DO YOU KNOW. . . What the most important piece of information is that you can put on an SAR for asset recovery? The most effective way to learn how to train is to be taught how to by one of the best trainers in the country? What section of the UCC is the least known and the most valuable in cases of depositor claims? How to turn down an ATM claim? What your liabilities are as a Board of Directors named security officer? What personality type is most likely to lie? The best placement for your branch cameras? What you can't charge when trying to collect an overdraft? What old fraud is now causing new problems? Who is responsible for our largest internal losses? Know what remote deposit capture problems are going to hit? What the biggest error is in branch design? How to determine whether the answers you get to your questions are truthful or not? DEAR SECURITY OFFICER: Of all the tough times we've faced over the last fifteen years, I think this has been the worst. Not only are security officers nationwide dealing with a surge in crime, complicated regulations, increased penalties, reduced staff, and cut budgets, but also the very real concern that even their own position in the financial institution may be in jeopardy. Recent world events have shown how important it is to be prepared at all times. Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity, often among the responsibilities of the Security Director and Officer, have been tested - and our security functions have stood up to the test. Being well prepared is the best response of all. I felt including a session on Pandemic planning in this year's Workshop would have been overkill - sort of like preaching to the choir! The Pre-Workshops Which is not to say we didn't find other problems facing us. The major increase in internal defalcation led us to even add a day to our Pre-Workshops. Joe Buckley will teach the Reid Technique on Monday. We are the only national Security Workshop to carry the Reid teaching. Bob Wells will continue the subject in a Pre-Workshop on Tuesday for those who need more in-depth, skilled interrogations. His session is perfect for those who attend the Reid Technique on Monday, and also for the experienced interrogator. And then on Wednesday Michael Bacon will zero in on specific areas to observe, and techniques and procedures to protect your institution against employee theft. The Basic Security all day pre-workshop session will be held on Tuesday for new security officers. And the Trio offering, which is in response to numerous requests by our repeat attendees (we DO listen) will also be on Tuesday, covering branch design, security equipment, and collection/recovery procedures. The Workshop We've added two sessions by Bank Security Directors (Mary Lois Stockman and Garland Prejean) to talk about risk and fraud. Patt Ardis will be back (again because of requests), this time to talk about how to avoid paying claims by knowing your rights under the UCC; and we asked Maurice Clark from FinCEN, who did such a great job at Top Gun for Bank Secrecy Officers, to come and apply his information about SARs to the security function. As we have for all of our years in this workshop, our focus is on the security officer exclusively. We've held the prices the same since 2007 (and the room rates are the lowest yet)! For the edification of those of you who have never attended the workshop before, please be aware that in order to promote the best learning atmosphere possible, we expect you to dress casually and comfortably. We meet at the Airport Marriott - get off the plane, and we're at the end of Terminal B. If you're driving, parking is there, too. And once again, we'll take the trolley down to South Street on Wednesday night, so you can run the "Rocky Balboa" steps during the City Tour before stopping for a genuine Philly Cheese Steak (or visiting any of the dozens of restaurants in the area) and a stroll on South Street before returning to the Marriott. We realize many financial institutions are "cutting back" on outside training. We are also aware examiners are looking even more closely at preparedness. We've purposely held our pricing, so that you can get the same highly intensive security training and the useful information you'll need in the days to come. The great networking is a major plus. Come join us in September for the best in security focused sessions. Warm regards, Barbara E. Hurst Editor, Bankers Hotline