Museum Security and Protection

A Handbook for Cultural Heritage Institutions

Robert Burke, David Liston, Robert Burke, David Liston

• Editorial: Routledge
• Año: 2005
• ISBN:
  9781134904716
• Edición: 1
• Categoría: Business
• Categoría: Museum Administration

The ICMS Handbook is acknowledged as the international standard text for basic security procedures. It was first published as A Basic Guide to Museum Security, and is now fully revised, enlarged and updated. The manual covers: general principles security, theft and burglary: security personnel; training; collection management and transport; disaster planning; fire and environmental hazards; checklist of security procedures. It is designed to operate in all conditions and sizes of museum, not merely those with elaborate electronic security. It stresses that good basic principles are the key to effective protection from hazard.

Section I

Basic protection services

1
Cultural property security and protection theory

‘Security is the most important consideration in the administration of any museum.’*

Every cultural property institution requires a good protection program. Security and protection add physical order and stability to the operation of an organization. They preserve valuables in a basic physical manner. The public requires its cultural heritage to be well protected. The physical protection of cultural property is one of the primary public purposes of every cultural property institution.

Cultural property requires consistent, good quality physical protection and conservation. Protection managers apply concepts of protection and security services to protect the unique collecting, researching, and exhibiting activities of their particular institution. It is more economic to provide an effective protection program for an institution and its collection than to attempt to recover collections lost from theft, fire, or natural disasters.

In this chapter protection managers review the theory of protection and in the following chapter review its practices. Protection managers find problems where there are problem work situations, accept the concept of protection only with a demonstration of it, and apply good logic, judgment, and common understanding. They consider using security surveys and threat analyses to find their problem areas, and look for a means to solve their problems in a systematic manner. Protection managers in developing institutions or in developing nations have more important protection requirements.

Following this are two chapters on basic protection services of vigilance and guard services and collection management. Chapter 5 begins a section on basic building protection services. At the end of the handbook is a section on special protection services and recommendations.

Primary protection principles

Cultural protection managers find protection problems where they find institution or protection work problems. Sometimes managers already know the common protection or security problems very well. Often a skilled or experienced protection manager finds areas for improvement through a casual review of operations.

Similar cultural protection problems occur at every museum or cultural institution. Cultural protection managers from different institutions learn from each other what problems occur and how to correct them. These problems are symptoms of common weaknesses and assist protection mangers in eliminating their particular problems more easily. Many protection managers value having a second opinion or a professional consultant to check their logic and protection system.

Institution and protection managers use good logic, judgment, and common understanding. Many of the more obvious problems that occur in cultural protection come from simple problems or simple combinations of situations. Many of the protection problems of United States museums listed in Action Guide 1A, for example, are problems of other institutions.

Institution and protection managers must work together in the following ways.

• Appoint one person to coordinate protection efforts. Give that person direct access to the museum or cultural institution manager and sufficient authority to act during an emergency when no other authority is present.
• Establish public visitor rules. Inform visitors of the rules and advise visitors to follow them. Keep collections on exhibit out of the reach of visitors. Develop controls for visitors to private spaces and limit the number of visitors to unattended and private areas.
• Provide rules of behavior for staff. Limit their access to building spaces and time of access. Limit their access to handle collections and enter collection storage areas. Provide access to collection storage areas and storage keys by authorization only.
• Reduce the fire threat of smoking, cooking, welding, heating, and lighting, prohibiting the uncontrolled use of open flames on the property and in buildings. Prohibit the use of substandard electrical wiring and equipment. Turn off electrical systems when not required.
• Plan what to do in response to every expected emergency. Tell staff what to do. Practice what to do with protection staff. Coordinate the plan with outside officials such as members of the fire service, the police, medical authorities, and other emergency coordinators.

Every cultural protection manager must determine how to prepare and respond immediately to each of these situations that might occur.

Natural hazards such as:

• Floods
• Drought or limited water conditions
• Lightning
• Tornados, typhoons, monsoons, or hurricanes
• Very high speed winds
• High water level
• Wide range or forest fire, or high warning level for them
• Wide range insect or rodent infestation
• Smoke or other extreme pollution
• Earthquake
• Volcanic activity
• Mold and mildew
• Dust storms
• Combinations of these

Technological hazards such as:

• Loss of air circulation or air conditioning
• Loss of heating and cooling
• Loss of collection environmental controls
• Loss of electrical power
• Loss of fuel
• Loss of rubbish removal services
• Loss of transportation services
• Loss of emergency response services
• Loss of water or water pressure
• Loss of driving access of the property
• Structural collapse
• Explosion
• Structural fire
• Chemical contamination
• Leak or spill of fuel or chemical
• Combinations of these

Accidents such as:

• Medical injuries to visitors and staff
• A vehicle chemical accident
• Damage to building and property
• Damage to collection and non-collection items
• Large occurrences of each of these

Human and criminal activity such as:

• Trespassing
• Assault
• Unsound personal behaviour
• Mentally disturbed person problem
• Robbery
• Theft
• Purposeful destruction of collections or other property
• Sex crimes
• Vandalism and graffiti
• Illegal use of drugs and alcohol
• Illegal use of weapons and vehicles
• Theft by staff
• Purposeful starting of fires
• Civil disturbances
• Economic disruption, including strikes
• Bomb threat
• Bomb explosion
• Threats against or ransom of staff or collections
• Terrorist attack
• Physical violence or shooting in the institution
• War
• Combinations of these

In this list, the protection manager marks the more probable situations that might occur to or in the institution, and decides with the institution manager on appropriate responses and prevention efforts.

The protection manager considers the effect of a long-term and widespread emergency and disaster on the institution. The protection manager works with a volunteer staff with no resources other than those established in advance. The institution might stay open or survive without support for a certain length of time. The protection manager assigns the protection staff and every possible resource to the physical security, fire protection, emergency collection conservation, and building support until external resources become available again.

General protection principles

Cultural protection managers expect positive behavior from persons and the improvement of every situation. As realists, cultural protection managers plan for the worst of every situation. Cultural protection managers do not expect the worst case but they prepare to respond to the worst case when it occurs.

Cultural protection managers are risk managers who protect very valuable property. The protection manager relies on basic security principles.

• Provide a defense in depth. Plan or design for a secondary system for everything from alarms to communications to the protection staff.
• Provide a full-time protection coverage in the control of the protection manager. Expect problems to occur when least expected, such as midnight, weekends, and holidays.
• Provide against realistic threats. Base the protection program on a threat analysis or a security survey.
• Integrate every support system into one system. Avoid expensive systems by requiring that the equipment serve different purposes.
• Support persons with equipment, not the reverse. For example, protection staff use alarms and computers. Alarms and computers do not replace protection staff.
• Maintain a continuous working ability. Plan how to respond and control a problem under every condition.
• Check what protection exists. Avoid assuming that there is protection. Double-check physical barriers, protection procedures, responses, and equipment.
• Review the system regularly. Require a regular protection program review for improvements.
• Convince the institution manager that the institution requires consistent, adequate protection. Use master plans and five-year plans in addition to yearly plans.
• Develop a direct, efficient communcation line with the institution manager.

Protection is a concept. It is not actual protection until someone demonstrates that there is protection. Few managers accept the absence of loss or of problems as protection when there is no sufficient demonstration. The illusion of protection is the worse case of protection for everyone.

Security surveys

The protection manager conducts a security survey to evaluate the problems confronting a cultural institution and the type of protection program it requires. It is a common practice in the professional security field. An experienced professional performs this or the protection manager contracts it to a specialist to provide.

The protection manager conducts a security survey by walking through a museum or cultural institution to conduct a detailed examination and review of every operation and department. The ICMS publication Museum Security Survey provides a useful means to conduct such a survey. A security survey might include separate reviews of every area such as the external perimeter, the building shell, exhibit areas, and storage areas. Often the protection manager conducts staff interviews to check procedures, accountability, and work problems.

The protection manager writes a confidential security survey report, reporting the strengths and weaknesses of every part. The security survey usually concludes with recommendations to correct the weaknesses found in the evaluations. Often protection managers put recommendations in an order of importance and mark them with costs, coordination requirements, and amounts of time required for correction.

The person writing a security survey must understand the gravity of each problem in order to put them in an order of importance. The seriousness of each problem requires an explanation that institution managers understa...