They're Watching You

Sep 1, 2007 12:00 PM, BY WALT CLEMENTS

Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean people aren't watching you.

When it comes to ensuring the security of your personnel and facility, a touch of paranoia — or, at least, a heightened sense of awareness to surveillance — can be a valuable trait.

Most criminal or terror acts start with some semblance of surveillance. Why? Because the bad guys also know the basics of risk assessment and risk avoidance. They want to make sure they are successful in their attack, and in most cases, they want to ensure their escape.

Surveillance may be conducted on foot, in vehicles or from a fixed perch. It might last a few moments, say when a mugger scans the area for police cars or calculates his target's probable strength and willingness to fight. It may last for months, say when terrorists test your access control and guard response time or draw diagrams of chemical storage areas while they calculate the best time, location and method to attack and escape. They are looking for your weaknesses, and they will find them.

Most criminals and terrorists are not experts at conducting surveillance, and if you've trained your security staff and other employees to pay attention, there's a good chance someone will note behaviors that will alert you to their interest in you. Train security staff and all of your organization's employees to take note of the unusual. Make sure they understand that while not everything that could be surveillance will be, all unusual activities deserve extra attention.

Be on the lookout for:

• individuals who sit in parked cars near your facility for an extended amount of time;

• joggers who stretch for an inordinate amount of time;

• people drawing diagrams or taking photos of your facility;

• those paying particular attention to your guards as they make rounds, especially while taking notes or using a cell phone;

• individuals who seem to pay close attention to your evacuation process during fire drills;

• people who photograph security camera or guard locations;

• anyone dressed inappropriately for the season or environment;

• telephone callers who ask unusual or specific questions about the security program.

One of the best ways to neutralize surveillance is to let them know that you know they're there. An approach by a security guard who politely asks “May I help you?” will not offend the innocent tourist, but will tell the operative or criminal that someone is onto them. Guards attentive to surveillance will be noticed, and this will reduce the appearance of weakness in the eyes of the bad guys.

If you teach your staff and employees to avoid complacency and resist the desire to chalk up unusual circumstances to coincidence, you send a strong message to anyone watching that your facility is not their best choice for a target.

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Walt Clements, MA, CPP, is a member of the Security Executive Council and associate director of global security with The Procter & Gamble Company in Cincinnati. For information about the Security Executive Council, visit www.csoexecutivecouncil.com/?sourceCode=access

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