The biggest vulnerability of any security force is the routine. From the adversary’s points of view, the routine can be exploited because it can be learned, adjusted to and ultimately be exploited.
For the security employee, the routine is a threat (in the form of the adversary) but it is also a demoralizing factor in day-to-day operation. To augment the security system’s threat orientation and success matrix, it must change its culture to a system that is heuristic, self examining and that abides by strict quality control standard. Security, by its nature, is evaluated through failure and not through success. The collective thought of the public and even of the security officers tend to focus on those areas where security fails and not where it succeeds. This is human nature. However, this can be avoided by making security “productive”, and quality controlled for excellence. In fact there is no problem to establish production and performance standards to security as those that are set for Apple Computers or Rolls Royce cars. Standards are set by creating clear objectives, clear procedures and then implement these objectives and procedures as standards for performance. Most security systems today have no set standards of performance because they lack the following operational requirements: 1. Understanding what it means to succeed and/or fail (objectives)
2. Understanding what it takes to succeed or fail (threat oriented procedures)
3. Accountability for meeting or not meeting the objectives and adhering or not adhering to the procedures (quality control) Looking at security agencies and systems that have made a name for themselves for being effective and excellent, one sees that these organizations successfully integrated the above operational requirements to the way they do business. From the U.S. Secret Service, to El-Al Airlines and Las Vegas Casinos, these organizations are famous for being ahead of their peers and more importantly ahead of their adversaries. The key to these organizations’ success lies in their clearly defined objectives, focus on the human element in the security process and their articulated and threat oriented procedures. |
