It is quintessential to know how secure you are, as well as your company, building, estate, campus or team. Too often individual and businesses take their security or the security of others for granted – until it is too late. Merriam-Webster dictionary defines surveillance as: the act of carefully watching someone or something especially in order to prevent or detect a crime, and further as: close watch kept over someone or something. Video surveillance may be critically important for the security requirements of an office building, residential building, mall or shopping center, bank, shop, supermarket, estate, airport, port, station, warehouse, depot, not to mention a home. One can have the most sophisticated security and alarm systems, but they are worthless unless they are reliable and ensure a swift and appropriate response. Otherwise, said security and alarm systems are nothing more than ‘window dressing’ and, worse still, self-delusional. Incident response is an important aspect of this in that it addresses and manages the aftermath of a security breach or attack (a ‘security incident’), even if it is a false alarm.
This why OSP has developed comprehensive security plan that include Security Vulnerability Assessments, Video Monitoring and Alarm Response. These programs include:
- definition, identification and classification of relevant security issues
- assessment of existing and potential security risks
- establishment of a security risk-based profile
- assigning relative levels of importance to security-related resources
- forecasting the effectiveness of proposed countermeasures
- evaluation of effectiveness of security countermeasures and controls
- implementing ways to minimize consequences of security breaches
- where needed, especially at the corporate / institutional level:
- assessment of business continuity planning
- assessment of crisis management planning
- assessment of security within the context of knowledge management / strategic planning
- liaison with client’s executive / management team
- establishment of a profile based on existing alarm capabilities, including sound alarms, motion sensors, heat sensors, and allied systems
- gap analysis regarding alarms and response times, effectiveness, etc.
- alarm capability and needs analysis within the context of security management system / plan
- recommendations of improved alarm capabilities, if viable for a client
- liaison with local law enforcement and emergency services with regard to response times – existing and ideal
- management of alarm maintenance requirements
- management of alarm monitoring capabilities, requirements, shortfalls or glitches, etc.
- developing a risk-based strategy for alarms and response times to deal with the most serious potential breaches first = prioritization
- possible use of OSP’s state-of-the-art monitoring and GPS imaging through its mobile Command Center.
- establishment of a profile based on existing video monitoring capabilities
- video monitoring capacity and needs analysis within the context of security management and response system / plan
- recommendations for improved video technology, if viable for a client
- oversight of video monitoring requirements
- liaison with video monitoring suppliers, maintenance experts, etc.
- assessment of privacy and other legal requirements regarding video monitoring and surveillance
- possible use of OSP’s state-of-the-art monitoring and GPS imaging through its mobile Command Center.
