Reader Comment – 11-13-09 Vigilance

Friday evening Laurie Thomas, an MTSA writer and instructor, left a comment on my blog about security fencing. She wrote:

“‘Backed up with observation and response’ is so important, and the first line of defense we have anywhere is employee vigilance. When you have an absence of employee vigilance, all the security whistles and bells in the world may still land you on the front page of the Federal Register under the listing of "how not to run your shop," as in the Lynn MA LNG intrusion.”

Facility security is certainly part of everyone’s job at high-risk facilities. While my blog focused on perimeter penetrations over, under, and through security fencing, penetration under the guise of legitimate site business is also of serious concern. It is in this area that employee attention to where visitors are and are not supposed to be is crucial to successful prevention of commercial and intellectual property theft as well as preventing successful terrorist attacks. Facility security at high-risk chemical facilities is typically focused outwards in their defense of the facility from terrorist attacks. Employee vigilance is very important at detecting threats that have slipped through the system. This can only be achieved when employees are fully trained on the potential threats and security processes in place. An essential part of that training is convincing every employee that the security processes and procedures are put there, in part, to protect the employees from the results of a successful terrorist attack.