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Home Security: Protect Your Car While It’s Parked in Your Driveway

If you think your car is safe parked in your own driveway – think again.

Recently, a man in Waltham, Massachusetts was arrested for allegedly trying to steal another car and its contents, according to the Waltham Patch.

car-thiefPolice arrested the man after they caught him fiddling around under the dashboard of a car while it was parked in the driveway of a home — and this car was allegedly not his only target. Waltham Police Sgt. Joseph Guigno credits “good old fashioned police work” in apprehending this man — but what steps could have been taken to catch this criminal sooner?
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Home Security Tips: How to Protect Yourself from Home Invasions

Everyone should feel safe in his own home. Unfortunately that’s not always the case. All you have to do is watch the news for proof that home invasions are on the rise in New England.

From Windham, New Hampshire to Newton, Massachusetts to Brockton, Massachusetts to Providence, Rhode Island there isn’t a community that hasn’t been affected. Read more

Need Grows for Robust Business Security Systems In Healthcare

Business-Security-HealthcareIf you are a healthcare provider, or do business with healthcare providers, you are probably familiar with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, or HIPPA, which was designed to ensure the security of patients’ private health information. With the rise of the implementation of Electronic Health Records (EHRs) and other healthcare information technology (HIT) by physicians, hospitals, and other healthcare providers, privacy and compliance concerns are greater now than ever. As reported in Businessweek, healthcare providers, insurance companies and related business partners reported 373 business security system breaches affecting almost 18 million patients between September 2009 to October of this year, according to Department of Health and Human Services.

Various technologies are used by providers of HIT and EHRs to ensure that a patient’s data remains secure. But even the best encryption protocols can’t always prevent a security breach because of something like the theft of laptop, or an “inside job” by an unscrupulous employee. That’s why healthcare providers are encouraged to consider taking serious physical security measures, such as access monitoring, burglar alarms, and video surveillance – as part of their overall security systems.

Of course, it’s not only patient information that makes healthcare providers criminal targets. Medical facilities are known to have high value assets on their premises, such as medical equipment, not to mention drugs. It’s also not uncommon for healthcare workers in emergency rooms, mental health clinics, and certain other kinds of facilities to be subject to violent outbursts or attacks by violent or emotionally disturbed patients.

According to crime researchers, hospital emergency rooms traditionally have been the most likely areas to have security risks. However, the increased problems of drug dependence, mental health issues, and homelessness, combined with other social problems caused by the economic downturn of the past several years have contributed to increased security threats for all areas of health care facilities.

Fortunately there are business security system companies that specialize in the unique compliance and security needs of healthcare and medical facilities. These companies understand the challenges of both data and physical security faced by the healthcare industry, and they know how to help medical facilities integrate safety and security measures into their day-to-day operations. They do this not only with the latest in state-of-the-art security systems and access control measures, but also by training all personnel how to minimize risk, and help create a secure and compliant environment for workers and patients.

The Travel Channel Consulted American Alarm for Tonight’s Show

Travel-channel Great Brinks RobberyTravel Channel’s show “Hidden City” came to American Alarm, experts in business security systems, to learn about modern bank security for a show that focuses, in part, on “The Great Brinks Robbery” of 1950. Hosted by best-selling crime novelist Marcus Sakey, the episode also delves into the stories and the legends of the Boston Strangler and Whitey Bulger.

At American Alarm’s Command Center, President Wells Sampson briefs Sakey on the latest technologies that modern robbers are up against, such as biometric fingerprint readers; perimeter sensors on doors and windows; interior motion sensors; vault and safe systems; panic buttons at key locations; video surveillance systems, and live police feeds.

With American Alarm’s use of such cutting edge security technology, it would be very difficult for the Brinks robbers to repeat their infamous heist today. As Sampson says, “We’re a security company and we’re looking to catch bad guys.”

Remote Video Monitoring Prevents Crime Before It Can Happen

remote video monitoringYou obviously can’t keep an eye on your business 24 hours a day, seven days a week, but that doesn’t mean you can’t install remote video monitoring to get the job done for you.

Recent advances in business security systems have added an entirely new dimension to the level of protection offered by video surveillance, including the ability to instantly notify both owners and local law enforcement should an intrusion be detected.

That last sentence makes an important distinction between an actual intrusion and one that appears to be on the verge of taking place. In the past, business video surveillance has primarily been used as a tool to help in the prosecution of vandals or thieves after the fact. It offers a record of the criminal activity that took place after the perpetrators gained access to the facility or property in question. Read more