PROGRAM SUMMARY

November Program:
Integrated Security Design for a Post 9-11 World

Moderator, Joan Berman, Vice President at Blake Real Estate introduced the presenters: Kay Sargent, Senior Project Manager at Interior Architects; Josh Brown, Vice President at Standing Stone Consulting, Inc.; and Paul Sheridan, Property Manager for Manulife Financial.

Kay Sargent, the first speaker, began by noting that 18 years ago there was virtually no information available on security while today there is so much information that it is often overwhelming and contradictory. She defined the four aspects of security as:

• Physical
• Operational
• Electronic
• Disaster Recovery

She continued by explaining how important it is to think strategically and ask questions about security. What is the level of security needed, what are the realistic risks and what methods can adequately meet these security needs?

Kay also mentioned the crime triangle composed of motivation, ability and opportunity. Generally, no one can control a criminal's motivation or ability to commit a crime. However, the opportunity to commit a crime can be reduced or eliminated.

Kay finished by emphasizing the need to be proactive rather than reactive about security and introduced the Crime Prevention through Environmental Design (CPTED) strategy.

Josh Brown continued the discussion by asking what the definition of “security” is and then defining it as a state of mind. Josh reemphasized that it is necessary to think strategically and tactically about how to prevent crime. The questions/steps that tenants or owners should consider included:

• What is there to protect?
• What poses a threat?
• What are the organization's resources?
• Develop a recovery plan

Josh finished his remarks by encouraging the group to “think about security, think about strategy, and think about annual audits.”

The final speaker, Paul Sheridan, spoke about his experiences managing 555 12th Street, NW, a large building by Washington, DC standards with the added security challenges of retail tenants and an on-site daycare. Paul explained that communication is key and that security is the responsibility of each individual. He relies on parking attendants, engineers, tenants, security guards etc…

Paul also described some of the changes that have taken place at the building since September 11th . He now has the ability to shut down the building and the HVAC systems in minutes. The number of card readers has been increased and there are now automatic external defibrillators on-site and an internal PA system. Tenants are required to have emergency plans and provide the management with quarterly updates as well as perform regular drills.

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