Requesting tactical assistance...

[Doogie]

Dumb, dumb, dumb...

[Mr.Goodtimes]

so how long was the building with out security before you got there? and did you work in a mall before this?

[jtb0311]

I have a few questions that will help narrow the field...

Where are you? What nationality are your security officers? Are you an American, working in the U.S. with former U.S. military and LE people? Or are you working in the 3rd world with U.S./European management and local national personnel? I'm assuming this is all in the U.S., but you didn't say.

What were the results of the threat assessment? I understand if you can't share much, but increasing the amount of tactical training and firepower the guards have access to is less likely to deter theft (if that's the biggest threat) than things like CCTV and crime prevention through environmental design. A thief is less likely to steal if he thinks he/she will be caught.

[Doogie]

We are located here in the Northwest, and all of our staff are local officers.

The assessment highlighted what we initially suspected; that non-barricaded, dual glass doors opening into the lobby (which are unlocked/ not pass protected during business hours), no sally port-type structure to camo loading and unloading, and unfortified bay doors all add up to an SO's nightmare. The facility is located in a "business park"-type setting, although there is no signage on the building.

[jtb0311]

If you've got the budget, I'd definitely consider investing in some technology to address those issues. I used to work for a freight forwarding company that issued everyone key cards, and these could be programmed with various levels of access. One level would get you into the building, from which you could access the common office spaces, but another level also allowed you access to the warehouse. Such a system can also be set up to record the who and when every time a pass card is used to access a given area.

Are your warehouse loading doors elevated (the kind that tractor trailers back up to)? Another things we did at the facility I worked at was limit the number available for use. The building probably had 20 doors on each side, but in the area where I worked, only 4 were available for loading and unloading cargo. The rest were locked and blocked on the inside, and the doors were painted and marked with "No loading/unloading" signs outside.

Anyway, what you wrote above was more a vulnerability assessment than a threat assessment. What is the greatest threat? Pilfering small amounts of precious metals? An armed assault like in the film Heat? Non violent offenders can often be deterred by obvious CCTV cameras (they don't even all need to be real ;) ) and outside lighting at night. Sometimes simply making your building look like a hard target can be effective at preventing burglary.

Do you have any ASIS certified people on your staff? If not, does your budget allow for a consultant? An ASIS certified CPP or PSP will be able to help you a lot and get into the nitty gritty about all this stuff. If I were in your shoes I'd address the physical security issues first. I don't have anything against tactical training, but (unless you know otherwise and can't share) I think that is the answer to 10% of the threat (an armed crew a la Heat). I also hope that if your security personnel are former military and LE that they have more than a basic level of proficiency with weapons and tactics.

I'm working on an MA in security management, so a lot of this is very fresh to me. I'll add more as I think of it.

[VooDoo6Actual]

IR sensors, GPS Trackers, Tactical Training for your team by a VETTED and reputably company for Vehicular movements, embus and debus procedures, varing routes, limiting choke points, COMMS TT&P's etc ad nauseum et alia...

[Dr.Doom]

so how long was the building with out security before you got there? and did you work in a mall before this?

"I am a retired LEO..."