The road to public sector security

The public sector is facing the deepest budget cuts in the last 25 years, with staff and resources being stretched to the limit. It is therefore not surprising that operational and purchasing decisions are increasingly being made based on cost considerations alone, often at the expense of quality.

Security breaches such as theft and vandalism are financially onerous and have a number of negative repercussions on a public sector organisation, affecting customer service levels, downtime and, potentially, customer deliveries and production processes. It is therefore important that, even when faced with considerable cuts to spending, the security aspects of an organisation are not overlooked, as investing in the protection of premises will provide long-term cost savings by dramatically reducing the likelihood of crimes occurring.

Public sector buildings often have a large transient population and hold expensive equipment as well as confidential data on site, therefore becoming a very attractive target for criminals. To counter the number of threats faced on a day-to-day basis, public sector organisations are often recommended to adopt an integrated approach to security, whereby a combination of products and services work together to ensure all aspects of protecting the premises are covered. Moreover, by following a few simple steps, such as seeking expert advice, choosing a reputable supplier, correctly maintaining the systems and ensuring that clear strategies are in place, the public sector can guarantee the success of security strategies.

Access control
Access control has long held a valued place within the public sector, helping to monitor the flow of authorised personnel around the premises while playing a vital role in health and safety and visitor registration. Now, access control and visitor monitoring systems can also be utilised as part of intelligent solutions that work alongside Building Energy Management Systems (BEMS) to help public sector organisations save money on their energy and heating bills.

A BEMS can typically control up to 80peer cent of a building’s energy usage, so it’s clear to see how using access control to optimise the system to suit the variable usage and occupation of a building can streamline energy usage.

Applying heat-loss algorithms, for example, BEMS can determine the minimum amount of heat required for a particular area, reducing the amount of energy consumed and avoiding unnecessary wastage. Identifying patterns of visitor behaviour can stop the unnecessary heating of unoccupied heating zones, saving fuel and reducing CO2 emissions.

In addition to integration with BEMS, access control systems can also be incorporated with other essential security measures including intrusion detection, video surveillance and CCTV analytics.

Intruder alarms
Public perceptions of intruder alarms have tended to be somewhat negative over the years, with many people questioning their effectiveness in terms of generating a prompt police response due to the high rate of false alarms. Thankfully, developments in alarm system technology and continued liaison between the police and the private security industry have succeeded in driving down the rate of false alarms to unprecedented levels, equating, according to research by the British Security Industry Association (BSIA), to there being as few as one false alarm every five years. This means that police response is now all but guaranteed.

A professionally designed, installed, maintained and monitored intruder alarm system linked to an approved Alarm Receiving Centre (ARC) – with priority links to the police – offers a high level of protection against undetected intrusion, and therefore limits the time available for criminals to inflict loss or damage. Monitored systems provide further peace of mind to the business that alarm activations will be immediately dealt with.

CCTV
CCTV is an effective method of protection and can be installed all over a site whatever the size. It is a prominent security measure that often acts as a deterrent as well as catching evidence of crimes taking place on the site. Specific applications of CCTV such as Video Content Analysis (VCA) can also be used to enhance the security on a premise.

VCA is the automatic analysis of CCTV images to create meaningful information about the content. Potentially any ‘behaviour’ that can be seen and accurately defined on a video image can be automatically identified and an appropriate alert raised. This element of CCTV can be used to alert an operator of any unusual behaviour or a left package somewhere on the site, so that the appropriate action can be taken.

Information destruction
Generally speaking, public sector organisations hold large quantities of confidential data, making them vulnerable to data breaches. By taking simple steps internally, organisations can reduce the risk of data breaches occurring. Measures include ensuring all unwanted documents, CDs and DVDs are properly shredded, wiping clean the information held on old computers before disposing of them and regularly changing network as well as PC passwords.

Leaving shredding to individuals can compromise security as the document is not always thoroughly destroyed and can often be pieced together. Therefore, employing a professional data destruction company will ensure law compliance and the highest standard of service, giving organisations the peace of mind that the interests of their clients, staff or patients are protected.

An information destruction supplier should be able to provide sacks that cannot be tampered with and bins to match the office furniture, and that can only be accessed by key. To provide further protection, each collection and sack should contain a unique code so that customers can access a full audit trail of their paper once it has left the building.

The law sets clear rules for the destruction of personal information, and a company that guarantees under contract that destruction is done securely and effectively should carry it out. The process consists of waste collection by secure transport, inspection, removal and destruction of rubbish, and the shredding, pulping and recycling or incineration of other material.

Security guarding
For large and high profile buildings, security officers patrolling the premises are a fundamental aspect of security, providing an immediate response to intruder detection.

Guards deter criminals, are a useful for manning access points and entrances and are often also responsible for managing technological aspects of a site’s security solutions, such as CCTV or access control.

Physical protection
Physical protection systems vary from security rated locks for gates and entrance points to security grilles or shutters. These measures can all be used in combination to protect premises both from intrusion and against vandalism, helping harden the site against unlawful entry. The main benefit of employing such systems is that they make an intruder’s task difficult, time-consuming and noisy, therefore often deterring criminals before attempting a breach.

Of course, their effectiveness is directly related to the intruder’s skill and determination, which, in turn, depends upon the perceived benefits of crime. In addition, to ensure such systems are correctly implemented, key control strategies need to be in place.

Clear strategies
Regardless of the security solutions adopted, clear strategies need to be in place to ensure that the measures are always correctly implemented and understood by all staff involved. Security solutions that are not supported by thorough and trialled strategies will prove worthless, so it is important to give careful consideration to how each security measure will be implemented in practice to ensure money spent on it is not wasted.

When it comes to key control strategies, they are essential not only to ensure that authorised staff have immediate access to relevant areas, but also to avoid the risk of unauthorised people getting hold of a key. An unauthorised person gaining access to an area or premise using just a key has the advantage of leaving no evidence of a forced break in; therefore it may be a considerable amount of time, if ever, before the breach is detected.

There are two main ways of ensuring key control is achieved, firstly by strictly monitoring the issue of keys, particularly sub masters and masters. It is good practice to record the key references against the individual who has been issued the key and record when they are returned. Secondly it is equally important that an individual cannot get a key duplicated at a local heel bar or locksmith without the appropriate authorisation from the owner of the master keyed system.

In order to implement this it is crucial that the key profile should be protected by a manufacturer’s current patent and if the patent has not been successfully defended in a court of law then the cylinder manufacturer should have a reputation for defending their patents in the UK. Manufacturers who are not prepared to inform locksmiths of patent numbers and patent expiry dates should be viewed with suspicion.

Choosing the right supplier
Regardless of the scope of an organisation’s security strategy, choosing a reputable supplier is crucial to ensuring its success. Quality suppliers will be able to asses the nature of work conducted onsite and the individual threats and risks that the premises may face, to determine what security measures will be required for a specific premise. Moreover, it will ensure that systems are correctly installed to get the best result out of them, and that comply with national and international legislation and best practice standards.

Without previous security experience, however, identifying a company that has the most relevant skills and experience to assist in the quest for effective protection of premises can prove a challenge. For this reason, employing an expert to help throughout the process of identifying and procuring security solutions can prove invaluable. Security consultancies can assist public sector organisations choose reliable and quality suppliers, maximising return on investment and providing significant long-term benefits and often cost savings.

A consultancy will conduct a thorough risk assessment, providing essential advice on security reviews and audits, development of security polices and strategy, guarding services, systems design, tender management and security awareness training. They will work with their client to identify threats and ensure that business continuity is addressed, therefore eliminating the chance for corners to be cut.

Based on this assessment the security consultancy will then suggest various measures that could benefit the premises. These may differ depending on the requirements and risks faced by each client but they could include the likes of access control, information destruction, CCTV, manned guarding and property marking.

With the government’s proposed public sector budget cuts at the forefront of public sector consciousness, it is vital that security is not ignored and corners are not cut, and although it may not seem so at the beginning, taking advantage of the expertise offered by a quality security organisation can lead to future savings and efficiencies.

BSIA members meet strict quality criteria and as such, the Association’s website is a great place to start when considering your next security investment. To locate a supplier in your area, or to find out more about the solutions mentioned in this article, visit www.bsia.co.uk