Posts By: Jacob Charles

Terminal integration

With airport security becoming increasingly complex, control rooms are often struggling to manage the information being collected. Robert de la Poer asks whether the latest PSIM systems can finally tap the benefits of more integrated systems   As the threats to airports have grown over the years, security managers have been forced to add ever-deepening… Read more »

Building on shifting sands

With the nature of security in hostile environments undergoing wholesale change, Richard Lovell-Knight examines the new skills needed by staff in the industry   The security industry in hostile environments is changing. Man-with-gun might not carry a gun any more, and unless he can carry a risk assessment brief he could find himself man-without-portfolio. Security… Read more »

Beating the bugs

Devices used to detect unauthorised covert surveillance are becoming increasingly sophisticated. Iain McGhie reveals how to bridge the gap between performance and affordability   Although it doesn’t often make the headlines, unauthorised covert surveillance or bugging can have a very serious effect on both state and commercial security. Constant vigilance is required and regular sweeping… Read more »

Kingdom under siege

  Anthony Tucker-Jones examines how Saudi Arabia is taking ever more drastic security measures on its borders to keep out its troublesome neighbours   It is sometimes argued that good fences make good neighbours, and certainly enhanced border protection is becoming increasingly popular worldwide. Indeed, it seems it is bonanza time for the perimeter security… Read more »

The road to recovery

With the evolution of smartphones, CCTV systems and the world’s media, retrieving and processing video evidence has become increasingly complex. Chris Hough reveals how the industry is adapting Closed circuit television (CCTV) has been around for many years. In the UK, it has been used to monitor public venues and government buildings since the late… Read more »

Preparing for take-off

Later this month, airports must begin to lift restrictions on liquids, aerosols and gels. Frédéric Brouiller reveals how new technology is helping them rise to the challenge   In August 2006, terrorists were intercepted at London’s Heathrow Airport after attempting to blow up a series of aircraft using homemade liquid explosives in soft drink bottles…. Read more »

The fight against fear

Could anything have been done to prevent the murder of Lee Rigby in Woolwich last month? John Chisholm examines the nation’s response to the attack   The brutal murder of Lee Rigby, in broad daylight, by two men determined to kill, has understandably shocked the nation. Followed soon afterwards by what looks to have been… Read more »

Beneath the skin

  Why are more airports not using X-ray technology to detect internally concealed contraband and other threats such as explosives, asks Tony Kingham   I would argue that there is a compelling case for X-ray detection equipment to be deployed in the departure lounge of every international airport. In recent years, we have seen the… Read more »

Beyond the Boston bombing

Anthony Tucker-Jones surveys the latest terrorist plots that have blighted North America and says it’s business as usual for the jihadists   Without warning, the double blast caught the spectators and runners on the streets of Boston completely by surprise. The terrible shrapnel-riddled shock wave scythed outward, not upward, and one of the fatalities was… Read more »

A two-pronged evolution

Mike Luedicke discusses how IED disruptors and the remotely operated vehicles used to deploy them have become not only more lightweight but also more effective   Remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) are a crucial tool for improvised explosive device (IED) disposal professionals worldwide. They allow the operator to identify, survey and defeat the IED from a… Read more »