Business
Terrorism is any indiscriminate act that strikes in varying forms of threats and violence. Terrorist generate fear through intimidation, coercion and acts of violence such as highjackings, bombings and kidnappings. As past and more recent events have shown, however, terrorists have reached new levels of organization, sophistication and violence - their tactics and techniques are always changing and will continue to be a challenge to predict and neutralize. Accordingly, we must remain diligent in applying the proper protective measures.
Protecting neighborhoods and businesses is vital to the safety and well-being of a community. Neighborhood watch, block watch, town watch, apartment watch, crime watch, business watch - no matter what it is called - is one of the most effective and least costly answers to crime. Watch groups are the foundation of community crime prevention and a stepping stone to community revitalization.
For business in particular, it is important to be alert to suspicious activity and report it to the appropriate authorities. Establish a consistent dialogue with community leaders, emergency management, government agencies, community organizations and utilities about disaster preparedness. Engage private security and conduct a risk assessment of your business. Risk assessment can be a sophisticated area of expertise that ranges from self-assessment to an extensive engineering study. The specific industry, size and scope of your individual company will determine your organization's risk assessment needs.
In addition, it is important to learn what you can do during a biological, chemical, explosive, nuclear or radiological attack. Define internally the need to restrict access to your business and review emergency plans to ensure continuity of operations and address media relations.
Proper planning and communication are essential to keeping your employees safe during a critical incident. The time spent in planning today will not only help protect your business and livelihood, but will also support your employees, customers and stakeholders, the community and the local economy.
Several programs have been created to assist the business community in protecting critical assets: