Guarding the guards: How technology supports guard services

Today's private guard services are trained in arrest and detainment, search and seizure, laws and legal authority, weapons and equipment, persuading others and strategic thinking.

Even with all of this training, these frontline personnel -- and their management -- can still find themselves in untenable situations. Advancements in technology can change untenable situations into manageable situations; thus “multiplying” guard forces by trimming non-productive time through the elimination of manual processes and the reduction of personnel risk and liability.

Guard tours

The traditional guard tour is designed to audit guard performance, ensure coverage and assist with schedule management. New enhancements in guard tour technologies can take this administrative support to new heights, with remote management of guard activities, electronic clarification of guard responsibility and confirmation of guards’ compliance with directives. The incident report augmentation of today’s electronic guard tour systems has become increasingly critical to reports, liability questions and other legalities.

Guard tour technologies truly begin to “guard the guard” by creating an electronic partner. A guard is never alone; the touring system can serve as a panic alarm or it can be configured to alarm if a private security guard misses a regular checkpoint. This makes guard touring systems a “buddy” that most private security personnel are rarely afforded.

This partnership can be illustrated with a networked guard touring device. A guard setting off on a facilities tour will check in at each position, making his position and progress available in real-time. If he misses a checkpoint, the real-time data can be set to automatically issue a Class 1 response -- either a “panic” or “call for help” that will alert fellow officers, management or even municipal personnel. Or, if the guard come across a threat to property, such as a water leak, he or she can automatically issue a Class 2 response -- alerting all levels of support with one message in real-time.

Asset management

Weapons and communications devices are critical for the protection of guards as well as the protection of the guard service provider. When in use, guard assets include weapons, recording equipment (cameras and notebooks), and a variety of sensing and protective gear. The reasons for protecting these assets can range from expense to accelerating awareness of positioning for better accessibility. Automated lockers store tools, such as cameras and laptops, making sure that they are instantly available if needed, but otherwise protected from misuse or disappearance. Long-range readers and tags can track asset and personnel movement through a facility’s choke points. 

Electronic key management

For years the “key bundle” hanging from the already overloaded belt of a security staff member, has been a hallmark of the guard. Not only a physical burden, but a tracking burden as well, keys are necessary for security but they are particularly prone to costly loss and misuse, and often increase the burden of time that guards live under. Automated key dispensing and return systems provide a badly needed audit trail for these critical items. Further, guards only need to access and carry the keys that they require for a particular task or response, thereby reducing the key bundle as a physical hindrance. Integration of automated key management into physical access control systems (PACS), directly and seamlessly, means that more elements of the response and tracking function can be automated.

Long-range access control

Private guards are increasingly being used in port and warehouse facilities where control of vehicles has often been managed by a manual “checkpoint” process close to a guard. Today’s long-range readers can supplement or eliminate those manual checkpoints, better protecting guards by distancing them from the physical checkpoint, or freeing them entirely for other critical security measures.

Other long-range access control systems can help guards by reducing physical impediments. Wearable RFID tags which utilize woven antennas can be embedded in uniforms or equipment. This makes position and access control “hands free” -- crucial for personnel who already require more than two hands.

Advances in long-range readers can enhance guard tours. Using long-range readers, in many cases, today’s guard tour systems can eliminate the manual presentation of equipment. Integration of guard activities with modern access control and extension of access control to critical point automated event recording (using sensitive reader technology across all RFID frequency bands) creates the ability for a guard to respond and record, automatically and seamlessly.

Intelligent video

The last few years have seen a geometric increase in availability and affordability of video analytics. This technology, rather than replacing security personnel, has increasingly proven to be vital as a supplement to guard services. Flagging suspicious activity and bringing it to the attention of security staff is a great time-saver, and can elicit quick reaction before an incident’s scope and damage can grow too large. The applications range from reduction in liability from slip-and-fall incidents to threat detection in leave-behind scenarios. Integrated with PACS, the guard becomes the critical element in a quick and responsive chain of activity: