Prevention has always been what Locksmiths have been noted for. Locks are designed to stop criminal activity before it can begin. Physical security is really based on the assumption that every person in society has one thing in common; they have a value for their continued bodily existence. Until recently anyone bent on nefarious activity fully expected to either succeed with their plan or be caught and face incarceration. In either case criminals expected to live another day and eventually get back into society. Under these conditions bigger and better preventive security products made good sense and locksmiths played an important part in keeping honest people protected.
Events of 9/11 have tended to change our way of thinking. There are still those among us who value their lives but are willing to commit crimes and face the consequences. For those people, preventive lock systems can still be a cure. There are also new groups of individuals who are willing to sacrifice their lives during what society sees as an unlawful activity.
As this newsletter is being written, a news story is unfolding in New York and New Jersey. Several bombs have been detonated and ordinary citizens walking by have been injured. No lock system could have prevented this tragedy.
CCTV has become the latest security measure. Detection is replacing prevention. The City of Chicago has installed 22,000 cameras on street corners and in buses and trains in an effort to at least identify perpetrators. Pictures of the latest NY and NJ bombings taken from video cameras at the scenes were immediately shown on television. Within hours a supposed bomber suspect had been identified.
It does not appear that society will return to normalcy any time soon. To be relevant in this new era means that we must offer both prevention and detection systems. Have you installed a CCTV camera lately?
