What is GSA? And why should I care that Kenton Brothers has GSA Certified Technicians?

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By Kristen Harper, Controller and HR Manager at Kenton Brothers

Kenton Brothers: GSA Certified TechniciansGSA stands for General Services Administration which is a government agency that was established in 1949. The agency’s primary purpose is to manage government buildings and real estate, and provide product and service procurement support.

Putting it simply, government businesses are required to carry what is known as a GSA standard of equipment such as locks, vaults, safes, etc. For a security professional to work on these GSA standards of equipment, they must be highly trained technicians that have gone through the most in depth clearances to ensure safety of all government documents.

So, how does Kenton Brothers fit into the GSA mix?

Kenton Brothers: GSA Certified

GSA Certified Drill Rig created for drilling red label GSA Containers.

We employ GSA certified technicians that have the knowledge and expertise to work on, and within, these products and highly regulated areas. Our technicians have gone through weeks of extensive training that includes training and qualification as a GSA approved container and vault door inspector.

By becoming a GSA approved Inspector, our technicians are also qualified to perform re-certification inspections on GSA containers when there is any reason to doubt their security integrity. These qualifications have been approved by GSA, and are valuable credentials for anyone performing work on GSA Containers or vault doors. Additionally, our technicians are experts in Safety Deposit, Mechanical Lock Combination, Containers and much more.

Let’s test your GSA knowledge…

Question: Do you know what the three levels of classified materials are?

Answer: Top Secret, Secret and Confidential

Each one of these levels requires specific special processes and procedures to test, evaluate and inspection of the equipment. This is just one more way Kenton Brothers is working hard to ensure we’re protecting people, property and possessions and keeping you ALL SECURE.

Hunt Midwest Invests in Community Awareness and Crime Prevention

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By David Strickland, Vice President of Kenton Brothers

As one of the largest area developers and property managers, Hunt Midwest manages commercial, retail, industrial and residential properties all over the Kansas City Area. They are also the owner and developer of SubTropolis, the world’s largest underground business complex.

Hunt Midwest Crime Prevention MeetingHunt Midwest supports their businesses and the whole Kansas City Metro through hosting meetings to allow for collaborative discussion on how crime can be prevented. In July, I attended a very collaborative meeting with business and community members of the Hunt Midwest properties as well as the Kansas City Police Department and the Cass County Sherriff’s office.

The meeting was a great example of community based policing and crime prevention and how business and police departments can work together to not only catch criminals but prevent crime from taking place in the first place. KCPD Shoal Division Community officers Bill Keely and Richard Jones spoke at length about the ways KCPD is partnering with local businesses to help them promote a safe crime free business community. KCPD uses patrolling officers, community interaction and technology to not only catch the criminals but make it uncomfortable for them to commit crimes in KC because of vigilant citizens.

As a part of the KCPD Business watch program and the KC Watch program the city uses camera feeds shared to them by business owners to catch criminals in the act, build forensic evidence and deter crime through vigilant effort.

Once example given was a surveillance camera was set up to catch illegal dumping.

The perpetrator was caught on camera dumping at a commonly used dump site and even before the criminal was done unloading, the police had arrived and detained him. This was a successful operation because a business owner alerted the police of the dumping going on, the police investigated and found an excessive issue then installed Video surveillance to catch the suspects. It was a story of great collaboration.

I want to thank Hunt Midwest for providing this opportunity and hosting this type of meeting, as well as their commitment to safe, secure business environments. Kenton Brothers is proud to be your security partner!

Hunt Midwest Crime Prevention Meeting Hunt Midwest Crime Prevention Meeting

Boxwood Bandits Busted

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Video Surveillance Cameras Catch Thieves with Green Thumbs Red-Handed

Kenton Brothers is in the final stages of renovating our new facility in the Truman Corridor. One of the reasons we chose this particular building is that it’s ten times larger than our old facility and better to showcase our cutting-edge security technologies. Ironically, our surveillance camera installation team had not yet gotten around to installing cameras on our building’s exterior. We were the cobbler whose children have no shoes.

Instead, we were focusing on the landscape, which takes a lot of hard work. The grounds were cleaned up and leveled. There was weed mat rolled out. Big holes were dug in which to plant various bushes, shrubs and trees. Finally, we were ready for the finishing touch – decorative rock, which was scheduled for delivery the next day.

Overnight, the boxwood bandits struck.

Kenton Brothers: Boxwood BanditsOne of our new boxwood shrubs had been yanked right out of its lovingly and painstakingly-dug hole!

There’s an old saying that goes something along the lines of, “There are two types of people in this world. Those who own security cameras and systems and those who’ve never been burglarized.” The Boxwood Bandits shook us out of our renovation mindset and got our surveillance team in gear. What if these green-thumbed thieves returned to help themselves to more of our shrubs?

Our security installation team worked well into the night to install commercial surveillance cameras on our building to watch over the plants (and the rest of the grounds).

Early the next morning, (2:24 a.m.) a couple walked up to our building with a construction cart and began digging up and carting away our new shrubs. How do we know? We watched the video footage. The shrubs couldn’t be far away, so a few of our employees canvassed the neighborhood and located our missing boxwoods.

Kansas City Police Department officers also watched the video on one of employee’s phones, and we showed them the house where our kidnapped shrubs were being held. Police questioned a woman who came out of the house wearing the exact same shirt she was wearing in the surveillance video. She said, “That’s not me.” Police asked, “Would you like to press charges?” We said, “Yes. Yes we would.”

Thanks to commercial-grade surveillance, these Boxwood Bandits were busted. With the Kansas City Police Department’s help, we were able to retrieve our shrubs and re-plant them.

Kenton Brothers: Boxwood Bandits Kenton Brothers: Boxwood Bandits