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Marshall Keith James of SoBran, Inc. wrote an interesting article for security managers who are working against the grain in this environment. http://homelandsecuritynewswire.com/facing-challenge-protecting-critical-infrastructure-apathetic-environment-m-k-james-sobran-inc?page=0,0

Some of his advice to security managers is as follows:

• Articulate the threats to your operation without exaggeration
• Understand and test your security plan
• Identify potential targets and specific threats
• Avoid pre-packaged solutions which are "hazard centric"
• Counter apathy with enthusiasm
• Develop advisory relationships with security professionals experienced in plan development and implementation

Reliant Security provides professional security services and consulting to business and government clients throughout the Western United States.

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One article written by Philip Elliot for Associated Press on the event aftermath can be seen here:   http://www.philly.com/philly/news/homepage/80460127.html

While this near tragedy will likely result in some security improvements, especially regarding inter-agency intelligence sharing, the bottom line is that it will be virtually impossible to stop every terrorist attack every time if we are to maintain some semblance of the "free society" that we currently enjoy in the United States.  The good news in this story is that yet again another heroic citizen intervened to help stop this disaster.

The intervention of the alert citizen highlights a key security concept that is often overlooked:  real security requires security awareness and a proactive approach by every citizen.

This concept is called "domain awareness" in Maritime Security.  Domain Awareness "is defined as the effective understanding of anything associated with the... domain that could impact the security, safety, economy, or environment."  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maritime_Domain_Awareness Maritime Security protocols require some level of domain awareness training for all employees who work at waterfront facilities.

The threat of international terrorism requires an alert and engaged citizenry.  The threat of theft and crime at a business requires alert and engaged employees.  The latter can be achieved through security preparedness planning and on-going training.

Security Guards and police will provide the front line defense but there will never be enough of them to secure every area at every time.  These first responders need to be altered to suspicious persons and behavior by citizens and employees who are aware of their surroundings and taking responsibility for their collective security.

Reliant Security provides professional security services and training to clients in the Western United States.

www.reliantsecurity.net

See the report here: http://www.kndo.com/Global/story.asp?S=11720475

The Washington State policy underscores the need for security contractors and all employers in Washington State to conduct thorough background investigations on all potential employees to make sure that they are legally qualified to work in the US.

Reliant Security monitors the latest industry trends and changes in the legal environment in order to provide our customers with the information needed to adhere to current best practices.

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See the article here:   http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704431804574539754148537802.html

The Journal reports that robberies in 2008 are up over ten percent and that burglaries are up over three and a half percent over 2004 levels.  Multiple anecdotes are related in the article.  One public relations firm in Washington D.C. that was robbed three different times reported that, "All of these people had on ties and were wearing dress pants."

Several businesses that were targeted suffered from poor security practices such as leaving ground floor doors unlocked and poorly trained employees who failed to challenge unknown persons seen in the office.  Some employees involved in these incidents suffered from sever emotional trauma and feelings of insecurity for weeks afterward.

If a people ever finds themselves the victims of a robbery or burglary they are advised to cooperate, avoid eye contact and maintain as much distance as possible from the perpetrator.

Reliant Security provides security guards to companies and banks often after they have been robbed or burglarized in order to prevent future occurrences and re-assure their employees that their workplace is safe.  Reliant Security is able to provide security audits and training for employees on "domain security awareness" in order for companies to increase the security at their workplace.

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Trumbo reported that, "HWA lost security contracts with federal agencies in September, and some of its approximately 200 employees with those federal contracts subsequently complained to the U.S. Department of Labor about not being paid for more than six weeks."

Business purchasing departments have an opportunity learn from the mistakes made by the Washington State and Federal Government agencies.  First, it is imperative that purchasers run a credit check on the security contracting company that they are considering.  Security contracting usually requires a substantial amount of cash to be paid by the contractor at the beginning of the contract to make payroll before the contractor is paid by their client.  The second lesson to be learned follows the old cliche, "You get what you pay for."  The government agencies in this case most likely awarded contracts to HWA largely based on a low bid price.  The fact that they had to cancel these contracts and re-bid them prior to contract expiration means that they will end up paying more than they would have if they had selected a competent contractor for a fair price during the bid process. 

Reliant Security is committed to transparent and open bidding.  We explain to our clients the various cost components and help them to save money in ways which will not impact the wages of the guards who work for them, such as recommending specific capital improvements for access control, intrusion detection and remote monitoring.  In addition, Reliant Security is available to consult with companies to help them better understand how to create a successful Request for Proposal (RFP) and then how to evaluate the responses.

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