David Patterson

Chapter 20 – Workplace Violence

Violence in the workplace has always been a top concern for the chief security officer (CSO). Although on-the-job violence is not new under the sun, the most extreme form of it, homicide, has occurred with increased frequency in recent years. Studies made of workplace violence reveal the following: (1) It appears in a variety of shapes and forms. (2) There is no absolute, sure-fire method for preventing it in every situation. (3) A small amount of preparation can go a long way in reducing injuries and saving lives. (4) Prevention and mitigation cannot be achieved through the efforts of the CSO alone. (5) Effective management of workplace violence depends on joint efforts of specialists in several disciplines.

Chapter 9 – Managing Risk

The view of Daniell is that we are now living in a world of rising risk and increasing volatility. Everywhere, we seem to encounter increasing and intensifying risk.

Chapter 21 – Employee Awareness Program

The security of an organization rests squarely on the practices of employees. The Chief Security Officer can design the finest protective programs, obtain the full support of the management team, secure generous funding, form a competent security group, and acquire a complete assortment of equipment. None of these components will matter, however, if employees fail to meet their individual security responsibilities. A security agenda, no matter how perfectly conceived and generously supported, is incapable of rising above poor security practices by employees. Like the analogy of the weak link in the chain, an organization’s security cannot be stronger than the weakest day-to-day behaviors of its employees.

Chapter 15 – Emergency Management

The proposition is well accepted that the organization’s Chief Security Officer (CSO) is a key player in the management of emergency incidents. Even in the absence of indications that a serious incident is likely, now or later down the road, the CSO must anticipate the possibility, plan for it, prepare the security group to respond, and be ready to support overall response activities. Elements of the National Incident Management System and the Incident Control System will be discussed as they apply to the private sector.

Chapter 7 – Managing Change

The pace and magnitude of change can be overwhelming at times, according to Bamford (1996. Managing Social Work. Tavistock Library of Social Work Service. Tavistock, United Kingdom). Demands on Chief Security Officers (CSOs) to transition to new ways of getting the job done seem to arrive unexpectedly, often with short deadlines and high expectations of success. Change, like the redesign of the organization’s structure and the adoption of advanced technology, also seems to arrive during periods of constrained resources. Although natural and inevitable, change has taken on dimensions of size and complexity not seen before. To manage change effectively, the CSO has to recognize certain truths inherent to change.

Chapter 13 – Managing Investigations

The investigative function is part and parcel of the organization’s efforts to protect its property. The Chief Security Officer (CSO), among other duties, manages investigations. The CSO will have one or a few investigators on staff or will have a formal agreement with an outside investigative agency. The main functions of investigators are to conduct formal investigations when the organization is a party of interest; determine where loss exposures exist; and devise controls for eliminating them. Many of the loss exposure facts are acquired outside of formal investigations. An analogous expression is “look under the rocks.” In this sense, investigators test the efficacy of loss prevention controls and report their findings to the CSO, and the CSO modifies the controls.

Chapter 4 – Leadership and Management Skills

The experienced Chief Security Officer knows that when threats to security increase, it inevitably follows that demands on the security group will increase proportionally. The demands can vary, yet they all require for satisfactory response a trait we call leadership.

Chapter 12 – Managing Access Control

The business rationale for access control stems from the belief that the workplace must be safe for everyone and secure for property and process. In practice, the belief is carried out by eliminating harm to people, such as by controlling entry to a hazardous work zone or denying entry to persons posing a threat. The rationale extends to protecting property and preventing hostile acts that disrupt business operations.

Chapter 3 – Managing People

Success at managing people rests on interpersonal skills that take the Chief Security Officer (CSO) far beyond the issue of being liked. Motivating others is not a matter of earning admiration, but of inspiring them to work individually and as a team. The CSO’s principal task is to create a climate for work in which team efforts are organized and directed toward the attainment of agreed-upon and well-understood goals. But to effectively discharge that task, the CSO must comprehend the human needs, differences, and emotions of those being managed.

Chapter 1 – Future of the Chief Security Officer

Security was essential to civilization in its earliest stages. During the late Stone Age (Neolithic Period) when settlements were created and people made the transition from hunters to farmers, they created villages with fortified living areas for individual families. The villages had many physical barriers for protection against the risk at the time which was being attacked by people from another village. Walls, posts, thick enclosures, heavy doors with stout closures, animals, moats, and traps all served to protect communities from attack from their enemies. Therefore, even at these ancient times, a variety of physical security resources were employed to mitigate their risks.