The Property Line Is No Longer be the Perimeter

I do not expect this post to be of any great insight to many, but it might be for a few. That is, the notion that the property line has little to do with asset protection, security, or even safety for that matter. Property lines have a role in taxation, owner responsibility, taxation, and the like. Sometime it denotes the limit of the organization’s immediate “touch.” But it really has little to do with the process and efforts of securing and protecting the enterprise. Here’s why...

The Anecdote of Success - a Simple Tool

When beginning an initiative, project, or releasing an RFP how can you convey the vision of success to the audience? In some instances, a request-for-proposal has a sterile feel and fails to clearly convey the nuances of what, precisely, is desired from the provided system or service. The same can be said when an organizational leader presents a new initiative, or charters a project. The author, or presenter, of these desires are already intimately familiar with what they seek but those around them, whether vendor or peer, may not be visualizing the same solutions. How can they create a common vision?

I like to overcome this unnecessary problem of perception with a short narrative describing a successful utilization of the system. And, it can also be applied to expectations for security posts and proposed procedures. Writing an “Anecdote of Success” helps to solidify what you, the creator, customer, solution seeker, truly want and expect.

To Manage Predatory Dumping Use Your Words

When the adversarial environment is blatant... While speaking to the "eight-hundred pound gorilla" internal customer, I was told, "You want me to listen to you? I have a half a million dollar problem with dumping. You find a solution to that and then I’ll listen to you."

The proverbial gauntlet hit the floor in that pause. That was it, in no uncertain terms. First, though, predatory dumping is when folks come to your property late at night and dump their trash. Such a thing is not too much of a problem for the average business, but one that accepts donations as a part of their business model tends to attract this behavior. This leader thought he was stumping me, but he unwittingly set me free at what I do best.. find solutions when no one believed any existed.

While We're on Burglary Prevention - Window Shopping

Many burglary prevention materials out there contain language about not putting valuables by windows. They speak of electronics, jewelry, money and other items that can be pulled through a window quickly. Let's take a moment and consider another type of valuable that is rarely mentioned.

INFORMATION. Your information is valuable to someone at some point for some purpose. The intruder is looking to make their efforts easier.  So what can be seen from your windows?

Can an intruder see a calendar? Does that calendar contain vacation dates, children's appointment schedules, your doctor appointments, or other similar data? What else is left by windows, on tables, and car seats-dashboards-floors?

Take a moment and walk around the house to look into the windows. What do you see? What will a bad guy see?

On a related note, what is in the pictures you and your family are posting on the internet? Are there pictures of that calendar? Valuables?

The Card Trick - Burglar Style

Everyone seems to know one card trick or another. This one can be done with almost anything. The reason cards are often used is their inconspicuous nature and low cost. Consider this, whenever you or one of your neighbors go on vacation does anyone look out for the property? Collect newspapers, mail and clean up anything on the property that you might clean up anyways? This ties back into the concept of "covert channel" communications. The lack of presence at a property could be discerned by the lack of routine activity. Throughout our lives we set patterns and our individual patterns blend with the various groups around us. Someone paying attention to these patterns can easily see a change. A car left parked outside all day and never moved. This might be the second family car and the lack of movement could tip off a bad guy that the family has not been home. A dog that is normally outside in a fenced yard that is conspicuously missing during otherwise fair weather. Any of these could be a tip to the bad guy casing the neighborhood. And by casing, or observing, they could be exposing themselves to undue scrutiny by others in the neighborhood. To avoid this scrutiny the simple card-trick method is used. In addition to avoiding undue scrutiny it also permits the screening of a large number of target residences in one day - without the activity attracting too much attention by itself.

How many times have you come home to find a business card or flyer at your front door? Did you follow up with the business to purchase services? Probably not. Now if a bad guy, or team, were to blanket a neighborhood, or several neighborhoods, with these solicitations it might take a couple of hours. Say half a day tops. The next day, or maybe two days later, they might drive through the same areas and identify those houses that still have these items on the door. Would your neighbor know to check your front door and collect these items as well as mail and trash? In this way the bad guy can identify a number of targets with little effort. No doubt, at least one home owner might catch them at the door depositing the card and make an inquiry. The screening bad guy need only say he/she was just paid to deliver the cards and thereby avoid further inquiry. Or a more elaborate script may be followed whatever works best for them.

That's the card trick. Some sort of debris is left at a residence to identify a lack of attendance to its care. It is fairly easy to defeat this approach through diligence and neighborliness.