As the technology for responding to critical incidents grows and evolves, so do the threats. Security integrators can help their customers be better prepared.
To say that security professionals’ plates are full at the moment would be an understatement. Since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, the industry has stepped up to play a vital role in keeping people safe, secure and even healthy through uncertain and scary times. And while COVID-19 is an incident that needs responding to itself, its presence doesn’t mean other threats have gone away.
“People are under a great deal of stress and uncertainty about their jobs and financial futures, and at the same time, gun sales are up 145 percent as of June,” says Christian Connors, CEO of Shooter Detection Systems, a gunshot detection company based out of Rowley, Mass. “Active shooter preparedness is as important as ever.”
June saw the highest number of monthly gun background checks and the highest number of mass shootings in history.
“If we want to provide a greater value to our clients, we have to save lives,” says Jerry Wilkins, co-owner and vice president of Active Risk Survival, Salisbury, Md., which aims to train security professionals in proper emergency management.
And incident response — even if the incident is an active shooter — isn’t all about gunshot detection.
“Integration provides a powerful tool for combating active shooter situations,” says James Hoang, partnering and integrations manager at Speco Technologies, Amityville, N.Y. Speco has partnered with Shooter Detection Systems and Shot Tracer to integrate gunshot detection solutions into its SecureGuard VMS. “A gunshot detector alone is limited in details of the shooter such as gender, clothing, colors, number of perpetrators and where they’re headed. With the right video in the right area, all these questions can be answered and used to quickly control the situation.”