Today’s private security professional often has sufficient technological savvy to double as a cybercrime expert. This newfound expertise across the private security industry reflects two facts:
Fact 1: Criminals today increasingly employ advanced technology to carry out their activities
Fact 2: Security professionals increasingly must employ advanced technology to repel tech-savvy criminals
In this article we will discuss how much the Security Industry is relying on technology to perform their duties.
The Rapid Shift Towards Technological Reliance
Security 101 reports this shift towards technology-based private security services began in the wake of 9/11 and shows no signs of slowing.
The advancement has been so rapid that Security Magazine likens it to pulling off 100 years of technology enhancements in the last decade!
Examples include the rapid departure of old school analog surveillance tools, to be quickly replaced by digital wireless tools that can seamlessly connect and communicate across diverse devices, platforms and operating systems.
As well, today’s private security client base expects to be notified right away of unfolding or urgent threats via technology (phone calls, text messages and email messages), with a zero delay tolerance policy for threat detection, communication and deterrence.
The ultimate outcome of these changes is a profound status change for the security industry itself. Today, “security” is not viewed as low-status. Rather, security is a hardcore, respected top flight profession worth an estimated $350 billion across the private and public sectors.
The time has never been better to be a part of the private security industry, which currently employs an estimated 2.1 million professionals and, at 19 percent job growth, is projected to grow 5 percent faster than the national average over the next decade.
A Ground Zero Picture of Modern Security’s Reliance on Technology
To get the most accurate sense of the integration between human intelligence and technology, it helps to take a look at the technology tools the typical private security professional uses in the course of a typical day.
Essential technology tools for today’s security professional include these:
- Wireless mobile devices to ensure 24/7 real-time communication
- Smart device apps to do everything from tracking clients to writing reports
- Internet of Things (IoT) surveillance with real-time monitoring via a smart device portal
- Surveillance drones to go where humans can’t go
- High-definition panoramic (360-degree) video cameras with high-quality built-in audio both for pristine case documentation and, increasingly, crime prevention
- Customizable cloud-based security tools with Big Data-level storage capacity
- Augmented reality to enhance real-world security protocols
The continuing push towards ever-greater reliance on technological tools is changing the security industry in another significant way as well. Today’s private security professionals are by and large no longer “generalists.”
In other words, as PropertyCasualty360 reports, there is increasingly client demand for specialized security professionals in fields such as residential communities, government-private sector collaborations, schools and universities, hotels, businesses, online businesses and the military.
From here forward, professional private security will be inextricably connected with the technology required to detect and, ultimately, prevent crime.
Protection for the Future
As the future of the world is as uncertain as the technology that comes with it, the best move is to always carry a Security Guard Insurance Policy. Call El Dorado Insurance today for your quote.
