Archive: December 2005
Guardsmark hits $.5 billion for 2005
December 29, 2005SSN Staff
NEW YORK--Guardsmark chairman and president Ira A. Lipman announced in a Dec. 22 press release that the company expects to clear half a billion dollars in revenues for the first time in 2005. This represents an increase of 9.7 percent over last year and it has allowed the company to reach an all-time high of 18,500 employees.
It is notable that the company, which specializes in uniformed guards, investigation and facility security consulting, has never made an acquisition over 27 years of continuous...
Saflink and Johnson Controls to challenge Verified Identity Pass
December 29, 2005L. Samuel Pfeifle
BELLVUE, Wa.--Currently, Verified Identity Pass is the only company expediting security checks in airports. That's soon to change. Saflink, a provider of access control and identity assurance solutions, announced this week a partnership with Johnson Controls, Microsoft, Expedia Corporate Travel, and ID Technology Partners to provide the Registered Traveler program in participating airports. This will attempt to one-up Verified by not only expediting check-ins through a biometrically secured identity...
G.I. Bill now covers additional security certifications
December 29, 2005SSN Staff
ALEXANDRIA, Va.--The Department of Veterans Affairs approved Physical Security Professional and Professional Certified Investigator certification exams for reimbursement through the G.I. Bill in late 2005. The partnership between ASIS International, which sponsors the exams, and the VA gives security professionals who are active military, transitioning from the military or veterans an incentive to get certified.
President of the Professional Certification board at ASIS, John Gehrlein, CPP said, "When...
Midwest's largest nightclub invests in security
December 29, 2005L. Samuel Pfeifle
FORT WAYNE, Ind.--Pierre's Entertainment Center, a 60,000-square-foot nightclub complex that can serve as many as 4,500 people on a given night, completed the installation of a $250,000 security system this month. Networked through a DVR system from Wavelet Technologies by Innovative Technology Specialists, a small IT-oriented system integrator here, and largely installed by club employees, the system features 60 cameras from Panasonic and Toshiba, 12 miles of cable and the ability to scan and store...
Retailers adopt ADT child abduction prevention program
December 29, 2005SSN Staff
BOCA RATON, Fla.--A growing number of retailers, 9,000 in 2005, are joining an ADT-sponsored child-safety program called Code Adam, ADT Security Services announced in late December.
When a child is reported missing in a store, a "Code Adam" alert is issued over the public address system. A description of the child is given to designated employees who search for the child and monitor all exits. The local police are contacted if the child is not found within 10 minutes.
Created by Wal-Mart in 1994,...
Central gets listed: SafetyCare announces UL-listing
December 29, 2005SSN Staff
HACKENSACK, N.J.--SafetyCare, a business providing home security coupled with family wellness services, received a central station Underwriters Laboratories Listing this month.
As a UUFX UL-listed central station, SafetyCare is authorized to monitor UL residential and commercial burglary and fire alarm systems. The company received listings for central station operation and site automation systems.
With the UL certification, the company can work with high-risk clients such as jewelry stores, government...
Survey says: Shoplifting on the rise
December 22, 2005SSN Staff
BOCA RATON, Fla.--As the holiday shopping season wraps up, retailers are still concerned about shoplifting and employee theft, according to a University of Florida retail study conducted in December, thanks to a grant from ADT Security Services.
The study said retailers' concerns are justified by evidence of losses from shoplifting. The report found that employee theft has dipped, but it is still one of the largest sources of inventory shrinkage.
This year's study noted an increase in shoplifting,...
CSAA training heads north
December 22, 2005SSN Staff
VIENNA, Va.--Recognizing that training and education are vital to the growth of the security industry, the Central Station Alarm Association and the Canadian Security Association partnered this month to offer the CSAA Central Station Operator On-Line Training Course Level I and II to the Canadian security industry.
Under the agreement, CANASA will sponsor and promote the two training courses to its members. Although some Canadian monitoring companies that are members of CSAA have already gone through...
Ritter talks about Brink's after the sale of BAX
December 22, 2005Martha Entwistle
RICHMOND, Va.-- The Brink's Company vice president and chief financial officer Robert Ritter told Security Systems News this week that the balance-sheet bounce from the $1.12 billion November sale of BAX gives Brink's "the financial wherewithal to grow in different directions in security."
The company will continue to expand and invest in its profitable Home Security Division, and will begin to focus on its commercial security offerings. Commercial is currently just a small slice--four percent in...
Initial Security increases Southwest density with Smith Legacy purchase
December 22, 2005L. Samuel Pfeifle
SAN ANTONIO--Initial Security, a subsidiary of UK-based Rentokil Initial, announced yesterday the purchase of Smith Legacy Security, a medium-sized guard firm operating in the San Antonio area. Terms of the deal were not released, but former SLS owner Julie Smith Nelson will use the proceeds to enter the integration side of the security industry, said Leonard Courtright, regional vice president for the southwest region at Initial.
Courtright called the SLS buy a "bolt-on" acquisition, as it made...