…But, What About Las Vegas

By any estimation, ASIS 2017 was quite successful. Of course, Day 3 was light on the show floor but it always seems to be that way. Show organizers went the extra mile providing a light lunch to exhibitors.

Well done, ASIS. Shorter hours on the third day were appreciated to either fly out of town or, in my case, get back to the Dallas office.

I thought ASIS went off quite well, and next year it is in Las Vegas. This brings me to the Las Vegas situation that is on everyone's mind right now. I've talked to several security consultants earlier this week to gain a better understanding.

We may never know why this crazy man went off the deep end. Even if there is a note or explanation, it just doesn't make sense. Short of checking every bag that patrons bring to a hotel, there likely isn't much that could have been done to stop this crazy fool. For a hotel with 5,000 rooms, it's not likely that a bag check will be instituted.

There are a few questions, with video available, did the shooter go in and out of the hotel numerous times, and if the camera had analytics embedded at the edge, would it have picked this up and pronounced an alert? Apparently when this person checked into the hotel, he didn't leave his room from Sept. 28 until the time of the mass shooting. Shouldn't this have sounded an alarm?

Who goes to Las Vegas and doesn't leave their room? Shouldn't housekeeping alerted someone about this odd behavior?

There is not easy answer, if there is one at all. This is the challenge.

About the Author

Ralph C. Jensen is the Publisher of Security Today magazine.

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