Encyclopedia of Security Management

John Fay

• Publisher: Butterworth-Heinemann
• Year: 2007
• eBook ISBN: 9780080546063
• Edition: 2
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: Information Management
• Index: Business

The Encyclopedia of Security Management is a valuable guide for all security professionals, and an essential resource for those who need a reference work to support their continuing education. In keeping with the excellent standard set by the First Edition, the Second Edition is completely updated. The Second Edition also emphasizes topics not covered in the First Edition, particularly those relating to homeland security, terrorism, threats to national infrastructures (e.g., transportation, energy and agriculture) risk assessment, disaster mitigation and remediation, and weapons of mass destruction (chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and explosives). Fay also maintains a strong focus on security measures required at special sites such as electric power, nuclear, gas and chemical plants; petroleum production and refining facilities; oil and gas pipelines; water treatment and distribution systems; bulk storage facilities; entertainment venues; apartment complexes and hotels; schools; hospitals; government buildings; and financial centers. The articles included in this edition also address protection of air, marine, rail, trucking and metropolitan transit systems. - Completely updated to include new information concerning homeland security and disaster management - Convenient new organization groups related articles for ease of use - Brings together the work of more than sixty of the world's top security experts

I

Business Principles

AGE DISCRIMINATION

The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA) protects individuals who are 40 years of age or older from employment discrimination based on age. The ADEA’s protections apply to both employees and job applicants. Under the ADEA, it is unlawful to discriminate against a person because of his/her age with respect to any term, condition, or privilege of employment, including hiring, firing, promotion, layoff, compensation, benefits, job assignments, and training.

It is also unlawful to retaliate against an individual for opposing employment practices that discriminate based on age or for filing an age discrimination charge, testifying, or participating in any way in an investigation, proceeding, or litigation under the ADEA. The ADEA applies to employers with 20 or more employees, including state and local governments. It also applies to employment agencies and labor organizations, as well as to the federal government. ADEA protections include:

Apprenticeship Programs

It is generally unlawful for apprenticeship programs, including joint labor-management apprenticeship programs, to discriminate on the basis of an individual’s age. Age limitations in apprenticeship programs are valid only if they fall within certain specific exceptions under the ADEA or if the EEOC grants a specific exemption.

Job Notices and Advertisements

The ADEA generally makes it unlawful to include age preferences, limitations, or specifications in job notices or advertisements. A job notice or advertisement may specify an age limit only in the rare circumstances where age is shown to be a “bona fide occupational qualification” (BFOQ) reasonably necessary to the normal operation of the business.

Pre-Employment Inquiries

The ADEA does not specifically prohibit an employer from asking an applicant’s age or date of birth. However, because such inquiries may deter older workers from applying for employment or may otherwise indicate possible intent to discriminate based on age, requests for age information will be closely scrutinized to make sure that the inquiry was made for a lawful purpose, rather than for a purpose prohibited by the ADEA.

Benefits

The Older Workers Benefit Protection Act of 1990 (OWBPA) amended the ADEA to specifically prohibit employers from denying benefits to older employees. Congress recognized that the cost of providing certain benefits to older workers is greater than the cost of providing those same benefits to younger workers, and that those greater costs would create a disincentive to hire older workers. Therefore, in limited circumstances, an employer may be permitted to reduce benefits based on age, as long as the cost of providing the reduced benefits to older workers is the same as the cost of providing benefits to younger workers.

Waivers of ADEA Rights

An employer may ask an employee to waive his/her rights or claims under the ADEA either in the settlement of an ADEA administrative or court claim or in connection with an exit incentive program or other employment termination program. However, the ADEA, as amended by OWBPA, sets out specific minimum standards that must be met in order for a waiver to be considered knowing and voluntary and, therefore, valid. Among other requirements, a valid ADEA waiver must:

• Be in writing and be understandable.

• Specifically refer to ADEA rights or claims.

• Not waive rights or claims that may arise in the future.

• Be in exchange for valuable consideration.

• Advise the individual in writing to consult an attorney before signing the waiver.

• Provide the individual at least 21 days to consider the agreement and at least seven days to revoke the agreement after signing it.

If an employer requests an ADEA waiver in connection with an exit incentive program or other employment termination program, the minimum requirements for a valid waiver are more extensive.

Source

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. <http://www.eeoc.gov/types/age.html>, 2006.

BEST PRACTICES

Dennis Dalton

Pursuing quality requires making a commitment to doing things in the best possible way. In today’s organizational environment we would call this “pursuing best practices.” But what does this mean exactly? To properly understand the context of best practices we need to consider three fundamental realities:

• There are no absolute criteria for defining best practices within security today.

• Best practices do not have to be measurable by empirical means.

• Best practices can be common practices.

On the surface, each of the three considerations appears to fly in the face of the very essence of what best practices should be all about. Yet ironically all three embody the very essence of best practices for a security manager. Let’s examine each briefly.

First, security is a non-codified profession. Unlike corporate safety with its guidelines as set forth by underwriters and regulators, the security industry has not subscribed to a set of standards. Consequently, security professionals are pretty much driven by the codes of other professional business counterparts, an occasional state requirement, an underwriter prescription, or a court decision.

Even though there may be no prescribed, empirical criteria for measuring the attainment of best practices, decision makers can determine if they are on the right track when such practices:

• Directly contribute to the bottom line.

• Add value in a demonstrable way.

• Maximize efficiency and effectiveness.

Established practices can become best practices. For example, requiring employees to display a photo identification badge is an established practice that is not always done well. When an organization enforces the established practice by use of a system of incentives and disincentives, and when statistical evidence shows that the practice contributes to cost savings, such as preventing theft, the common practice becomes a best practice.

A security manager can evaluate security practices by asking a simple question: “Am I getting the job done?” If the security manager’s responsibilities include criminal investigations, the evaluation criteria can be how quickly the investigation was completed, whether the investigation succeeded in solving a crime or correcting a crime condition, the cost of the investigation, recovery of property, and a settlement from or restitution made by the offending party. In looking at the totality of investigations, the security manager can compare total costs against total recoveries and also use historical data to demonstrate that crime-related losses in previous years were higher than crime-related costs currently.

Challenging Basic Assumptions

Are the common assumptions associated with staffing levels and deployment, allocation of security systems and devices, and operating practices relevant in today’s organizational culture? Or are there other opportunities available to be pursued that will yield the same result at a lower cost while actually maintaining or increasing the quality of the service delivered? As an example, with respect to criminal investigations, is it better to create a prosecutorial threshold (that is, no loss under an established value will be criminally pursued) rather than using civil litigation as a means of seeking appropriate remedies for all losses? By establishing such thresholds, both the manner in which investigations are pursued and the allocation of resources could vary significantly. Only those incidents involving a loss equivalent to a significant monetary value would be pursued from a criminal perspective, and those investigations would require an adherence to a higher standard of investigational pursuit. It is important to note that the best practice here is the establishment of a value threshold. The actual value you establish will vary depending on the type of organization and value of the assets.

Allocating Staff Resources

To “get the job done” how many staff people do you require? This is much different from the traditional approach of seeking authoriz...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title page
• Table of Contents
• Copyright
• Contributing Authors
• Foreword
• Preface
• Chapter 1: Business Principles
• Chapter 2: Emergency Management Practices
• Chapter 3: Information Security
• Chapter 4: Investigation
• Chapter 5: Legal Aspects
• Chapter 6: Physical Security
• Chapter 7: Protection Practices
• Chapter 8: Risk Analysis
• Chapter 9: Security Fields
• Chapter 10: Security Principles
• Chapter 11: Terrorism
• Chapter 12: Liaison
• Index