During “normal” times the police generally control the masses because the masses allow that control. Or to put it another way, the public allows law enforcement to do their jobs. Thus the delicate balance and fragile trust relationship is born. These are not normal times! Just consider that within the framework of racial strife, societal unrest, police misconduct, political polarization …
A Delicate Balance, part 1 – Police Service
Where is a cop when you need one? The answer depends on where you live. Data reported by law enforcement agencies to the FBI depict a wide variation in the size of departments across the nation. Despite what you may hear or have read, there is no national standard for how many police officers a department needs or any type of …
Layered Security and COVID-19
At Protus3, we take great pride in helping our clients identify risks and develop practical and sound strategies to manage, mitigate, and leverage those risks. Usually those risks involve insider or outsider threats carried out by persons with nefarious intent. The threats come in various forms – overt and plainly visible (think intruder) or covert and not plainly evident (think …
Security Specifiers Welcomes New Board Members
Security Specifiers has named Jerry Blanchard, CPP as a new member of the Advisory Board. Jerry Blanchard has led Risk Management Associates, Inc (dba Protus3) as Chairman and CEO since 2012. Protus3 is headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina and specializes in physical security consultancy. Jerry has been in the security industry for thirty-one years since his departure from the military. …
Emergency Assistance in the Age of COVID-19, part 2
In the first post, we addressed what constitutes an emergency, when to call 911, call prioritization, finite resources, and differing priorities. For good measure, we discussed that the police may alter their level and type of responses to both emergency and non-emergency situations due to COVID-19. In this post, we will attempt to convey and emphasize the importance of not …
Emergency Assistance in the Age of COVID-19, part 1
Calling 911 to request emergency assistance is ingrained into the mindset of Americans across the nation. Many Americans have no recollection of the patchwork and disjointed processes of the past when you needed emergency assistance. From calling an operator (remember those?), a neighbor who was a cop or firefighter or calling the police directly, it was a convoluted affair that …
Minor Traffic Offenses Will No Longer Be Reported
At Protus3, we believe that employers should have as much relevant information as possible in order to make the best hiring decisions. We have always prided ourselves on the fact that we report everything we possibly can when conducting pre-employment background investigations. This included everything from felonies all the way down to minor traffic offenses. The FCRA allows us to …
Remote Work Involves These 3 Cyber Security Risks
A recent online Forbes article written by Carrie Rubinstein pointed out 3 Cyber Security Risks created by employees working remotely. Prior to COVID-19, the Bureau of Labor Statistics identified that approximately 29 percent of Americans were able to work remotely. As a result of the implementation of safety measures related to COVID-19, employers are requiring more of their staff to …
Remote Monitoring Software and COVID-19
We find ourselves in very unique times. As of April 3, 2020, there are 311 million people in at least 41 states, three counties, eight cities, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico being urged to stay home. This rapid change has put many employers in a position to allow employees to work from home. Because of that, employers are …
Background investigations and COVID-19
In a typical week, I spend a good part of my time conducting background investigations. So what’s different now that we’re all dealing with COVID-19? Honestly? Not much. Nearly every background investigation we conduct includes a criminal search. For locations where the process is automated (i.e. records are online), there is no change based on COVID-19. Records were readily available …