Page 22 - Campus Security & Life Safety, March/April 2022

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works by reading huge volumes of detailed data gathered from cameras and sensors, processing it quickly to uncover issues and delivering insights to security teams who can activate a response.
Strategy & Strength
in Approaching Security Staffing
Methodist takes a hybrid approach to security staffing, with both security officers and a cohort of off-duty officers from the Houston Police Department on its regular security team. And, with several locations across the Houston area, Methodist works with Summit Off Duty Services to ensure they always have a solid bench of officers and that critical secu- rity posts are always fulfilled.
“Uniformed officers are uniquely effective, especially in sensitive areas of the hospitals, because they bring a different skill set and have authority to intervene and de-escalate challenging situations,” said Sarr. “Outsourc- ing some of our ODO program is helpful because our provider can pull from a variety of different law enforcement agencies, which would be a lot for us to coordinate. During weather events and all the COVID curve- balls, this has been extremely valuable.”
Police officers are highly trained and well- versed in local and state laws. They’re well equipped not only to recognize a threat, but also to know the legal parameters of response and how best to diffuse and de-escalate the situation. They’re able to use that knowledge to prevent or stop the crime, keeping patients, employees and facilities safe and preventing undue attention from media or the potential for future legal action, which could cause long-term reputational damage.
Beyond those unfortunate realities, uni- formed officers bring a calming presence to
“Uniformed officers are uniquely effective, especially in sensitive areas of the hospitals, because they bring a different skill set and have authority to intervene and deescalate challenging situations."
— Hadji Sarr, Director of Public Safety, Houston Methodist
hospitals’ patients, employees and visitors. During a trying time, their very presence— and the knowledge that there is a force behind them—instills a sense of security for everyone at the facility.
Extenuating circumstances call for exten- uating preparation. Maintaining a strong security posture means making that invest- ment in tech and having bench strength to
ensure all bases are covered.
Tracy Fuller is President of Summit Off Duty Services. She has worked in contract security in a variety of leadership positions for the past 30 years, supporting a host of large enterprise customers in their development and deployment of security programs, from banking and finance to retail and healthcare.
22 campuslifesecurity.com | MARCH/APRIL 2022