Understanding Internal and External Security Threats

One of the biggest concerns of our clients is theft. The client looks to you to protect their business, so understanding internal and external security threats is important.

Defining internal and external.

Most security professionals know the definition of internal and external, but w hen it comesmany may not understand what the effect of it  when it comes to theft. Do we fully understand the total lost? If your answer is yes the dollar amount lost is the effect, well. Then you don’t fully understand the TOTAL loss.

Let me give you my definition. Theft whether internal or external effects productivity, moral and creates an untrusting environment.

Investigating incidents.

Of course the incident is going to be investigated, and I hope the person or persons are identified and you may believe the incident is done. This is far from true. You must be prepared to answer for the events for years. It is especially difficult if the subject was a security officer(s). If its a client’s employee then you have another set of issues, so allow me to separate the two.

Client’s employee theft.

It has been my experience that the client will want to keep the incident under wraps and this is understandable to a degree. I firmly believe in filing criminal and civil charges, but your client may not want to do this.

Therefore, it’s your responsibility to discuss, and not tell your client of the possible issues that may arise from their decisions. Basically, it’s your responsibility to ensure your staff does not participate in the gossip. They are to be reminded of the handling confidential information and investigations.

Security staff theft.

Now it becomes interesting to say the least. The client and you will not hesitate to terminate the employee and this is completely understandable. The challenge now becomes regaining the client’s and their employees trust and where I mean you will be answering for this for years. Again, confidentiality agreements are a must. It will be bad enough that your clients employees will be talking about it, but when you own staff starts talking to everyone about it and giving their opinion on the incident can only lead to prolonging the healing that must begin.

Let the healing begin.

I always start with my staff, and a meeting to cover and begin the healing. This event will affect everyone differently, and where your supervisors and staff need to come together and project a solid front. I certainly am not implying a us against them attitude, but your staff being instructed what they can say per the confidential agreement. In all reality they will be asked and not responding to the questions will be perceived just as dentermantal as the initial incident. So provide your staff with the responses that you feel will help the healing process. As I mentioned, you and your staff will be reminded of the incident for years.

What if?

So what happens if the incident goes unsolved? Well you can expect a lot of  assumptions and we all know the saying when it comes to ass-u-me-ing. Typically in this situation the client and their employees will blame the usual suspects, janitorial or security. Because one of them would never do such a thing. But in my experience it has been the clients employees that I end up catching. This is where a thorough investigation be conducted and the Client kept informed every step of the way. The client can be your biggest ally in reducing the finger pointing.

Remember.

Regardless of who committed the crime weather or not the person is apprehended, it’s a difficult situation that must be addressed quickly and efficiently. You may need the assistance of your local police department and this is not a sign of weakness but the use of another tool at your disposal to assist in creating a safe and secure workplace and community.