PRECAUTIONS AWAY FROM THE BANK

The recent incident, in which a Florida Bank Teller was accosted at home and forced to drive to the bank, where the robbers demanded  he rob, has prompted security personal, throughout the country to re-evaluated their banks security policies.

There are many structural and procedural preventive measures, most of which do not hinder the corporation’s normal activity, which will tend to deter criminal activity against the employee both a work and at home. Ideally, these measures will be so subtle that they will not offend the customers but so apparent that the criminals will go elsewhere.

Realizing, of course,  not all attacks can be prevented, by an individual not rational enough to weigh the punishment against the crime. However,  with this in mind, Banks should have a plan in place to at least minimize  losses, when an attack does occur. So, let’s look at some of the more common types of attack.

The conventional crimes of “robbery’ and “burglary” still exist but in recent years employees and customers have become victims of ” personal’ and ” threat”  crimes.  And, like the Miami incident, one need only to pick up the local  newspaper or tune in the nightly news, to understand the potential  danger, even to the point of death, of these “personal” and “threat” crimes. An understanding of these increased crimes, along with evaluating their motivation, will make the corporations plans to deter and respond more successful and help ease the danger and loss.

Personal crimes include the invasion of the home, kidnapping,  hostage situations. and a threat of future harm.

• Invasion of the Home- this type usually occurs at night, for the purpose of holding  the executive captive and demand ransom, be it cash, goods or services.
• Kidnapping- this may involve the adduction of the executive, or a member of the executive’s family. Usually, in a true kidnapping, the criminal  will give the victims family some type proof that the victim is indeed captured and that the victim is alive and well, as the criminal wants only to exchange the victim for something of value.
• Hostage Claim- This crime is similar to a kidnapping , but often involves schemes to prevent the family from determining the executive’s true status.  This type crime, in some instances, may be more dangerous than the kidnapping, as the motive may be politically motivated in additional to monetary gain.

• Threat of Future Harm- This is a very sensitive  crime, as it may be against the corporation, or  include a political motive of even the threat of death or injury, if the demands are not met.

Threat crimes usually are usually centered around damage to public or private property..

• Damage to a Public Institution-These type crimes may involved a school or hospital. In this type threat, the criminal will usually go public with the demands, in order to force quick action, which places the corporation in a delegate  position.
• Damage to company property- This differs  from the other types  as a decision demands quick action, as to whether to search or  evacuate the  premises.

What is the motivation of such crimes?

• Profit- The criminal hopes to have a monetary gain, in exchange for: his victim, forgoing some future act, or information that will allow the corporation to prevent a future act.
• Revenge-This may be directly against the executive of the company for some real or imagined personal injury, such as being fired from the corporation, or indirectly against the corporation as a highly visible representative of the ‘establishment’ with which the criminal has a grievance.

So, how is the above crimes defended? The banker, and family, should be familiar with the following basic security precautions.

• Always know the whereabouts of your wife and children, including routine time schedules.
• Family members and fellow employees should always know your whereabouts, at all times
• Have a confidential “Family Information  Form,” filed with your local  law enforcement department, giving all pertinent  family schedules and telephone numbers.
• Alert the family of any suspicious activity, by others, which is not normal routine.
• Don’t advertise your name on the home mail box. Place house number only.
• When away from home, have the newspapers and garbage cans  picked up.
• When away from home, use a timer to turn certain lights on and off at night.
• Consider a home alarm system. One that cannot be compromised by cutting the telephone line or electrical system.
• Be careful of publicity. Reports of social events should not include times and locations.
• News releases should not contain personal and family information.
• Vacations should not be advertised in advance.
• Do not respond, giving personal information  to blind internet or telephone inquiries.
• Avoid establishing a  routine. Don’t travel the same route at approx the same time
• Lock vehicle doors whether parked or moving; vacant or occupied.
• Keep cars windows up.
• Park only in well lighted areas.
• When having vehicle serviced, leave only the ignition key-never the house key.
• Look into vehicle before opening door.
• When approaching the vehicle, have the keys ready.
• Don’t allow the vehicle to be forced to the curb.
• Drive alertly and don’t get blocked in or be forced to the curb.
• Be especially alert following detailed accounts of a kidnapping for ransom

Does your corporation have a written structured Security Plan. One that includes a defined  Kidnapping/Hostage policy?  The following tips are general in nature, and are only given as an overview of what the plan should consider.

• The plan must start at the top. If  the corporation’s executive management is not dedicated to crime prevention, the program will likely fail.
• The plan must be a written centralized policy applicable  to all departments, employees and customers.
• The plan must be a well defined and workable plan,  considering  the corporation’s particular production needs,  the staffing to meet the necessary security needs and the funds to carry out the security program.
• The plan must prove to be cost effective, in terms of documented employee and customer safety and the prevention of loss assets.
• The plan must be constantly monitored, to include the failures and success of the plan.
• The plan must be continuously revised, to keep up with the latest crime trends and security technology’s

Remember! The Corporate Security’s goal is to identify ,  manage and correct any potential threat, against the corporations’ employees, customers and assets. 

Personal protection is of the utmost importance these days. But all the police and firemen and EMS workers in the world can’t be there to protect you 24/7. So taking charge of your own personal safety is the first step to keeping yourself out of danger.