I
was lucky to get the chance to attend the ASIS 60th Annual Seminar
this year in Atlanta, Georgia. For those of you who haven’t heard of ASIS, it is
the largest association for security professionals, with about 40,000 members
worldwide.
This
was by far the largest convention that I’ve ever attended, even bigger than a
Comdex convention I went to years ago. In addition to the training and
education sessions, there was a large exhibit hall that was full of every type
of security product or service that you could imagine.
For more ideas on how to protect your business,
check out Workplace
Security Essentials. For a limited time,
the publisher is offering 25% off the cover price so act now.
As
you might imagine, the exhibitors were anxious to show off the newest version
of their products and the latest technology. Some looked impressive. Some did
not work as well as hoped. I was getting one demonstration on a guard tour and
incident reporting system and the software interface did not work. I never did get
to see what the program actually was supposed to do. It is hard to get excited
about new products when even the demo fails. I’ve had enough of that with
real-life products.
At
one point, while passing by an exhibit, I heard the salesman pitch the product
to his prospective client by promising that the technology could be used to
eliminate or reduce the security guard force. At other booths, security guard
services were promoting their ability to respond and protect businesses, while
looking professional and promising lots of training for security staff.
It
struck me that two types of services should ideally be merged. I have always
believed, even as a police officer, that one well-trained, well-equipped and
motivated responder could replace several untrained and unmotivated
individuals. But how to get there?
It
rekindled that vision of security people, guards or officers, professionally
trained and using the latest technology and equipment to maximize their
effectiveness. It is disappointing to hear sales pitches that pit one against
the other.
The
true future of security will involve technology (hopefully after being vetted
and working properly!) and there will always be the need to have a security
force to respond to and handle various situations and emergencies – the ‘boots
on the ground.’ It will not come overnight and might involve some changes in
the industry. On the technology side, facility directors or those in design and
construction might be reluctant to try new products or be concerned about price
increases. On the security guard service side, the industry must move away from
the current model based on low pay, high turnover and limited training.
I
am looking forward to the two worlds merging and providing the best possible
levels of protection to organizations.
Eric is available
for staff education and security awareness training as well as business
coaching to help organizations provide safe workplaces. To learn more email Eric at businesskarate dot
com.
