Crime experts call for meaningful investment in upgraded security technology

Mark Shields, former deputy commissioner of the Jamaica Constabulary Force and founder of Shields Crime and Security Consultants Limited, is calling for a paradigm shift in how local institutions have traditionally approached security.

“The World Bank estimates that financial losses in Jamaica due to crimes like fraud, extortion, and scamming amount to billions of dollars per year, which is about five per cent of GDP. So I am concerned that where companies are doing so well in implementing ICT solutions for day-to-day operations, I’m not necessarily seeing the same use of technology being applied to security.”

Shields was speaking at the inaugural Shields Security Consultants breakfast forum, which was held on May 8 at The Jamaica Pegasus hotel under the theme ‘Securing Tomorrow: Enhancing Physical Security Through Technology’.

The event, which was sponsored by Digicel Business, highlighted the need for local institutions in both the private and public sector to leverage readily available modern technology to more efficiently support crime solving and prevention. Shields was adamant that while he still believed in the necessity of security guards, due to the lack of supporting technology, most guarding tactics are antiquated and ineffective.

“I’m not trying to put security guards out of business - my own company supplies security guard - but we can retrain them to use technology to improve security,” he said.

Citing one common example, Shields bemoaned the common practice of using sign-in ledgers as a crime deterrent, asking “How many times do you go into somebody’s office and see one of these [large books], And they ask for your name, who are you going to see, and a time? Most of the time they don’t ask for ID, so you could say your name is Mickey Mouse, and it would not make a difference. What good is that? When have you ever referred back to that?”

Guests at the event were able to view real-time demonstrations from California-based Verkada Limited, whose artificial intelligence-enabled camera systems allowed for high-speed visual searches and supported cutting-edge access-control technology. Israel-based Cawamo was also on hand to show how they retrofit existing security systems to operate with modern capabilities.

Keynote speaker Deputy Commissioner of Police Fitz Bailey spoke to the crucial role of technology in recent improvements in murder case resolution, citing examples such as camera technology, ballistics, DNA, and fingerprinting. He also gave a rallying call for greater investment in security technology.

“The criminal investigation branch of the JCF is under 2,000 people, and we are able to solve in excess of 600 murders per year. That could not have been achieved without the use of technology. Technology continues to play a critical role. In 2022 alone we solved over 740 murders in one year. There is no state in the US that solves more than 300 murders per year,” Bailey said.

“You don’t know how important technology is [to the Jamaica Constabulary Force]. We use it to identify the movement of vehicles. It is important that there is greater partnership between the private sector and the police, especially as it relates to the implementation of JamaicaEye. It is a very important technology tool that if we can get the investment, it can seriously impact the crime rate.”

Shields noted that using technology would also produce a positive return on investment by offsetting the high cost of inefficient security protocols.

“One single armed security guard costs a business US$21,700, or J$3.3 million, a year per armed guard or J$2.8 million per armed guard. So when you’ve got 50 guards or 100 guards, you could see how that figure magnifies, and you could see why most of the CFOs (chief financial officers) cry at the cost that they are putting into security. All I want to do is change it so that we are not just thinking about the operating expense of that security guard. How can we reduce that cost and increase our efficiency and effectiveness with technology in a 21st century.”

Among those present were high-level executives and decision makers from a wide array of institutions including but not limited to the Postal Corporation of Jamaica, the Airports Authority of Jamaica, the University of Technology, Sandals and the ATL Group, the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service, the Bank of Jamaica, National Commercial Bank, Scotiabank, the Department of Correctional Services, Toyota Jamaica, Paymaster, Fontana, Red Stripe, Meadowrest, Ramsons, the Major Organised Crime & Anti-Corruption Agency, the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining, Norbrook Equity Partners, Petrojam, S Foods, GraceKennedy, the Passport, Immigration and Citizenship Agency, and Seprod.