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Technology is a vital aspect of public safety worldwide, and this trend is only likely to grow substantially in the foreseeable future. For new devices to work effectively, full-scale coverage must be in place, and when it comes to people’s safety, there is no room for downtime. Therefore, reliable connectivity is crucial for a rapid, real-time response anytime, anywhere. With experience in uncompromising environments where every second counts, below are Rajant’s words of advice for the public safety sector when dealing with connectivity and bandwidth needs.

Modern cloud based security systems and surveillance solutions have come a long way. While some companies continue to rely on the older technology they are accustomed to, traditional systems are continually being phased out in favor of the flexibility offered by cloud-based solutions. Cloud-based systems have a myriad of advantages over older, on-premises security systems, and there is rarely an instance where an on-premises system is preferred over a cloud-based framework when installing a new setup.

COVID-19 has accelerated a variety of global trends. Some of these are perhaps ultimately good, for example moves towards more investment in AI and automation, or a growing focus on taking this opportunity to making lasting changes to benefit the environment. Many others are, however, quite concerning. Continued threats to the global order, the likelihood of states testing the resolve of the new U.S. administration, and increasingly polarized populations are all factors that will dominate 2021.

As organizations bring their employees back to the workplace, many are looking to leverage location technology as a means to increase safety. Return-to-work solutions ranging from digital contact tracing and social distancing monitoring to sanitation alerts and occupancy analytics are being explored and embraced in varying degrees around the world. However, it’s imperative that any technology deployed works a double shift to also provide value in the post-pandemic times. The same location technology infrastructure used to address infection prevention and mitigation can be used to complement and enhance traditional security efforts. 

As we have done in previous years, the Security magazine team compiled our favorite articles from this year. As we head into 2021, we hope you take a moment to review some of 2020’s top articles about lessons learned, thought leadership, security challenges and good practices.

Risk management firm Crisis24, a GardaWorld company, released its annual Global Forecast report and Risk Maps that provide expert insight and analysis of various threats for 2021 for businesses and organizations seeking to protect their people and operations, no matter their location or circumstances.

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) released a report from a School Security Simulation Experiment (SIMEX) focused on current security procedures and technologies to improve both physical and operational security in K-12 schools. The two-week SIMEX, conducted jointly with MITRE and George Mason University in August, served as a pilot to determine whether a SIMEX is a viable tool that can be used to evaluate policies, technologies, and procedures related to school safety in the future.

The FBI released detailed data on nearly 7.7 million criminal offenses reported via the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) in 2019. The Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program’s latest report, NIBRS, 2019, presents data about victims, known offenders, and relationships for offenses reported in 23 categories with 52 offenses. It also presents arrest data for those crimes, as well as 10 additional categories for which only arrest data is collected.