SecurityInfoWatch.com Blogs

I just read an article in the Dealer section of SIW, titled “NC Burglar Shares Tips on How He Preyed on Homes.” The article, written by Michelle Crouch of The Charlotte Observer, tells about Anthony Ferguson, the criminal who broke into 600+ homes in Charlotte, North Carolina from the mid-1980’s until 1999 when he was caught. In the article, some of Ferguson’s secrets are disclosed; probably the most noteworthy of which is when he says, “I basically don’t hit houses that ain’t got alarms.”

What? Yes, that’s what he said. Here’s the passage I found most interesting in the article:

For Ferguson at least, alarm systems weren’t a deterrent. In fact, he specifically looked for homes that had them. For one thing, he said, they were turned off more than half the time. He usually could check out the system because of what he describes as a chronic security company mistake: “They put the alarm box where I can look in the window and see it.”

Another mistake, according to Ferguson: Most two-story homes have no alarms on the second floor — where many master bedrooms and most jewelry boxes can be found.

“If you don’t have an alarm on a second-floor window,” Ferguson said, “and there’s a tree or ladder or anything, I’ll crawl up and go through the second-floor window and never, ever set the alarm off because I don’t even have to go downstairs.”

When all else failed, he could avoid the system by taking apart a window rather than opening it. Once inside, he was careful to avoid motion detectors.

“If I do go in your house and you got an alarm system, I never step in a hallway and I never step in a doorway and I check for sensors,” he said. “To get from room to room, I kick holes in the Sheetrock.”

If the alarm went off, however, Ferguson always fled. Often, he said, the police would pass him walking down the street, his pockets stuffed with jewelry, as they sped to the home.

“They would just ride right by. I would jump on the city bus and go back across town.”

Unbelievable! You can read the whole thing here.

-Greg

So last week at ISC West I had the opportunity to meet with two representatives of Narad Networks: Michael Collette, CEO, and Louise Wasilewski, VP, Business Development. They gave me an introduction to their company and what they hope to accomplish.

In a nutshell, Narad’s switches and modems makes use of higher frequencies on existing coax cabling, which allows for them to transmit data at a high bandwidth (100 Mbps in each direction) without distorting other data transmissions on the line. One application of this technology (which you can read about on SIW) would be to add or upgrade a video surveillance system for a large housing complex without having the expense of installing new wires.

I’m curious, do you have any thoughts on this technology? Is it something that you’d like to utilize?

-Greg

Yesterday at the show I had the opportunity to meet Tom Hansen, CEO of AirVisual, which he founded in response to the communication breakdowns he witnessed firsthand at the World Trade Center on 9/11.

On that tragic day, he was just outside the WTC and ended up volunteering in Burn Unit B1 at Ground Zero where he had the harrowing experience of witnessing a slew of various injuries amid much chaos and confusion. Afterward, he resolved to make a difference and improve the communication technologies that could be used in such a situation (or other situations).

On a personal note, I have a lot of respect for all the volunteers who responded on 9/11, and so it was a privilege for me to meet Tom Hansen and learn about what his company has accomplished and plans to accomplish in the future. For further reading, there is a U.S. News & World Report article on AirVisual’s website with more info about his volunteerism on 9/11.

-Greg

Last night Dan Triglia, Security Dealer’s west coast sales manager, and I went to a dinner reception held by Criticom International at the Palms’ Ghost Bar. The place had a comfortable atmosphere with a spectacular view (this bar is located 55 floors up).

Two of the people seated at our table were Benny and Emily Ying, who are security dealers who run Beta Security Systems in southern California. It was fun to chat with them about their business. Dan asked them a lot of good questions, and they seemed happy to answer.

I learned a little bit about Benny’s background and it was rather interesting. As it turned out, Benny’s degree is in electrical engineering and he began his career as an engineer in the aerospace industry. However, when he was in his mid 20’s, his townhome was burglarized. So, he started looking through the phone book to see if he could find anyone to help set him up with a burglar alarm. He had trouble finding a dealer and spent much time researching how to do it himself. After he successfully installed his own alarm, he started getting inquiries from friends and associates. Finally, on the side, he set up an alarm for a dentist (his first customer). Once Benny built up 150 clients, he was able to quit his engineering job and run his own security dealership full time. Today he has over 1,800 clients (including that same dentist).

During the course of conversation, it was readily apparent that Benny and Emily make a great team, which obviously has contributed to their company’s huge success. Benny jokes that he should go back to the guy who burglarized his townhome and say,  Thank you!

-Greg

My first full day at ISC West can be described in a word: Wow!

With over 1,000 exhibitor booths (some of which are very elaborate, like having a 2nd floor for business deals) and all these colors, gadgets, and people dazzling the convention floor, this ISC West show is a circus (but in a good way).

I met a lot of nice people yesterday who helped me to learn more about their companies and the industry. I’m looking forward to doing it all over again today.

-Greg

I had the opportunity earlier this week to visit the new facilities of both North American Video and ADI in Las Vegas.

Herb Albinus and Gina deCesare gave us a very informative tour of their new ADI distribution center. With me being new to the industry, I didn’t know what to expect. However, upon walking into this distribution center for the first time, I was struck by its organization. The products were visibly labeled, conveniently categorized, and well placed.

NAV had a nice reception at their new place (which was so new that they had only begun to move in last week and were still putting pictures up on the wall). Ron and Cyndi Freschi were kind enough to give us a tour. I’m really glad that I got to meet them and tour their impressive new facility. (I found their video testing room to be especially interesting.)

-Greg

P.S. I got to spend some time at the Wynn Hotel on Tuesday night. I learned that the hotel is pretty new (has only been around about a year) and costs $400+/night to stay. Guess who runs their surveillance? That’s right, NAV.

P.P.S. Herb (ADI’s corporate national merchandiser) insists that he knows me from somewhere, so I asked him if he’s ever spent much time in either Illinois or Ohio. He says he used to live in Cincinnati about the same time I was in Vandalia (which aren’t that far apart in Ohio), so now I’m curious. Anyway, Herb says he’ll get back to me if he can specifically recall where he thinks he remembers me from.

Well, my plane has landed and I’ve made it to the Monte Carlo hotel. I have just settled in but now it’s time to go out for a night of events held by ADI, North American Video, NBFAA, and System Sensor.

This will be my first ISC West. I just started as an assistant editor at Security Dealer magazine and I’m new to the security industry. When I was hired in February, I remember SD’s publisher, Pete Harlick, warned me that my schedule at this show was going to be so jam packed and tiring that after it was all over I was going to “need a week off.”

Hmm… I’m about to find out…

-Greg

Thank you for checking out Security Dealer’s new blog! Feel free to leave a comment about ISC West, our magazine, or just say “hi.” (Oh, and be sure to stop in again; this blog will get better as we go… we hope!)