Tip 8: Who's There?
With home invasions increasing rapidly, it’s crucial to know who is at your door when you hear a knock. Is it the postman or is it a prospective thief? Don’t be afraid to ask. If the person is legitimate, they’ll will have no problem in telling you their purpose. If for any reason you don’t feel comfortable opening the door, then don’t!
Peepholes
A peephole is a must-have for your security, so you can visually identify all visitors. While you need special tools to install a peephole, they are fairly inexpensive to purchase.
Intercoms
In a high rise or a gated community, take special care over whom you let in via the intercom. Some people can’t be bothered to say no to someone who buzzes them, even if that person is unknown. The rule of thumb is to never let anyone in the building unless you know who they are. If they don’t have a key or an access card, generally speaking, they don’t belong. If they insist on you letting them in, simply refer them to the manager of the building.
Also, keep in mind that even people you may recognize around the building may no longer have a right to enter the building. Take, for example, the husband of the lady you met down the hall. How are you to know that he is now the estranged husband who has a restraining order out against him? How are you to know that you may have endangered that woman’s life by letting him in? The best thing to do is to not get involved in the first place by not letting anyone in.
Security system design and consulting
In order to design the most effective security system, we first determine your goals and needs. Then we present a customized set of options, costs and specific strategies for a supported, well maintained system. And after sign-off, we do extensive testing and training.
Paladin works in thorough ways. We provide turnkey solutions, take a holistic approach, work in partnership with you throughout, and even train your staff to make sure every part of the security systems strategy is effectively implemented.
Customized security officers
We know from our experience that providing the best security is about having the right people for the specific job and environment. At Paladin, we don’t believe a guard is a guard, but practice strategic staffing, where we determine the specific mix of skills and attributes needed for the each position.
We invest considerable time and resources into recruiting right. Superior people want to work with a superior company — one that cares about quality, treats their people well and offers personal growth and advancement — so we are fortunate to receive many applications. We then use our stringent hiring to processes filter out the most ideal candidates, which is approximately one successful new hire out of twenty applications.
Training is what differentiates us, and it’s why we lead the industry. Once we have the right candidates on board, we start by conducting extensive pre-employment training and certification for each new staff member, which surpasses all legislative and regulatory requirements and standards across the country. Each Paladin security officer then undergoes pre-assignment training and site training unique to each position and its respective industry. In total, we provide 35 different courses through our University of Paladin, including ongoing training.
To ensure our people continue to perform above expectations, we have a multi-faceted field management model and provide various employee support programs.
GPS-enabled mobile patrols
We have the largest mobile emergency response fleet in the industry, with trained, licensed and bonded emergency response officers. Our mobile patrols can keep any type of building and premises safe. Our personnel can perform fixed-time and or random checks to look for unusual activities or problems, which can keep you and your property secure; in one patrol of high-rise under construction, we discovered a leaking pipe, which saved the client hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Access control systems
We provide access and intrusion detection systems that offer the best protection. Only Paladin offers complete, end-to-end service: we design, implement, install and service our systems, which means more efficiency, security and convenience for you.
Card systems are more cost effective than traditional locking systems. Most businesses recognize the costs of re-keying, for example, but with a card, a client can simply cancel an individual user. In addition, our access control systems can provide detailed information for workforce time management.
We can maintain your access system remotely, including adding and deleting users, controlling lock and unlock times, backing-up the database and performing system diagnostics. This eliminates the need for on-site computer staff to maintain your system.
24/7 security system monitoring and response
Paladin has the most state-of-the-art technology and advanced central monitoring stations in the country, with multiple back up systems in place. Unlike other security companies that contract out to a third party, we operate our own alarm and remote video monitoring stations across Canada. That means you benefit from a faster response to all of your alarm signals. Our stations meet and exceed the highest industry standards through our ULC AA listing and our CSAA 5 Diamond certification.
Temperature control monitoring
We install and monitor the most effective temperature control systems for protection against freezing pipes or over-heated server rooms.