In today’s digital age, organizations face an ever-increasing threat of cyberattacks and data breaches. While investing in robust security measures is crucial, creating a culture of security within the workplace is equally important. By fostering a security-conscious environment, companies can empower their employees to become the first line of defense against all threats. In this article, we will explore practical steps and strategies to cultivate a culture of security, emphasizing the role of leadership, employee awareness and training, and the implementation of best practices throughout the organization.
1. Leadership’s Commitment:
Creating a culture of security starts at the top. Leaders must champion the importance of security and set an example for others to follow. By actively demonstrating their commitment to security, leaders can establish trust and motivate employees to prioritize it. They should communicate the significance of security measures, allocate resources appropriately, and foster a sense of shared responsibility throughout the organization.
2. Employee Awareness and Training:
Educating employees about potential threats and providing comprehensive training is paramount to building a security-focused culture. This includes teaching them about common cyber risks, phishing attacks, password best practices, and the importance of data privacy. Regular training sessions, workshops, and simulated phishing exercises can enhance awareness and help employees develop the skills needed to identify and mitigate security threats effectively. Additionally teaching staff about common physical risks such as piggybacking, potential consequences of doors left ajar, and general situational awareness best practices would arm the organization with a team of security and safety-conscious personnel.
3. Clear Security Policies and Procedures:
Developing clear and concise security policies and procedures is essential for creating a culture of security. These policies should address areas such as data handling, access controls, incident response, and acceptable use of technology resources. It is crucial to communicate these policies effectively to all employees, ensuring they understand their roles and responsibilities in safeguarding company data and systems. Good physical security plays its part in the protection of the data and systems by creating the outlying barriers to detect, deter, delay, and ideally displace any attempted criminal element.
4. Encouraging Reporting and Collaboration:
To foster a culture of security, organizations should encourage employees to report any suspicious activities promptly. Implementing an anonymous reporting mechanism can help alleviate concerns about retaliation. Additionally, fostering collaboration among team members, departments, and security professionals can promote a collective effort to identify and address security vulnerabilities effectively.
5. Regular Security Audits and Assessments:
Conducting regular security audits and assessments (penetration tests) is essential for maintaining a secure workplace. These evaluations can help identify vulnerabilities, address potential weaknesses, and ensure that security measures are up to date. By involving employees in these processes, organizations demonstrate their commitment to continuous improvement and provide opportunities for input and suggestions.
6. Recognize and Reward Security Consciousness:
Acknowledging and rewarding employees who exhibit exemplary security consciousness can reinforce the desired behaviors and encourage others to follow suit. Recognitions can range from simple shout-outs during team meetings to formal awards or incentives. By publicly appreciating employees’ efforts in maintaining a secure workplace, organizations reinforce the importance of security and motivate others to prioritize it.
Conclusion:
In an era where data breaches and cyber threats continue to rise, organizations must prioritize creating a culture of security in the workplace. Through leadership commitment, employee awareness and training, clear policies, encouraging reporting, regular audits, and recognizing security-conscious behaviors, organizations can build a workforce that understands the significance of security and actively contributes to its maintenance. By investing in a security-conscious culture, companies can better protect their valuable assets, mitigate risks, and establish a strong defense against the evolving threat landscape.
Dubbed The Yellow Brick Road to Personal and Professional Safety and The Menu Approach to Human Behavioral Threat Assessment, PRS Advisory Board Member Rich Cinfio provides insight into the reasons why both programs have been in high demand and are very well-received in the private and public sectors. With the continuing escalation of acts of mass violence and workplace violence, Rich believes security professionals can best serve their organization and teammates by providing comfort during uncomfortable times.
This core, coupled with simple, yet effective, safety strategies can dramatically change how one views their ability to recognize unsafe situations and quickly respond to prevent harm. Alarmingly so, recent mass-casualty events continue to demonstrate that the first breakdown more often than not is the failure to recognize and report early indicators of pending violence along with the absence of a robust human behavioral threat assessment posture. Rich will shed light on the importance of threat assessment and offer strategies to consider when adopting a program in your organization.
Executive protection (EP) is a critical component of safeguarding high-profile individuals in an increasingly complex and interconnected world. However, the strategies and practices employed in executive protection can vary significantly across different regions. This article explores the global perspectives of executive protection, shedding light on the diverse approaches, cultural considerations, and unique challenges faced by security professionals in various parts of the world.
1. North America: Striking a Balance between Physical and Technological Security
In North America, executive protection emphasizes a comprehensive approach that combines physical security measures with advanced technological solutions. Close protection teams are trained to maintain a low profile while implementing cutting-edge surveillance systems and leveraging data-driven intelligence. This region’s focus on discreet protection strategies, effective communication, and threat analysis ensures optimal security outcomes for high-profile individuals.
2. Europe: Cultural Sensitivity and Multilingual Capabilities
Executive protection in Europe places great emphasis on cultural sensitivity and multilingual capabilities. Given the diverse range of languages and cultures within the continent, security professionals must navigate intricate social dynamics while maintaining the safety of their clients. European executive protection teams are renowned for their adaptability, cultural intelligence, and ability to integrate with different environments seamlessly.
3. Middle East: Balancing Tradition with Modern Security Measures
The Middle East presents a unique landscape for executive protection due to the blend of traditional values and modern security requirements. Protection teams operating in this region must navigate cultural sensitivities, religious customs, and complex geopolitical dynamics. Executive protection in the Middle East involves a delicate balance between respecting local customs and implementing state-of-the-art security measures to ensure the safety of high-profile individuals.
4. Asia: Harmonizing Traditional Practices with Technological Advancements
Asia’s EP practices showcase a harmonious blend of traditional values and cutting-edge technology. Culturally rooted practices like the concept of personal honor and respect play a significant role in shaping protection strategies. Additionally, Asian executive protection teams adopt innovative approaches such as integrating artificial intelligence, biometric authentication, and drone surveillance to counter evolving security threats effectively.
5. Africa: Navigating Vast Landscapes and Socioeconomic Challenges
Executive protection in Africa presents unique challenges due to its vast landscapes, diverse cultures, and socioeconomic disparities. Security professionals operating in this region must adapt to the ever-changing environments, employ robust risk assessment methodologies, and collaborate with local stakeholders to mitigate threats effectively. Additionally, executive protection in Africa often involves addressing issues related to political instability, wildlife risks, and infrastructure limitations.
6. South America: Addressing Organized Crime and Kidnapping Risks
EP in South America is marked by the need to address significant challenges related to organized crime and kidnapping risks. Security professionals operating in this region must be well-versed in counterintelligence strategies, threat assessment, and crisis management. The emphasis is on proactive measures, such as intelligence gathering, secure transportation, and secure facilities, to mitigate potential threats. Due to the dynamic nature of criminal activities, executive protection teams in South America must maintain close relationships with local law enforcement agencies and leverage their expertise to ensure the safety of their clients.
7. Oceania: Isolated Environments and Comprehensive Travel Security
Oceania’s EP practices are influenced by the vast and isolated environments found in the region. Security professionals here face unique challenges, including long-distance travel, remote locations, and unpredictable natural elements. To address these challenges, executive protection teams in Oceania prioritize comprehensive travel security, encompassing secure transportation arrangements, emergency response protocols, and collaboration with local authorities. Additionally, there is a strong focus on wilderness survival skills, as individuals may be exposed to the rugged terrains and natural hazards often found in this part of the world.
Conclusion
The global perspectives on executive protection demonstrate the diverse approaches and cultural considerations employed in safeguarding high-profile individuals across different regions. By understanding the nuances of each location, security professionals can adapt their strategies and tactics accordingly. Whether it is striking a balance between physical and technological security in North America, navigating cultural sensitivities in Europe, harmonizing traditional practices with modern advancements in Asia, or addressing organized crime risks in South America and travel security in Oceania, executive protection practitioners must continually evolve to meet the specific challenges of their respective regions. By embracing these global perspectives, the field of executive protection can continue to enhance the safety and security of high-profile individuals worldwide, regardless of the region they operate in. Ultimately, the collective knowledge and experiences from these varied perspectives contribute to the ongoing development of effective executive protection practices.
Approximately 1.5 years ago, our boutique physical security services agency Premier Risk Solutions began the process of opening up an office in the State of California to best serve our client’s needs. Through the navigation of a myriad of legal counsel for the best direction forward along with a lot of patience, we are proud to announce that our President and CEO, Michael Delamere, is also now Co-Founder and CEO of ShieldIQ Executive Security (CA Private Patrol Operator License # 121786).
Along with our Co-Founder and COO, Ben Astafa, who is also CEO of Illyria Security Corp, ShieldIQ has a physical office located in the heart of Silicon Valley in Sunnyvale, CA. ShieldIQ offers a full line of boutique physical security services including security guarding, mobile patrol, special event security, executive protection, security drivers, residential security, security consulting, fully embedded positions, and protective intelligence. From strategy through implementation, our boutique nature allows us to work within a company’s culture to keep everyone safe and at ease.
The management teams of PRS and ISC bring deep industry experience of over 150 years of collective private security service to clients.
For inquiries, please reach out to michael@SiqExecSecurity.com and/or ben@SiqExecSecurity.com.
“This year, the U.S. has already had more than 30 mass shootings.” That quote alone would comfortably capture attention no matter what time of year it was reported. And yet that is how we started the first month of 2023. In fact, this very statement alluding to targeted violence was reported by NPR’s Ari Shapiro in January of 2023, just 25 days into the new year.
The NPR story centered around the impact violence is having on mental health and identified that these shootings were a significant cause of stress for the general public. Even when we are not directly impacted from the reported violence, we still feel significant anxiety and begin to worry about our own safety, particularly in the workplace where most of these incidents occur.
No longer are these attacks generally interpreted as isolated incidents taking place only in specific industries or businesses. They have become common in the American psyche and the moniker, “workplace violence” is well understood. In fact, the US Department of Labor cites acts of violence and other injuries as the third-leading cause of fatal workplace injuries in the US.
Source: National Threat Assessment Center
For those of us who have not been directly impacted by the violence, we can also increasingly feel distressed, and our continued hypervigilance is eroding our sense of normalcy. Those who are directly affected by these tragedies, especially those who experience the most loss, have increased potential for PTSD, depression, and lasting traumas associated with tremendous grief.
Anecdotal evidence suggests that most people want to do something to counter this violence but continue to be frustrated at the inability to affect and see changes. Whether it’s the same debate for or against gun control, both sides are tired of the stalemate. Though it’s becoming clearer that society is no longer satisfied with the status quo and are demanding accountability in the workplace. This accountability is being handed down through the courts.
Courts demand accountability with billions in fines.
From government and military agencies to individual corporate officers, courts are demanding tighter scrutiny by employers, and oversight regarding how personnel complaints and concerns of violence are handled in the workplace. This increasing pressure for accountability is forcing organizations of all sizes to confront its own responsibility in preventing violence and protecting its employees.
The American Bar Association cites a shift in recent court decisions and predicts the trend will be that more will be held liable for failing to prevent acts of violence. Particularly as incidents become more frequent and more widely reported, the argument that an incident was unforeseeable is no longer good enough.
The following jury awards, court rulings, and pending lawsuits align with this trend. Juries are demanding prevention and preparedness even from government agencies who have traditionally enjoyed a level of impunity. Liability and accountability are being sought, and in some cases, delivered in unprecedented monetary sums.
The Justice Department was found negligent and will pay $130 million to the victims of the Parkland high school shootings because the FBI failed to properly investigate tips about the assailant it had received prior to the shooting. The lawsuit argued that the crime was preventable. The FBI acknowledged that they had not followed its own protocols and failed to pursue information provided from their tipline and social media postings from the assailant.
The US Air Force was ordered to pay more than $230 million to victims of those killed in Sutherland Springs by a former Air Force Airman (employee) who was discharged in 2014. The court ruled that the Air Force was liable because it failed to report (six times) the Airman’s previous assault and domestic violence convictions and other related information to the FBI. As that may have prevented him from buying the rifle used to in the attack.
MGM resorts agree to pay $800 million settlement to shooting victims. 58 people were killed in the attack where the assailant shot at victims from his hotel room overlooking an open-air concert in Las Vegas. The MGM casino was accused of negligence, wrongful death and liability, failing to protect people at the concert venue, and failing to stop the shooter from amassing weapons and ammunition in his room over several days.
Cable company Charter Spectrum was ordered to pay over $1 billion to the family of the victim who was murdered in her home by a Spectrum technician that had previously performed a service call to the residence. Despite the company arguing that the employee’s act of violence was unforeseeable, the court cited Spectrum’s lack of due diligence by hiring the employee without reviewing his work history and ignored behavioral red flags during his employment. The jury had initially awarded the victim more than $7 billion in damages, but was lowered to $1.1 billion by the presiding judge.
A $50 million lawsuit launched against Walmart by an employee who survived a workplace shooting perpetrated by a Walmart manager, alleges that the company knew of the assailant’s violent behavior and failed to protect the workers. The employee is faulting Walmart and accusing the company of not taking investigative action despite numerous complaints about his behavior. This case is still pending as of March 2023.
Victims of the Uvalde school shooting have filed a $27 billion class-action lawsuit against the police, the city, and school officials for the attack. 19 children and two teachers were among the victims. The lawsuit claims their deaths could have been preventable if not for the collective negligence and failure of the law enforcement officials at the scene. A separate group of survivors have also filed an additional $6 billion suit against Daniel Defense, a company that manufactures the firearm used. This case is still pending as of March 2023.
In all of the cases above, courts are finding convincing arguments surrounding the prevention of these attacks. That is, these targeted attacks were foreseeable and could have been prevented. The courts determined that the responsible parties were negligent, failed to act, and did not satisfy their duty to protect their employees and the community.
But is workplace violence and targeted attacks preventable?
A recent publication by the US Secret Service’s National Threat Assessment Center, analysis of 173 attacks in the US from 2016 to 2020, offered an unambiguous response. To quote from its executive summary, “…targeted violence is preventable when communities are equipped with the appropriate tools, training, and resources…” Because most locations of attacks were businesses, one of the key implications of this report is squarely directed at businesses; to establish a workplace violence prevention plan to better “identify, assess, and intervene with current employees, former employees, and customers who may pose a risk of violence.”
As reported by the American Bar Association, the perception of whether targeted violence and incidents involving violence in the workplace are foreseeable has begun to shift. In other words, exposure to litigation and significant penalties can now more readily include everyone from business owners of where the incident occurred, to security firms and law enforcement, and even parents of the assailant.
As was the case where parents of a Michigan school shooting suspect was charged with involuntary manslaughter for missed opportunities in preventing the tragedy despite knowing that their son had access to a weapon, and that he was deeply troubled. Indeed, the legal bar of foreseeability and preventability has been lowered.
Source: American Bar Association/litigation over mass shootings
Crime is trending upward.
According to a recent 60 Minutes interview, FBI Director Christopher Wray acknowledged that there was a 29% increase in murder in the US in 2020, almost 5,000 more people were killed than in 2019. Violent crimes such as murder and aggravated assault saw record increases, by another 4 percent in 2021. And in his testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee in August 2022, the FBI Director stated that the top concern from law enforcement leadership around the country is the increasing violence in their communities.
Source: UPI Media
Exacerbating this trend are the difficult challenges still present in communities where trust remains low for law enforcement and demands to defund the police continue.
Source: CNBC
Some cities around the country are seeing how lawlessness hampers economic growth and recovery. Starbucks cited increased violence and the need to protect employees and customers when it shuttered 16 stores, with six of them in Seattle alone. Amazon is taking similar approaches by moving employees, or simply not renewing leases in some of its downtown locations, impacting approximately 2,000 employees.
Source: GeekWire
A demand for remedies.
The outcry by the public for remedy has also caused state legislatures to act. New Jersey recently proposed legislation requiring places of worship, movie theaters, and arenas where more than 500 to 5,000 people can gather respectively, to enact enhanced security requirements and submit emergency plans for active shooters. The state of Tennessee now requires private security guards receive de-escalation training before they can work in night clubs and bars.
As recent as 2017, the Canadian province of Ontario enacted comprehensive requirements for companies to assess the risk of workplace violence in their facilities and present a full emergency plan to the government’s joint health and safety committee. At PRS, we highlighted the specific requirements of the new legislation at the time and our article can be found here.
How can we help you?
As violence increases, the cost of negligence increases as well. No longer are businesses and companies shielded from traditional beliefs that used to protect organizations from third party negligence. Juries are sending clear messages on who they consider the liable party. Legislatures are also aggressively seeking ways to address the violence, by mandating training and ensuring that emergency plans are developed for each and every workplace.
In other words, we are all on notice to ensure that our organizations develop plans for workplace violence prevention, conduct threat and security assessments, and update emergency response plans.
For nearly 10 years, PRS has been active in assisting our clients to comply with latest requirements of workplace violence prevention laws and associated best practices. We are uniquely qualified and have certified professionals on our team to help you prepare and protect your people. Call on us to help you get started on a workplace violence prevention plan or a security risk assessment.
The term Situational Awareness is quickly being relegated to jargon and used so often that its meaning is becoming too vague for many of us to fully understand and appreciate. At the risk of diluting more of its impact, the intention of this post is to help improve organizational capacity for Situational Awareness. Before that can be achieved, however, we must first offer (yet another) brief definition.
What is it exactly?
At its core, Situational Awareness is observation plus perception, underpinned by understanding. And that level of understanding is informed by how familiar we are with our surroundings and there environmental and cultural norms.
By understanding how we can increase our observations, we can then help to reduce the risk of injury to ourselves by more accurately recognizing potential threats to our security.
Our level of awareness depends on how observant we are, and in varying degrees, help us make sense of the situation around us. As humans, we benefit from multiple senses working together to inform our perception of where we are, and what might be happening.
And that perception can be inherently subjective because it is supported by our personal experiences, professional training, and cultural values.
A brief thought experiment:
Suppose we woke up suddenly in an unfamiliar setting feeling completely groggy. It is still dark and through the window we notice it getting brighter. In short order, our senses work together to increase awareness of our current situation. Our eyes scan the room for not just casual features, but whether anyone or anything present can be a threat to our safety.
We notice the smell of bacon and conclude there is a kitchen nearby or perhaps it’s breakfast time. We feel a chill in the air, hear the wind howling outside, and assume there’s a winter storm. Absent the sound of traffic, the notable quiet helps us imagine ourselves far from the city.
After a few minutes, we begin to settle our minds, stand, and observe our surroundings a bit more deliberately. We now notice our personal luggage by the door, a ski brochure next to the TV stand with ads in a foreign language, and the power outlets on the walls are shaped differently.
It’s all coming back. It has been a few years, but still familiar. We take a deep breath, smile, and realize we are finally back at this mountain resort, safe, and recovering from the long travel … and a few sleeping pills.
Let’s break this down.
In this scenario, our observation of new surroundings (E.g., initial scan of the room) is then coupled with our perception (E.g., the smell of bacon, feeling chilly, and noticing the quiet) to inform what becomes our ultimate understanding/judgment that we are in a familiar environment.
That conclusion required making sense of observable clues and analyzing the information based on how we were feeling, at that moment.
How observant are we?
After the attacks of 9/11, New York City created the “[if you] See Something, Say Something” campaign, which has since been adopted by the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
DHS’s efforts to promote general awareness nationwide included videos (still found on YouTube) that challenged viewers’ level of attention and perception.
These videos usually contained a fast-paced scene where multiple actions happen simultaneously. Modeled after the classic “invisible gorilla” experiment, viewers are asked to keep their attention on one area of the action and were then tested to see if they noticed changes happening in other areas during the same scene.
While overall feedback of the videos was mixed, anecdotal successes for the campaign have been attributed by many safety experts who cite increases in bystander reporting. That is, more people are starting to say something after they see something thus generating more situational awareness.
But how can we improve this skill?
Honing our capacity for Situational Awareness can be likened to a journey. As with most journeys, it is dynamic, and the landscape changes constantly. Practice and repetition help to sharpen our mental filters, making us more capable of recognizing things that don’t quite fit. Deliberate observation is necessary.
Most of us do this daily without much effort.
In the virtual world, when scanning our emails, for example, we have a sense of awareness of spam, phishing attempts, and potential cybercrime.
From confirming a sender’s full URL or taking note of grammatical and cultural tones, we are increasingly adept at Cybersecurity and identifying digital threats – and which attachments NOT to download.
It is no different in the physical space.
When driving, we would likely reduce our speed when we notice a police officer nearby, and we’d probably avoid parking in a poorly lit area of a garage. We might move away from rowdy and boisterous crowds, etc… And we’ve come to do these things almost instinctively because we have grown more observant through exposure, experience, and training. Just like what we do daily in cyberspace.
To put it another way, we have increased our familiarity with these types of scenarios and can now respond more effectively to decrease the risk to our own safety.
From the commuter train to the corner office, our daily journey is dynamic and offers abundant opportunities to help sharpen our Situational Awareness.
The more times we experience something, such as going to a concert or navigating through a busy airport, we become ever more familiar with what is supposed to be routine, and “normal.”
So how can we improve on these skills and get to our conclusions more efficiently? And can we get there in a timely manner? The answer can be a resounding “yes!” and here’s how we can begin to increase our capabilities.
But first, a case study in situational awareness: Despite popular media often describing catastrophic events being thwarted by those with almost super-human abilities and world-class training, the reality is that a vast majority of incidents are not prevented by a Jason Bourne, but rather, regular people who are just more aware of their surroundings.
The following testimonial from a senior member of the PRS team offers an ideal opportunity to analyze a scenario most of us are familiar with. Reading through the narrative, we can easily picture ourselves at the scene and analyze what we would do in this situation.
In the following narrative, let’s consider two questions.
1) What would we have done?
2) How can we help prevent/mitigate this situation?
Vehicle appearing to be abandoned at SEA-TAC International Airport – Seattle, WA.
“I took the attached picture mid-day on Saturday, July 30th, 2022, at SeaTac airport. The airport was quite busy at the time with travelers’ comings and goings. This vehicle was situated curbside from baggage claim. As I walked up to take my position on the curb to await my ride, I immediately noticed no one was in or with the vehicle. I surveyed the area and did not notice any individual(s) who appeared to be keeping an eye on the vehicle. I waited a couple of minutes to see if someone may approach the vehicle figuring there is a chance they ran inside to help an elderly family member or friend or perhaps had to use the restroom.”
“ As 3-4 minutes went by and no one arrived or appeared to be minding the vehicle, I snapped this photo. I looked up Port of Seattle Police to report what I felt was a suspicious vehicle. As I located only a number to text or a non-emergency line, I decided to go the route of texting, thinking perhaps it may be a line more urgently monitored. Just as I was about to hit send on that text a younger-looking female approached the vehicle, albeit somewhat suspiciously as she appeared to have a hesitancy to stay with the vehicle. In short order, however, she decided to enter the vehicle and sit on the passenger side. At that point, I felt it was no longer necessary to report the incident as a suspicious vehicle and within another 30-45 seconds a few others appeared, jumped in the vehicle, and departed.”
“While all ended well in this scenario, the spider senses went up because of the training I have had over the years to identify situations such as this and handle them accordingly. I realize time is of the essence in reporting potentially suspicious items or equipment, in this case, I did not visibly see anything in the vehicle itself. Could an item have been in the trunk that had a nefarious purpose? Perhaps. My senses told me otherwise though once the initial female arrived and stayed with the vehicle.”
As to the first question, “What would we have done?”, given the circumstances there’s not much more that could be done at that time. Attempts were already being made to contact airport authorities and was only discontinued when the owner(s) of the vehicle returned.
Playing the “What if?” game.
We all do it, and we should. Our brains are naturally wired to seek out solutions and understand how we can best survive. Taking the above scenario a bit further, however, if we supposed that more minutes went by and the vehicle increasingly looked like it was abandoned, then we would be forced to act.
What if, there was something in the trunk?
We’d likely move farther away from the vehicle and then attempt to recruit others nearby (I.e., call out to airport employees and others, etc..) to help keep the area clear until law enforcement officials can respond and properly secure the scene and begin mitigating strategies on the car (E.g., explosives detection, etc…). Indeed, our individual efforts would have to be amplified for us to clear the area.
How can Situational Awareness be amplified (force-multiplied)?
In the US military, the use of a small number of specialists to train a larger force is designed to create a force-multiplying effect. Extra sets of eyes and ears will always help.
Simply put, a force multiplier can be anything or anyone that increases the effectiveness of that force.
In our airport scenario, the force-multiplying elements are human bystanders, airport employees, and fellow travelers who are willing to help. However, that presupposes they have been trained and will cooperate in ways that do not complicate the scene, and cause even more confusion. It’s not an ideal situation, but it might be the next best thing given the apparent absence of other security professionals.
The benefits of having even just one security agent.
Regarding Situational Awareness, a more effective force-multiplier is a professional security agent. Organizations that employ physical security agents have an inherent advantage of trusted professionals who are trained to keep a watchful presence and respond to incidents.
Beyond training and knowing proper response protocols, these agents also have the benefit of regular interaction with company personnel, the facility, and its surrounding area – all factors working to increase their understanding of what is normal and what might be otherwise concerning.
Physical security agents can also serve as a resource for employees (and bystanders) to report incidents and suspected wrongdoing without fear of judgment or retaliation.
Professional security agents are force-multipliers benefiting the entire organization, as well as neighboring facilities and indeed, the community. From assisting hybrid employees unfamiliar with the office to spotting hazards (E.g., broken and malfunctioning equipment, etc.…) and preventing trespassers with nefarious intent, professional security agents’ advantages are immeasurable to an organization and its assets.
Their high level of Situational Awareness is honed through consistent observation of their environment. In fact, an organization’s overt security presence also signals to would-be attackers that they are not an easy target for crime.
At PRS, we help protect organizations by preparing their personnel. Contact us should you want to learn more about our services.
The world we find ourselves living in today is filled with turmoil, conflict, and disruption. Early indicators show that Y2022 is proving to be disruptive on many levels. Current global conditions have created geopolitical divisiveness coming from such countries as Russia, China, Iran, Syria, and Canada. Global security concerns present other countries facing immediate danger of civil war, protesting, civil unrest, food insecurity, critical infrastructure/energy, economic, pandemic/infectious disease outbreaks, cyber/IT, and terrorism-related challenges.
Furthermore, the current Russian-Ukraine crisis in Eastern Europe has created the possibility of economic stagflation, increased energy/oil prices, and supply chain management challenges. Russia’s waging war on Ukraine has created a humanitarian crisis not seen since World War 2. Russia’s full-court press for a land-grab situation to mine additional resources (fossil fuels and other minerals) is naturally a disaster to the Ukrainians who wish to remain an independent nation of peaceful people. Ukraine remains steadfast in its resolve to fight back against a much larger, more powerful nation-state in Russia, which is building parallels in their government and global actions reminiscent of the Soviet Union’s Cold War years of the past.
With the US mid-term elections approaching this November, there exists increased anxiety along with disruption to household incomes. Considering the global pandemic, organizations have been faced with the Great Resignation, with workers being highly selective on work-life balance while safeguarding their personal and mental health and managing their self-care. Recent events have further caused labor staffing challenges for most businesses, creating bottlenecks and supply chain interruptions with organizations and their products available to consumers as well increased wages and other associated costs. This has forced organizations to be ever mindful of their personnel and their impacts on the overall organization’s health, welfare, and vitality. This has caused disruption to the organization’s overall strategic mission, goals, and objectives. Managing risks in this situation includes organizational morale, employee empowerment, corporate budget impacts, and operational/financial risks involved in evacuating or displacing staff or employee family members.
Premier Risk Solutions has borne first-hand witness to the situation on the ground in Ukraine that is impacting locales as well as, by extension, family members who are living and working outside of the country but concerned for the well-being of their family. While the clients we have supported within Ukraine do not have full-time employees within the country, their employees have family members there, and/or the client has vendor partners in-country they work with. These situations have caused disruption to the business as the personnel are unable to focus on their work or in some cases do any work at all, further causing supply chain delays to the company. Companies are forced to decide on what level of support they can or are willing to provide to personnel who are not direct employees. Our clients who we’ve worked with directly on this issue to evacuate impacted personnel are treating them as one-off situations but have provided support for evacuation when and where appropriate based on a dynamic risk assessment of the situation. Premier Risk Solutions and our agents are also constantly evaluating opportunities through our own fluid risk assessment for avenues of egress for evacuation as it is evolving on a day-by-day basis.
The threat continuum is ever-evolving and is constantly changing based upon a multitude of security challenges. The need for organizations to create an enterprise risk security management, holistic approach to safeguarding their personnel, brand, assets, and vendor supply chain is paramount in meeting today’s challenges. Organizations are well served by conducting – at minimum – annual risk assessments while conducting normal business activities during this time of uncertainty. Should your organization require a consultation please reach out to Premier Risk Solutions for a free consultation.
