Vector Security Appoints Petrow President and CEO

The Board of Directors of Vector Security, Inc., and its parent company, The Philadelphia Contributionship, has unanimously approved the appointment of Pamela J. Petrow as president and chief executive officer (CEO) of Vector Security, Inc.

John A. Murphy identified Petrow as his successor by appointing her, with Board approval, as executive vice president, and then chief operating officer (COO) of the company. The current appointment is the culmination of a carefully thought out succession plan. Petrow will now be in charge of moving the company forward on the successful path which Murphy began when he became president and COO in 1991.

Petrow graduated from Shippensburg University with a bachelor's degree in business administration in 1982, with focuses in management and marketing. In spring of 2006, she graduated from Harvard Business School’s Advanced Management Program.

In 1997, Petrow was promoted to senior vice president of the Central Stations and Information Services Group and became a member of the Office of the President. She was directly responsible for overseeing the company’s three UL-Listed Central Stations, as well as its IT staff.

In 2004, she was promoted to become the company’s executive vice president, and also became the chief administrative officer responsible for the company’s Insurance and Human Resources groups. In 2006, she was again promoted to COO.

In 2006, her central station leadership resulted in the company earning the prestigious Central Station of the Year Award, which recognizes the best central station monitoring services in the industry. She and her staff authored and launched a 12-step plan to minimize false alarm dispatches, which in the same year earned the company the industry’s first Police Dispatch Quality award. This award recognizes a company that demonstrates its commitment and excellence in minimizing false police dispatches.

Since 2007, Petrow has served as secretary on the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors of the Central Station Alarm Association (CSAA), the trade association for the alarm monitoring industry, representing the owners and operators of UL-Listed/FM Approved central stations. She has also co-chaired CSAA’s Education Committee.

On behalf of CSAA, she represents the electronic security industry at large with APCO (Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials International), the world’s largest organization dedicated to public safety communications, to develop and implement the beta testing of electronic transmission of alarm data to 911 Centers.

In 2009, Petrow received APCO’s President’s Award. She was recognized for her outstanding contributions to the electronic transmission of signals between central stations and 911 dispatch centers.

Petrow also is a member of the Security Industry Standards Council, overseeing standards efforts for the industry; and has participated in legislative efforts, alongside the National Burglar and Fire Alarm Association and Central Station Alarm Association, to promote reciprocity and to lobby for an AMPS ruling extension.

Featured

  • Security Today Announces 2025 CyberSecured Award Winners

    Security Today is pleased to announce the 2025 CyberSecured Awards winners. Sixteen companies are being recognized this year for their network products and other cybersecurity initiatives that secure our world today. Read Now

  • Empowering and Securing a Mobile Workforce

    What happens when technology lets you work anywhere – but exposes you to security threats everywhere? This is the reality of modern work. No longer tethered to desks, work happens everywhere – in the office, from home, on the road, and in countless locations in between. Read Now

  • TSA Introduces New $45 Fee Option for Travelers Without REAL ID Starting February 1

    The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) announced today that it will refer all passengers who do not present an acceptable form of ID and still want to fly an option to pay a $45 fee to use a modernized alternative identity verification system, TSA Confirm.ID, to establish identity at security checkpoints beginning on February 1, 2026. Read Now

  • The Evolution of IP Camera Intelligence

    As the 30th anniversary of the IP camera approaches in 2026, it is worth reflecting on how far we have come. The first network camera, launched in 1996, delivered one frame every 17 seconds—not impressive by today’s standards, but groundbreaking at the time. It did something that no analog system could: transmit video over a standard IP network. Read Now

  • From Surveillance to Intelligence

    Years ago, it would have been significantly more expensive to run an analytic like that — requiring a custom-built solution with burdensome infrastructure demands — but modern edge devices have made it accessible to everyone. It also saves time, which is a critical factor if a missing child is involved. Video compression technology has played a critical role as well. Over the years, significant advancements have been made in video coding standards — including H.263, MPEG formats, and H.264—alongside compression optimization technologies developed by IP video manufacturers to improve efficiency without sacrificing quality. The open-source AV1 codec developed by the Alliance for Open Media—a consortium including Google, Netflix, Microsoft, Amazon and others — is already the preferred decoder for cloud-based applications, and is quickly becoming the standard for video compression of all types. Read Now

New Products

  • 4K Video Decoder

    3xLOGIC’s VH-DECODER-4K is perfect for use in organizations of all sizes in diverse vertical sectors such as retail, leisure and hospitality, education and commercial premises.

  • A8V MIND

    A8V MIND

    Hexagon’s Geosystems presents a portable version of its Accur8vision detection system. A rugged all-in-one solution, the A8V MIND (Mobile Intrusion Detection) is designed to provide flexible protection of critical outdoor infrastructure and objects. Hexagon’s Accur8vision is a volumetric detection system that employs LiDAR technology to safeguard entire areas. Whenever it detects movement in a specified zone, it automatically differentiates a threat from a nonthreat, and immediately notifies security staff if necessary. Person detection is carried out within a radius of 80 meters from this device. Connected remotely via a portable computer device, it enables remote surveillance and does not depend on security staff patrolling the area.

  • EasyGate SPT and SPD

    EasyGate SPT SPD

    Security solutions do not have to be ordinary, let alone unattractive. Having renewed their best-selling speed gates, Cominfo has once again demonstrated their Art of Security philosophy in practice — and confirmed their position as an industry-leading manufacturers of premium speed gates and turnstiles.