Jim Frankild sought out technology to improve his situational awareness. Timothy Phelps wanted security video for judge-pleasing evidence. Wes Hill created a unique metropolitan area network. J.B. Van Hollen rolled out a crime alerting system. In Chicago, at the NATO Summit earlier this year, one of the world’s most sophisticated integrated security systems bridged myriad transportation, school, street and even home cameras to safety contain protesters. And Bryant Garrett finally turned in his VCRs for state-of-art technology. Then there is Ken Deck, who had to concentrate on protecting a vulnerable perimeter.

Security officers are generally regarded as the face of security. Officers present a professional appearance at company entrances, patrol and tour facilities and grounds. But without tools, how effective is that officer? What value is a security officer’s presence bringing to the organization? And when cutbacks hit an organization’s security department, how can security directors maintain the same physical presence with fewer faces?