Security Director of the Year 2019
Humber College’s security team achieves accreditation with help and encouragement from director Robert Kilfoyle
CANADA’S PROVEN PRE-EMPLOYMENT PARTNER
Commissionaires offers a complete suite of background screening services, both in person and online.
FINGERPRINTING SERVICES
We are Canada’s largest fingerprinting services provider with over 50 physical locations, and mobile service offerings.
POLICE RECORD CHECKS
Clearances are administered directly through our police partner and can be processed in as little as 10 minutes through our secure online portal.
SOCIAL MEDIA SCANS
EMPLOYMENT VERIFICATION
CREDIT CHECKS DRIVER ABSTRACT
REFERENCE CHECKS
EDUCATION VERIFICATION
By Neil Sutton
By Neil Sutton
MMEASURING SUCCESS
How past accomplishments add up to a career
y employer, Annex Business Media, values a team approach and individual accomplishment.
We at Annex are encouraged to recognize our peers for their hard work, particularly if they have gone above and beyond to help a colleague or contribute to a team-based goal. There’s even a reward program and formal recognition during company meetings. It’s part of our company’s values system and one that we’re all encouraged to participate in.
Your company or employer might have a similar program in place. Peer acknowledgement and support can help foster a team mentality. They also help us realize that there is more to our jobs than whatever file we happen to be working on that day, or whatever meeting we’re preparing for next.
“There is still ample room for reinvention.”
I think that’s the main reason why Rob Kilfoyle was awarded the 2019 Security Director of the Year. Kilfoyle gave his team a goal and gave them all the support and encouragement they needed to achieve it. Setting high expectations is easy. Putting those expectations within reach isn’t. By asking his team members to complete a certification process that measured their accomplishments to date, Kilfoyle did both.
I’m sure, like any large group, Kilfoyle’s team members displayed varying levels of experience, acumen and accomplishments. The point ultimately, I think, isn’t to assign a value to those past successes — even though that might be the end result — but to participate in the process of evaluating a career. In doing so, you would start to realize how much you’ve accomplished, where you might be lacking, and how you can move forward to accomplish more. You might remember past achievements that you’ve forgotten, or gain a better understanding of how goals are connected over time. It’s not hard to see why this would be a valuable exercise and one that could resonate for almost any profession, not just security.
When I was hosting CS Honours on Oct. 3 — where Kilfoyle and our three award other winners were acknowledged — one of the event’s attendees remarked to me that a lot has changed in the decades since he first started in this industry. Almost everything, in fact. There wasn’t really a rule book back then, I responded. You were making the rules up and changing the job description in the process.
Today’s security profession is a lot more rules-driven and is definitely more procedure oriented. But within that framework there is still ample room for reinvention. All of our CS Honours recipients have displayed the capacity for lateral thinking and an imaginative approach to their jobs. Kilfoyle’s team were all rewarded with certificates for participating in a credentialing process. As Kilfoyle pointed out, they all have them proudly displayed in their offices. But I suspect that the rewards of participating in that process are far deeper and will contribute to future successes as well.
@SecurityEd
Group Publisher Paul Grossinger pgrossinger@annexbusinessmedia.com
Associate Publisher Jason Hill jhill@annexbusinessmedia.com
Editor Neil Sutton nsutton@annexbusinessmedia.com
Associate Editor Will Mazgay wmazgay@annexbusinessmedia.com
Media Designer, Team Lead Graham Jeffrey gjeffrey@annexbusinessmedia.com
Account Coordinator
Kim Rossiter krossiter@annexbusinessmedia.com
Circulation Manager
Aashish Sharma asharma@annexbusinessmedia.com Tel: 416-442-5600 ext. 5206
COO Scott Jamieson sjamieson@annexbusinessmedia.com
Editorial and Sales Office
111 Gordon Baker Rd, Suite 400, Toronto, ON M2H 3R1 (416) 442-5600 • Fax (416) 442-2230 Web Site: www.canadiansecuritymag.com
Canadian Security is the key publication for professional security management in Canada, providing balanced editorial on issues relevant to end users across all industry sectors. Editorial content may, at times, be viewed as controversial but at all times serves to inform and educate readers on topics relevant to their individual and collective growth and interests.
Canadian Security is published four times per year by Annex Business Media.
Publication Mail Agreement #40065710
Printed in Canada I.S.S.N. 0709-3403
Subscription Rates Canada: 1 Year $42.00 + HST;
Circulation
Anita Singh asingh@annexbusinessmedia.com Tel: 416-510-5189 Fax: 416-510-6875 or 416-442-2191
111 Gordon Baker Rd, Suite 400, Toronto, ON M2H 3R1
Annex Privacy Officer Privacy@annexbusinessmedia.com Tel: 800-668-2384
The contents of Canadian Security are copyright by ©2019 Annex Publishing & Printing Inc. and may not be reproduced in whole or part without written consent. Annex Business Media disclaims any warranty as to the accuracy, completeness or currency of the contents of this publication and disclaims all liability in respect of the results of any action taken or not taken in reliance upon information in this publication.
Ryerson offers new crime analytics certificate
Analytics has become a buzzword in many industries, but the technology to cultivate endless amounts of data is only as effective as humans’ ability to interpret the information and make it actionable.
This is especially relevant in policing and other areas of security and public safety, where there is a growing need for people with the skills to take data and translate it into concise, understandable and persuasive forms that can be used to make decisions.
To satisfy this demand, the G. Raymond Chang School of Continuing Education at Toronto’s Ryerson University, is offering a new certificate program in Crime Analytics this fall.
With admission criteria of a high school diploma or mature student status, the program is open to a large range of individuals. Ian Williams, head of analytics and innovation at Toronto Police Service and course instructor, said the program is intended to be wideranging, and can attract recent high school or university graduates looking for a practical work opportunity, or professionals in policing or public safety looking to move into an analyst role.
Williams said students will learn the fundamentals of spatial analysis, digital geography and geographic information systems (GIS), along with how to use mapping technology and spatial databases, how to present data in a map or cartographic form, and the analytical principles behind these technologies.
The program also has a required course in criminal justice, “which is really important to help students understand not only ‘how do I use data?’ but ‘why am I using data?’” Williams said. “What’s the societal issue or policy issue I’m trying to leverage analytics and these toolsets to try to address?”
The program has five mandatory courses and one elective. Students can pick their elective from courses covering criminology, geography, statistics or psychology.
One of the required courses is a final
project that Williams calls a practical summary of skills learned to solve a problem for a client, which will be a public or private sector organization with a defined need for an analyst. The idea is that the product the students create will be used for a decision by that organization.
Williams said every student will come out of the program with foundational criminology, as well as practical understanding of GIS technology, spatial analytics tools, and the ability to apply spatial methods to analyze where criminal incidents are likely to take place. The ultimate goal is interpreting data to make recommendations to colleagues and other departments, helping to make decisions that are “solid, repeatable and quantifiable, and made in real-time.”
Williams said that police have been analyzing geographical patterns for the entire history of the profession, simply by interpreting the placement of pins on a map. But today, the technology available—GIS and statistical software— allows analysis of those patterns extremely quickly. “So the analysts’ role is to understand, what are my data sources,
and how am I going to be able to present this in a way so someone can understand it quickly and be able to use it repeatedly, and potentially present it in court?”
Williams continued, “Internally, in police services and a lot of other organizations, the expectation that decisions are based on data and analytics and evidence is increasing. The analysts’ role, using technology, is to stay on top of that.”
Williams, who has been teaching at Ryerson’s Chang School for over a decade, said his work with Toronto Police gave him a sense of where the industry is moving towards and the need police services and other organizations have for employees with both technical and analytical skills and knowledge in criminology and psychology. He said he was asked three years ago to prepare a business case for a certificate in this space.
Now, as the program gets underway, it is generating interest. “I’m hearing from the Chang school that there’s been a lot of enrolment already,” Williams said, explaining that as the program grows, he hopes to make it more accessible by offering more classes online.
— Will Mazgay
Ryerson University, Toronto
CALENDAR
October 29-31, 2019
Securing New Ground New York, N.Y. sng.securityindustry.org
November 20-21, 2019 ISC East New York, N.Y. www.isceast.com
December 4-6, 2019
PM Expo Toronto, Ont. www.pmexpo.com
December 5, 2019
Focus On Healthcare Security Toronto, Ont. www.focusonseries.ca
February 27, 2020
Mission 500 Hockey Classic Toronto, Ont. www.sptnews.ca
February 12, 2020
Security Summit Canada Toronto, Ont. www.securitysummitcanada.com
March 3, 2020
Security-Fire-Police Career Expo Toronto, Ont. www.emergencyservicesexpo.ca
March 17-19, 2020
ISC West Las Vegas, Nev. www.iscwest.com
April 22, 2020
Security Canada East Laval, Que. www.securitycanada.com
May 6, 2020
Security Canada Alberta Edmonton, Alta. www.securitycanada.com
May 27, 2020
Security Canada Ottawa Ottawa, Ont. www.securitycanada.com
June 16-17, 2020
Grower Day
St. Catharines, Ont. www.growerday.com
June 17, 2020
Security Canada West Richmond, B.C. www.securitycanada.com
Fraud against international university students on the rise
International students are flocking to Canada to enroll in our academic institutions.
There were more than half a million overseas students in Canada last year, according to market intelligence company ICEF Monitor, approximately threequarters of which were enrolled in postsecondary institutions.
But a downside of this growth is the opportunity for fraud and victimization of both students and institutions.
Western Union Business Solutions is one of the solution providers working with Canadian schools to ensure that legitimate payments are made between students and universities. The organization works with more than 90 schools in Canada, offering payment services to help them transact safely with overseas students who are paying for their tuition.
“We support Canadian universities in the collection of tuition payments and we have processes in place to ensure that we limit their exposure” to potential threats, says Roy Farah, head of Western Union Business Solutions for Canada.
There are numerous international agencies working on behalf of students, acting as brokers to carry out payments to the schools they will attend. The overwhelming majority of them are legitimate businesses, says Farah, but there are bad actors out there who will attempt to thwart the payment process for their own gain. A popular scheme, he says, is to offer a fake discount on tuition to entice a would-be student to use their service. The fraudster may accept payment from the student, then use a stolen credit card
number to complete the transaction with the university. “If it’s a stolen credit card, obviously it will be discovered at some point and the student will be out of funds,” he says.
In other cases, the agency may seek a refund from the institution without the student’s consent and simply keep the funds. The student arrives at school to discover they have been withdrawn from their classes and are also out of pocket for the tuition expenses.
Depending on the country from which the transaction originated, it may be difficult to seek remuneration or pursue any legal action, says Farah. But as a service provider, “we do work collaboratively with universities to ensure that they are aware of these types of scams,” he says. “We can flag the remitter to ensure that any remitter that has been associated with this type of activity will not be able to do this type of transaction again.”
Another typical scheme is a fraudster will pose as a government agent, phone a student and threaten them, says Farah. They may pretend to be a member of the Chinese government, for example, and demand payment from the student, claiming that they dropped a course without consent.
A website for the International Student Centre at the University of Toronto Scarborough details several common scenarios that phone scammers perpetrate, including posing as the Canada Revenue Agency and demanding money under threat of deportation. Such agencies “will not call you, and will not ask for money or personal information by phone” the website offers in terms of advice.
Western Union utilizes a team that carries out forensic investigations, data analysis and process management. “Our team helps us create processes and policies but we also, from time to time, change those policies to make sure we’re ahead of the bad guys,” says Farah.
— Neil Sutton
Leadership changes ahead for ASIS Canada
ASIS Canada (also known as Region 6) is getting ready for a change at the top, welcoming a new senior regional vice-president (SRVP) in 2020, Bill VanRyswyk.
Finishing up his three-year term as SRVP is Mark Folmer. Folmer will shift his focus to another role he fulfills for ASIS International — chair of the Security Services Council.
“They’re really encouraging volunteer leaders to do one role and to do it well,” says Folmer.
VanRyswyk will start his term as SRVP in January. He previously served as regional vice-president for Region 6B, covering Ontario and Manitoba.
Taking VanRyswyk’s role as RVP for Region 6B will be Jason Caissie, a former
chair of the ASIS Toronto Chapter and former assistant regional vice-president (Caissie is also a member of Canadian Security’s editorial advisory board). Kyle Wightman continues as RVP for Region 6A (Quebec and Maritimes) and Darryl Polowaniuk as RVP for 6C (Saskatchewan, Alberta and B.C.)
“The goal now is, how can we take this to the next step?”
— Bill VanRyswyk, ASIS Canada
There has been some positive change within ASIS Canada in recent years, says VanRyswyk. Communication between ASIS members across Canada has improved, he says, enabled by the move towards a regional
Bill VanRyswyk named 2019 Ron Minion winner
Bill VanRyswyk’s appointment as ASIS Canada’s new senior regional vicepresident was announced at the 27th annual ASIS Canada Night on Sept. 9 in Chicago — a social event traditionally held before the opening day of ASIS’s annual conference and expo, GSX.
That evening, VanRyswyk also received the Ron Minion Memorial award (also known as the Canadian Security Industry Pioneer award), awarded each year to a Canadian security professional who has contributed to the growth and integrity of the industry. As a senior member of the ASIS Canada leadership team, VanRyswyk was aware this was a strong year in terms of nominations for the award, but did not know he was among them. He said he was pleasantly surprised when his name was called and was grateful to receive the acknowledgement amid such a strong field of contenders.
structure. There is also now a working budget for Canada — which was approved at the ASIS Canada AGM last month — which will include education for the 11 chapters across Canada, plus funding for special events. “Now they have a resource through Region 6 and the leadership team to request money for chapter events, which is good,” he says.
A major goal for VanRyswyk is building on the Memorandum of Understanding that was signed two years ago between ASIS Canada and the Canadian Security Association (CANASA). The agreement was formed between the two associations to promote mutual interests and leverage each other’s strengths. “There has been some good work done with that MOU… The goal now is, how can we take this to the next step?” says VanRyswyk, adding that there could be more crossover between education options for the respective association members and collaboration between different events (CANASA currently hosts six events across Canada a year).
Another major and potentially more lofty goal is to put ASIS Canada in the spotlight when it comes to commenting on matters of national importance, says VanRyswyk. He would like to see ASIS be viewed more as a national source of security expertise, available for comment or consultation. Building a new ASIS Canada website in 2017 was a step in the right direction, he says. “Now it’s a matter of how we take that entity and develop it, so it becomes known to government agencies or large corporate entities.”
At the moment, these goals are largely talking points and indicators of where ASIS Canada could go in the near future, says VanRyswyk. He plans to survey ASIS Canada members next year to find out more about their needs and wishes.
Bill VanRyswyk (left) receives the Ron Minion award from Mark Folmer
H5 SL Camera Line
Value and Versatility, Combined
The H5SL camera features wide and long-range lens variants that are available in a variety of resolutions for clear and detailed imaging. It is one of our easiest-to-install cameras, providing you with a simple, flexible and cost-effective security solution.
Multiple Lens Options
Choose from various lens types, including a new long-range lens that allows you to see with more clarity at farther distances.
Made in America
Made in America* using globally-sourced materials and North American expertise, Avigilon stands behind the quality of its H5SL cameras with a 5-year, industry-leading warranty.
Ease of Installation
Simple and intuitive to install, with a modular design that easily snaps into the base of your choice, helping you to get up and running in minutes.
Patented Bandwidth Saving Technology
Our HDSM SmartCodec™ technology helps you save on both storage and network bandwidth, helping keep internet connectivity costs down.
OnCANADIAN SECURITY HONOURS
Celebrating security excellence
CANADIAN SECURITY HONOURS
Oct. 3, Canadian Security magazine held the CS Honours gala to recognize four security professionals, Robert Kilfoyle, director of public safety and emergency management, Humber College (Security Director of the Year); Sean Sportun, manager, security and loss prevention, Circle K - Central Canada Division (Community Leader Award); Scott Young, vice-president, Prairie Region, GardaWorld (Emerging Leader Award); and Robert Marentette, director of operations, Art Gallery of Hamilton, Ont. (Lifetime Achievement Award). More than 80 security professionals attended the event to acknowledge the award winners and their achievements. The event was supported by sponsors Innovise Software, GardaWorld, ADT Canada and Stanley Security, as well as industry partners, the Canadian Security Association (CANASA), ASIS Canada, ASIS International (Toronto Chapter), and the Security Executive Council.
CANADIAN SECURITY HONOURS
CANADIAN SECURITY HONOURS
Stephen O’Keefe, president of Bottom Line Matters, opened the afternoon with a keynote on security trends, including profiling, sensitivity training, loss prevention and artificial intelligence
Mark Towers, Innovise Software (right), presented Robert Kilfoyle with the Security Director of the Year award
Michael Brzozowski, last year’s winner of the Emerging Leader Award, introduced this year’s winner Scott Young
Graham Ospreay handed off the Lifetime Achievement Award to his friend and colleague Robert Marentette
Award winners Sean Sportun, Robert Kilfoyle, Scott Young and Robert Marentette
ESRM UPDATES FROM GSX
There were positive advancements for the risk-based model at the Chicago conference
I’ve just returned from GSX 2019 in Chicago and wanted to reflect on what I saw at ASIS International’s annual event from an Enterprise Security Risk Management (ESRM) perspective.
It was comforting to see the focus placed on ESRM — from classroom sessions to comments in the opening remarks, the profile of ESRM was elevated to a much higher degree this year. That profile was due in large part to the work the teams at ASIS did this year on the ESRM Guideline and maturity assessment tool.
here to help, not to accept or endorse risks for our organizations. We faced opposition from other security professionals who didn’t see great value in approaching a security program through a risk lens.
“The acceptance of a riskbased, business focused approach this year at GSX was palpable.”
I’m proud to say I was part of these initiatives and was so impressed to see my copy of the ESRM Guideline!
The acceptance of a risk-based, business focused approach this year at GSX was palpable. This isn’t just a theoretical exercise anymore — there were concrete examples from speakers other than me on how successful an ESRM-based program can be. It wasn’t the initial core group of ESRM evangelists trying to spread the word of ESRM, it was a diverse group of practitioners speaking to other professionals on the highlights (and disappointments) of implementing this “new way of doing security.”
As my friend and president elect for the 2020 board term John Petruzzi is fond of saying: This isn’t “business as usual” anymore.
As I settle back into work and continue implementing an ESRMbased approach at my organization, I’ve looked back to see where we’ve been and how we’ve come to this place. It’s been a hell of a journey since the early days of ESRM! Not that long ago, our small cadre of ESRM gurus were struggling to find advocates within the executive ranks to hear our risk-based stories. It was hard to explain that we were
Like the seasons moving from summer to fall, change happens. Sometimes that change was small — getting a meeting with a director to talk to them about risks at their facility or having an asset owner not sign a risk acceptance report, instead ask for help to mitigate the risks. Sometimes it was more significant, like achieving acceptance from executives to continue developing an ESRM-based program and provide regular updates on the progress. These changes occurred quietly, behind the scenes, but they continued to build the body of knowledge and experience we so desperately needed.
Over the past two years, the structure within ASIS adapted to embrace and support ESRM. ASIS volunteers stepped up in a significant way — the volunteers who worked on the ESRM Guideline launched at GSX 2019 number more than 50, and the working group developing the Guideline surpassed 20. That’s an amazing commitment from our profession, considering we only re-ignited ESRM back in 2015.
I feel we’ve turned the corner. The work we’ve put into formalizing a risk-based, business focused approach culminated in the launch of the ESRM Guideline and the maturity matrix tool — two milestones in our journey to enable security as a profession, as trusted advisors to our organizations. I’m not naïve enough to believe we’re finished our work — far from it. I think these two achievements set us up for greater acceptance within our organizations. We can now demonstrate to our executive leadership that we have a security management process — one that truly benefits our organization.
Tim McCreight is the manager, corporate security (cyber) for The City of Calgary (www.calgary.ca).
By Kenrick Bagnall
HOW TO REPORT CYBER BULLYING
There are resources available to help protect children of all ages
Back in the Sept./Oct. 2016 issue of Canadian Security, I wrote about standing up to cyber bullies.
Three years later, cyber bullying continues to evolve as both the number of victims and the ways in which they are victimized increase.
As children approach adolescence, they begin to seek validation outside the social circle of their immediate family. The internet and social media have exponentially expanded the landscape of potential social interaction. This has created a vast space for cyber criminals to operate with impunity and have access to literally billions of potential victims.
Cyber bullying is still at its core about the strong preying on the weak. It is critically important for parents, family members, loved ones and friends to be hyper vigilant in spotting the signs of cyber bullying. This can often be difficult to do since the bullying itself takes place in the virtual world. Sometimes even signs of sudden and disruptive changes in eating and sleeping patterns, changes in mood and general temperament could all indicate that someone is being affected by a cyber bully.
If your child is at the elementary school level, it is always a good idea to limit his or her use of internet devices and social media accounts. Make sure that you “follow” all of your child’s accounts; be aware of who they are following and who is following them.
A total of 20 to 30 friends between school, play or sports groups and family may be a reasonable number. A child in elementary school having a friends list of several hundred or several thousand followers is a glaring red flag and lays the foundation for a cyber bully or predator to hide anonymously.
Parents should also be aware of the terms and conditions of social media providers. Most of them require a minimum age of 13 to use their services. This includes Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat and several others. Recently in Europe, WhatsApp announced an age minimum of 16 to use their service. This is in response to recent guidelines in the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
If your child’s school has a dedicated school resource
officer or there are community officers dedicated to the neighbourhood around your child’s school area, it would be a good idea to get to know who they are and the best ways to contact them. If you are unaware on either count, just call the non-emergency number for your local municipal law enforcement agency and request guidance.
Colleges and universities have security personnel and some may have their own special constables. Matters involving cyberbullying should be reported to them as soon as possible. They will take an initial report and then escalate to local law enforcement as deemed necessary.
Cyber bullying, like any other cybercrime, will require the collection, preservation and presentation of digital evidence to prove the charges beyond a reasonable doubt in criminal court. Collect screen shots of everything you can and make notes of the corresponding dates and times of everything being captured. Contact law enforcement as quickly as possible to provide a statement and hand over all of the evidence you’ve collected (be sure to keep copies for your own records). Contacting law enforcement is critical in the reporting process but it’s also very important to contact the social media provider as well. You can do this through their “report abuse” options. Let them know what’s happened and ask them to remove the abusive content. The mainstream social media providers are empathetic and will quickly investigate and remove content where deemed inappropriate and in violation of their terms of use. As important as this step is, don’t forget to capture everything before content is removed by the provider.
As with all cybercrime related matters, I strongly recommend proactive dialogue. It’s important to take these things out of the shadows and shine an informative light on them. Taking advantage of resources like childnet.com, stopbullying.gov and prevnet.ca is a great way to stay informed and share valuable information and resources on how to protect some of the most vulnerable amongst us.
Kenrick Bagnall is a Detective Constable with the Toronto Police Service Computer Cybercrime Unit (C3) Twitter: @KenrickBagnall.
World Class Security Solutions
Tailored to Fit Your Needs
STANLEY Security provides customized security solutions for a variety of industries including schools, hospitals, retail stores, banks, commercial buildings, distribution centers, and more. Based on extensive experience protecting local, regional and national businesses, STANLEY understands the security needs and challenges you face on a daily basis. This in-depth understanding allows us to work with you to design a security solution that will help you protect your employees, assets, facility and ultimately your bottom line.
STANLEY offers one of the most comprehensive portfolios of products and services available—all tailored to fit your security needs, large or small.
RAISING THE BAR
Robert Kilfoyle leads his Humber College security team through an accreditation process that benchmarks their strengths
By Neil Sutton
It’s often said that the best leaders lead by example. They’re not afraid to get in the trenches. They would never ask a staff member to do anything they wouldn’t do themselves.
Robert Kilfoyle, director of public safety and emergency management
for Toronto’s Humber College lives all these traits. He recently asked his Humber security management staff to participate in a process that would assess their accumulated skills, knowledge, education and accomplishments, thereby giving them a career benchmark and a springboard to achieve further success. For his dedication to his staff, mentorship and leadership, Kilfoyle
has been awarded Security Director of the Year 2019 by Canadian Security magazine’s editorial advisory board.
Kilfoyle challenged his team to seek a Certified Municipal Manager (CMM) accreditation made available through the Ontario Municipal Management Institute (OMMI). OMMI partners with a series of Ontario-based associations, including police, fire and emergency management, to offer specialized versions of the CMM within their given field. For security professionals working in post-secondary insitutions, they offer a CMM in coordination with the Ontario Association of College and University Security Administrators
Photo: Ryan Patterson
(OACUSA): Security Specialist (CCMI), Security Professional (CMMII) and Security Executive (CMMIII).
Kilfoyle made achieving a level of the CMM part of his staff’s performance review last year. Eight out of a possible 10 attained the certification last year, including Kilfoyle himself with the CMMIII. Of the other two, one was already preparing for a certification through ASIS International and the other occupies a business management role.
“We’re always looking at opportunities for development. I thought what a lot of them lacked was credentials. They’ve done a lot of training and a lot of work, but none of them have gone for any credentialing. I challenged them all, when it came time for them to do their performance reviews, to do this,” says Kilfoyle.
“That year, I said, OK: Everyone... I don’t care what level you achieve, you get the highest level you’re qualified to get, but everyone needs to do it.”
Road to Humber
Like many who achieve success in security management, Kilfoyle’s original career path was policing. But he realized when he graduated from Sheridan College in 1988 with a degree in law and security adminstration, that his passion lay elsewhere.
His first full-time role in security was as a retail investigator for Sears at a Mississauga, Ont. store. He also worked for a number of security service providers early in his career but when one of those firms was acquired in the mid-90s, he found himself out of a job and looking for work at a time when he really needed it.
Kilfoyle’s wife had recently had a baby, so when a job opportunity came up in B.C., he moved his young family out to the west coast. In 1996, he started working as security coordinator for Vancouver General Hospital and two years later took on employment at the University of Fraser Valley (UFV) as associate director of security and emergency planning. He stayed at UFV for 11 years before he was offered a senior security role at Toronto’s York University and moved back to Ontario.
Kilfoyle joined Humber six years ago in his present role as director of public safety and emergency management.
Since joining Humber, Kilfoyle has led a number of initiatives, including the establishment of an emergency operations centre. Humber comprises more than 30 buildings on its north Toronto campus, including three student residence buildings. He recently collaborated with the college’s IT team to create a onebutton lockdown system, which could save precious time in the event of a crisis situation.
emergency that requires us to respond quickly, all our security operations have to do is basically activate one button.”
That work is ongoing, he says, but progress is being made. “It’s not quite complete yet but we’re getting there.”
“That’s the great thing about Humber. We are a learning institution so we value the concept of ongoing learning.”
— Robert Kilfoyle, Humber College
Like any major campus, Humber operates a series of security technologies and protocols, including access control, fire systems, public address and mass communications. But the issue for Humber and Kilfoyle was that they operated as disparate systems. Kilfoyle challenged the IT team to improve that situation.
“I want us to hit one button,” he says. “They laugh at me when I say that, but essentially I want to have all the systems integrated into one, so if we do experience an active shooter scenario on campus, or some other kind of
Another major initiative recently championed by Kilfoyle was raising wages for contract security staff. By making a business case to campus leadership, Kilfoyle was able to increase his department’s budget by almost a million dollars — approximately half of that was allocated towards guard wages. The difference on the frontline is noticeable, he says. “Our staff are happier, we’ve got less turnover and things are moving in the right direction.”
Mentorship and accreditation
Throughout his career, Kilfoyle has participated in a number of security associations and organizations, including the Canadian Society for Industrial Security (CSIS) and the local ASIS International chapter in Vancouver, where he took on a number of roles including chair and assistant regional vice-president. He also earned his CPP
Eight security team members received their CMM certification. Back row: Bill McKim, executive director, OMMI. Middle: MaryAnn Gregoris; Nancy Deason; Kathy Branton; Robert Kilfoyle; Keith Pua; Sanjay Puri, Humber vice-president administration and CFO; Ernie Colosimo. Front: David Yen, Adnan Salam.
Photo: Jasjeet Bal
designation in 2000. “I got a lot of mentors and a lot of friends through ASIS. It’s a great organization,” he says. When he moved back to Ontario, he became involved with OACUSA and for the last four years has served as the association’s secretary.
It was through his involvement with OACUSA that he learned more about OMMI and the certified municipal manager designation.
“I’ve always been a huge advocate for ongoing professionalization and education. It doesn’t matter what level you’re at in an organization, there’s always more to learn,” says Kilfoyle.
“That was something that was really impressed upon me early on in my career by folks that were mentors to me. They really pushed me to get certified. If you’re going to make a career out of it, you need to become credentialed. That’s something that I’ve taken with me.”
CMM doesn’t require that an applicant sit exams or take additional courses; it’s a measure of accumulated experience. Kilfoyle says he felt this was an ideal circumstance for his staff — an opportunity to gauge their success to date and strive for more.
Kilfoyle led the initiative, providing support and direction — even covering the cost of the application and framing of the certificates upon completion.
continuity, adds, “Rob had encouraged all of the members of the management team to start working on their packages, which includes going over your work history, your education and basically compiling all of that information together into a cohesive package, and then it gets submitted to OACUSA for review. The accreditation committee there reviews it, and if it meets all the criteria, it goes on to OMMI for their approval. Once that happens you receive this professional designation.”
“What [the CMM] does is provide an assessment to give them basically a gap analysis of their career.”
Bill McKim, OMMI’s executive director, explains, “It captures all their seminars, workshops, college courses, university courses, private sector courses, in-house courses and conferences. Anything they’ve done gets a point value based on its length of time academically. What it does is provide an assessment to give them basically a gap analysis of their career. But it can also provide specific guides on how they progress through the CMM.”
Kathy Branton, Humber’s manager of emergency management and business
— Bill McKim, OMMI
Branton was one of the eight team members to receive her CMM designation. She also co-authored Kilfoyle’s Security Director of the Year nomination, highlighting his determination to see the project through and his unwavering support for his staff.
The CMM application process was enlightening, says Branton. “It allows you to go through and see what you’ve done in the past and look at your career and go, Oh wow, I’ve really done a lot.” This was a common reaction, says Kilfoyle. No matter which level of CMM each team member achieved, it
gave them a moment of reflection and a sense of accomplishment. “I would say it’s enhanced their confidence across the board,” he says. “They all have their certificates proudly hanging up in their offices.”
The joint accomplishment was recognized by the college, who held an awards presentation for all eight recipients. “That’s the great thing about Humber. We are a learning institution so we value the concept of ongoing learning, particularly adult learning — it’s important,” says Kilfoyle.
Certification also gives the staff something to strive for. The CMM will remain part of the performance review process in future years and team members are encouraged to seek their next level of accreditation.
The application process helped to bond the entire team and gave them a common goal. This approach is typical of Kilfoyle’s view of security and the importance of team-building.
“I’m fiercely loyal to my employees and to my team. I do that for a number of reasons. We often get called upon to do the difficult work — when the chips hit the floor, we’ve got to pull it together,” he says. “In order to expect those people to pick it up and do what’s necessary, they’ve got to know they’re supported and that I will go to the wall for them.”
Robert Kilfoyle in the Humber security operations centre with guard staff
Photo: Neil Sutton
Canadian Security magazine recognizes three security pioneers who are leading by example and making a difference to their companies, communities and the security profession.
Last year, Canadian Security held an event called CS@40 to celebrate the magazine’s four decades in publication.
CANADIAN SECURITY HONOURS CANADIAN SECURITY HONOURS
As part of that event, and for the anniversary issue, Canadian Security established a new awards program to recognize security professionals who have gone above and beyond in their careers.
The Lifetime Achievement award recognizes a body of work over a career, helping to shape the profession as it too evolves over time. The Emerging Leader award recognizes a security professional still on the first half of their security journey — making a difference and inspiring other young leaders in security to excel as well.
Volunteerism has always been a strong element of the security industry, with its associations and community-minded spirit. This is what the Community Leader award is designed to recognize: a security professional who adds these activities to their busy work schedule in order to help others.
This year, we are calling the awards program CS Honours and we expect it will continue for many years to come. The 2019 recipients are Scott Young (Emerging Leader), Sean Sportun (Community Leader) and Robert Marentette (Lifetime Achievement). The awards were presented on Oct. 3 at a gala event in Toronto. (For photos see p.10. Award profiles by Will Mazgay.)
Emerging Leader Award: Scott Young
Security is a family business for Scott Young. He has a sister who works at the same firm, GardaWorld, and a brother who used to as well. Young’s father, after 18 years with Edmonton Police Service, started his own security company which was acquired by Garda, and he served the security services giant as Western Canadian vice-president from 2005 until 2018, when he was succeeded by his son.
But for Young, who now oversees 3,000 people across Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, the journey to this point was a long one, marked by several roles and changes of address.
Young got his start in security as a dispatcher in Edmonton in 2001, and worked part-time in various roles in high school and university. Then in 2006, at age 20, he was hired as an account manager for Garda, overseeing about 25 clients. He transitioned into a sales role in 2009, serving as a business development manager. He says, “I had some success, learned a lot of hard lessons in terms of losing bids. You learn a lot from winning bids as well, just understanding the industry, understanding client needs.”
In 2011, Young moved to Calgary, working as business development manager for all of Alberta.
It was in Calgary where Young was introduced to ASIS International and took on the role of Young Professionals liaison. Working for the program aimed at security professionals under the age of 40, Young would set up networking events with security industry speakers.
His work with Garda then took
him to Vancouver in 2014, where he was promoted to director of business development for Western Canada. He continued his work with ASIS, again as a Young Professionals liaison and chairing the local chapter in 2016 and 2017.
During that time, Young was earning an MBA from Athabasca University on evenings and weekends.
Then in 2017, Young moved to Toronto to take on the role of senior director of business development for English Canada. “It was kind of a whirlwind year and a half, doing business development everywhere from New Brunswick all the way to Victoria — a lot of travel.”
Colleen Arnold, vice-president, national customer service excellence and operations for Central and Atlantic Canada, GardaWorld, was Young’s direct supervisor when he was in Toronto. She says, in 2017 “he grew our business organically by 15 per cent.”
really, really well-liked… Our clients, they look forward to working with Scott.”
After enjoying success in Toronto, Young’s biggest opportunity came when his father gave notice he was ready to retire. “They were looking for someone for quite some time, about a year,” Young said. Ultimately, the Western Canada region was divided into two, Pacific and Prairies, and Young was made vice-president of Prairies. He moved back to Calgary in October 2018.
Young says moving around from place to place has always been interesting. “Every city is like getting to know a person. Every city has its own unique personality,” he says, crediting ASIS with helping him establish himself each time he moved.
Now, in addition to 3,000 staff, Young has 10 direct reports and has moved from a sales role to an operations position. He says, “It’s a great opportunity to get to know these people and develop them.” Young says he has made internal development a major focus. “You can’t always import skills and expertise and experience.”
“He pushes us because he’s always thinking outside of the box.”
— Colleen Arnold, GardaWorld
Young sees his professional role as a leader for Garda and his work with ASIS’s Young Professionals program, which he now helps lead nationwide as co-assistant regional vice-president, as pivotal to fostering the next generation of security leaders.
Arnold continues, “When Scott came to Toronto in 2017, I would say that Garda in the GTA (greater Toronto area) was not very well known. It didn’t have a huge presence. So Scott came on to the scene and whether it was through his ASIS contacts or just getting out there to industry events and going out and meeting people at every opportunity, he really raised our profile.”
Young has been recognized twice by Garda for outstanding sales performance. Arnold says, “He’s really,
Arnold describes Young’s approach to business as “current and forwardthinking,” and commends him on his drive to constantly learn more about the changing dynamics of the security industry. “He pushes us because he’s always thinking outside of the box.”
Young also contributes to the security industry through volunteer work with the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) and the International Association for Healthcare Security and Safety (IAHSS).
Community Leader Award: Sean Sportun
Convenience stores are part of the fabric of communities, and few people understand this better than Sean Sportun.
Sportun is the manager of security and loss prevention (LP) for Circle K Stores Central Canada Division. He says his primary focus is training, crime prevention and robbery deterrence programs, but the way he goes about combating theft and keeping stores safe is, as he puts it, “outside the box of best practices when it comes to security.” He utilizes, “crime prevention through community engagement.”
Circle K Central Canada’s Positive Ticketing program began in 2007. The idea was to give beverage coupons to police officers, who would hand them out to young people they see doing something good in their community.
The program, which has received endorsement from Public Safety Canada and the International Association of Chiefs of Police, has been implemented by police services, community outreach organizations and Crime Stoppers programs across Ontario, and in recent years expanded to western Canada and Arizona. Sportun was recognized by Canadian Security magazine in 2013 as Security Director of the Year for his approach to this initiative.
Another successful program, the Circle K StreetART Mural initiative, began in 2012 at a store in Thunder Bay, Ont. Sportun says of the store, “There were robberies, drug use out back, there was prostitution in and around the store. We had tried every CPTED (crime prevention through environmental design) measure that we could, nothing
seemed to work.” He explains that his team brought together police, the city council and community members to identify a local graffiti artist and paint a mural. “Since we did that back in 2012 at that one store we haven’t had one incident occur.”
Sportun says he and his team wondered if this was an isolated incident, but they duplicated it in different areas of Ontario and started seeing similar results.
Bonnie Birollo, Circle K’s vicepresident of operations for Western Canada Division, says of the program, “So many of the communities he’s worked with now have these beautiful murals where they would have suffered with graffiti or vandalism in the past. Now they’ve almost become a sacred ground that’s not to be touched: ‘Don’t mess with our community, we have a strength and a pride here.’”
industry, being exposed to a lot of the unique files and investigations that happened within the park.”
After Wonderland, Sportun bounced around a bit, first to Kmart Canada as an LP manager, then to Eaton’s, and Sports Authority after that.
He then had a brief respite from LP, working at a high-end Toronto hotel as a security officer, and then he found himself at Nike, IKEA and then 7-Eleven, where he moved into a regional management role and was responsible for all of Ontario, before finally moving to Circle K.
Beyond the community engagement Sportun participates in through his role at Circle K, he is heavily involved in Crime Stoppers, which is a partner in the Positive Ticketing campaign. Sportun serves as Toronto chair. He is also first vice-president of the Ontario Association of Crime Stoppers and second vicepresident of the International Society of Crime Prevention Practitioners.
“Sean has made the [Toronto Crime Stoppers] program the most successful it’s ever been.”
He says he got involved with Crime Stoppers in 2002, when he was at 7-Eleven, after seeing news about a missing girl. “I sat there and said, ‘I’ve got a whole bunch of stores across the province. Maybe we can put up missing posters and see if we can generate any leads for the police.”
— Martin Douglas,Toronto Police Service
He continues, “Before I knew it, I was on the Board of Directors… 18 years later, it’s been probably one of the best decisions I could have ever made.”
Birollo says Sportun’s initiatives even inspired her to change her LP and safety culture within her own business unit.
Before he was helping to shape communities, Sportun began his career as a security officer at Canada’s Wonderland in Vaughan, Ont. “I was in uniform for about two weeks and quickly was promoted into a plainclothes capacity,” he says. “I was doing undercover work there. That kind of set my compass of getting into the loss prevention sector, into the security
Martin Douglas, a police constable with Toronto Police Service, has been with Crime Stoppers since 2010, and says Sportun has played a huge role in building the Toronto program over the years. Now that Sportun is in a leadership position, “when initiatives come up and they’re approved by the board, Sean moves forward very quickly and he gets them executed.” Douglas continues, “Sean has made the program the most successful it’s ever been.”
Lifetime Achievement Award: Robert Marentette
Robert Marentette is celebrating his 50th year in professional security this year, and while his long career has encompassed a wide range of roles, the bulk of that time has been spent protecting art and artifacts, which one friend and colleague says isn’t just a job, but a passion.
“You can just feel his passion for cultural property… I don’t know if I’ve come across anybody who has as much dedication and knows it all as well,” says Graham Ospreay, a forensic document examiner and forgery analyst who has worked with Marentette in numerous professional capacities. He continues, “If I was a museum or art gallery owner and I was looking for someone to rely on for protection of my assets, he’d be the first person I’d contact.”
Marentette has spent the last 35 years in leadership roles at the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) and the Ontario Science Centre in Toronto and most recently the Art Gallery of Hamilton, Ont., where he now serves as director of operations.
“I have a pretty big portfolio now. It doesn’t include just security. It includes the building, building maintenance, housekeeping, human resources, finance, so it’s quite extensive,” says Marentette. “We’re not a big operation, we’re maybe 30 or 40 staff. What we do with those staff and the product we turn out, the programs that we have, is amazing.”
Marentette says his first foray into security was a summer job back in 1969 in customs at the Detroit-
Windsor tunnel. “That was a huge eyeopener for me, just because of the fact that you’re dealing with people and you’re dealing with people who sometimes don’t tell the truth,” he says.
From there, Marentette went to work for Chrysler Canada in Windsor on a production line, but quickly realized manufacturing wasn’t for him and transitioned over to security, where he stayed for almost 10 years. He then moved to Burns Security (now part of Securitas), starting as a guard, then as a supervisor and lastly as a branch manager. “I got a lot of exposure to the different disciplines in security when I was with Burns, that was really helpful: health care, industrial, private investigation, retail. I did it all back then.”
statistics, and decided that I can again make a difference just by talking to people about the subject.”
Marentette and Ospreay have collaborated on presentations, both on tracking and preventing stolen art and identifying forged works. Ospreay says their skills and experiences are very complimentary. “What I do as a document examiner/forgery analyst, in identifying works of art and artifacts, and of course Bob with his security expertise, it was quite simply a natural match for both of us.”
Marentette has also volunteered extensively, most notably with the Canadian Society for Industrial Security (CSIS), which he got involved with when he joined the ROM. He says, “It wasn’t just about memberships and meetings, it was actually taking phone calls and dealing with people who were requesting help in their careers — ‘I’m thinking of becoming a security guard, what courses should I take’ — all that stuff.”
“The security industry is better off because of Bob Marentette.”
— Graham Ospreay, GP Ospreay & Assoc.
Recognizing his colleagues with awards was also a highlight of working with the organization. “I don’t think there’s anything more important than recognition amongst your peers. When that can be done, it’s such a high,” Marentette says.
Then in 1985, Marentette started protecting cultural property at the ROM, where he stayed for six years, then spent 15 years at the Science Centre before moving on to Hamilton.
An advocate of art protection, Marentette has given presentations on art theft in Canada, the U.S. and Europe, something that started in the early 90s. “I used to get the alerts from the museum security network all the time about art theft throughout the world and in Canada, and realized that there are issues here and there are weaknesses,” he says. “I just started doing research, complied notes,
Ospreay says Marentette was instrumental to CSIS, serving as executive director for Ospreay’s three terms as president. “He stuck with the society, he stuck by me as president… Without him I don’t know if I would have lasted as long as I had for the three terms that I sat.”
According to Ospreay, “The security industry is better off because of Bob Marentette being in its world.”
Marentette’s passion for art has crept into his personal life, as he has collected for years, with a particular interest in Canadian and First Nations artwork. He also enjoys fishing and spending time with his children and grandchildren.
Sponsored by:
On the FRONT LINE
Roundtable participants talk recruiting, technology integration, industry image and security as first responder
Canadian Security magazine hosted a group of senior representatives from leading guard companies on the morning of Aug. 28 for a roundtable discussion on some of the major issues impacting the industry today.
Some of these issues may be persistent in security (wages, training, recruitment, image) but are often tempered by outside forces and change over time. Social media, for example, has affected the image of the security industry — sometimes for good and sometimes for ill. It is also playing a role in how companies recruit new employees.
Canadian Security asked four professionals to provide their take on these issues and to offer their perspectives on how security has improved as well as the work that still may be ahead.
Roundtable participants included: Amir Atri, regional director, Ontario, GardaWorld; Bryan Kelly, vice-president, protective services, Logixx Security; Gary Del Bianco, senior vice-president, corporate development, Regal Security; and Paul Guindon, CEO, Commissionaires Ottawa, who joined the conversation via conference call.
Neil Sutton, editor of Canadian Security, moderated the roundtable, which was sponsored by GardaWorld. This is an edited version of that conversation.
Canadian Security: What are the challenges around recruitment and hiring today?
Amir Atri: It has been a constant uphill battle. It’s tough finding good employees in our industry. We’ve looked at different ways of making sure that our retention strategies help the ones that want to grow within the industry or have future plans or different career paths within Garda or outside of Garda — in law enforcement [for example]. But definitely for us it’s been an uphill challenge and we’re always looking to improve the quality of the candidates before we put them through our training.
Bryan Kelly: I agree. The challenge I think we all face is the calibre of the individual. We all struggle to make sure we get the right individuals to join our organization — the passion, the desire, the willingness to do the job is something we all strive for. The one thing no organization ever wants to deal with is brand damage. Unfortunately, by hiring the wrong people or putting them in the wrong position, that can happen. We’re all ultimately hiring from the same group. It’s a big industry yet a very small industry at the same time.
Paul Guindon: I would echo all of those comments for sure. Recruitment is difficult. The economy is good. We’re not the only industry that faces recruitment challenges. Maybe a little more so for us [in the security industry] than others. Our guards need to be trained, they need to be licensed, so there are a few barriers in the industry. But they are understandable and necessary. So yes, it is a challenge… In terms of retention, we’re doing very well, but recruiting is tough.
We are putting in a lot of resources and we are using every avenue that’s available to the industry to recruit: face-to-face, job fairs, social media, advertising campaigns, you name it. It has gotten a little better, but it’s still an uphill battle.
Gary Del Bianco: From our perspective for recruitment and hiring, when we look at our metrics let’s say from a couple of years ago, what we find is we’re having to process more applications and interview more people in order to get a similar number of guards. Let’s say the number is 100 — we’re processing more interviews and applications to get to that number.
Certainly [the increase in] minimum wage had an impact on that. But I think there are other factors as well. The workforce is changing and to Bryan’s point, the qualification of the guard coming into the business has been impacted as well. We’re having to work that much harder to get the qualified staff to meet the criteria that our clients expect; those expectations are pretty high — relative to wage sometimes as well. From a retention point of view, for us, I think what’s important is you hire the right guard for the right site. Matching criteria is important. I think you have to supervise and manage those guards effectively and I think you also have to support them in terms of ensuring that there’s an opportunity for growth for them in the future. And educating them to that fact.
Most of our management team started in the industry as a guard and they’ve grown since. I don’t think there’s enough knowledge of the fact that there are many, many opportunities in our industry, rather than using this as a stepping stone to another. It’s important that we educate and support. It all contributes to better retention.
CS: Do you find people are entering this industry as a stepping stone to corrections, policing or another role?
BK: I think once upon a time, there was more of a focus on, “I want to become a police officer [or] a corrections officer.” The police recommendation was to become a security officer
Roundtable participants: Amir Atri, GardaWorld; Gary Del Bianco, Regal Security; Bryan Kelly, Logixx Security (not pictured Paul Guindon, Commissionaires, who joined via conference call)
Photos: Brian Simon
to get that experience. Now, I think that has changed slightly. You still have that small percentage of people who are using experience as a stepping stone to get into the military or policing, but you are also looking at people who are looking at this as an [intermediate] job. Maybe they have left a trade to become a security officer, or vice-versa: they have left security to become a tradesman. I think it’s now a little more open, whereas before, people did use security as a stepping stone into law enforcement.
GD: I would agree. Given that we are coming up to September very shortly, we are hard at work looking for additional guards, because we all know what happens. Even those we were not expecting tell us they’re going back to school. And it’s not always for policing and other things. It’s many things they’re going back to school for. For some of them, it’s not an intended step to come into [a guard job] and leave, but they come in and try it out, and if it doesn’t work for them, they leave.
AA: There’s a small portion of the population who comes through our industry with the hopes of getting involved in law enforcement in the future, or something else. There’s a portion who are students who have taken up summer jobs or part-time jobs, and there’s a portion of the population who are new to the country or the province or the city, who are looking [for work] until they find their bearings. It presents a challenge for sure. Our industry has expectations of security service delivery, and those groups provide distinctly different levels of service — and that’s what makes it a challenge.
CS: What are the best ways to recruit new personnel?
PG: We have training courses every week and I meet most of the new recruits. It’s amazing, but one would think in the 21st century that online recruiting and social media would have a much larger impact on recruiting. We find that over 85 per cent of our new-hires are coming to us because of the brand — word of mouth
GARY DEL BIANCO REGAL SECURITY
“I don’t think that technology is in any way replacing guarding. I think it is enhancing an overall security program.”
you introduce a [wage] increase, and sometimes it’s a double-digit increase on their budget, it’s a concern for them. They’re always looking for ways to scale back. We’ve been successful with some clients who say, “We can manage that increase.” But then you’ve got other clients who will say, “Can we hold on and look at other options?” Maybe we decrease manpower, or some hours on a weekly basis. Maybe we can introduce some new technology through cameras, through video analytics, through monitoring remotely to somehow help decrease some of the costs.
The industry has taken a hit on some of the accounts and some of the margins have dropped in some cases. You work with your clients, and it depends on the relationships, but it gives you an opportunity to think outside of the box a little and say, how can we help?
AA: There are different groups. People who have friends [in the industry] or have heard through word of mouth or recognize a brand. And, every year, we have people turn 19 and there’s technically a new potential infusion of workforce. We find for that group, having a positive online presence as well as ease of application completion, is important. However, holding job fairs and word of mouth are still big drivers.
GD: I would have to agree that in today’s environment, we have to use multiple sources for recruiting. For us, online brings in masses of applications, but the [method] that results in the higher percentage of recruits is referrals and word of mouth and the job fairs. That’s what’s more productive.
CS: Has the increase in minimum wage (to $14 an hour in Ontario) changed the industry?
BK: With the relationships with our existing client base, I think what’s happening is, everyone has a budget they have to meet. So what they’re looking for now are other options. We have technology, we’ve got cameras…. Technology is always moving and there’s always something new out there. When
AA: There’s no doubt that 2018 was a very tough year with the minimum wage increase. There were budgets that were already in place. We have good long-term, strong relationships with our customers, and it was through those relationships we were able to come up with a way to make sure that we’re both happy. The industry, as a whole, has a higher expectation, possibly a false expectation, that because budgets have increased [due to] a higher minimum wage, the quality of recruits have increased with them. That hasn’t been the case. I think it will take another few years for that to settle and for the industry to realize that a minimum wage guard — regardless of whether the minimum wage is $14 or $11.60 — is still the same quality [of guard] even though you may be paying a bit more for it. It’s certainly had an impact on everyone.
GD: Back in 2017, we started discussions with our client base very early on. Nobody wanted to have serious discussions until months later, and as we all saw, we had slightly over a month to implement it once it was passed. Certainly there was opposition initially, but understanding contract language, understanding legislation, all helped in that conversation. We took a model of
referral. Word of mouth is still the best recruiting tool.
fairness in terms of passing those [costs] along.
We didn’t achieve the same delta, going from minimum to the new minimum, but we achieved somewhere close to that with pretty much our entire client base. It took a lot of discussion, a lot of education, a lot of back and forth conversation before those things happened. I think I agree as well, that the expectation for that same delta doesn’t exist and it’s going to take some time. It’s a continual discussion on that front. We see it on an ongoing basis, even in tenders and so on. You look at the expectations, perhaps the SLAs (service level agreements) that come with it and you think, we have to have a separate option, we have to have another discussion on it.
CS: Has the industry had time to adjust or is it too soon?
GD: The adjustment is more so in the discussion, especially from an operational point of view with our clients. The adjustment, from a budget perspective, is still catching up a little bit. I think it’s got a little ways to go.
PG: We saw some knee-jerk reaction initially. The issue with minimum wage in Ontario, for example… When you compare Ontario with some other provinces, minimum wage is the same
across the board. So now it also has an impact on recruiting. It might be easier to find the same wage that our industry would pay… for someone looking for just money, they might as well go to [the fast food industry]. That’s a barrier of entry. In provinces where there’s a [higher] minimum wage for the guards and the industry [such as Manitoba], we find it’s a lot easier with recruiting and with clients. It depends on where you’re talking about in the country and it depends on how it’s applied. In Ontario, it had a huge impact initially, but I guess now clients have realized that it doesn’t matter who I hire, I’m going to pay at least this amount of money.
CS: How has technology changed the industry? We hear a lot more today about using technology to enhance or even in some cases replace guards.
PG: Take drones, for example. We’ve yet to see an impact. I don’t think the impact will ever be as large as one thought — with drones, as an example — but there’s other technologies. I think the biggest impact overall is a change in the duties of the guards, and having to select guards that do have some capabilities in using technology… and having to train them to operate SOCs (security operations centres) and use different technologies. It’s all over the map; no two clients have the same system. I find that’s where the major impact is. In terms of guards having lost their job because of technology, yes there’s a percentage of that, but I don’t think the impact is that major. It’s really a change in the work in the field.
remote monitoring, that almost replaces the actual manpower. The clients get to see a cost-savings, but at the same time, depending on the client, you still need that smiling face in a blazer who can say good morning, good afternoon. As much as the technology does help and has changed [the industry], at the same time it is good to have that security officer who can meet and greet. And there’s that comfort for tenants in both residential and commercial applications — to see a person that they know versus a virtual [presence] that is behind a monitor.
AA: Technology certainly is a nice compliment to go along with guarding — working in harmony together to provide specific protections for a facility. Each facility has its own set of requirements. It may be an office building, a health-care facility, a warehouse or a truck yard. They all have different needs. Certainly, technology is great to go alongside guarding service [but] there are still limitations within the technology. It really depends on the type of facility and the type of security plan that’s required, and the risk levels associated with it that will really dictate.
GD: For us, what we’re seeing is definitely an increased need for enhanced security. That enhanced security is provided by a combination of services. In some areas that are lower risk, perhaps technology can do it alone. But in our local market, for example, we tend to find that we need feet on the ground as well as the technology. A lot of people are talking about the “Big Brother” look of things.
PAUL GUINDON COMMISSIONAIRES
“We’re part of this national security paradigm. We sit on the front line.”
BK: I agree with what Paul’s saying. With technology, there’s a couple of different things. It helps us to validate some of the work that our officers are doing, such as patrol validation, alarm response and reports. At the same time, it also helps with statistics and trends, depending on the platform people are using. There has been a change… Video analytics is a big thing. At one point, you may have had extra guards doing patrols, but now when you’ve got cameras that are hooked up for video monitoring or
We’ve all seen on the news just recently, Ontario has provided another $3 million to the City of Toronto to combat gangs and guns. As that trend continues, and as the trend for global terrorism and terrorism locally grows, I think the need for additional and more sophisticated [technology] and additional dollars for more security overall is going to be the answer.
To echo what Paul was saying, the guard has to be trained to be able to work with more advanced technology. Whether it’s what’s in their hands, with
reporting systems or patrol and guard touring systems, or understanding analytics or more complicated technology and software systems. As that requirement continues to grow, we have to look at educating and training and supporting our staffs accordingly.
CS: Does that change the skillset you are looking for when hiring new staff?
AA: The industry is no longer looking for a retired police officer to sit at a desk and read the paper. They’re looking for someone who has the tech savvy in order to be able to operate and navigate the different systems. They may not be integrated or may be years apart in terms of how advanced they are. There is a new generation coming in and they’re very tech savvy.
GD: I think the clients are demanding it. It’s not enough that we’re just saying that we’re supporting our guards. We are now even more accountable to our clients to provide a certain level of service.
You’ve got KPIs in place and you’re up against SLAs all the time. You can’t use a traditional model necessarily anymore. Anywhere from a commercial building to a logistics house to even residential condos. There are all kinds of things happening in these sites now. The concierge role is not what it used to be even five or 10 years ago. It’s totally changed.
I don’t think that technology is in any way replacing guarding. I think it is enhancing an overall security program.
CS: Can you go to clients saying you have guards trained to a certain level and technology that can support them?
AA: It really depends. It’s client-based. And depending on the risk analysis for the facility, what kind of protection they need. Certainly in our service offerings, we provide solutions that are most costeffective and benefit the customer instead of just providing them with bodies. Certainly, we make recommendations for systems that need to be added in order to enhance service delivery.
CS: A lot of security guard companies now offer a combination of services, which may include monitoring, integration services and more. Is that the way the industry is moving?
GD: I think our clients are becoming more knowledgeable and more sophisticated.
As Amir said, sometimes it’s site by site, client by client. [Some clients are] looking for exactly what they’re looking for and want nothing else, but in many instances, clients are looking for alternate solutions. They do appreciate the suggestions and recommendations that we’re all making. I think if they’re knowledgeable, one supplier or vendor can supply all of those services. Most, I’m finding, are open to and trusting of that situation rather than having multiple vendors come in. Now, of course that could be different, based on the actual need... I think you have the conversation that involves you being conscious of their budget, providing for innovation and solving their problems.
BK: I do find that there are clients that are looking for a full security solution — that’s everything from cameras to the integration to access control, monitoring, manpower — and again technology will help to enhance the manpower, it’s not replacement. We’re there to give a full
security solution for all their problems and help them meet their expectations from a budgetary perspective as well as making sure we’re protecting their assets. It’s important to have that communication and that relationship.
PG: Certainly a segment of the clients are looking for that. To offer everything from the TRA (threat risk assessment) through installation, operations, systems and supplying guards — you will likely be a small step ahead in your proposal. There seems to be more and more clients looking for a one-stop shop. You have to be versatile in what you offer your clients in terms of technology.
Often their mind is already made up or they already have something that they want to add to or enhance. You have to be able to provide different types or systems or different products… It’s changing… which makes it more important for providers to be able to meet their needs across the board.
AA: We did acquire several companies in the electronics and technology sector and it is a division that is slowly growing for us. In our service offering, we do explain to the customers the full range of services that we offer and I think everybody does as well. But looking at last year’s proposals or RFPs that were published, a small portion of them — and I’m speaking for Toronto proper — had systems requirements. They were mostly about guarding service — the systems proposals were separate — but it is something that is slowly growing, I would agree. It’s a new market for us to explore more and more.
CS: How has the image of guarding changed in recent years? Has the security industry overall become more professionalized?
BRYAN KELLY LOGIXX SECURITY
“You still need that smiling face in a blazer who can say good morning, good afternoon.”
GD: In my opinion, we have to look at it from the perspective of two groups. With C-suite management, I think that group has seen more movement — positively, professionally. I think, because of what’s been happening, they’re looking for greater qualifications and the industry is turning around and servicing it in that
AMIR ATRI GARDAWORLD
“With some of the incidents that have happened globally… I believe there is a heightened awareness of security guards in the general public.”
way. I don’t know, from a general public, non-security-related perspective, that the image of our industry has changed much. In fact, I don’t it’s changed much at all. I think the public looks at the industry and the workforce as a low-trained, lowpaid workforce and that seems to be the image there. It’s not helped by movies and other examples. As it evolves with what we’re doing as an industry to train them more, to provide more complementary tools and technology in their hands and as the demands continue to grow in all places, whether they be malls, condos, commercial highrises, etc., I think that people, generally and in the public, will start to look at it more favourably.
BK: I agree with what Gary is saying. Brand damage is my biggest concern. When we talk about the level of professionalism, I want to go back to the first question about the recruiting. It’s about trying to get the right people in the right positions, have them in proper uniforms, have them trained and equipped with the tools [they need]: the training, the understanding, the governance, operating procedures, standing orders, things along that line. As well as having the oversight — the follow-up from management, the mobile supervision, quality assurance — where we can be out there to coach and mentor and develop.
In the public’s eyes, when you see a security officer whose uniform is messy or untidy — he might have all the knowledge and experience in the industry, but if he doesn’t look that part, then he automatically has that negative image. That’s something that we work on and we try to focus on, that professionalism. Our clients expect that as well.
AA: I think over the past few years specifically, with some of the incidents that have happened globally, in the U.S. and in Canada even… active shooter events and somebody driving a van, I believe there is a heightened awareness of security guards in the general public. I personally am a little bit more aware of my surroundings. I’m aware when there is someone in a uniform there, and I would expect they would have some sort of an awareness of what to do, should some of those recent events repeat. I believe there is heightened awareness. I don’t know if that changes the image, but I think over the past number of years the image has changed from a night watchman to a security guard who has specific training in mental health, firstaid, or active shooter [protocol] or an evacuation plan.
PG: We are more exposed today than we used to be. Not to say that we weren’t in the past, but certainly with social media — if you keep an eye on social media, every day, there is a negative comment made about one of us. It doesn’t matter which company. It might be a larger [company] or operating in a more public area, but our people are in uniform, and guess what, uniformed people are always a target — police officers, military folks. The only group I know of that seem to be quite shielded from social media is fire fighters. We’re in the limelight, so we have to be prepared to deal with that.
CS: Have guards taken on more of a role as first responders or crisis responders?
AA: Security officers have to respond to fire alarms, evacuations, bomb threats. That’s always been within our industry.
It’s just heightened with active shooter or active assailant situations. We may not have had that so common in the past, but there are facilities that receive bomb threats on a regular basis. Staff are able to respond to that and evaluate risks with the stakeholders to come up with a solution.
The situation, in my view, is they are a first responder based on their capabilities and their training and [there’s] a level of expectation as their duties go. But they will be an initial person on the scene to give direction until the emergency responders arrive on site.
BK: In most cases they are the first responders. Everything from drug overdoses to fire alarms to accidents to slip and falls to violence. Absolutely they are. And what’s important is to make sure they have appropriate training and the governance and insight to protect them.
GD: I think we’re going to be relied upon more and more for all those reasons. Like you said, the drugs, the violence… mental illness is on the rise. Just dealing with those situations in a very delicate manner before it escalates to something else. Those are all key.
BK: Every company could tell multiple stories of how our frontline staff have either saved a life or stopped somebody from taking someone’s life. Even just in Toronto, there are many stories. We have great, great people that are out there representing the companies well. They are definitely first responders…. Every company has fantastic stories where they could say, we have people that have gone above and beyond to help and to be a first responder.
PG: We’re part of this national security paradigm. We sit on the front line. So nine times out of 10, it’s going to be one of us who’s going to sense something is wrong, realize something is wrong, and do something about it. It could be on the job or going to work or coming back from work. There’s so many stories we don’t [publicize]. We’re accustomed to hearing them. People will save someone’s life by giving first-aid and CPR.
Peer-to-peer communication
Code Blue
Life safety network
Johnson Controls
Centry, Code Blue’s IP video Help Point, has advanced its security capabilities with the addition of peer-to-peer audio communication. Available on all new orders or via an EmerComm firmware upgrade on October 1, 2019, this new feature is another option for adding Code Blue’s newest SIP-compatible device to virtually any indoor or outdoor location. Utilizing the peer-to-peer functionality with Centry gives the user flexibility to provide emergency communication capabilities without requiring a server or additional piece of system hardware. Centry is Code Blue’s first Help Point to include a camera integrated right into a faceplate, a highly visible embedded Station Beacon Light and its EmerComm device operating system. www.codeblue.com/centry
Real-time locating system
Senstar
Senstar announced a new, more compact version of its Flare Real-Time Locating System (RTLS) personal protection device (PPD), the PPD Compact. The Flare RTLS keeps staff working in high-threat environments safe by instantly identifying and locating personal duress alarms at the touch of a button. The original PPD is a robust, utility belt-holster device specifically designed for frontline correctional workers. The new PPD Compact provides a smaller option for support and administrative staff in institutional environments. In the event of danger, the user activates the PPD which emits an RF signal that is detected by a network of sensor units concealed throughout the facility. Flare immediately locates duress alarms and displays the location, status, and identity of the PPD on a mapbased display in the control room. Flare operates in protected frequency bands that use dedicated spectrum, avoiding the potential for interference. www.senstar.com
Lockable enclosure
STI
STI’s (Safety Technology International) lockable EnviroArmour Enclosures are available in fibreglass or polycarbonate with several ventilation options. The wireless friendly, non-metallic lockable enclosures are durable and reliable, helping to guard sensitive devices against weather, vandalism, tampering and theft. The enclosures are suited for devices requiring protection against rain, sleet, snow, splashing water, hose directed water and impact. They may be used with control panels, medical equipment, alarm panels, wireless equipment, DVRs and more. A variety of sizes and options are available in both models. The fibreglass enclosure offers a choice of a clear or opaque door, is resistant to chemical agents and helps guard against harsher environments. www.sti-usa.com
AD INDEX
The Simplex life safety network increases the speed and ease at which fire detection and life safety systems communicate and operate, according to the company. The Simplex ES Net Life Safety Network utilizes IP technology with data rates up to 100MB per second and a range of network connection choices including Ethernet, DSL and fibre. ES Net provides flexibility during network expansion. By allowing up to 82,000 feet (25 Km) between nodes, Simplex ES Net gives users more options. The network’s increased memory capacity and broad bandwidth helps maximize uptime, and support future expansion and enhancements. This new technology gives Johnson Controls the ability to support the industry’s largest networks – up to 687 nodes – while also supporting multiple network topologies (ring, star, bus and mesh).
www.johnsoncontrols.com
Public safety software
Baron
Using basic weather information crossreferenced with proprietary algorithms and other data inputs, Baron’s Telematics for Public Safety can generate highly accurate road weather condition data. In addition, Telematics for Public Safety enables organizations to access the most current technology, such as advanced weather forecasting tools, and the knowledge of scientists, mathematicians, and meteorologists. Telematics for Public Safety also provides organizations with contextual weather data by delivering alerts tied to their immediate location. Featuring an API that can work with any connected device, as well as Baron’s Road Weather technology, Baron Telematics for Public Safety is tailored to the unique challenges of public safety, including those those faced by public schools, hospitals, government agencies, and outdoor venues. www.baronweather.com
IoT panel
Sonitrol
TotalGuard is an all-in-one, edge-based device that acts as a standalone IoT panel. Each TotalGuard device includes the Sonitrol impact activated audio detection, glass break analytics, video verification and surveillance, motion and wireless connectivity that is professionally monitored by a Sonitrol Central Station.These Zigbee devices operate over AES 128-bit encryption, are supervised and tamper protected. TotalGuard can also be paired with exterior thermal imagers for added outside protection and exterior cameras and Sonitrol Cloud Access Control. With the TotalGuard Smart Hub, up to 32 wireless devices may be enrolled. www.sonitrol.com
INDUSTRY LEADERS SECURING INDUSTRY LEADERS
Over 125 years of experience in putting the security of others first.
We understand you need to protect more than brick-and-mortar, which is why ADT does more than monitor. ADT has a wide range of alarm and security options for organizations of any size to help protect people, goods, and data. With 24/7 surveillance, solutions against intrusion and fire, remote monitoring, interactive services and more, ADT has a security solution for your organization. Join those who trust ADT with their livelihoods and protect your business.
AND AUTOMATION SOLUTIONS
Why choose ADT canada?
We are an integrator, meaning we can take over nearly any of the existing security equipment you have on-site.
We are customer-service oriented, innovative and technology savy. With over 125 years of experience and more than 10 o ces in Canada alone, including three monitoring stations, you can trust the experts.