Issue link: https://securitytechnologyexecutive.epubxp.com/i/530736
Forensic Patients Pose Security Dilemma B y J O EL G R I FFI N How to mitigate prisoner escape threats In late March, a man accused of a dozen bank robberies in the northern Virginia area sparked a massive manhunt after escaping from custody at Inova Fairfax Hospital in Falls Church, Va. The suspect, Wossen Assaye, 42, was able to overpower a guard keeping watch over him and take her gun after another guard assigned to him left to take a bathroom break. Assaye was later apprehended in Washington, D.C. fol- lowing a pair of carjackings. This is just one of the numerous escape attempts made by prisoners being treated at hospitals in recent years. Just last summer, an inmate in Iowa shot and wounded a sheriff 's dep- uty at Palmer Lutheran Health Center in West Union, Iowa, before turning the gun on himself. According to reports, the inmate was able to grab the deputy's gun when one of his hands was released during his treatment. Despite the severity of these incidents and the safety dan- gers they pose to hospital staff, patients and visitors, Bryan Warren, director of corporate security for Carolinas Health- care System and past president of the International Asso- ciation for Healthcare Security and Safety, says that many people have a belief or an attitude that something like this will not happen in their facility. "It doesn't matter where you are geographically, it doesn't matter what kind of neighborhood you are in or really what kind of patient population you typically serve, law enforce- ment can bring a prisoner into your emergency department at any time. It really isn't an inner city or an urban issue, it can truly be anywhere," says Warren. "In fact, I would argue that there are a lot of rural hospitals in smaller towns and sparsely-populated areas that are treating a lot of forensic patients because they may be near prisons or other areas where they are almost infirmaries for the jails and prisons. We have to get our clinical teammates in the mindset that it can happen anywhere and frequently does." Read the full article at http://www.securityinfowatch.com/ article/12075706 14 SECURITY TECHNOLOGY EXECUTIVE • May/June 2015 www.SecurityInfoWatch.com MARKET FOCUS A look at trends affecting the largest verticals security serves f Available Exclusively On NOVEMBER 10-12, 2015 / HOUSTON, TX Cutting-Edge Solutions to Protect Your Cities Survey: Hospital Violence Results No hospital can afford to ignore acts of violence, the potential for crime and terrorism, and the response to and mitigation of emergency incidents. A new survey finds at least some of these are on the rise, with one in three U.S. hospitals reporting an increase in violence and assaults in 2014—despite widespread rising security budgets. The sur vey of 380 hospital administrators, chief security officers and staff was conducted by Guardian 8 Corporation to shed light on recent trends in hospital violence and assault, and to gauge top concerns and response options. Read more at: http://www.securityinfowatch.com/ article/12054225 Cartel Surveillance Camera on Border A drug cartel in the northern state of Tamaulipas used at least 39 surveillance cameras to monitor the comings and goings of authorities in the city of Reynosa across the border from Texas, Mexican officials said. The cameras were powered by electric lines above the city streets and accessed the Internet through phone cables along the same poles, according to a statement from state authorities. The cameras included modems and were capable of operating wirelessly or through com- mercial providers' lines. Read more at: http://www.securityinfowatch.com/ news/ 11985526 Registration Now Open for Secured Cities Registration is open for Secured Cities in Houston, TX, on November 10 – 12. Secured Cities provides real- world solutions for manage- ment and operations, funding and g rant approvals, strategies for partnering and collaboration, tech- nology selection and system implementation. Project partners discuss what is trending in funding and grants, current video surveil- lance and security design and best-of-breed emergency management solutions for security and law enforce- ment professionals. In addition to more than 40 concurrent sessions and peer-led panel discussion, Secured Cities will be offering unique on-site security tours of NASA's Houston Space Center, The Port of Houston, Houston's TranStar Emer- gency Ops Center, Texas Medical Center and the City of Houston's Emergency Operations Center (EOC). Register today and save: https://www.xpressreg.net/ eReg/?ShowCode=SECU115