“There’s been a substantial increase in the use of vehicles as weapons, both by terrorists, by angry people, and by people that, quite frankly, we don’t know if they had any motive at all,” Reiter says.

How can the industry help to prevent further tragedies like Waukesha? According to Reiter, the $1.3 trillion infrastructure bill provides a start to this by providing funding for thorough safety and security planning and the purchase and implementation of barriers.

“I can’t think of a better use for infrastructure than making sure that cities have a safe place to do what cities do,” he says.

The return on investment for these reusable structures is great, according to Reiter.

“You could have protected the backside of that parade for about $20,000,” he says. “If you amortize that over 10 years, that’s $2,000 a year, which is probably less than the revenue from the parking meters.”

Additionally, bollards — short, thick posts seen along sidewalks and public areas that prevent cars from entering a space — combine aesthetics and security. According to Reiter, defining and implementing rigid barrier systems — not bike racks, police cars turned sideways, or a smattering of orange cones — are the solution to protecting people in public spaces.

Crowds pay a price for shoddy barriers. They assume that, if the police have a presence on scene or there are traffic cones set up, the area is safe from accidental or deliberate vehicle incursions.

“The presumption of personal safety is a well-known thing in public areas,” Reiter says.

Investing in rigid structures can prevent lawsuits in the millions — more than the cost of purchasing or renting the rigid barriers themselves — and can stop many more preventable tragedies from happening in the future.

“If you were told in 2004 … [the] proper procedures to have a traffic plan and rigid barriers, and if you didn’t do it the year after, well, okay, that’s fine,” Reiter says. “But if you didn’t do it after there were five high-profile national news events, a body count in the dozens and injuries in the hundreds — just in this country — then this has been a foreseeable event which you failed to prevent.” — Amanda Reed, SDM Associate Editor //

80%

Net proceeds from the sale are expected to be used to fund, in part, an approximately $4 billion share repurchase which is planned to be completed in 2022. The transaction does not include Stanley Access Technologies, which provides automatic door solutions.

“We are incredibly excited to join forces with STANLEY Security and are confident that we will form a winning team,” said Magnus Ahlqvist, Securitas AB president and CEO. “Together, we will be perfectly placed to deliver outstanding expertise and potential for innovation which will create extraordinary opportunities not only for our shareholders, but for our colleagues and our hundreds of thousands of customers around the world.”

The transaction has been approved by the boards of directors of Stanley Black & Decker and Securitas and is expected to close in the first half of 2022. Timing is contingent upon receiving regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions.

“Three years ago we initiated a digital transformation in security with investments in people, new partnerships and innovative commercial solutions to establish these businesses as leaders with a strong growth trajectory in their respective markets,” said Donald Allan, Jr., Stanley Black & Decker’s president and chief financial officer. “Overall, this transaction will allow us to simultaneously strengthen Stanley Black & Decker’s core market position while returning significant value to our shareholders.” //

Colombo was a trade journalist and book author in the electronic security industry. He started freelancing for SDM in 1986, and joined the full-time staff in 1990. He remembered his 11 years at the magazine as a highlight of his life, and recently started freelancing for the magazine again.

“SDM was very progressive,” Colombo said. “I wrote for two other industry magazines under a different name, and used my real name for SDM, because it was the bible of the industry. Writing [for SDM again] is kind of like coming back home.”

He was a member and past president of the Canton South Rotary. He had also been a member of the East Canton Rotary and had attained the recognition of a Paul Harris Fellow. — Amanda Reed, SDM Associate Editor //

“Throughout our company’s history we have been recognized for our excellent customer service,” said Universal president Russ Gordon. “In Cook & Boardman, we found a partner that aligns well with our culture and shares our commitment to serving our customers and the industry.”

Founded in 1975, Bass Security is a national provider of custom CCTV and burglar/fire alarm security integration solutions, locksmith and hardware break/fix services. The company serves loss prevention, facilities management and new construction needs of customers throughout the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico through a network of 5000-plus field technicians.

“Bass Security was established on three core values — accountability, continuous improvement, and teamwork,” said company founder and CEO Dale Bass. “This model has served us well and we see the same commitment to excellence in Cook & Boardman.”

Founded in 1979, BlueViolet is a security and systems integrator providing a wide range of services including enterprise communications, access control, and intelligent surveillance systems to educational, governmental, distribution, and hospitality clients throughout California and across North America.

“BlueViolet Networks is a full-service provider that supports our clients with a staff of consultants, project managers, trainers, and highly skilled, expert engineers,” said founder and CEO John Paul. “We are proud to join C&B as they continue to transform the security and systems integration industry.”

All companies will continue to operate under their current brand names and customer contacts will remain unchanged as a result of the acquisition.

Cook & Boardman is a portfolio company of Littlejohn & Co. C&B has made 17 acquisitions since being acquired by Littlejohn in October 2018. //

Serving as ex-officio representatives to the 2022 global board are leaders from various ASIS volunteer groups, namely:

• Scott A. Lowther of Canada, representing the CSO center board (voting member)
• Brian J. Allen of the United States, representing the ASIS Foundation board of trustees (voting member)
• Werner J. Cooreman of Belgium, representing the professional standards board (non-voting member)
• Joseph Lee Rector of the United States, representing the professional certification board (non-voting member)

The seating of ASIS International’s first regional boards is as follows:

North American Regional Board of Directors   

• Chair: Donna M. Kobzaruk, USA    
• Vice Chair: Mark J. Folmer, Canada    
• Secretary/Treasurer: Craig S. Russell, USA    
• Maria G. Dominguez, USA    
• Richard L. Duncan, USA  
• Marti Katsiaras, Canada
• Rachelle Loyear, USA    
• Loye A. Manning, USA    
• Leonard Moss, Jr., USA    
• Susan E. Munn, Canada
• Jason M. Sikora, USA     
• Jeffrey A. Slotnick, USA

European Regional Board of Directors

• Chair: Erik de Vries, The Netherlands
• Vice Chair: Stephanie M. Bergouignan, France
• Christina Alexander Alexandropoulou, Greece
• Samuele Caruso, Italy
• Secretary/Treasurer: Torsten Wolf, Switzerland
• Radek Havlis, Czech Republic
• Glenn Cornelis Schoen, The Netherlands
• Andrew Williams, United Kingdom

Kobzaruk and de Vries, the chairs of each regional board, will serve on the ASIS global board of directors. //

“We are extremely excited about joining forces with the ACRE organization," said Sam Shalaby, founder and CEO, Feenics. “ACRE has positioned itself as the technology leader in the delivery of trusted and reliable global security solutions. We share a common mission of constantly seeking new ways to best support the evolving needs of today’s mission-critical security environments.”

Matrix Systems provides access control and security management technologies to organizations such as Miami International Airport, The Ohio State University, Cleveland Clinic, and General Electric.

“ACRE was an ideal fit for our business because we share a commitment to making sure our customers receive excellent service and support,” said Bruce Rogoff, CEO, Matrix.  “Additionally, our clients gain access to an innovative and compelling roadmap that builds on the proven Matrix product line with ACRE’s expertise in security.”

Joe Grillo, CEO, ACRE, said, “Our goal is to bring the industry’s best technology innovators into our network of brands. Feenics’ cloud architecture and Matrix’s simplified approach to integration have helped both brands build significant loyalty from a wide range of customers in rapidly growing markets, and we look forward to supporting both brand’s continued growth.”

Shalaby will remain with Feenics as its CEO, and Matrix management will join the ACRE team. //

Eagle Eye Networks CEO Dean Drako said the company’s alignment with two major trends — the move to cloud and adding artificial intelligence (AI) to cloud video surveillance — contributed to the company’s growth.

“I firmly believe that the confluence of cloud and AI is revolutionizing video surveillance around the world,” Drako said. “Eagle Eye is at the forefront of this revolution, delivering technologies that will make the world a safer place and businesses more efficient. Working with our global network of reseller partners and an extensive ecosystem of API partners, Eagle Eye Networks’ success is driven by four key components: great customer service to earn our customers business; cybersecurity to keep customer data protected; product features and capabilities to deliver the privacy customers want and resellers need; and reliability to ensure systems are always available for our customers.”

Eagle Eye Networks ranked 187 as a Technology Fast 500 award winner for 2020, and it earned number 133 in 2019. //