1.Benefits and disadvantages of the use of crime map
“It is better to prevent crimes than to punish them” Cesare Beccaria, “On crimes and punishments“.
Crime mapping is used by analysts in law enforcement agencies to visualize, and analyse crime incident patterns. Crime mapping is the process of producing a geographical representation of crime levels, crime types or the locations of particular incidents and it is a key component of crime analysis. This process also allows crime analysts to identify crime hot spots, which enables them to allocate police resources in more efficient ways. Crime map impacts a variety of stakeholders including the police, politicians, private companies and the general public.
The online mapping of crime can facilitate community policing and problem solving and also promote primary prevention responses and strengthen responses for victims of violence in the high-risk areas and increase collaboration and exchange of information on violence prevention.
Other advantages of the use of crime mapping include: collecting data at crime locations, identifying where offenders and victims live, identifying why crime/incidents occurred particular location, identifying emerging neighbourhood issues, profiling the characteristics of areas and how these contribute to the causes of crime/incidents.
Maps and geographic data provide work groups with information critical to identifying, understanding and responding to crime problems. Sharing such information amongst members of different work groups represents a basis for developing cooperation between police, other public agencies, and the community. Crime-maps give individual citizens a readily accessible way of understanding patterns of crime in their local area. It can help them evaluate the priorities and performance of the local police and make informed decisions regarding their safety and wellbeing.
The private sector also benefits from crime maps because they are able to identify safer locations to develop new branches and also take appropriate security measures in the relatively unsafe areas. Some companies may use the statistics in crime maps as means of advertising and use safety to attract consumers. This is particularly relevant for the merchants and hotels that must ensure a safe and serene environment for their customers.
“Making crime data more transparent is useful to both the public and businesses so that they are armed with more information,” say a spokesperson for the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB).
Any established firms and high performing corporation knows whether their premises are located in dangerous areas. This is due to the fact that a lot of research is put into identifying the needs of their target market. For security reasons, firms could find out which areas have experienced more crime and then ramp up marketing efforts in those locations.
The use of crime maps plays an important part in crime prevention, but it has both advantages and disadvantages. Although it is useful for police, politicians and other government`s institutions, it can become harmful to individuals, property development and the economy of the areas with higher risk of crime. The transparency of the map, even if public opinion was favorable, can be a security strategy mistake. Such a resource must be carefully preserved and used only by police. Public access to maps may have undesirable effects, leading to an increased state of fear for residents.
Even if Home Secretary Theresa May said she expected the public reaction to be positive and denied the information could increase fear or drive down house prices in some areas, Paul Vallely said in The Independent “I had an elderly relative who was made paranoid by the hysteria of the local evening paper which seemed to subsist on an almost exclusive diet of outraged crime stories. She was so afraid that she screwed shut her windows for fear of burglars. She also limited the number of times she would make her 500-yard mid-morning walk to the local shops for fear of being mugged.”
In the real estate and insurance world, the location of a property is of utmost importance.
For residents of high-risk areas the premiums charged by insurers can be very high. In extreme situations, insurance companies may impose restrictions or even refuse to provide cover, regardless of the residents` claim history.
Chartered surveyors say that crime maps might become compulsory reading for house buyers. This could result in price reductions for the properties that are located in areas with higher crime rates. Other institutions, such as schools, may also be impacted by the increased advertising of crime maps, as families might avoid particular schools for their children.
Home Office ministers say that publicising high crime areas has been done without having a negative effect on house prices. However, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors mentioned that this could “literally wipe thousands of pounds off house prices overnight”.
“The introduction of the crime map means property valuations are likely to come under increasing scrutiny,” says Andrew Turner, from property advisers Smiths Gore.
In addition to this, Nigel Lewis, property analyst at Findaproperty.com, said: “Online crime maps are a brilliant idea but they are also dangerous for the housing market”. A 2004 study by the London School of Economics and Political Science found that more crime in a London neighbourhood means lower house prices.
Paul McKeever, chairman of the Police Federation in England and Wales, said that the maps could help professional criminals plan new offences. Some officers are also concerned that criminals will use the information to shift their activities into areas with low-crime rates, in the hope that they are less heavily targeted by police.
By using the map for crime prevention, the government and the police could reduce crime, deter criminals and maintain criminal justice. With the disposal of an up to date crime map the police can implement a strategy for crime prevention, define priorities accordingly, and support research on the causes of crimes, consequences and, costs of crime prevention.
Governments must go beyond law enforcement and criminal justice to tackle the risk factors that cause criminal acts. Prevention is likely to be more cost effective and leads to greater social benefits than the standard ways of punishing crime.
2. Why is Security Manager needed?
Security management is the identification of an organization’s assets, followed by the development, documentation, and implementation of policies and procedures for protecting these assets. An organisation uses such security management procedures as information classification, risk assessment, and risk analysis to identify threats, categorise assets, and rate system vulnerabilities so that they can implement effective controls.
Security and risk management lies at the heart of every business decision and is fundamental to the day-to-day work of the security professional. Key to success for the security professional is the correct assessment of risks and establishing the most effective and efficient responses. Avoiding or ignoring risk is not an option. Some of the benefits to good security management include maintaining shareholders’ interests in a business, maximising the safety of personnel, keeping customers’ personal information securely, ensuring an entity’s reputation is reinforced and securing an organisation’s assets.
To make profit any company must raise the volume of selling and reduce loss. That can be realized by the Security Manager who contributes to company profits by reducing or eliminating preventable losses, including those caused by criminal behaviour and by increasing the number of customers. Public confidence in the security of people and property is one of the most important marketing tool for a mall operator because it is known that better overall security leads to an increased number of customers and to an improved retail experience for them. Thefts bring hypermarkets in Romania damages estimated at 1,0-1,5 % of total sales which means shrinkage between 1 million and 1,5 million each year for every 100 millions of retail sales. If the Security Manager, through its efforts and programs, can reduce the inventory shrinkage by just one-half of 1% profits would increase by 0,5 million. Substantial losses are generated by crime and a number of factors promote and reduce the risks of crime to business. Also, crime and loss risks vary according to a number of factors, such as business sector, geographical location, premises type, and surveillance.
According to representatives of the Capital Police, in January – August there have been 4541 complaints of thefts from retail stores.
https://b.politiaromana.ro/ro/informatii-publice/coeficienti-de-criminalitate
Number of thefts in 2014 and 2015
The high risk environment of mall premised office/retail stores stems partially from the nature of the businesses conducted and clientele served. In addition to threats of client initiated violence, trendy office/shopping malls, depending on their location, are also at risk of property crime, vandalism, break-ins, and theft. These risks are heightened by the presence of high value goods-type of products and desirability. Because of the low-to-high-risk environment and those other factors that invite criminal activity that victimize retail business, there is a growing need to ensure that proper security measures are in place to maximize the safety of the mall facility, tenant businesses, their staff, clientele, and users of public space inside the mall.
Security, now demanded by customers and tenants alike, has become a major operating expense of shopping centers and malls. Security has become the fastest growing expense incurred by owners of enclosed malls, and security concerns have also had an impact on customer’s shopping behaviors. A recent survey by America’s Research Group reported 37,1% of consumers polled had changed the way they shopped in the past year because of their fear of infractions. Results show that shopping center costumers are most concerned about their security and when respondents were asked what single thing mall could do to increase their feelings of safety and security, over 64% responded with suggestions for an increase in security personnel. The study predict that greater frequency of safety and security concerns will report greater frequency of customers, especially female and older customers. For survey respondents reporting taking small children shopping, the most serious concerns are to “having a small child get lost at a mall” (55,9%) and “having a small child abducted at a mall” (53,6%). Also, it was revealed that activities which clearly address security concerns, especially outside the mall, are given the highest level of importance. Conclusions are that security remains a serious and possibly growing concern for shopping center owners, and one with potentially serious implications if not addressed appropriately.
Shopping centre security management must assume a robust approach which addresses both the causes and symptoms of threats to maximize site or environment security and the safety of staff and customers by adopting crime prevention and reduction measures strategies.
Aims and Objectives
• To identify and measure the rates and levels of security threats, and crime risks against business at office/retail shopping mall premised businesses
• To audit the environmental and building structure factors which promote crime and/or contribute to safety and security and prevention and reduction.
• To evaluate levels of fear and feelings of safety and security in and around the mall complex/building and also examine factors that give rise to security threats, crime risks, and actual events
• To measure the impact of existing security and crime prevention strategies
• Raise awareness, develop insights, and make practical recommendations as guidelines on crime prevention and reduction by incorporating on the whole, and/or into potential targets or areas of the mall complex, features which make criminal activity less appealing for the criminal and/or disrupt the causes of the criminal event(s) in order to promote safe shopping.
Addressing health and safety should not be seen as a regulatory burden: it offers significant opportunities:
The Security Manager approach and framework for conducting Security Risk Assessments:
1. Understand the organization and identify the people and assets at risk. Assets include people, all types of property, core business, networks, and information. People include employees, tenants, guests, vendors, visitors, and others directly or indirectly connected or involved with an enterprise. Property includes tangible assets such as cash and other valuables and intangible assets such as intellectual property and causes of action.
Core business includes the primary business or endeavour of an enterprise, including its reputation and goodwill. Networks include all systems, infrastructures, and equipment associated with data, telecommunications, and computer processing assets. Information includes various types of proprietary data.
2. Specify loss risk events/vulnerabilities. Risks or threats are those incidents likely to occur at a site, either due to a history of such events or circumstances in the local environment. They also can be based on the intrinsic value of assets housed or present at a facility or event. A loss risk event can be determined through a vulnerability analysis. The vulnerability analysis should take into consideration anything that could be taken advantage of to carry out a threat. This process should highlight points of weakness and assist in the construction of a framework for subsequent analysis and countermeasures.
3. Establish the probability of loss risk and frequency of events. Frequency of events relates to the regularity of the loss event. For example, if the threat is the assault of patrons at a shopping mall, the frequency would be the number of times the event occurs each day that the mall is open. Probability of loss risk is a concept based upon considerations of such issues as prior incidents, trends, warnings, or threats, and such events occurring at the enterprise.
4. Determine the impact of the events. The financial, psychological, and related costs associated with the loss of tangible or intangible assets of an organization.
5. Develop options to mitigate risks. Identify options available to prevent or mitigate losses through physical, procedural, logical, or related security processes.
6. Study the feasibility of implementation of options. Practicality of implementing the options without substantially interfering with the operation or profitability of the enterprise.
7. Perform a cost/benefit analysis.
Retail tenants, their employees, shoppers, walkers and food court patrons all need to feel secure, safe and welcome in shopping centre or they may not return. What’s worse, an incident could prevent new customers from shopping at your facility. Studies validate the notion that when malls are perceived as being safe, they prosper. Malls perceived as unsafe are less likely to prosper and insurance premiums go up.
The security manager can bring his expertise to many levels of asset protection including physical security, executive protection, fraud investigation, asset recovery, personnel protection, workplace violence prevention programs, emergency response planning, and business continuity. Conduct assessments within the local security organization and working together on one-off events. Improve police services to efficiently and effectively respond to crime problems and enhance citizen cooperation in reporting crime. Regular meetings with various police members can be an effective way to foster a positive working environment by sending a message to criminals that law enforcement is around.
Most successful retailers are taking a more comprehensive approach: identifying the most prevalent and costly loss areas, and implementing cost effective programs to reduce loss. Well-researched, designed, and executed asset protection programs reduce errors and crime events, leading to safer and more successful operations.
Measures for Loss control.
A four-phase, integrated loss control program will control and prevent loss. During Phase I, the Security Manager conducts a comprehensive security survey. During Phase II, he analyse the data collected during the survey to determine risk and trends, and then prioritises these risks to focus countermeasures. During Phase III, he designs and implements a loss control program. During Phase IV, the program is continuously tested and adjusted as needed. Fig.1 depicts the primary tasks associated with defining, designing, implementing, and maintaining an effective loss control program. No retailer should take the problem of retail shrinkage lightly. Lack of a solid, consistent loss control program often leads to staggering financial losses and can make violence more likely. A commitment to loss prevention must be made at the top of the organization and be positively reinforced throughout the organization every day. In this way, the business will experience an increase in profits due to an effective loss prevention program.
Security Risk Management. The security risk manager is responsible for the overall assessment of risk and the response to identified risks. Done correctly, monitoring and review will allow you to identify trends and risks, giving the organisation opportunity to build resilience that will make it more agile. Monitoring and review is proof-positive that effective management and supervisory processes are in place in the organisation. This underpins stakeholder value and the financial bottom line for the organisation. In delivering effective risk management the security risk manager will be able produce comprehensive reporting through shared information in the development of risk assessments and shared benefits from risk responses, increase quality of information produced through the management of risk, give greater assurance to risk owners and improve business performance.
Figure 2.The Risk Management Framework. The process is circular and never ending, providing opportunities for continual improvement through authorised and documented adjustments and developments.
Prevention
Employees can be the greatest asset, and unfortunately, the worst enemy. Retail security studies indicate the same thing year in and year out: employees account for much if not most of store losses. Employees have the best access to all assets. A recent survey by Ernst and Young showed that the average theft per dishonest employee amounted to $890. This figure is extremely high when compared to the average loss of $57 per shoplifting incident. This survey indicates that loss from dishonest employees is 15 times greater than the loss caused by shoplifters. Employees steal in a variety of ways, but the result is always the same: loss of profits and low morale. Employee theft can even lead to the loss of an entire business.
The security manager will document all reported theft and abuse incidents. These data are useful for employee management as well as to determine the most common methods of losses. Once problems are identified and prioritized, detection and prevention efforts can be focused to eliminate or control theft incidents.
To further operational offender decision-making, the security manager use the theft triangle model (Fig. 3). The theft triangle addresses the psycho-sociological reasons for, and an individual’s decision to attempt a theft. Three primary perceptual variables help explain individual deviancy. The offender has a perceived need, desire or intention to possess and actually steal something from us, while neutralizing their guilt (Hollinger, 1991). Offenders generally must also believe they have the opportunity to safely commit the theft with relatively little effort. Further, offenders often take action, at least partially, when they perceive little downside risk such as capture and serious sanction. This decision-making process can occur instantaneously or over time.
Fig. 3. Theft triangle: Offender Considerations
Mall owners should focus efforts on addressing security concerns of costumers by adopting appropriate levels of visible security. Identifying security concerns of shopping centre customers and the impact of those concerns on shopping behavior will be vital to the continued success of shopping centers. Shopping centre managers must balance the need for their facilities to be easily accessible public places with the need to keep out the dangerous elements that such places sometimes attract. Almost every shopping center attracts some vagrants, homeless people and gangs that can disrupt ordinary operations.
Security manager job description:
-security services
-emergency procedures
-loss prevention and risk management
Oversee contracted security services to include:
-evaluation of property needs
-supplying all personnel
-training and supervision
-supplies and equipment
-deployment and scheduling
-monitor life safety equipment on property
-report statistics to owner
-enforce policy and procedure of owner
-review and update center specific emergency procedures with all personnel
-conduct emergency and evacuation drills in conjuction with local agencies – fire, police departments, and ambulances services.
-conduct daily, weekly and monthly property inspections that strive to eliminate the likelihood of loss or damage to the building, tenants, vendors and customers
-review incident reports in an effort to address unsafe conditions.
Objectives of Security Manager:
-protecting assets (inventory, premises, capital equipment and financial assets)
-protecting people (employees, customers and visitors)
-protecting the organisation’s reputation
-site security
-burglary robbery
-theft from work, collusion between peoples
-executive protection
-workplace violence, staff and customer safety
-hostage and major security incidents
-guarding and protection
-detection, investigation and apprehension
-security and risk assessment
-business continuity management
-emergency response plans
-systems and procedures
-fraud by suppliers, logistics and customers
The safety and security of all visitors and staff members is one of the highest priorities. Examine working conditions continually to ensure they meet acceptable standards for the protection, safety, and health of employees.
Impact of good security
The immediate impact of good security on the commercial health of a corporation is that it keeps the corporation’s assets secure. The assets are therefore able to be utilised, the additional expenses involved in replacing them are avoided, and the possibly greater losses through loss of business or inability to service clients are forestalled. Good security may actually increase business opportunities for a corporation. Always a shopping centre which is known to have good security in place attract customers from other malls where customers may feel less safe.
The impact of crime on shopping habits can be profound and include postponement of purchases, less recreational shopping, and less shopping at night. The corporation increases its employee retention rate because people prefer to work in a safe workplace. The financial benefit of reducing employee turnover in a corporation cannot be understated.
The corporation demonstrates that it is a good corporate citizen, partly because its investment in security reduces the demand on police services allowing them to deal with more urgent matters. In a time when corporate citizenship and ‘ethical investing’ are becoming important considerations, such a corporation becomes more attractive to investors and may increase its shareholder loyalty.
The corporation’s exposure to legal liability claims is reduced when it is able to show that it had taken care to incorporate appropriate security measures into its business practices.
Impact of bad corporate security
The direct losses that affect the corporation commence with the financial costs associated with an incident, however even they may not be accurately counted.
Over and above the immediate costs resulting from a criminal incident, there are other sources of increased costs. First, there are costs for increased security as invariably management will decide to increase security at the site of the incident. And further direct costs may arise when the corporation’s insurance premiums are increased after a claim is lodged for the incident.
Indirect losses
The most serious indirect losses occur because of damage to the corporation’s image or reputation and the shopping centre may well be avoided by many shoppers. The negative media coverage that incidents attract can fuel a long-term negative consumer perception of the corporation and its brand. That can lead to considerable public relations costs by the corporation in an effort to overcome poor image problems.
But apart from the public, the corporation’s employees can also be gravely affected by incidents occurring as a result of failed security. Stress or trauma related workers’ compensation claims may be made, and morale (thus productivity) may drop. Staff turnover may increase and industrial action may involve strikes or working-to-rule, possibly generating even more damaging publicity. It might also be necessary to offer higher wages in order to attract future employees because of general negative perceptions of the workplace. Legal action against the corporation Corporations get involved in more than their fair share of litigation and bad security can add to that burden.
Surveys and statistics
National Survey on Shopping Center Security:
“At nearly seven of ten shopping centres, security gets part-time attention from executives who have other primary duties. Many officials lack the expertise, as well as the time, to give security the direction it demands. Public safety and tenant protection require that steps be taken to formalize security as a professional function. Without proper guidance, even the best-trained guard forces are apt to fall short on performance. If at all possible, the security responsibility should be placed in the hands of an experienced full-time security manager. Efficient operations bring economies and declining protection problems that could well save much more than the cost of manager’s salaries.”
The owners of commercial office properties must have two priorities: keeping occupants safe and protecting buildings and contents. (Fig.4)
Fig.4. ASIS Survey of Top Security Concerns at Commercial Offices
1. National USA Retail Security Survey 2015 highlights:
Shoplifting: 38%
Employee/Internal theft: 34,5%
Vendor fraud/error: 6,8%
Unknown loss: 6,1%
2. Key findings of 2014-2015 Global Retail Theft Barometer Study across 24 countries in Europe, America and Asia Pacific available at http://www.globalretailtheftbarometer.com:
Percentage of losses caused by:
Employees 39%
Customers 38%
Administration 16%
Suppliers 7%
In fact, while shoplifting is the biggest cause of retail shrink in 18 of the 24 countries surveyed, in the U.S., employee theft ranked first at 45 percent, with shoplifting next at 36 percent.
3. The Global State of Information Security® Survey 2016 find that financial losses decreased 5% from 2014 to 2015 after businesses boosted their security budgets.
The most successful businesses:
49% conduct security and risk assessment
48% active monitoring/analysis of security intelligence
52% have security baselines/standards for third parties
53% employee training and awareness program
58% have an overall information security
4. Surveys on the cost of shrinkage as a percentage of retail turnover
YEAR SOURCE ESTIMATE %
2003 National Supermarket Research Group (United States) 2.32
2003 New Zeeland Survey of Retail Theft and Security 1.50
2004 ECR Europe Shrinkage Survey (18 European countries) 1.84
2010 National Retail Security Survey (United States) 1.49
2011 Global Retail Theft Barometer (44 countries) 1.45
The main sources of shrinkage are shoplifting and employee theft accounted for more than 75% of shrinkage.
Shrinkage costs 1.23% of retail sales.
Retailers expressed that a range of factors, including a challenging retail environment, caused them to implement austerity measures resulting in a reduction of loss prevention investments. This, combined with areas of high unemployment and limited tools to monitor internal theft and inventory discrepancies, all contributed to an increase in their shrinkage. Shoplifting continues to plague the retail industry due to escalating problem of organized retail crime, easy sales of stolen merchandise through online sites, reduced investments in loss prevention tools and resources, and the general perception of shoplifting as a “low-risk/non-offensive” crime.
Key goals of Security Manager:
– Reduce stock loss with 0.2% -0.3% one year after the implementation of security measures.
– Increase the number of visitors with 0.2% -0.3% each year after the implementation of security measures.
– Lower the Insurance Premiums
– Develop a series of measures that show the impact of security.
“Problems aside, we are rapidly approaching a situation where risk management is no longer an option. In a highly competitive business environment, companies cannot afford to have costly or inappropriate security. Effective risk management can be nothing less than the defence of company profitability.” – Dr. P. G. Dory, Head Of Security, Barclays Bank PLC.
List of References
2014-2015 Global Retail Theft Barometer Study across 24 countries in Europe, America and Asia Pacific available at http://www.globalretailtheftbarometer.com:
Adrian Beck, “Crime and Security in Sectors” in Handbook of Security, Second Edition, 2014
American Society of Industrial Security (ASIS) (2010) Enterprise Security Risk Management: How Great Risks Lead to Great Deeds: A Benchmarking Survey and White Paper [online].
British Standards Institute (BSI) (2008) BS 31100: 2008. Risk Management Code of Practice. London: BSI.
Dalton, D.R. (2003) Rethinking Corporate Security in the Post 9/11 Era, New York: Butterworth-Heinemann
Good Practice Guide for Security Risk Management, 2011, The Security Institute, UK
Institute of Risk Management (2002) A Risk Management Standard [online].
International Journal of Risk, Security and Crime Prevention, Vol. 2, No. 4
Meyer, S. (2000) ‘Employee Turnover: It’s Big…It’s There’, MMR, March 20
Retail Security and Loss Prevention, Read Hayes
Retail Shopping Mall Security: Raising Awareness of Crime Risks Against Business (A Case Study of Joina City Shopping Mall, Harare—June 2011–July 2012)
Safety and Security concerns of shopping center customers and the effect of these concerns on shopping behavior, J. Overstreet, Center for Retailing, University of South Carolina and R. Clodfelter, Department of Retailing, University of South Carolina.
Sennewald, C.A. (2003) Effective Security Management 4th edn, New York: Butterworth Heinemann.