End Users '20 under 40' 2014—Jason Renaud

Jason Renaud, 35

Director of security,�Royal Ottawa Mental Health Center, Canada

Renaud manages physical security for the hospital's 420,000-square-foot main building and 90,000-square-foot long-term care building on a 30-acre campus. He is in charge of security personnel, access control and video surveillance systems, conducting threat assessments, managing risk, developing safety plans and managing parking operations and fire safety.

What inspired you to get into the security industry?
In high school I worked at a major sports arena, where I worked closely with the security department. Later, I worked security in bars and nightclubs. I decided that I wanted to pursue a career in law enforcement. Soon after enrolling in a program, the attack on the World Trade Center occurred. Most of my instructors were police officers, and I watched them get called into action. I was privileged to hear several officers speak about their experiences. I realized that we cannot rely on police officers for everything in order to keep us safe. We needed qualified people to help organizations create safe and secure environments and to build some resiliency. I went on to manage parking operations at the Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre, which gave me the opportunity to work with the director of security who was nearing retirement. I slowly transitioned into his role.

If you could have any technology you wanted, without regard to budget, what would it be?
The aviation geek in me would say “surveillance drones,” but in all seriousness I have to say a proven, robust, highly scalable physical security information management software. It is not uncommon for health care facilities to have a variety of technologies for security applications. PSIM, if properly deployed, would improve our operational efficiency and help us to identify threats and respond appropriately.

What is your biggest physical security challenge today, and what do you think it will be five years from now?
Hospitals are high traffic facilities, often with very porous perimeters. My biggest physical security challenge is managing the flow of people. Five years from now I expect that visitor management will continue to pose a challenge, however it most certainly will not be the only challenge. The advancement of technology will continue to provide security practitioners vast opportunities, but it will also create immense challenges in terms of potential threats. You do not have to look long or far to find examples of people using new technology for malicious purposes, from people using small aerial drones to drop contraband into prison courtyards to someone using a wearable camera to conduct counter-surveillance. It's available, affordable and can be difficult to defend against.