Page 44 - Security Today, January 2018

EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS
PLANNING AHEAD
Free security seminars help educate security professionals on dealing with potential threats BLy Lindsay Page
ong before the Columbine High School massacre put school shoot- ings in the media, the threat was already there, and certain emergen- cy protocols had been put in place.
Violence is nothing new, and sadly, some- times a tragic event is the only thing to make changes to the way schools, universities, busi- nesses, hospitals and other facilities handle emergency situations and threats.
Technologies change, and protocols need to adapt in order to keep everyone safe when something such as an active shooter incident takes place. Although it is impossible to have a facility 100 percent secure, by being proac- tive and constantly learning about new tech- nologies and emergency procedures, we can get pretty close to that 100 percent.
So, how can we really be prepared for these events?
Here is where A+ Technology & Security Solutions comes in. Founded in 1988 and headquartered in Bay Shore, N.Y., the com- pany offers a myriad of solutions – all of which provide integrated security solutions to schools and universities, federal and state government agencies including law enforce- ment, healthcare, and businesses. With this level of expertise, the company decided they wanted to share their knowledge in order to help create the best outcome possible in a ter- rible situation.
A+ Technology recently announced they were offering a series of free security pre- paredness seminars to professionals in the industry in order to help educate them on how to deal with potential and probable threats. During the seminars, attendees will learn how to perform risk assessments; look for weaknesses in their current emergency procedures; identify risks such as an employ- ee or student who could be potentially dan- gerous; while also learning about where secu- rity technology is headed in the future and how to plan ahead.
David Antar, the president of A+ Technol- ogy & Security Solutions, said he saw the need for these seminars and wanted to do something to help their community know how to plan for and respond to threats and emergency situations.
“Our main objective with these seminars is to go beyond that, and to be the go-to resource within our community for education
on effective security preparedness which includes planning, training and the right technology,” Antar said. “We’ve learned a lot in our 28-plus years of being in business and we want to share our knowledge and experi- ence along with the experts that we partner with; and want to share this with the commu- nity. A community that is educated is a com- munity that can be better prepared for the worst-case scenario.”
No one knows when something such as an active shooter situation may arise, but these seminars offer ways that help to quickly iden- tify any potential threats while also teaching attendees how to deal with the situation before it turns deadly. Prevention is a top pri- ority, but knowing the correct protocols can make a huge difference.
With the demand for these seminars on the rise, A+ Technology & Security Solutions is constantly striving to make them even better.
“Recently we began to institute a more for- mal series of educational sessions," Antar said. "Focusing on helping schools, munici- palities and businesses to collaborate and learn more about safety and security pre- paredness, and the associated security tech- nology solutions available to them."
Currently these free seminars are being offered to security professionals on Long
Island, but A+ has held seminars in a few other states as well. For next year, the company is working hard to add more to their agenda.
“2018 is going to be absolutely amazing,” Antar said when asked about the year ahead. “We are already being contacted by so many educators and security experts that want to partner with us for this program. Right now, we are serving our local community here in New York, but our focus for the future is to scale this out to a regional and then national initiative where we can continue to be a go-to resource, sharing more insight on all things that help improve security preparedness across the country.”
Having the correct emergency procedures in place and knowing how to identify risks and the correct ways to deal with them can make all the difference in a situation where seconds count. With A+ Technology now offering security preparedness seminars for no cost to attendees, planning ahead for these events just got a lot easier
– and that’s something we
can all get excited about.
Lindsay Page is the former editor of Campus Security & Life Safety magazine.
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