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IFSEC Insider, formerly IFSEC Global, is the leading online community and news platform for security and fire safety professionals.
April 4, 2004

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Physical Security: Target hardening – biting the bullet

As recently as the 1980s, guns deployed in the UK by hardened, professional criminals were seen largely as a means to ‘threaten’ during a major robbery. Times have changed, though. Now, there’s a growing culture in Britain and other parts of Europe that appears to be copying the ‘Gangster Rap’ feuds witnessed Stateside.
Glamorised through music, films and elements of the media, for some a loaded gun has become a status symbol. Not to mention a lethal fashion accessory.
It’s most certainly worrying to think that carrying guns and demonstrating a willingness to use them is a favoured tactic among young gangs out to protect their turf. Interviews with drug dealers and shocking CCTV images of gun shoot-outs between rival gangs in nightclubs indicate a definite link between increased gun use and the burgeoning trade in narcotics.
In the UK, our gun laws are among the tightest in the world and yet, year-on-year, incidences of gun crime are growing by 30%. Even in a predominantly rural area like County Durham – which, let’s face it, is hardly recognised as a crime ‘hot spot’ – police recently seized a huge haul of illegal weaponry, including two Russian-made Kalashnikov AK-47 military assault rifles.
Ever since the fall of the Iron Curtain and the break-up of the old USSR, pistols such as the Tokarev, Stechkin and, lately, the 5.45 mm PSM have flooded onto the black market. And that’s not even taking into account various AK47 models such as the AK74 and AKM.
The results of a study by security specialists operating in one of the major commercial sectors – looking at the weapons used in 2000 during robberies and attempted robberies – make for disturbing reading. Across the UK, there were a total of 450 firearms incidents. Although that figure was actually down from the previous year’s total of 523, weapons were used in 323 (ie 71.78%) of those 450 incidents.
There would certainly appear to be no shortage of firearms on the street, then. That said, it’s also very easy indeed to legally purchase replica weapons which, at first glance, cannot be differentiated from real ones.

Protection from armed robbery
With such a sharp increase in gun crime, the need to protect against armed robbers has never been greater. That being the case, designers and security managers should equip themselves with the necessary knowledge to combat the threat – or turn to specialist organisations that can supply them with robust protection mechanisms.
European standards for ballistic testing – namely EN1063 for glass and EN1522 (covering windows and doors) – have been in place since 1999, the former BS 5051 no longer valid (with the exception of plastic glazing sheet materials). These rigorous standards look for weaknesses in design, concentrating on edges, corners and locks, not just material thickness (as required by the previous test).
Categories of ballistics have also increased, with .22 long rifles (BR1) at the low end of the scale, through to 7.62 x 51 armour piercing (BR7) at the other. Ideally, security managers should always demand physical security and safety products that rigidly adhere to the EN 1522:2000 test.

Concentrating on electronics
Designing against terrorist and criminal threats cannot stand still because offenders usually adapt to existing security measures. Aside from new technology actively preventing crime, we must also remember that it can also offer new opportunities for offending.
Nowadays, a great many security budgets concentrate on fashionable electronic security solutions such as CCTV, biometrics and intruder alarm systems. Alas, ‘target hardening’ through physical security products such as ballistic and bomb blast-resistant doors, windows and walls is all-too-often overlooked by corporate concerns.
The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1992 state that every employer must make a suitable and sufficient assessment of the Health and Safety risks to which their employees are exposed while at work. This has to include the use of systems offering the correct security specifications (and not just because they cost less).
Experienced security managers use the ‘onion ring’ principle to protect their organisations (‘Exploding the myths’, SMT, May 2001, pp32-34). The same principle that dates back to 13th Century castle design introduced by the Crusaders who, upon returning from the Middle East, effectively copied the designs of the great Muslim Citadels.

Openness isn’t an option
Today, openness in society is a way of life, while openness as a financial and business aspect is crucial for survival in the 21st Century global economy. However, openness as a concept in security should never be an option. Although not overtly apparent, physical barriers should still play a major part in safeguarding any modern organisation.
Ultimately, it’s the responsibility of the security manager to ensure that everyone from the top down to the bottom of an organisation co-operates and understands their individual responsibility in supporting any security measures deemed necessary.
Architects and security professionals should be aware of the fact that criminal gangs now roaming the streets of Britain hold weapons that can fire bullets capable of penetrating 15 mm of mild steel. That’s why specifying the appropriate level of physical security requires careful consideration.
Professional security provision isn’t all about electronics, you know, and we must never lose sight of that fact!

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