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Bits 'n bytes

Our main feature this month is on security in the education sector and having a 10-year-old daughter, it is a subject very close to my heart! I was shocked to hear my fiancé's daughters and their friends talking last week about a school they saw that has a sign outside that reads 'No guns allowed on the property'; I am assuming that is aimed at the pupils? Scary thought. My daughter Ainsley recently changed schools and I was satisfied with the security measures at the old school, but those at the new school put my mind even more at ease - CCTV cameras at the gates, security guards in huts at the perimeter fencing and gates who allow parents access with remote controls, more security gates with pin-code access at the entry points to the property... but I AM sure that this is all to keep the bad elements out rather than to control the pupils within the school property, despite having heard about the sign outside the high school mentioned earlier (I am still hoping they were joking about that one!).

But then there was also a story on IOL on 23 May, which stated "KwaZulu-Natal Education MEC Ina Cronje has proposed the installation of metal detectors and the application of search-and-seizure operations to combat the increase in violence at schools involving the use of weapons".

Read 'Security on campus' and find out how some educational institutions are protecting the safety of their students.

Another story I picked up online on 31 May reported that Transport Minister Jeff Radebe said that security at airports in South Africa is in line with international standards ( http://www.news24.com/News24/South_Africa/News/0,,2-7-1442_1942436,00.html), which is a fair comment, but is that good enough? Two weeks later a student was arrested after an attempted hijacking of an SAA plane. At the time of writing this, the case was not yet over, but there were rumours that he did it for financial reasons. Excuse my cynicism, but that just begs the question, what then was he doing in the business class section of the aircraft? Admittedly he was in possession of a hypodermic needle, which is not disallowed on flights, so the security standards are not the issue in this case.

This is our new look, I hope you like it as much as we do! We started last month with the cover and in this issue we have introduced the new layout of Hi-Tech Security Solutions. And if you feel the content could be improved or extended, let me know what you would like to see and we will take it into consideration.

Have a good read,

Lynne Larsen

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