design (11/07) Vol. 17, No. 11, P. 79

As violent crime rises across America’s cities, Baltimore uncovered a pilot video surveillance program in London that it later applied to its nicer, downtown areas through the Baltimore CityWatch Program. Trained security and CCTV staff monitor the images from over 400 cameras throughout Baltimore and five of its public housing projects at the Atrium Control Center. Many of the permanent DVTel PTZ camera and temporary PODSS cameras are atop light poles and provide around-the-clock surveillance via images and video, with much of the staff focused on the West Side’s cameras. The project selected the DVTel Intelligent Security Operations Center platform and the Network Video Management System for the project, leaving maintenance to the Mayor’s Office of Information Technology and allowing the system to archive up to 30 days of activity. There also are five police monitoring stations that receive video and image data from easily deployable, in-box cameras wirelessly. Suspicious activity is at the top of the list for staff members, who dispatch police to the scene and brief the officers on the events. The program boasts significant improvements, with a great number of arrests made based upon video surveillance. The city could increase the training for its officers to include video surveillance within the CityWatch program, particularly as it expands to other sections of the city, including Cherry Hill and the Southwest District.
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In the aftermath of recent shootings and killings at the Von Maur store at the Westroads Mall Wednesday in Omaha, Nebraska and the New Life Church in Colorado Springs and the Youth With a Mission center in Arvada, CO; is it time to post armed guards everywhere the public congregates? 

By the time police arrived at the Westroads Mall, the killing was over- in just six minutes supposedly. If armed security had been on duty, would the deaths have been decreased as at the New Life Church where an armed security guard did  indeed kill the gunmen limiting the causalities to injuries instead of deaths? 

Shopping Mall Management have been actively disarming security over the past decade but in this era of heightened terrorist threats and slow police response, it may be prudent to re-examine this policy.  

It is interesting to note that a church had no such reservations and this probably saved many lives according to Colorado Springs Police Chief Richard Myers. 

 

Security Technology & Design (11/07) Vol. 17, No. 11, P. 32 ; Davis, Michael L.

Access control is a major concern among organizations, and experts agree that layered security is the best approach, in that one security breach can be detected by the next level of security protocols to prevent disaster. When engineers, consultants, architects, and others select a reader, the level of security necessary should be determined beforehand. One viable choice is proximity technology, such as contactless smart cards, which experts consider to be the most secure of the available reader technologies. The second component of these reader systems includes upstream communication with another device–whether a panel or computer running access control software, which needs protection as well–though not all protocols are compatible with all readers available on the market. Wiring should be housed in conduits for the most protection, and wires should be secured through soldering and shrink-wrap tubing. Utilizing security screws limits the number of tools available for removing panels and readers, and access controls should not grant access to cards when users already are inside the building or office space. Tamper detectors are available for panels as well, and some systems engage geographic locators to ensure cardholders are not in two places at once. Another step in authentication is the keypad, though passwords need to be changed periodically; some buildings also may need biometric readers to ensure the card and person using it match. Other best practices include ensuring lost or stolen cards are deactivated immediately, abolishing spare cards, and tailoring access control systems to each specific site to monitor security more closely.
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http://www.securitymanagement.com/article/decoding-digital-picture