Hotel & Corporate Security
Posted by alphachamber on May 10, 2009
What really is Security?
May, 2009 by Col. Thomas Bovet
When you are serious about something you need to learn the basics. In the security business there are only a few real fundamentals. Subjects regarding procedures, personnel, training and SOPs (Standard Operational Procedures) are mostly approached empirically and soaked in assumptions. Security is not a science and you should beware of the “experts” claiming a doctorate in this field. The gadget manufacturers and “system” suppliers will fill whatever areas are not covered by (more or less) clever projections and analyses.
Firstly, you need to understand that no amount of money can buy you security – in fact, any amount of security. Money will help you to “cover your six”, contain liability and instill feelings of confidence in your clientele. Airport security is an example. Whenever a plane gets hijacked or found to have been downed by a certain “weapon” or device; then that particular item will be banned by the usual political knee-jerk reaction. The media ensures that logic and reasoning won’t have a chance to get into the way. If there have not been any further similar incidents over a period of time, some bans will be gradually relaxed. Such has been the case over the last decades with batteries in hand luggage, followed by laptops, “sharp or pointed” objects and liquids (bars of soap inside China!). Security isn’t a joke, but most of so-called security measures are. [Ever since the “Lockerbie” bombing, security has been hijacked (no pun intended) by a coalition of activists, bureaucrats and political vote-hunters; enthusiastically supported by the industry and consultants sensing a quick buck.]
You need to accept that security is an entirely human factor. Your personal security and that of your organization depends on the rest of the population around you, period. Security consists of dynamic factors; it is always in flux and never absolute. It is like a “living thing”; an unpredictable ever moving and mutating organism which can nip you in the butt if you don’t watch out. Moreover, security is highly localized and could change significantly if you just move a couple of miles. Finally, it also depends on your or your organization’s nature, behavior and community interactions. Therefore, security arrangements need constant adjustments to match the prevailing conditions.
The most widespread (and worst) error made (through all levels of practitioners) is treating security and safety as two sides of the same coin. However, security and safety are not interchangeable. Many systems put into place work more like safety measures, rather than providing security. The important difference is that safety arrangements are protecting us from inanimate objects, such as falling rocks, man-made devices and the weather. In the concept of safety there are safety-zones which provide you with pretty much absolute safety (bar meteor-strikes or earthquakes). In comparison, there are no actual security-zones, except in name. All areas which man can practically go into, can also potentially be penetrated or destroyed by other humans. Whenever an organization (especially a large and bureaucratic one) concocts security measures, it will result in a rigid system of hardware, procedures and control-structures. Those measures would usually reflect the “prevailing perception of the security situation” (whatever that means!) and mirror those taken by similar organizations and eminent government agencies.
The big problem is that those commonly applied security measures combine to mostly inflexible, highly formatted, pre-programmed and dumb “mechanisms” which are no match for human ingenuity and determination. What level of security is offered by a hodgepodge of CCTVs, card-locks, guards with radios, mirrors, scanners and all sorts of procedures against the motivated and fearless extremists who shoot and bomb their way into your facility with automatic weapons and explosives? Weeks before the attack, every one of your security elements will have been checked out and tested for effectiveness. You are playing poker with your cards on the table, whilst your opponent keeps his hand concealed.
What can you do, to obtain an acceptable level of security at your area? Actually, you can hardly prevent a terrorist attack, especially on a commercial facility, if you have the misfortune to be targeted. However, a lot can be done to mitigate any serious incidents of terrorism; casualties can be reduced, large-scale property damage can be avoided and you could come out of it with a small victory against the criminals. The answers lie in understanding your enemy and your own potential as a possible target. Forget about stuff like: “prevailing perception of the security situation”. Our prevailing perception doesn’t matter – what matters is the terrorists’ perception!
Every single gadget or technology can be found on the internet. If you can buy it, the bad guys can learn to neutralize it. Equipment must be supplementary to human effort and intelligence. The 200-pound gorillas in the lobby will only add to the body count if you do not equip them with more than just badges, wires and sticks. It is a mistake to exclusively focus on ex-law enforcement and military for your security personnel. They were building blocks of huge bureaucracies, developed formalized and structured natures and usually need orders and manuals to guide their work. Instead, you need flexible and creative thinkers who can act independently and are able to cover a wide range of genres. I could think of many scenarios where a law-enforcement background might even be a liability. A former military officer could have a better understanding of the fragility and fallibility of security measures. However, you should examine, if he can he adapt his skills and act laterally.
In the security business it is good advice to spend your budget mostly on human resources, with clear emphasis on quality. Since the historical beginning of formal governments, the world’s best-organized armies experienced spectacular defeats by ragtag but motivated and highly flexible rebel forces. You need to build an agile, asymmetrical intelligent body in order to counter the shock, chaos and unpredictability of a latent but potential terrorist threat.
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