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Local Voices

Security USA Hosts School Security Seminar

In the wake of the tragic  Sandy Hook school shooting last year, the management of Security USA hosted a seminar on school security featuring top authorities in law enforcement and security to provide a basis for schools to create and implement security plans.  The firm counts a number of prestigious schools among their security clients and has vast experience with a full spectrum of security needs.

Many of us grew up in a time when the sum total of school security was having 6th grade students serve as "guards" to help the younger students cross the street safely.  Since the Columbine shootings in 1999, school security has taken on a very different meaning, and last year's shootings at Sandy Hook brought the horrifying new reality down to the elementary school level.  The facts tell us that having a nominal security presence in schools is no longer enough to safeguard our most precious treasures.

Security USA  is a different kind of security company, which provides a different kind of security.  Following the September 11th attacks in 2001, founder and CEO Rami Hahitti, a former member of the Israeli Defense Forces Special Forces Unit drew upon his training and experience to create a security company that combines Israeli security experience with respect for the American way of life.   Because of the need to foster a positive learning environment, schools particularly benefit from a security plan that is both effective and un-intrusive.

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During the school security seminar, David Boehm, a retired NYPD Lieutenant and COO of Security USA, Inc. explained that the most successful security plans are multi-layered.  A single guard at the front door does little to prevent a security incident.  Cameras are a deterrent, but not preventive.  Each aspect of a security plan taken by itself can only be minimally effective, but a good fence with access control, well placed cameras whose feed is consistently monitored, professional security guards, a well-trained staff and effective communication systems can all contribute toward preventing or minimizing a tragedy.

Small details can mean a lot.  Having shades that can be pulled down during a lockdown situation can prevent intruders on the grounds from looking through windows to determine where they could do the most damage and teachers who have actually gone through the processes of lockdown and emergency evacuation at least three times a year are more likely to be able to follow through in a real emergency than someone who never has had the actual experience or only thinks about it once a year or even less.

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The seminar provided a wealth of information for school officials and can be viewed in its entirety on video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cb5RXg3H-T0.

Security USA is a security guard company with offices in midtown Manhattan and Long Island, providing quality security services to educational, commercial, residential and personal clients throughout Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, Staten Island, Nassau, Suffolk and Westchester Counties, New Jersey, Connecticut and the entire northeast.  They can be reached at 1-866GUARD80.  www.securityusainc.com

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