BTEC LEVEL 5 PROFESSIONAL DIPLOMA IN SECURITY MANAGEMENT ASSIGNMENTS:

MODULE 1 – UNDERSTANDING SECURITY

Ravi Manas Anantapur Bache - ASSIGNMENT 1

IDENTIFY WHAT YOU SEE AS THE MAIN PURPOSE OF SECURITY MANAGEMENT AND DISCUSS WHAT IS MEANT BY THE STATEMENT THAT “SECURITY MEASURES MUST BE COMMENSURATE WITH THE THREAT”.

Introduction

What is security?

The definition of security “The protection, guarding or defence of persons/property (real and/or intellectual) or the realm from threats posed by crime, terrorism or business malpractice. It is the business of dealing with risks presented by such threats and the creation of a response and/or defence to them. It will encompass everything that works towards the provision of protection, guarding or defence, including intelligence gathering, research and information technology”.1

With that said the role of security management has an ever increasing important part to play regarding the whole security system, mainly due to the threats from terrorism and crime and with the decreasing numbers of police officers on the beat due to cost cutting measures. With the advent of the Security Institute Authority (SIA), the numbers of personnel within the industry has increased tenfold, helping to provide both the police and the general public with additional eyes and ears on the ground.

Security management has been revolutionised and grown at such a rapid rate that it has become a major industry in its own right. According to Wilson and Slater “the circumstances of recent years, the increasing professionalism and the demands of cost effectiveness alike have created the need for safeguarding of assets, personnel, and even the profitability of the organisation against theft, fraud, fire, criminal damage and terrorist acts”.2

One of the first roles of a security manager would be to identify the threat, thus the need to carry out and complete a risk assessment, so he could identify any vulnerability and evaluate the existing security system in place. “Security managers are responsible for directing the solution of security problems in a cost and performance effective manner. Put more succinctly, the security manager is responsible for engineering the solution to the security problem”.3

The security manager will have many purposes and responsibilities and they will include but not limited to:

Physical Security

This will include site surveys, venue/threat reports to aid evaluating the present dangers within the organisation and location and the design of procedures and systems to be put in place. During his/her reports it should be noted that any technical equipment in place, i.e. CCTV, access control, lighting etc. should be compliant with legislation regarding their use. Once operational the security manager will ensure that maintenance of the systems is carried out regularly.

Counter terrorism

Within the role of a security manager they will have to understand the threat and any likelihood of an attack and the impact it would have on the company/assets they are employed to protect. The security manager has to devise solutions in order to counter the terrorism possibility. The definition of terrorism according to Angus Martyn in a briefing for the Australian Parliament stated “The international community has never succeeded in developing an accepted comprehensive definition of terrorism. During the 1970’s and 1980’s, the United Nations attempts to define the term foundered mainly due to differences of opinion between various members about the use of violence in the conflicts over national liberation and self-determination”.4

With that said, the threats to the UK from terrorism in today’s climate are extremely high and security managers should whenever possible liaise with the Centre for the Protection of National Infrastructure (CPNI), whose advice “aims to reduce the vulnerability of the national infrastructure to terrorism and other threats, keeping the UK’s essential services (delivered by the communications, emergency services, energy, finance, food, government, health, transport and water sectors) safer. Without these services, the UK could suffer serious consequences, including severe economic damage, grave social disruption, or even large scale loss of life”.5

Crisis Management and Business Continuity Planning

In the event that a large scale disaster threatens to harm the organisation/employer, the security manager has to have plans in place to deter, deal with or assess after the event. It is important that the security manager understands how to cope with a very serious situation that may be about to occur, is occurring or has occurred in order to recover the situation. Should the worst case scenario happen the security manager must continue to oil the cogs to keep the cycle going? Business Continuity Planning (BCP) is designed to ensure that this happens.”BCP is working out how to continue operations under adverse conditions that include local events such as fire, theft, and vandalism, regional incidents like earthquakes and floods, and national incidents like pandemic illnesses. In fact any event that could impact operations should be considered, such as supply chain interruption, loss of or damage to critical infrastructure (major machinery or computing/network resource). As such, risk management must be incorporated as part of BCP”.6

Information Security

Information security (InfoSec) “means protecting information and information systems from unauthorized access, use, disclosure, disruption, modification, perusal, inspection, recording or destruction”.7 With hackers all around the world producing programmes, viruses, bugs and malware, it is essential that the security manager ensures that their corporation/employers operate and maintain a secure system that’s prevents information being gathered by corrupt organisations. They must stress the importance of data management and use of encryption to deter such activities.

Training

One important role of any security manager is that of training and/or continuous training. The requirement to keeping staff up to date on new equipment/technology as it enters the market is vital to any organisation. They will also be required to educate employees on policies and procedures to ensure any current changes are adhered too.

Vetting

All employees and potential recruits should be security screened before commencing their role within any organisation. This will ensure individuals applying for employment are of good character, their identity and CV is accurate and correct. A criminal record check should be carried out using the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) to confirm their history. Within the security industry this would be carried out as part of their licence application with the Security Industry Authority (SIA), each role whether it be CCTV operator, door supervisor, key holder or close protection operator must be licenced to work in this sector.

Budgets and Loss Prevention

The security manager will have a budget for which he will be responsible; this will incorporate the cost of maintaining and servicing the security project. It will also enable them to keep up to date with any new equipment or systems that come on to the market. Staff pay and allowances will also need to be accounted for.

Loss prevention refers “to the collective measures taken by a company/organisation to mitigate against potential losses and to protect its profitability”.8 The use of CCTV surveillance helps to combat theft and apprehend potential thieves. The practice of using auditors to conduct daily/weekly/monthly stock checks will help determine any losses sustained.

Discussion

History tells us that certain countries, locations are far more dangerous than others, so to ensure that the security measures are commensurate with the threat it is the role and responsibility of the security manager to assess and determine what level of measures are needed to ensure the safety of the organisation and personnel.

For example Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria and many other countries across the Middle East are far more dangerous than say Australia or the UK. These countries are classed as war zones; therefore the threat of groups like Al Qaeda and its insurgents is far greater than elsewhere. The use of Improvised Explosive Devices (IED’s), Vehicle Borne Explosive Devices (VBIED’s) or even Body Borne Improvised Explosive Devices (BBIED’s) are common place in these countries, whereas they are only occasionally used in more civilised western countries by extremists who wish to cause mass destruction of property and life. Within these countries the use of licenced armed body guards driving around in armoured vehicles by companies and organisations is an everyday occurrence, whereas in the UK, you will see legally licenced body guards but no weapons and soft skin vehicles.

Taking away the extremes, other security measures that must be commensurate with the threat is the legal right within the UK to protect your property from burglars and vandals, so therefore it may be a requirement to erect fencing or build walls. Shopkeepers install CCTV and have pull down shutters to avoid their windows be smashed and their stock ran sacked or looted.

Online banking is another area where the threat of fraud is very high. Banks must ensure that the data security and encryption systems they have in place are commensurate with the threat from hackers and fraudsters, costing the industry millions every year.

Summary

The security management industry is vast and growing in size daily particularly in the UK. The Olympic Games alone have increased the numbers required by some 15,000 personnel, with various levels of management required to facilitate the amount of staff and ensure security procedures are carried out legally and safely to protect against an organised and in some cases a ruthless group of individuals intent on causing harm to life and property.

The security manager of today needs to be well organised professional individual, who possesses many skills including planning, training, intelligence gathering and have a good understanding of IT security, budgeting and sound business knowledge. These skills will be gained from experience, training, hard work and qualifications all currently available to any individual.

Bibliography

1. Gill, M (2009) What is security in ?

2. Security Bulletin 2.

3. Roger, Bradley B, The Handbook of security, Pg66 Chapter 4.

4. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Defintion_of_terrorism.

5. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centre_for_the_National_Infrastructure.

6. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business_continuity_planning.

7. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Information_security.

8. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loss_prevention.