Safety Is Top Priority

On the business side, security is crucial for survival, according to Business.com’s Jan. 2024 article “Why Business Security Is Important for Growth.” Many small and midsize businesses “struggle to find the time and resources to give business security the attention it deserves. Every time a business suffers an intrusion, theft or damage, fixing the situation costs money.”

And, if security incidents happen too often, they can threaten a company’s well-being, the article adds. “Your business’s future depends on your ability to protect your assets, people and reputation from bad actors, both internal and external.”

Luckily, Lawrence offers an array of companies specializing in different areas of security. Each offers specific services, including wireless and nonwireless home safety equipment, mobile apps, surveillance cameras, perimeter detection devices, motion detectors with multiple features, monitored life safety systems, security panels and smart home systems, among a long list of other offerings.

Public vs. Private Safety

Public safety within communities is important, providing a safe environment for people to live, work and play. Government agencies, organizations and individuals come together to ensure that their citizens and communities are secure. Public safety not only reduces crime and protects community members and their properties, it also provides economic benefits, such as increased investment in the town, more tourism and additional social benefits, such as increased trust and cohesion within the community. People feel safer and more secure, and that helps foster trust and cohesion within a community.

Shayne Kahle, operations manager for Rueschhoff Security Systems, explains: “I have always made safety and security a priority for my family, neighbors and community. Public safety is being aware of your surroundings. Public safety has far-reaching impacts on a community’s physical and mental well-being of their residents. A safe community is a healthy community.” He recommends getting involved with public safety meetings held by local police and fire departments, if available.

Ryan Kruse, owner of Select One Security

Select One’s Kruse agrees. “Providing peace of mind to our customers is in hand in our industry with crime prevention, working with law enforcement and working with our public safety offices servicing our community.”

Going hand in hand with public safety is the safety of private homes and businesses. According to The Zebra, the nation’s leading independent insurance comparison site, in its eye-opening January 2023 Burglary Statistics Report: In the United States, there are 2.5 million burglaries annually, 66% of which are home invasions; the FBI reported 1,401,840 burglaries, with 57.5% of all burglaries involving forcible entry in 2017; a break-in occurs every 26 seconds; every 15 seconds a home burglary occurs; homes without a security system are 300% more likely to be broken into and burglarized; 46.9% of people don’t have a home security system installed in their home; 83% of would-be burglars check for the presence of an alarm system before attempting a break-in; 34% of burglars use the front door when breaking into a home; and police solve only 13% of reported burglary cases.

Kahle says the biggest hurdle Rueschhoff faces is the client being reactive and not proactive, meaning the customer takes action after a burglary or fire has already happened instead of before. One example, he explains, would be a client who is building a new home. Rueschhoff likes to have the infrastructure in place for burglary and fire protection. “I think people would be surprised how affordable it is to have a home prewired for a system. The homeowner also can take advantage of insurance discounts when having a monitored system.”

A Treasured Community Staple

Since 1976, Rueschhoff Security Systems has protected generations of families and businesses in Lawrence and the surrounding areas. The company specializes in residential and commercial burglary, fire, access control systems, as well as camera systems. It services most of northeast Kansas, as well as Missouri and other states. It also owns and operates its own Central Station Monitoring Center, which functions as a support system for critical event management devices.

The company works with a diverse client base, including residential, commercial, state, government and industrial, and offers services such as Intrusion (burglary) systems; Intrusion system inspections; fire systems; fire system inspections; access control; camera systems; home automation; central vacuum systems; and local monitoring. Its sister company, Rueschhoff Communications, provides answering services for doctors, plumbers, electricians, etc., as well as locksmithing.

Rueschhoff has 30-plus mostly full-time employees, Kahle says. They work in a variety of specialties, including administration, accounts receivable, accounting, technical support, customer support, information technology (IT) and as field technicians, locksmiths and dispatchers.

“Sometimes it is a challenge to find the talent that we require,” he continues. “Rueschhoff is very selective when hiring. All of our potential candidates go through state and federal background checks. They are also drug-screened. In our industry, we handle sensitive and private information, and we take that responsibility very seriously.”

Kahle says some Rueschhoff employees are college graduates or have a degree from a technical college, which can be important in some positions. “We provide in-house and manufacture training and certifications for our field technicians, as well as ongoing education and training. It is important to keep our technicians and sales staff certified and up to date with the latest technology, as well as city and state codes.”

Rueschhoff always analyzes whether a project would be a good fit, he explains, not only financially but also for the long term. “Our goal is to not only provide a service for a client, but it is very important to establish a solid long-term relationship. Currently, we have several commercial projects with local health-care agencies as well as working with KU.” These projects include burglary, access control, camera systems and fire protection systems, he adds.

Along with providing invaluable services in safety to the community, Rueschhoff also serves by donating or offering services to businesses and programs, Kahle explains. “We stay active with The Lawrence Chamber as well as the Lawrence Home Builders Association. We also provide live webinars on community and neighborhood safety.”

He says the staff donates time and services to community programs, as well as working closely with the Lawrence Police Department providing information that might help solve crimes and helping the Lawrence Fire Department make sure homes and business are safe.

“Lawrence is great in many ways,” Kahle says. “There are so many opportunities to grow our business here. Lawrence has many great contractors that choose to invest in Lawrence, and that give Rueschhoff the opportunity to be involved in their projects.”

Chuck Schulz, Heartland Community Health facilities manager, has worked with Rueschhoff for about three years. He says the company provides 24-hour monitoring services for fire and security, as well as performs Heartland’s annual security inspection. They also handle access control and all locksmith needs. “So far, there has not been a problem that we have not been able to work through together, from custom-designing security needs to custom locks.”

Heartland and Rueschhoff have a continuous relationship, sometimes weekly depending on the scope of the issue at hand, Schulz explains. “The gentlemen on the security side and I talk frequently; they are always happy to lend a helping hand. They set the bar extremely high—their customer service in my opinion is top-notch. All the employees are knowledgeable and superfriendly.”

arren White and Shayne Kahle, of Rueschoff; Shayne showing a customer the various options in their showroom; Accessories in the showroom at Rueschoff

First-Class Communications

For more than 10 years, Select One Security and Communication, a “full-service, low-voltage and technology company,” has offered Lawrence and the surrounding area the latest and greatest security, automation, apps and software to hit their hands each day, explains Select One president Kruse, who’s been in the security industry for more than 20 years. “We have to be on the cutting edge to give our customers what they need and demand.”

That includes 24-hour UL-listed monitoring, a certification verifying the provider’s services and facilities have been thoroughly evaluated; residential and commercial security; fire alarm installation; fire extinguishers and inspections; IP access control; CCTV Analog, IP and HD; structured wiring and networking; home audio/video; flat-panel TV installation; gate controls and remote entry; intercom and phone systems; home automation; and central vacuuming systems.

Select One currently has 14 staff members, from office personnel to superintendents, salespeople and technicians. “Anytime you are looking for someone with a special niche, there are challenges,” Kruse says. “So our best efforts are spent on employee retention. We don’t care how you came to our front door, because on-the-job training seems to be the best with our technicians. But salespeople with a bit of a background in the low-voltage industry help because they have a base of customers to talk to.”

Select One is currently working on projects of all different sizes, Kruse says. “In Lawrence, we have some custom houses and small apartment buildings. We have been out at the KU (University of Kansas) Innovations newest building now for two years running data wiring and CCTV cameras as different medical and science companies rent out space.”

The company also has a multifamily project in Omaha and several multifamily and commercial buildings in Olathe, Midtown, Mission and Shawnee, in Kansas City. “We would rather manipulate too much work than no work at all,” he adds.

Giving back to the community is also important to Select One and its employees. “We help many of our nonprofit organizations in our community by providing some of our services at no charge or lesser charges to help protect their investments,” Kruse explains. “We also work with our local police and fire departments to provide video and real-time events through our customers.”

Select One employees are active in the community through Junior Achievement of Douglas County, the Boys and Girls Club, Lawrence Habitat for Humanity, Just Food and the Ballard Center, he continues.

Also, “Having KU in Lawrence creates a favorable environment for our business by increasing demand, offering diverse security needs,” Kruse adds. “It provides a partnership and contributes to our local economy. We understand and cater to the specific needs of our KU population to maximize our potential.”

Standard Beverage has partnered with Select One Security on various project needs, including low-voltage work, access control, facility security, as well as video surveillance. Trent Glass, Standard Beverage senior vice president of operations, explains: “We consistently collaborate with them on ways we can improve current systems, as well as future projects coming down the pipeline. We typically have three or four projects a year that we utilize Select One for.”

Glass says the company’s service level is first class. “They listen well to our needs and provide seamless solutions that deliver results. The Select One team is extremely knowledgeable on not only their business solutions, but they also understand the needs of my business and leverage that knowledge to provide best-in-class results.”

He says he likes that Select One is a community-based company that has consistently exceeded his expectations and has provided “leading-edge, actionable solutions to protect our company and employees. Select One Security certainly has the talent, creativity and expertise to meet your needs.”

Tech, Old and New

Being in a very technical industry, the hardware and software used is always changing, Rueschhoff’s Kahle explains. We make sure that our employees are provided with the necessary tools and training to keep up with the always-evolving technology.

In the past 10 years, “The hardware that is used in the field is not the same as it was … Most all of the hardware is now software-driven. This has been a plus for Rueschhoff and our clients,” he continues. Updates, programming changes, etc., can now be handled in a fraction of the time and, in a lot of cases, remotely.

Kruse agrees. “As with most things we deal with on a daily basis in our personal lives, our business has been enhanced by smartphones and phone apps,” he says. “We have built-in analytics on cameras instead of motion activation for much more true video. We have facial recognition software for access control and letting people in buildings. Social media has helped get new product information out to the customer with real-time examples for the consumer to see quickly and easily, which helps the consumer make a more informed decision.”

Thermal cameras are also popular these days, Kahle adds. Security companies noticed a significant boost in this technology during the pandemic to check the temperature of people entering buildings.

Safe and Secure

Although it may seem somewhat sheltered at times, like any other community big or small, Lawrence needs security, and community members want to feel safe. There are local businesses out there ready to provide those services at any time. “Lawrence is great in many ways,” Kahle says. “There are so many opportunities to grow our business here. Lawrence has many great contractors that choose to invest … and that gives Rueschhoff the opportunity to be involved in their projects.”

One of the most important things in the security business today? “We have to stay on top of client expectations,” Kruse says. “We have an ever-changing landscape with new threats. We need to keep our employees trained. We need to balance our current technology with new advancements, so our customers feel positive about their investments.”

Open a PDF of the article.