My research into the number of UK businesses that have working bases and staff without our own fair shores suggests that this is an issue that’s having a very tangible and direct effect on many security managers.
Plans must be in place for positive overseas security management, full research and a risk assessment of the country and/or market in question (itself an ongoing task), the development of a crisis management committee, the preparation of relevant crisis management plans and suitable arrangements for appropriate staff training.
If you have a seasoned overseas security expert on your staff then his or her advice and experience will be invaluable. If that’s not the case, I strongly recommend that you look to the ‘words of wisdom’ of Koenraad Van Brabant.
In co-operation with like-minded professionals, Koenraad has applied his knowledge to the development of training courses and workshops on operational security management – the feedback from which has added to the body of knowledge he clearly possesses, and which has allowed him to refine the guidance he provides in ‘Operational Security Management in Violent Environments’.
The protection of staff and assets from violent behaviour largely informs the guidance offered within this book’s pages. Fire and flood-related dangers are therefore excluded, but the threats posed by landmines, weapons fire, car-jacking, mob violence, sexual aggression, abduction and arrest, etc are covered in detail.
These may sound like extreme threats, but planning for a ‘best case’ scenario would be a waste of time. Koenraad has plotted his in-depth text accordingly.
In form, the book is divided into seven themed sections. The first of these ‘spells out a management approach to [overseas] security’ in which, unlike with normal project life cycles, all stages remain ‘alive’ and under review. The second section covers situational analyses – stressing the importance of context analysis and risk assessment.
Ensuing sections cover security strategies and threat management in relation to specific hazards (such as kidnapping and evacuation).
Other topics outlined in detail are information and communications management, personal and personnel security and safety and, last but by no means least, a final section on pure security management. The latter covers planning, organisational responsibility and liaison.
Aside from the book’s first two sections – which you are urged to read thoroughly – there is no great pressure to read the remainder with a fine tooth comb. This is a deliberate design feature of the book, which includes clear categorisation, highlighted text and a somewhat informal style.
Authentic case studies documenting the experiences and challenges of personnel in the field are used to good effect. If nothing else, they add credibility to the advice on offer.
Let’s not forget that the book’s poignancy is well illustrated by the fact that the US Government has issued a general warning to its citizens living and working abroad about the threat of terrorist action.
