What you see is what you believe, and what we are seeing in our society of late is an increase in criminality that has all of us concerned.  While the experts may say otherwise, there actions also indicate a situation and environment, that questions even if they even believe what they are saying. But not to jump on the police as they have enough problems, the focus must be on the corporate community which moves a head regardless, as business must go on.  This being the case then increased efforts are necessary for the safe delivery of services to customers.

By this time organizational heads should have now strategies their forward movement in regards to this crime situation. A word of caution here, yes it is that time of the year when crime usually increases, a sort of rush to break last years scores. All of us in the corporate arena have become accustomed to it, but we must not allow complacency to over ride caution. Especially considering the current situation, which are the reallocation law enforcement resources, in the last twelve months.
 
Officers who would have been doing regular front line police duties are now engaged in special assignments that take them away from regular duties. Most recently we have also had a shift in resources to assist in relief as a result of the Tropical Storm Noel. Of course the authorities will never let it be known that they are short on manpower, because of the potential for panic; but you do the math and watch the streets for the number of patrol cars, not the ones marked with 'Urban Renewal', just a good old blue patrol car. How does this affect crime, well if you are not monitoring I assure you the criminal is as it the presence and availability of the police, directly affect his profit margin.
 
What can the corporate security manager do to reduce the risks as they pertain to crime, security and loss issues? I will present some proven strategies that will increase your potential of a having a crime free environment.
 
Awareness
 
Called 'Zanshin' by the Japanese Samurai, this state of being was developed to reduce the potential of being killed when least expected. Interesting enough it was not a skill developed primarily for war time, as during this time you knew you had to be alert. It was a technique that was most beneficial during peace time or perceived peace times. In other words when you least expected danger or when you were comfortable. When the simplest abnormality or irregularity, could determine the difference between life and death.
 
Many times the victims be it the person or the establishment, is a result of not noticing simple tell tale signs. No event occurs in isolation, thus one of the fundamental theories of crime prevention is to be aware of your surroundings. The difficulty is in recognizing these indicators and having enough time to counter them. For example many of us have bought into the idea of Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) / Cameras, but this tool seems to only have value after the loss event has occurred. With great pride the security manager or person assigned to the security function hands over to the police a recording of the crime event.  However, if the Camera System was properly utilized, there would have been mandatory reviews of the daily recordings in an effort to observe movement of people in and out of the crime area. This especially, with recordings of the area immediately outside the potential critical area, this is called the staging area. This is where the criminal prepares him/herself for the big event and has usually visited the area on numerous occasions to gain some type of comfort level before engaging the target. The security team by this method now has a good idea of the areas that are prone or vulnerable to attack. Pardon my jargon but it is difficult to separate these strategies form the ones used by any military protection force.
 
What if you do not have the luxury of a CCTV system, then what? Well as simple as reading the dailies, in an effort to take the pulse of the environment we are living in. Additionally, it is not a bad idea to employ the services unofficially, of the local bum who hangs around your office area you can guarantee he will see danger coming a mile away. What about the janitress or event the mail room clerk, these person are regularly ignored and not talked to, but they listen and observe things that we are to busy to appreciate. In days of old the Indians put there ears to the ground to hear and get a better feel for the movement of the earth, thus getting forewarning of approaching danger.
 
What we have fallen into is the trap of 'reactiveism' and problem solving, booth of which have their merits, but demand that we become victims. As a result we have become numb or desensitized to the signs and indicators around us. This is an unacceptable conclusion especially for those of us who want live and be profitable. By increasing or state of alertness and awareness, we can yes prevent the loss event. By doing this we now reduce cost of having to recover damages from the halt in productivity caused by crime.
 
Next week will discuss the sharing of information with none security staff to increase the effectiveness of this prevention effort.

Read Part 2 HERE

 
Gamal Newry is the President of Preventative Measures, a Loss Prevention and Asset Protection Training and Consulting Company, specializing in Policy and Procedure Development, Business Security Reviews and Audits, & Emergency and Crisis Management. Comments can be sent to P.O. Box N-3154 Nassau, Bahamas or, visit us at www.preventativemeasures.net or   email gnewry@preventativemeasures.net