Hiring a Security Guard Service

Why you might want to hire a security guard service – and how to do it  By Michael Fickes

Security is a serious business. How do you make sure you’re getting it right? A security assessment (see Security Physicals for Buildings) provides insight into the kind of security that a building requires. A low-rise building in a Midwestern suburb with no history of crime needs less security than a downtown building in an area characterized by criminal activity. A signature high-rise trophy building in a major city will probably require a full quotient of security services. If your security assessment suggests a need for guards, should you hire and manage the guards? Or should you put out a request for proposal (RFP) for guard services experienced in managing building security? “Most property managers don’t hire security guards,” says Gary Kuty, CEO of Dayton, OH-based Kuty & Associates, a consultant to contract security guard firms. Property managers don’t typically want to manage security operations, continues Kuty. It takes too much time. If a security officer calls in sick, you have to replace him or her. If an officer gets hurt on the job, your worker’s compensation policy gets charged. If an officer gets laid off, your unemployment insurance account gets charged. In the end, property managers who want security hire a guard service. Writing an RFP  “The first step in hiring a guard service,” Kuty says, “is developing an RFP that outlines security responsibilities.” How many officers will you need? What shifts will they work? What will they do – monitor foot traffic in the lobby, issue visitor passes, patrol the building, patrol remote locations, staff the parking garage, manage and monitor a security center with head-end systems for access control and video surveillance? Kuty recommends setting a minimum hourly wage in the RFP to ensure that you’ll be able to compare proposals fairly. The RFP should ask how the firm hires and trains security officers, checks backgrounds, and provides proof of background checks on security officers to be sent to your property. “Mention insurance requirements, too” Kuty says. “What’s the minimum level of general insurance that you want your guard service firm to carry to cover property damage and injury claims? Today’s minimum is around $5 million. Check with your attorney and your carrier for advice.” Ask respondents to provide copies of their general liability insurance policies, copies of their state licenses, and copies of their worker’s compensation certificates. Ask for references, and check them. Kuty recommends asking each reference how long the company provided security. Was it satisfactory? When problems arose, how did the company respond? Was the quality of employees satisfactory? When employees turned over, did the company fill shifts with adequately trained replacements? Finally, ask for a company profile: When was it founded? How many employees are there, and what services are provided? What is the annual revenue, and what are the clients like? Kuty suggests sending your RFP to at least three companies: one highly regarded national provider with offices in your area, one regional provider, and one local company with a solid reputation. If your requirements are complex, consider holding a bid conference for all companies that plan to respond. At the conference, solicit questions to make sure that everyone understands the RFP in the same way so that you can properly evaluate the bids that come in. Evaluating Respondents  Red flags include companies that don’t provide certificates of insurance or worker’s compensation, companies that provide unsatisfactory responses to the RFP; small companies without enough employees to handle your business, or companies with only a PO Box for an address. Positive signs include companies in business for more than 25 years, companies that provide satisfactory answers to questions on the RFP, and management stability that is illustrated by lack of turnover. “Look for companies involved in your industry,” Kuty says. “A property manager might take an interest in a security firm that specializes in office buildings and belongs to the same industry associations. Finally, don’t hire the lowest bidder. The lowest bidder isn’t always best. Select the most responsible bidder – the one that submits the best, most comprehensive proposal for the best price.” Michael Fickes is a freelance writer and owner of Fickes & Co. Inc., a Baltimore publishing firm with experience in the security industry.

Shoplifting is on the rise in the mid-Hudson region | recordonline.com

Shoplifting is on the rise in the mid-Hudson region | recordonline.com

'Stingray' Phone Tracker Fuels Constitutional Clash

By JENNIFER VALENTINO-DEVRIES

For more than a year, federal authorities pursued a man they called simply "the Hacker." Only after using a little known cellphone-tracking device—a stingray—were they able to zero in on a California home and make the arrest.

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U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

A Harris StingRay II, one of several devices dubbed 'stingrays.'

Stingrays are designed to locate a mobile phone even when it's not being used to make a call. The Federal Bureau of Investigation considers the devices to be so critical that it has a policy of deleting the data gathered in their use, mainly to keep suspects in the dark about their capabilities, an FBI official told The Wall Street Journal in response to inquiries.

A stingray's role in nabbing the alleged "Hacker"—Daniel David Rigmaiden—is shaping up as a possible test of the legal standards for using these devices in investigations. The FBI says it obtains appropriate court approval to use the device.

Stingrays are one of several new technologies used by law enforcement to track people's locations, often without a search warrant. These techniques are driving a constitutional debate about whether the Fourth Amendment, which prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures, but which was written before the digital age, is keeping pace with the times.

On Nov. 8, the Supreme Court will hear arguments over whether or not police need a warrant before secretly installing a GPS device on a suspect's car and tracking him for an extended period. In both the Senate and House, new bills would require a warrant before tracking a cellphone's location. full article:

Security in State College beefed up ahead of Nebraska game at Penn State

Security in State College beefed up ahead of Nebraska game at Penn State

November 11, 2011|By Michael Matza, Inquirer Staff Writer

State College Borough police stepped up patrols Thursday night, vowing to crack down swiftly if Pennsylvania State University students riot again as they did Wednesday night after the firing of fabled football coach Joe Paterno.

"The behavior of last night is not going to be tolerated," Police Capt. John Gardner told reporters at an afternoon briefing. "Each time they up the ante, we're going to up the ante too. . . . Wanton destruction of property is not acceptable."

About 10 p.m. Wednesday, a crowd estimated at more than 4,000 converged on downtown State College. What began as a peaceful demonstration devolved when some protesters rolled over a news van, tried to ignite cars, and tore down light poles and street signs. Some in the crowd threw rocks and bottles. Police dispersed them with pepper spray.

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Hobart man, a security guard, among dead in Chicago shootout - Post-Tribune

Hobart man, a security guard, among dead in Chicago shootout - Post-Tribune

Sun-Time Media November 3, 2011 8:20PM

CHICAGO — A security guard from Hobart was fatally shot along with three others during an attempted robbery that turned into a shootout Wednesday night in Chicago. Two others were wounded in the melee.

Suspected robber Alex Spikes, 17, was fatally shot after Michael Banks, 30, of Hobart, returned fire around 9:30 p.m., authorities said. Banks died at the scene.

Store worker Weam “Weezy” Salem, 25, of Worth, Ill., was also killed, as was father-of-five Ihab Arafen, 45, of Lansing, Ill.

Arafen was making a delivery of cell phones to the store in the city’s the Altgeld Gardens neighborhood on the Far South Side when he was caught in the middle of the gunfight, his son Zaid said.

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