It’s No Secret: Bush Incident Shows Secret Service Needs to Brush Up on Security Basics

An industry security systems expert calls foul in reaction to recent news that former U.S. President George H.W. Bush’s home alarm system has been offline more than a year.

Once again, I most start off by saying that I truly admire the amazing and accomplished work of the United States Secret Service. But recent national reports of the alarm system at George H.W. Bush’s home being inoperable and not in commission for more than a year is in my opinion unconscionable.

Professional alarm contractors know better and would never knowingly leave an alarm system inoperable for such a gross period of time; let alone at a location which by any standard is considered a high risk target. I also understand that the Secret Service deployed extra manpower during the period of time that the security system at the Bush home was inoperable. However, the fundamentals of security and alarm science dictate that manpower and security systems are not mutually exclusive. To the contrary, when both of these resources are available, they always need to be integrated.

RELATED: Report: George H.W. Bush’s Home Security Alarm Broken for 13 Months

The media also reported that the alarm system at the Bush home was faulty. However, I do not believe that this is an accurate statement and we need to crystalize same, since all too often the connotation that alarm systems were faulty, is not based on the actions and inactions of the alarm company, it is based on the fact that the systems have not been maintained and/or the system is installed beyond their functional and reliable life expectancy. In fact, the alarm system at the Bush home was 20 years old and the Department of Homeland Security reported that Inspector General John Roth, noted same. However, apparently Secret Service higher-ups rejected the analyst’s request to replace the alarm system in August 2011. Eventually in September 2013 the alarm system—then 20 years old—failed. 

Stated differently, the age of the system was the most likely the contributing factor to it failing; so to suggest that it was faulty could be misconstrued as being the alarm contactors fault. And it may have been. But to be clear, unless there was a service and maintenance contract in place and it provided for upgrades, it would generally be the customer’s responsibility to take the necessary steps to address this situation at their own cost and expense. Against the forgoing backdrop, wouldn’t it be great to know the manufacturer of the equipment and the methodologies that were used? I am pretty sure that professional alarm dealers would be curious to know so they could do a comparative analysis regarding the situation, compared to the systems which they install.

In any event, the report on the Bush home in this matter applies to each and every one of your subscribers who have old systems and/or who have systems that are considered and/or deemed to be “faulty.” Therefore, it’s not about upgrading, it’s about customers who have systems that are installed beyond their functional and reliable life expectancy. Likewise if an alarm system is dangerous and/or is not reliable, this too needs to be quantified as well.

RELATED: Drone Crash at White House Underscores Security Gap

With regard to the “extra manpower” theory here, is not tantamount to a properly designed, installed and monitored security system. Otherwise, there would be no need to have an alarm system at the home to begin with. Just imagine if there was a breach of security by a perpetrator at the Bush home and the alarm system was found to be inoperable, or if there was a fire and someone was injured or died as a result of same.

RELATED: The Secret Service Could Learn From Alarm and Security Professionals

Undeniably, every life is precious, so whether you are a homeowner in Iowa or the former president of the United States, people who are in the position of trust and/or the decision makers regarding a person’s security system, crucially need to understand the criticality of the reliability, functionality and operation of these systems, and as a result they need to act appropriately. Foreseeably, the consequences could have been catastrophic at the Bush home. So when it comes to providing electronic security is it mission critical that these systems be properly maintained, and if it is identified that they are likely to fail they need to be replaced forthwith.

Having said that, I am also keenly aware of the fact that many customers do not want to pay to have a new security system installed, once they are given the news. But that is not of the fact pattern here, so there is no excuse for the person or persons who made such a dangerous decision to do nothing at all to address the security system at the Bush home; which has clearly been relied on from a security perspective for more than two decades, together with the Secret Service being present.

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About the Author

Jeff Zwirn
Contact:

Jeffrey D. Zwirn, CPP, CFPS, CFE, SET, FASI&T, CHPA-IV, NFPA 3000(PS), MSYL, MBAT, SSI Hall of Fame, writes Security Sales & Integration’s “Security Science” column. He is also president of IDS Research and Development, an alarm and security consultation, expert witness and training authority providing nationwide services on all issues related to alarm and security matters. He can be reached at 800-353-0733.

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