Raised Arm Security Barriers

The PF5000S Manual raise arm barrier is a low maintenance cost effective way of manually controlling access to unauthorised areas. These commercial barriers are also known as Counter Balance Gates.
The standard PF5000S barrier covers road ways spanning up to 7.0 metres. Pivot assembly made of steel box section, zinc plated shaft pivoting on two heavy duty stainless steel bearing blocks. When the arm is down, there is no vehicle that is going to attempt to get by without causing serious damage to itself.

The aluminium arm is finished with either alternate red and white or alternate yellow and black vinyl hatching, but other colours are available to suit your needs.
The design of the PF5000S also comes with a spring loaded locking mechanism, which allows you to fix the barrier in the raised and lowered position prior to applying the padlock. It also incorporates a counter balanced fish tail weight which is fine tuned for ease of operation.
If one barrier isn’t enough for your security needs, consider a dual raised arm barrier. These solid and secure barriers are available with a central locking mechanism to suit wider spans, depending on the size of the area you need to cover. The PF5000S comes complete with a lock-able end rest, padlock and keys. No mounting plate is required as M16 anchor shield bolts are also included.
Our raised arm barriers can be custom designed to suit your company, with a variety of colour schemes available. The standard colours are Red, White or Yellow/Black, but if you fancy trying something different, or your company has particular colours associated with it, we will be more than happy to oblige your needs.

Domestic and Retail Security Gates

Solid steel security gates give smaller properties such as homes and retail stores the peace of mind that comes from having a steel guard protecting you against the likes of burglars, criminal damage and adverse weather conditions.
Designed to give your property the look of a building that cares about their security, but also about the aesthetic of the building, our security gates are built with the customer in mind. We want your property to be protected to the best it can be, but we also want your property to look elegant and stylish, and our security gates can definitely help you achieve this.
The importance of security cannot be underestimated, and during the winter months it becomes even more essential to have a security plan in place. Security gates are an incredibly useful part of a security plan because they are easy to fit and maintain, which is always great for the owner of the property, but also extremely difficult to get past for the criminally minded.
Your property will soon be crossed off a burglar’s hit list, which is the ultimate goal of any business or domestic property looking to improve their security. A simple but effective security gate can go a long way to ensuring the safety and security of your property.

Our security gates can be used as a domestic garden gate, giving effective access to the front and rear of your home for home owners and wanted visitors. The gates can be designed to suit the wants and needs of the customer, giving your home a gate that is pleasing to the eye and fully protective.
As an access point, burglars bar or a guard for a domestic or retail property, a solid steel security gate will tick all of the boxes and give you the highest level of quality and security standards that you deserve.

Domestic Security Grills

Home Security when you need it with Safeguard Domestic Security Grills

It is now widely accepted by Crime Prevention Officers and the Insurance Industry, that the only way to stop domestic burglaries is to physically protect doors and windows. Safeguard Security is the leading UK manufacturer and installer of physical security systems. We are the only manufacturer that surveys and installs all of our security grills to ISO 9001, certified by the LPCB, throughout Great Britain and Northern Ireland. When it comes to protecting your home you can be sure our window and door security grills will provide the ultimate home security solution.

Safeguard Security promise:

Unlike other shutters and grills, Safeguard sliding security grills have been specifically designed with appearance and safety in mind without compromising on strength. Not only do they stack back behind the curtains, but they also look attractive when drawn and locked. All are made-to-measure here at our Coventry factory.
For technical specification see our Security Grills Technical Page.
As well as being an accredited ISO 9001 certification body, the LPCB also arrange testing of security products in their specialist security test facilities. These tests are intended for use in conjunction with the rules and regulations of the Association of British Insurers and Lloyd’s of London for insurance purposes.
Click here to see our Insurance Approved Security Grill.

Better on Security

• Installed inside the window – the intruder has to risk detection by breaking glass before tackling the security grill.
• Externally fitted roller shutters or grills can be removed first.
• Fixed close behind the window frame – restricts intruder access to the grill.
• Fixed in all four corners to form a continuous frame – for added security against forced entry.

Better on Practicality and Safety

• Lets in light allowing a clear view outside even when the security grill is fully drawn.
• Windows can be open when the grill is drawn and locked.
• Maintenance free with an easy sliding action.
• No electric motors to breakdown and repair.
• Can be quickly opened in an emergency, unlike fixed grills or bars.
• Installation does not require planning permission.

Better on Appearance

• No ugly boxes and frames on the outside of your property.
• Stacks back behind the curtains when not in use.
• Traditional attractive trellis design.
• Concealed locks.

Better on Price

• Security grills can offer significant savings over the cost of equivalent roller shutter.
• No ongoing maintenance and monitoring costs as with alarms.

Better on Quality and Service

• Manufactured and installed to ISO 9001 quality standards.
• Our sliding security grills can be left drawn and locked at night so that you can sleep with your window wide open without fear of intruders.
• The grills can be easily unlocked in the event of an emergency.
• Allows fresh air through open doors and windows, whilst stopping intruders.
• Ideal for bungalows, ground floor flats, conservatories and patio doors.

• Easy installation
• 24hr express delivery option
• Great for letting in light
• Maintenance free
• Grilles stack away discreetly
• We operate to ISO 9001 quality standards through manufacturing
  & installation

DHS drones equipped to eavesdrop on Americans

AFP Photo / Massoud Hossaini

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DHS, Planes, USA

The US Department of Homeland Security already has an arsenal of drones to be deployed for whatever the agency deems fit, but the actual capabilities of those vehicles exceed what many Americans may expect.
The unmanned drones being used inside of the United States right now can’t shoot Hellfire missiles like their overseas counterparts. They can, however, conduct surveillance, intercept communications and even determine whether or not a person thousands of feet below the aircraft is armed.
The latest revelation comes courtesy of a DHS document that was recently obtained by the Electronic Privacy Information Center, or EPIC, through a Freedom of Information Act request. After analyzing a partially-redacted drone “performance specification” file received through their FOIA plea, EPIC said that records indicate “the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection is operating drones in the United States capable of intercepting electronic communications.”
Of the ten Predator B drones currently maintained by the agency, EPIC adds that the document confirms that those aircraft “have the capacity to recognize and identify a person on the ground.”
“The records obtained by EPIC raise questions about the agency's compliance with federal privacy laws and the scope of domestic surveillance,” the center writes on their website this week.
Speaking to CNet, EPIC’s Open Government Project director, Ginger McCall, says the discovery shows just how dangerous drones could be to the privacy of the millions of Americans who could have drones overhead right this moment.
"The documents clearly evidence that the Department of Homeland Security is developing drones with signals interception technology and the capability to identify people on the ground," McCall says. "This allows for invasive surveillance, including potential communications surveillance, that could run afoul of federal privacy laws."
Since EPIC published their FOID’d documents last week, Cnet has managed to scrounge up an unredacted copy that outlines what the DHS was looking for in drones when the report was written in 2010. Specifically, the performance specifications note that while the DHS is not implementing drones for eavesdropping on America right now, “Further tasks, such as communication relay and interception, although not yet evaluated in the field, are assessed to also be best performed” by the unmanned aerial vehicles.
Additionally, DHS drones must “be capable of identifying a standing human being at night as likely armed or not” and “be capable of marking a target into a retrievable database.” No information is given as to what database that refers to, but a Homeland Security official speaking on condition of anonymity tells DHS that the drones lack — for now, at least — the ability to read a subject’s face to find out who they are.
“The drones are able to identify whether movement on the ground comes from a human or an animal, but that they do not perform facial recognition,” Cnet reporter Declan McCullagh says the DHS source’s claims.
"Any potential deployment of such technology in the future would be implemented in full consideration of civil rights, civil liberties, and privacy interests and in a manner consistent with the law and long standing law enforcement practices,” the source adds.
The Homeland Security department’s drones are currently used to allow federal officials to monitor any criminal activity on America’s borders to the north and south. As RT reported recently, however, a 2012 Supreme Court ruling determined that the government can conduct border patrol operations within 100 miles of an international crossing. By that logic, the approximately 200 million Americans residing within that parameter are subject to Border Patrol searches and, perhaps soon enough, surveillance drones.

Nomenclature

In an August 5, 2002 speech, President Bush said: "We're fighting ... to secure freedom in the homeland." Prior to the creation of DHS, American presidents had referred to the U.S. as "the nation" or "the republic", and to its internal policies as "domestic". Also unprecedented was the use, from 2002, of the phrase "the homeland" by White House spokespeople. The choice of this phrase raised questions regarding the self-image of the USA.

Creation

Seal of the Office of Homeland Security, the predecessor to DHS

In response to the September 11 attacks, President George W. Bush announced the establishment of the Office of Homeland Security (OHS) to coordinate "homeland security" efforts. The office was headed by former Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge, who assumed the title of Assistant to the President for Homeland Security. The official announcement stated:

“

The mission of the Office will be to develop and coordinate the implementation of a comprehensive national strategy to secure the United States from terrorist threats or attacks. The Office will coordinate the executive branch's efforts to detect, prepare for, prevent, protect against, respond to, and recover from terrorist attacks within the United States.

”

Ridge began his duties as OHS director on October 8, 2001.
The Department of Homeland Security was established on November 25, 2002, by the Homeland Security Act of 2002. It was intended to consolidate U.S. executive branch organizations related to "homeland security" into a single Cabinet agency. The following 22 agencies were incorporated into the new department:

A U.S. Customs and Border Protection Officer addresses Dick Cheney (center), then Vice President of the United States, Saxby Chambliss (center right), a U.S. senator from Georgia and Michael Chertoff (far right), then United States Secretary of Homeland Security in 2005

Prior to the signing of the bill, controversy about its adoption centered on whether the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Central Intelligence Agency should be incorporated in part or in whole (neither were included). The bill itself was also controversial for the presence of unrelated "riders", as well as for eliminating certain union-friendly civil service and labor protections for department employees. Without these protections, employees could be expeditiously reassigned or dismissed on grounds of security, incompetence or insubordination, and DHS would not be required to notify their union representatives.
The plan stripped 180,000 government employees of their union rights. In 2002, Bush officials argued that the September 11 attacks made the proposed elimination of employee protections imperative.
Congress ultimately passed the Homeland Security Act of 2002 without the union-friendly measures, and President Bush signed the bill into law on November 25, 2002. It was the largest U.S. government reorganization in the 50 years since the United States Department of Defense was created.
Tom Ridge was named secretary on January 24, 2003 and began naming his chief deputies. DHS officially began operations on January 24, 2003, but most of the department's component agencies were not transferred into the new Department until March 1.

President George W. Bush signs the Homeland Security Appropriations Act of 2004 on October 1, 2003.

After establishing the basic structure of DHS and working to integrate its components and get the department functioning, Ridge announced his resignation on November 30, 2004, following the re-election of President Bush. Bush initially nominated former New York City Police Department commissioner Bernard Kerik as his successor, but on December 10, Kerik withdrew his nomination, citing personal reasons and saying it "would not be in the best interests" of the country for him to pursue the post.^{[citation needed]} On January 11, 2005, President Bush nominated federal judge Michael Chertoff to succeed Ridge. Chertoff was confirmed on February 15, 2005, by a vote of 98–0 in the U.S. Senate. He was sworn in the same day.
In February 2005, DHS and the Office of Personnel Management issued rules relating to employee pay and discipline for a new personnel system named MaxHR. The Washington Post said that the rules would allow DHS "to override any provision in a union contract by issuing a department-wide directive" and would make it "difficult, if not impossible, for unions to negotiate over arrangements for staffing, deployments, technology and other workplace matters.
In August 2005, U.S. District Judge Rosemary M. Collyer blocked the plan on the grounds that it did not ensure collective-bargaining rights for DHS employees.
A federal appeals court ruled against DHS in 2006; pending a final resolution to the litigation, Congress's fiscal year 2008 appropriations bill for DHS provided no funding for the proposed new personnel system. DHS announced in early 2007 that it was retooling its pay and performance system and retiring the name "MaxHR".
In a February 2008 court filing, DHS said that it would no longer pursue the new rules, and that it would abide by the existing civil service labor-management procedures. A federal court issued an order closing the case

United States Department of Homeland Security

The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is a cabinet department of the United States federal government, created in response to the September 11 attacks, and with the primary responsibilities of protecting the United States of America and U.S. territories (including Protectorates) from and responding to terrorist attacks, man-made accidents, and natural disasters. Despite the Department of the Interior's name, DHS is the equivalent to the Interior ministries of other countries, not the Department of the Interior. In fiscal year 2011, DHS was allocated a budget of $98.8 billion and spent, net, $66.4 billion.
Where the Department of Defense is charged with military actions abroad, the Department of Homeland Security works in the civilian sphere to protect the United States within, at, and outside its borders. Its stated goal is to prepare for, prevent, and respond to domestic emergencies, particularly terrorism.^[3] On March 1, 2003, DHS absorbed the Immigration and Naturalization Service and assumed its duties. In doing so, it divided the enforcement and services functions into two separate and new agencies: Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Citizenship and Immigration Services. The investigative divisions and intelligence gathering units of the INS and Customs Service were merged forming Homeland Security Investigations. Additionally, the border enforcement functions of the INS, including the U.S. Border Patrol, the U.S. Customs Service, and the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service were consolidated into a new agency under DHS: U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The Federal Protective Service falls under the National Protection and Programs Directorate.
With more than 200,000 employees, DHS is the third largest Cabinet department, after the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs.^[4] Homeland security policy is coordinated at the White House by the Homeland Security Council. Other agencies with significant homeland security responsibilities include the Departments of Health and Human Services, Justice, and Energy.
According to the Homeland Security Research Corporation, the combined financial year 2010 state and local HLS markets, which employ more than 2.2 million first responders, totaled $16.5 billion, whereas the DHS HLS market totaled $13 billion.^[5] According to the Washington Post, "DHS has given $31 billion in grants since 2003 to state and local governments for homeland security and to improve their ability to find and protect against terrorists, including $3.8 billion in 2010."^[6]
According to Peter Andreas, a border theorist, the creation of DHS constituted the most significant government reorganization since the Cold War,^[7] and the most substantial reorganization of federal agencies since the National Security Act of 1947, which placed the different military departments under a secretary of defense and created the National Security Council and Central Intelligence Agency. DHS also constitutes the most diverse merger of federal functions and responsibilities, incorporating 22 government agencies into a single organization