Volume 10 | March 28, 2025
This Weeks Featured Articles & Media
Charles Johnson | Florida Statute 768.0706 and the Impact on our Security Industry
Florida Statute 768.0706 creates new liability standards for property owners, presenting a significant opportunity for the security industry to provide enhanced risk management services and protective measures.
Angie Barnes | Beyond the Obvious - The Hidden Power of the Second Question
Brush up on your question muscles as Angie explains the importance of learning the power of the question.
Kyle Gordon | Why I Failed My Resolution—and What It Taught Me About the Words We Use
How being more intentional and honest with your words is the way forward.
Brian Karas | My ISC West Hit List
Read all about the companies that Brian thinks are a must-see at ISC West this year in Las Vegas.
Find them all below!
Two years ago, the State of Florida Legislature included Security Technologies & Concepts in House Bill 837, known as the Florida Tort Reform Act. This legislation was signed into law by Governor Desantis and became known as Florida Statute 768.0706. This statute has changed the landscape of personal injury claims against property owners and property management in Florida by aiming to reform the state's tort laws to protect businesses from excessive lawsuits and stabilize the insurance market.
It specifically affects multi-family properties with five or more dwellings, categorized as commercial real estate in the insurance industry. This includes condos, apartments, townhomes, assisted living, and time-share properties. According to research, this represents approximately 1.2 million properties, or 44% of the Florida real estate market.
Before the Statute
Prior to FL HB 837, owners or operators of multi-family properties were liable for criminal acts on the property even if reasonable security measures were in place. Now, negligent security cases must also consider the fault of the criminal.
Presumption Against Liability
As stated in FL HB 837: “The owner or principal operator of a multi-family residential property that substantially implements the following security measures on that property has a presumption against liability in connection with criminal acts committed by third parties who are not employees or agents of the owner or operator.
Benefits to Compliance
Multi-family properties that comply with the Florida Tort Law can reduce their risk of liability by implementing specific crime prevention measures. Benefits include changes and limits to bad faith claims, attorney fee awards, contingency multipliers, one-way fees, and new standards for calculating medical damages. The most impactful benefits are:
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Statute of limitations reduced from four years to two years
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Shift to modified comparative negligence, meaning if the plaintiff is 50% or more at fault, there is no award for damages
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Insurance policy limits are the maximum damages allowed
Roadmap to Compliance
To be considered compliant with the statute, properties must follow these steps:
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Meet all conditions defined in 768.0706(2)(a), including:
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A security camera system at entry and exit points that meets FL HB 837 requirements
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A lighted parking lot illuminated from dusk until dawn
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Lighting in walkways, laundry rooms, common areas, and porches from dusk until dawn
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A 1-inch deadbolt on each dwelling unit door
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Locks on windows, exterior sliding doors, and other non-community doors
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Locked gates with key or fob access along pool fence areas
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Peepholes on each dwelling unit door without a window or a window next to the door
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Have a documented CPTED assessment by a Certified (FCP) Florida CPTED Practitioner
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Implement and document the necessary property improvements to ensure compliance with the CPTED assessment
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Ensure all employees receive proper crime deterrence and safety training as defined in 768.0706(2)(c)
Once these conditions are met, the property is considered compliant with Florida Statute 768.0706 (HB 837) as of January 1, 2025. Ongoing requirements are necessary to maintain compliance, which provides opportunities for recurring services and revenue.
Opportunity for the Security Industry
We have come across several questions and misunderstandings regarding Florida Statute 768.0706. When working with clients from the commercial real estate industry, especially the multi-family vertical, partnering with Certified (FCP) Florida CPTED Practitioners, such as NGA Security Advisors, is recommended.
Our goal is to be the Trusted Advisor and support the client throughout the process. Ultimately guiding them to initial and ongoing compliance.
NGA Security Advisors, an SBA Certified SDVOSB, provides guidance in the Electronic Security Industry. Our services include a Certified (FCP) Florida CPTED Assessment, Risk/Vulnerability & Technology Assessment, System Design, Technology Consultancy, Expert Witness Testimony and Solution/Project Implementation Management.
For more information, please visit www.FloridaCPTED.org
What is CPTED?
Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) is a multidisciplinary approach to reducing crime and increasing perceived safety by changing the physical environment. The goal of CPTED is to influence human behavior to reduce crime and fear and improve quality of life. Developed in the 1970’s by criminologist C. Ray Jeffrey and Architect Oscar Newman, CPTED is focused on 5 main principles:
Natural Access Control limits the opportunity for crime by taking steps to differentiate between public space and private space. This occurs by selectively placing entrances and exits, fencing, lighting, and landscaping to limit access or flow control. Natural Access Control complements mechanical and operational access control measures, such as target hardening.
Natural Surveillance increases the perceived risk of attempting deviant actions by improving the visibility of potential offenders to the public. This occurs by designing the placement of physical features, activities, and people in such a way as to maximize the visibility of the space and its users, fostering positive social interaction among legitimate users of private and public space. Potential offenders feel increased scrutiny and thus inherently perceive an increase in risk. This perceived increase in risk extends to the perceived lack of viable and covert escape routes.
Territorial Reinforcement promotes social control through an increased space definition and improved proprietary concern. An environment designed to delineate private space does two things. First, it created a sense of ownership. Owners have a vested interest and are more likely to challenge intruders or report them to Law Enforcement. Second, the sense of owned space creates an environment where “strangers” or “intruders” stand out and are more easily identified. Natural territorial reinforcement uses buildings, fences, pavement, signs, lighting, and landscape to express ownership and define public, semi-public, and private spaces.
Social Management is the promotion of positive social interactions and the use of spaces for legitimate activities. This includes community engagement, partnerships and environmental culture. A collaborative effort between planners, designers, law enforcement and community stakeholders.
Maintenance is an expression of ownership of property. Deterioration indicates less control by a site’s intended users and a greater tolerance of disorder. For example, the Broken Window Theory is a valuable tool in understanding the importance of maintenance in deterring crime. The sooner broken windows are fixed, the less such vandalism will occur.
I won’t start my article today with another one of my Tennessee weather updates, laughing. I think this has become my go too, it is true though my younger ones, that as you get older, there is this weird obsession with the weather, so get ready, it’s coming! Today, as we are all getting ready for the beginning of the big conference season and looking to slay our time in front of whatever audience you are looking to connect with, I thought I would focus on the age-old value of the question. One of my favorite podcasters is Craig Groeschel, and he always sparks in me, topics that seem to be just an average topic, or one that someone might go, oh I already have that one down, no need for me to focus or change that. Man, that would be your first mistake, wouldn’t it? To think you really had something down, and there would be no need to get better. You know those people, the ones that are not coachable, might be next to their secret bio somewhere not published, laughing.
Why is it important to brush up on our question muscle today, Angie? Because as we make our way down these conference aisles, and our companies spend a lot of time and money, for you to be walking the floors, or be in a booth waiting for those on the floor, learning the power of the question will be important to the success of your week and what you will take away of the information provided, revealed, understood, qualified in or out? I could go on and on, but will the right questions lead to the right answers possibly? Maybe not 100 percent of the time, but if you work on that craft, your success ratio is sure to be higher.
I recently had the opportunity to do the Four Minutes with Vector Firm, and the ever-amazing Chris Petersen, who is truly a Sales Coach Superstar. If you are not familiar with him or this, look it up and you will find it, it’s where Chris allows you to ask any sales question to him, unrehearsed or known, and for him to answer in four minutes. My question to Chris was “What do most salespeople miss in the initial Discovery process?” Hmmm, Chris thought and just like a champ, answered that he felt like the salesperson, went for the solution too quickly, instead of asking more questions. 100 percent true and happens too often for sure. In addition to that answer, I was looking for and shared that salespeople in Discovery ask a question, get an answer, then go to the next question. You see the meat is always in the next question you ask after the first original question. Let me give you an example, “How many times a day does your team review their video?” they might say, “One time a day?” (That would be amazing if it was true!) Instead of asking your next question, stay with that question. “If one time a day, what is it you’re hoping to uncover and why?” “Was the video triggered by motion for review? Is it just a routine? Is it a particular location that has had issues why you review once a day?” You see, you keep following it down the rabbit hole to find what we use to call “Pains, Gains, and Claims.” That’s a whole other article, but bottom line is you need to uncover the pain first which will be the guts (gross, right?) of your ROI, the central issue of why you are there today, information not readily shared without those questions. See! That is what the Discovery process is about? Shazam! Today we can overuse the cliché finding a customer’s pain, but truly you need to ask questions to uncover the pain they may not even have known they had.
The power of the question is controlled by you, not the customer or prospect, etc. You can clearly steer the outcome if you truly know the power of FOLLOWING the first question instead of jumping to the next. Role play it, coach to it, try it out until it becomes so comfortable that it doesn’t even seem awkward when doing it or asking it. Practice your questions, and what answers you want to see from those questions. If you do, you might find that your time in front of customers, partners, potential customers and partners will always hold the gold nuggets of the time spent with them to build that solid foundation of quality for you and for them. Slay it!
Last year, I made a New Year’s resolution to eliminate buzzwords from my vocabulary.
I tried.
I failed.
Despite my best intentions, I found myself slipping back into the same tired language.
I would “socialize” ideas instead of just talking to people.
I’d “circle back” instead of following up.
I still find myself “taking things offline” instead of just saying we’re not going to deal with it on that call.
And I constantly asked for feedback from the “boots on the ground”—which is funny, because I’m not sure a single person in my organization actually wears boots. (Okay, maybe one of our sales guys in Texas.)
And in full transparency, I’ve been one of the culprits.
I’ve used words like “transformation,” “disruption,” and “game-changer” more times than I care to admit—not because I was trying to exaggerate, but because these words have become so embedded in how we talk about technology and progress. It’s almost reflex.
But at some point, we must ask ourselves:
What do these words even mean anymore?
It feels like everything is “next-gen,” every product is “AI-powered,” every update is “revolutionary,” and every launch is “redefining the industry.”
But when everyone’s disrupting and transforming at the same time… is anyone, really?
The truth is, most of the progress we see in the security industry isn’t all that dramatic—and that’s okay.
In fact, it’s better than okay.
Quiet, meaningful progress matters.
Improvements that make systems easier to use, that remove friction from everyday work, that make life better for the people actually running and managing security—those things are worth celebrating.
We don’t need to wrap them in oversized language for them to be valuable.
Real progress doesn’t always need a megaphone.
Let’s be clear—there has never been more potential in the security industry than there is right now.
The pace of innovation is accelerating, and some of the advancements we’re seeing have the ability to fundamentally improve the way security is delivered, experienced, and measured.
I’m genuinely excited about where we’re heading.
And while we still have work to do, I do think we’re making progress—not just in the technology itself, but in how we approach the overall solution with the customer in mind.
That shift matters.
That said, let’s also be honest: deploying a security system today is still way too hard.
Connecting the dots and realizing the full benefits of a solution—from install to analytics to daily usability—is still more complex than it should be.
The promise of integration, automation, and simplicity is real, but it hasn’t been fully realized yet.
We owe it to our customers—and to ourselves—to keep pushing toward that reality.
We also need to get more comfortable acknowledging when we get it wrong.
Preaching “fail fast” is easy—actually admitting you failed fast is a lot harder.
And it doesn’t just apply to products or strategies—it applies to how we lead, how we communicate, and how we show up.
I still mess up, often.. I miss things. I don’t always get it right.
But when I catch it, I try to own it.
Vulnerability isn’t weakness—it’s growth.
And as our industry becomes more self-aware, we should normalize calling out missteps, missed bets, and even (gasp) acknowledging when someone else’s product, solution, or strategy is simply better.
That honesty will move us forward a lot faster than the buzzwords ever will.
And even though I failed my resolution in the strictest sense, I made real strides.
I became more intentional with my words.
I cut down on the noise.
I chose clarity over flair more often than not.
And that’s progress.
Just like in our industry, not everything needs to be a revolution.
Sometimes, steady improvement is more than enough.
As we head into ISC West—one of the biggest events of the year—as tens of thousands of security professionals descend on Las Vegas, I’m pumped to see all the advancements this community is making.
I’ll be there celebrating every ounce of progress, whether it’s truly transformative or just really impressive.
Both deserve to be acknowledged.
So if you're looking to connect, explore synergies, align on strategic priorities, and ideate around the future of the built environment—
…or you know, just hang out—I’ll see you there.
By the time you’re reading this the early stages of ISC West show floor move-in and setup will be under way. Over the next few days many people from the security industry, including myself, will be making our annual trek to Las Vegas to spend a hectic 4 or 5 days immersed in all things security.
For this week's post I wanted to highlight a few companies that I have on my list of stops. None of these are paid placements, it’s just a list of things that I personally find interesting or want to check out. I’m also leaving out some things that are being held in meeting suites off the show floor, as those are typically not easy to just randomly drop in to.
Actuate (full disclosure, this is my company) We’re in the AI Discovery Zone that Lee and team helped to activate this year. Actuate is focused on AI for remote monitoring/remote guarding applications. This is a crowded market for sure, but there is a reason why we are seeing customers switch to Actuate from every other AI platform, be it edge, server, or cloud. If you’re interested in AI for video, hit me up for a demo. We are also hosting two sessions on Thursday - a morning breakfast session titled “Valuation Workshop” where we are just talking about M&A trends in the industry and how to capitalize on them, and an afternoon session “Starting A Remote Monitoring Business” to guide you through how to take advantage of this trend. Register here.
ADRM - Booth 31071 CEO Dan O’Neill is one of my speakers in the Valuation Workshop, but I really want to dig into their DEFENDER product as I think this is going to fit in well for GSOCs, managed services, and higher end remote guarding providers
Amazon Key - Booth 2077. I think it is noteworthy that Amazon is investing in a presence for their Amazon Key program at ISC West and I am curious to learn how they plan to utilize the integrator channel in the security industry. This looks like a potentially profitable opportunity for integrators to partner with Amazon Key.
Hailo - Booth 31065 I’ve got Hailo pegged as a disruptor in the edge interference space. Their chipsets are starting to appear in new products (see Vicon below) and I want to get the latest roadmap updates and projects for what they have planned next.
Hirsch - Booth 13089. Hirsch has been steadily growing their US team, and they recently managed to pull Gallagher’s EVP Scott Elliott over as their CRO so I want to hear what they are up to in access control.
HiveWatch - Booth 33075. I recently had a conversation with HiveWatch co-founder Jordan Hill about their AI Operator based on Claude. I plan to do a deeper write up about this after seeing their demo and asking some more questions. I like where it is going, and I like the fact that they are taking this slow and not over hyping the capabilities. This has the potential to do a lot for accelerating remote guarding operations.
i-Pro - Booth 10037 I have been aware of i-Pro cameras for a long time (they were previously part of Panasonic), but then I started seeing their cameras show up on several high end yachts. Being focused on the remote guarding market, we are frequently dealing with cameras in harsh outdoor environments, so a camera that can stand up to heavy saltwater exposure is a plus. i-Pro has been making steady advances in the market, and when I compare their low light image quality to other cameras at similar price points I see a lot of value.
Mobile Pro Systems - Booth 11121 Jon Harris from Mobile Pro is one of my panelists for the “Starting a Remote Monitoring Business”, and I’ve been a fan of their products since before he joined. Surveillance trailers and rapid deployment systems are super popular right now and Mobile Pro offers a lot of flexibility with their products.
Monitor Computer Systems - Booth 35090 Monitor’s Sentinel software is becoming a popular option for remote guarding startups. Their CEO is speaking at our Thursday afternoon session, and I want to dig into the product as a potential recommendation to remote guarding startups.
Vicon - Booth 29053 Vicon did something I was not expecting to see - they pulled off a new spin on a surveillance camera design and mounting system. Their new camera line is very sleek, and I’ve been testing a beta unit for a while with good results. They are also one of the first camera companies to incorporate Hailo’s AI chipset. If you’ve followed my previous AI coverage then you know I’ve been watching Hailo for a while and think they are going to disrupt the edge analytics space in the near future. If you stop by Vicon’s booth, tell Jason Alestra hi for me.
WaveLynx - Bellini 2104 Aside from their newest products, I want to give WaveLynx props for sponsoring the ISC West concert with the Gin Blossoms this year. I think people slept on last years concert, but it was a great experience and well organized. At first a concert at 5PM kind of sounds like a weird time, but it works perfect and does not interfere with dinner plans or other evening events. I hope to see the room packed this year.
ZKTeco - Booth 23089 If you read The Security Breakdown last week then you saw my preview of ZK’s Omni30 “hold my beer” device. I want to see more of their products in operation and explore some of the capabilities of the Omni readers and some other ZK products. My initial perceptions of the products have been positive, and I have spoken with some other respected partners of the company who all have very positive feedback.
