Effective Place Management
Effective Place Management is the evaluation of how effective the protected area or area in question is being managed. In other words, is the property in question being properly managed to the extent that the defined assets are properly protected and are the predetermined goals and objectives related to security and risk being realized, and if so are they effective?
Often times the reason a facility attracts crime is because of poor management of that property or area. There are additional factors that you must consider that can and often do result in security incidents and losses, and they are Security Hot Spots, Security Hot Products, Risky Facilities, and Crime Displacement.
Security Hot Spots
Hot Spots – are those known locations where an unusually high number of crimes or criminal activity incidents are occurring. For example, a bar or convenience store may in fact be a hot spot, an area where the number of crimes or security incidents are at a much greater level than another business of the same type that is close by or on the other side of town. To explain this further, a bar in one part of town may account for over 80% of all crimes as compared to all of the other bars in town. Of course bars are not the only Hot Spots out there; all one has to do is look at the number of crimes reported in a geographic area to see that there are many types of businesses that may in fact be hot spots.
When a Hot Spot is identified there needs to be security and management measures initiated to resolve the underlying issues and mitigate the security risks, threats, and vulnerabilities.
vulnerabilities. This is where effective place management becomes an important part of the security response plan.
Hot Products
Hot products are historically related to increased crime. For example, in many criminal cases the products involved will include things such as; Alcohol, Pharmaceutical products (legal or otherwise), Cash Services, Electronics (cell phones), and Cigarettes. A perfect example of this is the civil unrest across the United States. It is not milk and bread that is being looted from stores during the past civil unrest events, it is the items listed above in most cases.
Crime Displacement
Crime Displacement is often a result of increased security for Hot Spots or Hot Products and is where criminal activity will move to a new location if effective place management and crime prevention measures are effectively instituted. That criminal activity is more likely to be displaced and move on to a new location; hence Crime Displacement. Business owners/managers need to understand how this affects their facilities, even if it occurs at another location.
Security Best Practices
All of the best practices in the world will not make a difference if Effective Place Management is not in place and if management is not willing to make the changes that are needed to reduce the risk of criminal activity. In the end it comes down to the management accepting responsibility.
