Security and Surveillance Industry News

I was browsing the web today and I came upon a really cool new web site called CrimeUSA. It is the first web site totally dedicated to the study of crime as an individual and social phenomenon.

Crime is what drives the security and surveillance industry. Without crime, there would be no need for burglar alarms or access control systems and the need for video surveillance systems would be greatly reduced. Without crime, hundreds of thousands if not millions of people all across the world would need to find new employment.

That is why I found CrimeUSA to be so intriguing. By studying and documenting crime statistics in American society including the frequency and types of violations of the law, CrimeUSA is hoping to offer an insight into the criminal mind and the society that fosters it.

There are many theoretical perspectives used in the study of criminology to explain how an individual with the inherent ability to choose between right and wrong will sometimes choose an illegitimate and illegal path over a more righteous and legal course.

Approximately 13 million people are victims of crime every year in the United States, and of that 2 million are victims of violent crimes.

In 2005 the total spent by law enforcement in the USA for Police, Judicial and Corrections Departments exceeded 200 hundred million dollars and their were over 7 million people under correctional jurisdiction. When you factor in the socioeconomic cost of 7 million people being incarcerated; 7 million families without fathers, wives, sons, daughters or brothers and 7 million victims of crime, the costs of crime to American society is truly monumental.

Why are some people able to flourish under the rules and laws of society while others are doomed to a life of committing crimes and then living with the consequences? As humans, will we ever understand society and its influence on human behavior? Can we ever know why people act the way they do? What values do criminals hold in common?

Are all criminals insane, or has the moral fabric of American society degraded to the point that it is now ethically and socially acceptable to be a criminal? Some would argue that our current culture even rewards criminal behavior because the benefits far outweigh the consequences.

Even though we don’t have all the answers, it all makes for very interesting conversation.

Many prominent economists and lawmakers feel that the unprecedented $ 700 billion financial rescue plan that was signed into law Friday isn’t a cure-all for the ailing American economy. Some feel that too much damage has already been done and that the governments offer to buy up bad dept and unwanted assets will not spur any real growth in the economy for many years.

As the treasury department prepares to purchase the first round of assets from troubled lending institutions, the economic outlook is disturbing. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that employers cut 159,000 jobs in September and that so far this year the economy has dumped more than 760,000 jobs.

As a business owner I have found myself asking the same nagging question as most Americans. What does the threat of a long term economic downturn mean to me and my business?

If there is one thing that my experience over the last 23 years in the security industry has taught me is that as long as there are immoral and unethical criminals; people will have a need to protect their personal property and assets.

Does this make the security industry recession proof?

The electronic security industry as a whole has been growing steadily at about 7 percent annually since 1996. When I speak of the electronic security industry, I am referring to the business of protecting personal property and assets. A rather broad stroke which encompasses the hundreds of thousands of people and companies involved in the manufacturing, distribution, marketing and installation of electronic security devices.

The growth in the security industry has been fueled by many factors including; crime, terrorism and perceived threats; economic growth and expansion; new innovations in security technology.

First let’s talk about crime, terrorism and perceived threats. The security industry has continued to grow despite the fact that property crimes, especially burglary and theft have been steadily declining since 1975.

How is this possible? Many factors have contributed to a society that lives in a constant state of fear from crime, terrorism and other perceived threats to our survival. The main contributing factors are the speed of communications which allow instant notifications of terrible events from across the globe and a media that sensationalizes news events with shocking headlines and fear inducing reporting. I don’t see this changing anytime soon.

Now how about economic growth and expansion? When a new building is built, wealth is created and distributed throughout the economy. The plumber makes money as do the framer, the mason and the security contractor. Contractors of all trades buy supplies, pay wages and hopefully make a profit. When the new building is completed, it should be worth more than the total cost to build it even though many people profited from its construction. At least that is what the banks are betting on.

The government understands that construction is a fundamental building block of economic expansion. Hence the bailout plan, which is primarily designed to take some of the risk out of lending money so that banks and financial institutions will continue to invest in new construction projects.

Until home prices across the country settle down and lending requirements loosen up a little, I fear that growth and expansion in this market segment will be a little stagnant for the next few years.

The third factor that has contributed to the overall consistent growth in the security industry has been new innovations in technology. The world is changing quickly and new ground breaking security products are being designed, released and updated at an unprecedented rate.

Technology is moving so quickly that entire market segments are being created and destroyed virtually overnight. Just as cell phones shattered the pager and pay phone industries, innovative new products in video surveillance and access control systems promise to change the way people think and feel about security.

By weighing the factors that have contributed to the phenomenal growth of the electronic security industry over the last decade, I have come to the conclusion that the industry as a whole is recession resistant, but not entirely recession proof.

I feel that the national media’s propensity to sensationalize crime and to use fear to sell newspapers coupled with the release of many innovative new products will balance out any losses in market expansion due to a shrinking economy. Let’s just hope I am right!

Epidemic Proportions or Media Hype?

Crime in the USA; it is all over the news these days. You cannot open a newspaper, watch television or listen to the radio without hearing shocking stories of sensational crimes taking place all over the country. According to the reports, many of these crimes are being committed by children.

As a consultant in the security industry, I have readily gotten caught up in all the hoopla surrounding the increase in violence and crime in this country. I hate to say it, but the truth is that crime is good for my business and any outbreak or measurable increase in crime helps to sell more security systems.

In doing research for this article, I came across some shocking and very surprising statistics on juvenile crime.

The following statistics are all taken from the 2006 National Report of Juvenile Offenders and Victims prepared by the U.S. Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP). According to the report, currently 1 in 4 residents of the United States are under 18 years old.

• Juvenile Courts handled 1.6 million delinquency cases in 2002 – up from 1.1 million in 1985.
• The age at which most murder victims are likely to be killed is 16 years old, regardless of gender.
• The number of youths under the age of 18 being held in adult jails quadrupled between 1990 and 1999.
• Over 8% of 17 year olds reported to have been in a gang, 16% have sold drugs and 16% have carried a handgun.
• The proportion of females entering the juvenile justice system for violent crimes has increased by 31% since the mid 90’s.
• 5 in 100 high school students stayed at home at least once in the past month due to fear of a school related crime.

That certainly sounds like a juvenile crime epidemic to me.

Remember what I told you before I presented you with the shocking statistics? Crime is good for my business.

Right now, I probably have you right were I want. You are thinking that juvenile crime is rampant and raging out of control, right?

As a shocking reminder that people’s perceptions of the truth can be completely skewed by the way the national media presents news and information, check out the following statistics that seem to fly in the face of what the media would have us believe.

The statistics are taken from the same OJJDP report.

• The number of juvenile homicides in 2002 was 44% below the peak year of 1993, and at its lowest level since the mid 80’s.
• In 2002, the number of murders by juveniles dropped to its lowest level since 1984.
• The likelihood of juveniles being murdered in 2002 was the same as in 1966.
• Both male and female students ages 12-18 experienced far fewer crimes of violence and theft in their schools in 2001 than in 1992.
• In 2003, juveniles ages 12-17 were half as likely to be the victim of a violent crime as in 1993.
• Between 1994 and 2002, the number of murders involving a juvenile offender fell 65% to its lowest level since 1984.
• 6% of high school students said they have carried a weapon on school property in the past 30 days—this figure is down from 12% in 1993.
• Illicit drug use by juveniles in 2004 was half that of the early 80’s.

Are you surprised? I have to admit that I was actually stunned by some of the statistics found in the OJJDP Report. Those darn statistics really went against the grain of what I had believed and they actually changed the direction of the article I was planning on writing.

John Quincy Adams might have put it best when he said; “Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passions, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence.”

Fact is defined as something that can be shown to be true, to exist, or to have happened, in other words a fact is not an opinion. Therefore, the statistics provided by the OJJDP report support certain facts. The fact is that the juvenile crime rate in this country is at the lowest level since the early 80’s.

Of course, information presented in statistical reports is open to interpretation. Statistics can be taken out of context, skewed, reported or presented in ways that can be used to prove a point.

Take for example, the first statistic that I presented you with: juvenile courts handled 1.6 million delinquency cases in 2002 – up from 1.1 million in 1985.

I used this statement, presented it out of context and grouped it with other carefully picked statistics to make you believe that juvenile crime is out of control.

Now let’s consider this statistic which was taken from the same report: the juvenile crime rate in this country is at the lowest level since the early 80’s.

When you combine these two seemingly opposing statistics, you will notice an interesting trend. Juvenile crime is at its lowest rate in decades, yet we are currently putting 45% more children through the juvenile justice system than we did in 1985.

What is happening in this country? Have we made it a crime to be young? Are we a society that now punishes children for behavior that was once written off to youthful exuberance? Look back to your childhood. How many stupid stunts did you pull off that would now land you in jail?

Wow, there I go again. Reporting statistics in a way designed to persuade you and shape your opinion.

My point is simply this. You cannot believe everything you see or hear in the media. Just as crime is good for my business, it also sells newspapers and keeps people planted in front of their televisions sitting through endless commercials.

Believe me; you are much better off reading the report yourself and formulating your own opinion. Complete copies of the OJJDP Report are available from the United States Department Of Justice.

I hope this doesn’t hurt business!