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I've been finalizing my schedule for ISC West in Las Vegas next week. I've got my work cut out for me, but it's a great lineup.

I'll be meeting with representatives and end users from, among others, March Networks, Tyco, Inovonics, Mobotix, Microsoft, Delta Scientific, Lumidigm, Interlogix, Ingersoll Rand, BRS, Quantum Secure and Cisco. Not to mention meeting up with some folks from SIA, PSIA and the Security Executive Council.

I'll be tweeting and blogging throughout the week, so, please, stay tuned.  

It'll be my first time at the show, and if I learned anything from the ASIS show in Philadelphia last fall it is to wear comfortable shoes. Actually, I learned a lot more than that because I flew in on my fifth day on the job, but the shoe thing stands out.  

If you're headed to Vegas, too, don't forget to come to the Security Director News/Security Systems News "meet the editor's event" at 9 a.m. on Wednesday. We'll be at the media stage, right outside the main entrance to the show floor. I would truly enjoy meeting my readers and hearing what's on their security-industry minds!

Kudos to SIA for its initiatives to help lead the industry's efforts in school safety and security in the wake of the Sandy Hook mass shooting.

Chairman Jay Hauhn recently wrote to President Obama expressing SIA's support for specific, holistic school security measures, including funding for security assessments, investment in technology such as digital video cameras and access control systems and training for education and law enforcement personnel. Hauhn noted in his letter that those strategies and others can be quickly implemented if the Department of Justice's Secure Our Schools program is fully funded and if the president's Comprehensive School Safety Grant program is successful.

SIA board members Ron Zivney and Sandy Jones are working with CEO Donald Erickson to develop "Industry Groups" that will allow members to address common topics, including education and school security.

A new SIA LinkedIn group page, "SIA Safe Schools," has been created so that stakeholders can exchange ideas and concerns.

In addition, SIA will offer a four-session School Safety Series at ISC West in April that will cover monitoring remote areas, using smart phones as campus credentials, intelligent response to critical incidents and a case study on IP video surveillance in a campus setting.

The swirl of news reports about districts putting armed guards in schools and training teachers and even janitors to carry firearms in the wake of the Sandy Hook shootings is hard to keep up with. I know, because I have been trying mightily to do so.
 
This week, in the Detroit area alone, training is under way to teach educators how to survive shooters in their buildings, and officers in a nearby county who patrol local schools now are armed with high-powered rifles. Another Michigan district is installing new security cameras and a buzz-in entry system. Meanwhile, an armed guard at a Lapeer, Mich., school left his unloaded firearm in a student restroom.

A parent in Florida has paid to provide an armed deputy to patrol her child's school. I read one article about a company that has developed portable whiteboards that students can also use as armor to deflect bullets.The list goes on and on.

Legislation is being introduced all over the place. President Obama has proposed, among other Sandy Hook-related initiatives, using $150 million in funding to put more school resource officers in schools. Lawmakers here in Maine and other states want to allow teachers to carry concealed weapons.

Then there’s the flood of calls for bans on assault weapons, including one from Newtown, Conn., Police Chief Michael Kehoe and other top police commanders in that state. Wyoming has proposed a measure to nullify any new federal gun laws that might arise in the aftermath of Sandy Hook.

SIA has identified school safety as one of its top five issues during this Congressional session.

And, just today, Wednesday, U.S. Rep. Frank Wolf, R-Virg., called on the Obama administration to improve the nation’s background checks for those wanting to purchase guns and to establish a National Center for Campus Public Safety. The center would provide training, research and best practices for educational facilities at all levels to increase safety and prevent violence, he said.

How will it all play out? I’m interested in hearing your views. What’s your take? Shoot me an email at acanfield@securitydirectornews.com.

The Security Industry Association has created a monthly online TV series, “SIA Today.”

The series, which will be featured on the new Global Security Technology TV Channel (GST TV), will focus on "the state of the ever-changing security industry, including new industry and technology trends," SIA said.

Tom Cellucci, former chief commercialization officer for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and Ann-Christine Langselius, former marketing and sales vice president for the Swedish Defense & Security Government Agency, are the co-founders of GST TV Channel.

“The SIA Today online TV series on GST TV will achieve three major goals and objectives for SIA,” SIA’s chief executive officer Don Erickson said in a prepared statement. “First, it offers our members the benefit of a global forum to inform others of their physical security solutions used to protect critical infrastructure. Second, it fulfills our strategic objective of furthering the SIA brand within the industry. Lastly, it will help to provide our members with timely information from key government decision makers.”