Strategic Security Management

Statistics for Security Management

Statistics are used in planning for the future. As a key component of a threat

assessment, crime and security statistics guide the risk assessment process, help

in the selection of appropriate countermeasures,monitor program effectiveness,

and alleviate risks and the associated costs of risks. The use of information

regarding crimes and other security incidents helps the security decision maker

plan,select, and implement appropriate security measures that address the actual

risks of the facility. Security decision makers, after assessing the crime problem,

can select the most effective countermeasures that eliminate risk or reduce it to

an acceptable level. Budget justification is also accomplished through the use of

statistics since effective security measures will reduce the risk, and returns on

security investments can be calculated and considered in the bottom line.

A common application of statistics in the security arena is the use of secu-

rity reports and crime data to determine the risks to a facility, including its

assets and personnel. The security professional need not be a mathematician

to fully utilize statistical data; rather, he or she needs only a basic understand-

ing of the various methods to use such information, along with a basic knowl-

edge of personal computer and spreadsheet software.

The use of statistics extends beyond planning security at an existing facility.

Statistical data may also be used to select and plan security at new facilities. For

example, the real estate department of an organization may provide the security

decision maker with a list of potential new sites, one of which will be selected

based on, among other things, the threats at the location. In this role, the secu-

rity decision maker serves as an advisor to the real estate department by con-

ducting crime analysis of the proposed sites as well as perform security surveys

of each site to identify vulnerabilities in an effort to select the location that poses

the least or a tolerable level of risk. In this scenario, the security decision maker

will gather and analyze crime data for similar businesses in the area surround-

ing each site to determine the security problems. The sites that have the least

number of crimes can be evaluated further by means of a security survey that

identifies potential or existing vulnerabilities.After the sites have been narrowed

down by threat and surveys have been completed, the security decision maker

has the necessary information to advise the real estate department.

Integrating crime analysis into an existing risk model is a fairly simple task

for most organizations. Threat assessment information is the backbone of

security surveys and defines the scope of the security survey and vulnerability

assessment. Before embarking on a security survey, security decision makers

will have a thorough understanding of the threats, crimes, and security inci-

dents at the facility. This information guides the security decision maker as he

conducts the survey and looks for vulnerabilities and the crime opportunities

that can be blocked with security measures.

For example, an office building security director concerned with a flood of

thefts of employee wallets and purses may conduct a survey with an eye toward

52 Strategic Security Management