When Ken Duncan first began working for us, the common criminal wore a balaclava and hefted a crowbar, computers were a new and passing fad, only Maxwell Smart had a mobile phone, and Ken had a head of hair the envy of… well, people who look like he does now.
Today, a criminal is often a faceless presence at a computer, owning several mobiles of his own. Criminal tactics change, morph, evolve. And so does the methodology of prevention. And so has Ken. He admits to constantly refreshing, adapting, learning and experiencing, so he’s able to see the industry and all its challenges in a new light each year.
He was headhunted as a financial accountant, but has since run our manpower, guarding, patrols, developed a software system, and trained software operators. He’s been in corporate, compliance, and acquisitions, proving himself a better all-rounder than Garfield Sobers. Today, after thirty years, Ken is Southern Cross Protection’s Regional Manager for Western Australia, South Australia and the Northern Territory, meaning he’s responsible for security in a larger area than NATO.
After thirty years in the industry, there’s nothing Ken doesn’t know about security. But he admits there’ll be plenty he doesn’t know about it tomorrow unless he keeps learning. That’s an attitude that keeps a man at the cutting edge. At a recent lunch to celebrate his three decades in the game, we gave Ken a bottle of Grange. He says he intends to share it with his family at Christmas when they’re all back together again in Perth.
For those crooks who thought that this familial grace would present a window of opportunity, think again, the fort will be held by the next generations of Kens.
