SIA to President: “Now is the time to do the right thing for our children”

The Security Industry Association (SIA), Silver Spring, Md., has formally committed to supporting school security initiatives with a letter sent to President Barack Obama on January 31.

Jay Hauhn, chairman of Board of Directors for SIA and chief technology officer at Tyco Integrated Security, Boca Raton, Fla., sent correspondence on behalf of SIA to President Barack Obama on the subject of security in the nation’s schools. In the letter, Hauhn writes: “We agree that now is the time to ‘do the right thing for our children, our communities and the country we love.’” He also states that SIA supports a holistic approach to school security that includes funding for school security assessments, investment in technology and emergency preparedness training for education and law enforcement personnel. The full text of the letter can be found at http://www.siaonline.org/government.

Hauhn also said that SIA members are committed to working with the administration, Congress, law enforcement and the education community to develop reasonable public policy solutions that may help to avert events such as the one that occurred in Newtown, Conn.

“We understand that school safety is a complicated problem requiring input and expertise from various components of the private and public sectors,” said Hauhn. “A comprehensive solution to secured schools must foster collaboration across many sectors.”

SIA plans to announce a committee of experts that will share its technical expertise with the administration and Congress as they work to adopt new school security initiatives.