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Here Comes The Sun
As the season changes from winter to spring, thoughts of beaches, cabins, and the great outdoors come to mind. As you plan for vacation, this makes it the perfect time to spruce up the yard and prepare your home while you are away.
A few things to put on your list to help you with peace of mind while you are away are as follows:
- Alert a close neighbor and/or a family member when you will be leaving and ask them to keep an eye on your home.
- Ask someone to cut your lawn should you be gone for an extended amount of time.
- Have someone bring in your mail or alert the post office to hold your mail while you are away.
- Arrange for someone to check your property if a storm passes through to address any concerns with downed limbs, broken windows, damage to the roof, house or garage.
- Alert your security provider and ask them if they will perform mobile patrols by your home. It might cost a little, but it is well worth the expense to have a security professional walk around your home once or twice a day.
- Ensure your security provider has updated telephone numbers on your contact lists.
 Make sure you take care of yourself too while traveling.
- Try not to look like a tourist, while traveling to an area you have never been – keep a low profile.
- Don’t carry large sums of cash on your person. It is safer to use debit cards, credit cards, or traveler’s checks.
- Utilize the safe in your hotel room for any valuables you bring with you.
- If you have valuables that will not fit into the safe in your room or there isn’t a safe, speak with the hotel manager about utilizing the hotel safe.
- Pay attention to the way you leave your luggage when you leave your room to make sure it wasn’t riffled through while you were out.
- If your group splits up, make sure you have an agreed upon place to meet your party.
- Be sure to take your cell phone chargers and make sure your phones are charged, especially when you’re going to be out all day.
Your safety is important, so make this a summer of fun in the sun by being safe by securing the things that mean the most to you!
Article written by: Timothy D. Smith, Director of Customer Relations & Purchasing
Iowa Law Officers Stepping Up Patrols For Summer
 Iowa law enforcement officials have begun a series of traffic safety saturation events across Iowa highways in anticipation for summer. The focal point of these events will be night time enforcement, as well as seatbelt laws, speeding, and impaired driving. Recent statistics have shown that most serious accidents happen in the night time hours, with speed, low seatbelt usage, and impaired driving contributing highly to injury and fatality rates. According to officials, Iowa recorded over 400 highway fatalities in 2008. Law enforcement personnel across the state are hoping the safety initiative will remind drivers to stay alert, watch their speed, put on their safety belts, and always find a designated driver.
Source: The Quad City Times
Environmental Sensors – Protection that is Priceless
Although you probably know that security systems are effective in preventing loss of life and property, you may not know about the important role environmental sensors can play in safeguarding your home or business.
Damages resulting from water and temperature changes can cause personal and financial devastation. Destroyed personal effects are irreplaceable. You can get an added sense of security whether you are at home or away, by adding water or temperature sensors, to your existing security system.
Water sensors can be installed in areas that have an increased risk of water leaks. For example…basement floors, sump pump pits, laundry rooms, etc. are all great locations for early detection of a water leak.
Temperature sensors can monitor both high and low temperatures to ensure your home, vacation home, greenhouse or wine cellar for example, stay within predetermined temperature ranges. From a business standpoint, temperature sensors can also be connected to coolers and freezers, to provide early warning, if one of these units were to malfunction.
 Remember, early detection is the key to minimizing damage and loss.
Article written by: Kevin Link, Manager, Technical Support
New TSA Changes Could Slow You Down At The Airport
 New standards from the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) may begin to slow you down next time at the airport. Starting May 15th the TSA will require persons to give their first, middle, and last name when making flight reservations. TSA security personnel will be checking to make sure the name on your reservation exactly matches the name on your driver’s license or passport. If names do not match exactly TSA officials may delay you at a security checkpoint, or keep you from getting on your flight at all. Starting in August passengers will also be required to submit their date of birth and gender before making flight reservations.
Source: WBIR.com
Volunteer Day
This month, we turn our attention to community involvement that took place in April in Eau Claire, WI and Davenport, IA.
 On April 25th, 2009, employees from Per Mar Security Services physical security division participated in a volunteer day for the Eau Claire YMCA. Several physical security employees spent the day working on maintenance projects at the YMCA. They assisted with painting, cleaning, and other maintenance around the facility. Through the hard work of the Per Mar volunteers one of the YMCA’s racquetball courts was freshly painted and other areas of the facility were cleaned and prepped for new carpeting that was about to be installed.
 That same day, employees from Per Mar Centre and the Quad Cities branch office participated in the March of Dimes March for Babies in Bettendorf, IA. This is the second year that employees from these offices have leant their support to the March of Dimes. Several employees raised money individually in order to participate in the 2.5 mile walk. Other employees participated in jeans days held through the month of April to raise funds to support the March of Dimes. Though the day was overcast and a little rainy, it didn’t dampen the spirits of the walkers who participated in this wonderful event.
Article written by: Mindy Zumdome, Director of Human Resources
Report: FBI Slow To Update Terror Watch List
According to a recent Justice Department audit, the FBI has been slow to update the national terror suspect watch list. The Justice Department’s Inspector General found that at least 12 suspects who were not added to the list or were slowly added may have traveled in and out of the U.S during the course of time they were not placed on the list. The report also highlighted the significant delays in taking people off the list no longer considered threats to the U.S. The report also found that in two of nearly every three cases examined, the FBI failed to update important information into the watch list. Created in 2004 the terror watch list was formed to combine information from many different government agencies to help fight the war on terror.
Source: MSNBC.Com
Electronic Security Solutions for Schools
 Over the past decade electronic security technology has evolved from an exotic possibility into an essential safety consideration. Technological improvements are coming onto the market almost daily, and keeping up with the latest innovation is a full time job. At a minimum, a basic understanding of these devices has become a prerequisite for well-informed school security planning.
Before resorting to high-tech security solutions, school officials should think carefully about the potential for unintended consequences. Technological fixes may be mismatched to the problems being addressed. They can be expensive. Any network will require continual maintenance, eventual upgrading, and constantly updated virus protection and Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS) to watch for hackers or unauthorized transfers of data. A full-blown information technology (IT) department will usually be essential.
An over-reliance on electronic technology can also backfire with power outages or technological failures. Some security technologies raise political and philosophical concerns. That said, technological solutions can also be highly functional and cost effective. The pros and cons must be weighed carefully within the context of local sensibilities.
Don’t start by choosing a technology and looking for a problem it can solve. The process should be the reverse: Identify and prioritize the problems before jumping to solutions, and analyze solutions carefully before committing funding. It’s not uncommon for districts to invest in a particular technology district-wide before analyzing and prioritizing the real concerns of the individual schools. Every school should be capable of quick lockdowns and evacuations, but the details beyond that can vary considerably. Some schools are in rough neighborhoods where violence is endemic, others are not. Some schools are constrained by meager budgets, others have deep pockets. Leaky roofs may take precedence over electronic access control systems.
Partial measures can prove to be wasted investments. Secure front doors are of little value if back entries remain uncontrolled. Metal detectors and ID cards won’t stop bullying behavior, nor will security cameras stop offenders all by themselves, as has become all too evident at many school shootings. On the other hand, comprehensive access control and improved emergency communication systems are usually good investments.
To read the entire article click here: http://www.ncef.org/pubs/security_technologies.pdf
Source: National Clearinghouse for Educational Facilities
Article written by: Kevin Lloyd, General Manager Electronic Security
Court Strikes Down Illinois Ban on E-Verify
 A federal court in Illinois has stricken down a controversial 2007 Illinois law, dubbed “The Right to Privacy in the Workplace Act,” which barred the state’s employers from using the federal E-Verify system to determine whether job applicants were legally allowed to work in the country. Over 900 Illinois employers have used E-Verify, according to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The Illinois bill recognized E-Verify’s well-publicized problems related to the speed and accuracy of its results and prohibited employers from using it until it became more accurate and more efficient, and yielded correct results 99 percent of the time. DHS challenged the law in federal court, arguing that it was unconstitutional because it frustrated the federal government’s intention in developing the E-Verify system for employers’ use. The U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois agreed with DHS, finding the state law invalid under the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution because it thwarted Congress’s intention that employers use the system.
Source: HR.BLR.com
CPR
The American Heart Association (AHA) introduced Family & Friends CPR to the general public and encouraged its certified trainers to conduct a non-certification course to any public members interested.
This class is an abbreviated version of the certification class, concentrating on the main principals of CPR – compressions and breathing. Additionally, this class also offered “Hands-Only” CPR.
Tonya Moore, Central Station Dispatcher, demonstrates the proper technique of performing CPR compressions. |
Twelve individuals recently completed this course. The twelve attendees consisted of Per Mar Security employees and their families. The class consisted of adult, child and infant CPR along with training associated to choking in these same categories of individuals. An introduction of an Automated External Defibrillator (AED) was also demonstrated and the class found it is a very simple procedure to follow with the AED actually guiding you through every step by reading the text or following the voice prompts.
It is those critical first four to six minutes after a person’s collapse that CPR gives a person the best chance of survival. Training automatically kicks in and one understands that the whole reason for CPR in the first place is to get oxygen through the heart and to the brain. You may be surprised how easy CPR can be.
Congratulations to the twelve Per Mar Security employees and their family members on taking the time to attend this program. Contact the American Heart Association if you want more information on CPR, AED’s, or even First Aid. You can visit www.americanheart.org/cpr or call 877-AHA-4CPR (877-242-4277) for more information.
Even if you don’t remember all the steps of CPR exactly, it is important for you to try. Always remember to phone your emergency response number (or 911).
Article written by: Gene Hoth, Director of Special Events
Creating Awareness
Do the employees at your facility always follow all the security rules and regulations? Getting employees to follow the rules all the time is not an easy thing to do. Part of this reason comes from them not fully understanding why certain actions are expected of them. Many times, they may just think it is a silly rule with no merit.
To combat these thoughts, consider creating an awareness program, to help educate your employees, on why certain measures, are taken to protect them, while they are at work. Your security provider, will be able to help you with this, by using their past experiences and expertise.
Following are some potential topics to get you started:
- Workstation Security – Explain the benefits of locking computers while away, pointing monitors away from exterior window, properly securing documents, etc.
- Contraband Items – Provide an overview of contraband items at the company and why they are not allowed.
- Hazard Identification – Give details on how to identify potential safety hazards and how to report them.
- Challenging Individuals – Encourage employees to use the “trust but verify” method, if they encounter someone they don’t recognize on the property, and how to approach the individual.
- Access Control – Explain the hazards of tailgating, and why it is important for all employees, to scan their badges every time.
- Visitor Control – Clarify how to properly prepare to have a visitor arrive on the property, check-in, badging, escorting, employee responsibility, etc.
- Vehicle Security – Cover the importance of keeping vehicle windows and doors secure on company property, not leaving personal items visible in the vehicle, etc.
- Bomb Searches – Run through the procedure and denote who are the best people to conduct a bomb search, plus building search methods.
Keeping your employees up-to-date on safety and security information, can go a long way, in preventing issues at your facility in the future.
Article by: Colin Vick, Physical Security Division
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