Retail crime trends shift so quickly, security solutions must constantly evolve to stay ahead of them. With this in mind, Miller Electric Company and Florida Blue, in conjunction with Axis Communications, visited the Loss Prevention Research Council (LPRC) at the University of Florida in June.

The LPRC is a collective of researchers, retailers, solution partners, manufacturers, law enforcement professionals, and others with a common goal of combatting retail theft, fraud, and violence. To stay ahead of new criminal tactics, they conduct ongoing research to keep security technology and evidence-based solutions continuously up to date.

Miller Electric managers Amanda Goethe, John Tyler, and Steven Gay, along with Florida Blue, attended to learn about the latest advancements in security technology, with an emphasis on prevention of issues before they occur. “I believe my biggest takeaway from this experience was seeing how beneficial a connected community can be for overall public safety,” said Tyler. The integration of an entire community’s cameras, intrusion detection, and panic alarms into one centralized, real-time crime center, he added, gives authorities an upper hand on crime that occurs within the community.

Some of the current industry concerns lie in the realm of data security and consumer privacy. “Unfortunately, no data transmission or storage system can be guaranteed to be secure at all times,” said Tyler. But Miller’s security team is doing its part to stay at the cutting edge of data security, which is achieved through the use of trusted platforms for storing data. “Miller seeks to use reasonable organizational, technical, and administrative measures to protect personal information within our firm,” Tyler said.

Amid the variety of cutting-edge technologies showcased during the visit to LPRC, the central talking point revolved around a security model known as the double bowtie (for its visual resemblance to two bowties sitting side-by-side). This model is used to analyze and manage security risks and includes the following steps:

• Prepare: Employ security measures such as CCTV, access control, and intrusion detection to better secure your facility.
• Prevent: Keep incidents from occurring within your facility. (For example, CCTV monitors show customers they are being recorded as they walk into a store. Access control should be used on doors that are meant for staff only.)
• Detect: Utilize panic buttons to signal for help and cameras to catch the violator in the act.
• Mitigate: Alert authorities as quickly as possible.
• Recover: Take a moment to heal from the event.
• Review: Analyze the events that took place.
• Refine: Employ additional security measures to prevent the same event from happening in the future.

Miller’s Integrated Solutions group is regularly involved with security components such as CCTV/surveillance systems, access control, security monitoring, biometrics, ALPR, and parking management.

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