Do you know who would take a malicious interest in your facility — and can you protect it from them?
Questions about facility security are complicated and cannot be addressed without considering numerous variables associated with U.S. international industries, commerce exchange, and territorial boundaries. The problems related to our security and protection have been studied and analyzed for years but have gained greater prominence since 9/11.
Our government is established upon the Declaration of Independence, which has inspired many great people with words like: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” How can the U.S. develop effective strategies that secure our borders and protect our financial institutions, transportation systems, utilities, refineries, food and drug suppliers, energy resources, religious institutions, the Internet, and more without sacrificing our convictions?
We could secure our borders and industries by locking down all movement and stopping the flow of commerce into the country. We could internalize all our resources and become totally self-reliant and independent, engaging in the exportation of products while severely restricting foreign imports and outside commercial interaction. We could close the borders to all immigrants and, without exception, immediately deport all illegal aliens back to their countries of origin. But this isolationist philosophy would eventually destroy the U.S.
Preparedness: The Only Option
Instead, the goal is to provide adequate security and protection for our citizens while keeping the economic machine functioning successfully. Currently, the U.S. is doing just that and doing it comparatively well. However, with our country’s involvement in unpopular campaigns and the ever-changing climate of world opinion and politics, a terrorist attack is inevitable. We cannot predict when or where an attack will occur or thwart every possible scenario, but we can be prepared to respond. Preparedness is a key factor in defending our critical infrastructure and involves finding and evaluating the gaps in our security.
Unfortunately, the agencies charged with the responsibility of evaluating and securing the gaps in our critical infrastructure and protecting our borders are severely handicapped. They are plagued with budget restrictions and manpower shortages. They lack communication resources and have nominal experience dealing with terrorist activity while being burdened with procedural differences and jurisdictional conflicts.
“We could close the borders to all immigrants and, without exception, immediately deport all illegal aliens back to their countries of origin. But this isolationist philosophy would eventually destroy the U.S.”
Our Bill of Rights, which protects our liberty and freedom, also limits our ability to take the appropriate and necessary steps to unconditionally and completely secure our country from internal attack. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) have been successful in taking preemptive measures and thwarting many terrorist attacks. The media often disclose these agencies’ methods and the lessons learned in the form of “breaking news.” Unfortunately, “freedom of the press” can educate our enemies, who have used this knowledge against us. Terrorist support leaders will readily stand up and speak out against profiling or what they consider mistreatment of one of their own. They use our rights of freedom of speech and public demonstration to further their causes. We need to scrutinize carefully the motives of any group supporting public protests for any subversive organizations.
In order to provide proper protection, we need a better understanding of our enemy. Any individual living in the U.S. who seeks to harm or destroy our rights as stated in the Declaration of Independence and our democratic way of government while enjoying the freedom and protection of that system is our enemy. Groups of these individuals often band together and form what are commonly known as “sleeper cells.” Each of these groups poses a threat to the U.S. and has unique characteristics.
Hate Groups and Gangs
In the past few years, most of the media focus has been on foreign terrorist groups, while the activities of hate groups in America have not been significantly publicized. These domestic terrorists have gone underground and are still highly motivated and criminally active. They have been secretly gathering strength and accumulating monetary resources to support their goals.
According to FBI reports, hate groups are responsible for more than 37 percent of crimes in America. There are more than 750,000 known members of organized gangs. All of them are heavily involved in drug distribution and trafficking and most are connected with organized crime syndicates. These groups are responsible for numerous bank robberies, counterfeiting, gun running, assassinations, check washing, identity theft, kidnapping, and terrorist bombing of government buildings including the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City in 1995.
The FBI has identified 31 domestic terrorist organizations that are active across the country. Agents are working thousands of cases concerning these groups that involve the distribution of illegal drugs, which is the number one crime in the U.S. Handling drug cases represents a significant workload that encumbers the effectiveness of the FBI’s day-to-day operations and places a strain on resources allotted to each department, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center/Intelligence Project.
Terrorist Organizations
Many intending to do us harm already reside here and have been living in the U.S. for two generations. When security agencies and citizens learn to recognize this fact, we will be better equipped to render adequate protection. If we scrutinize the myriad terrorist organizations, we find that they share similar characteristics. Do not believe for one moment that we are dealing with people who are uneducated! Terrorist groups are very well organized and well funded. They recruit and train members internationally, are funded globally, and are constantly testing their capabilities throughout the world.
Where do they come from? What do they want? How are they financed? How do they move funds out of country? What do they do with the funds?
One of their primary goals is to establish safe sanctuaries for terrorists coming into the U.S. across our open borders. The latest intelligence documents their success, as thousands of sleeper cells are operating all across our nation in major cities and in your neighborhoods. They are often established in remote locations, but they are also found in well-populated neighborhoods. Most go undetected because of the public’s ignorance. Members of these cells own businesses such as gas service stations, car dealerships, convenient stores, mail stores, liquor stores, laundries, and restaurants. They are saving revenue from your dollar when you shop in their establishments and laundering money from illegal activities. These funds are used to finance their underground networks and support their terrorist insurgence around the world. Some money is used for terrorists to travel around the country while being trained, buying supplies, testing our security systems, and developing attack strategies. The remainder is being sent overseas to finance terrorist organizations by means of cash, precious metals, and diamonds that are smuggled out of the country.
One popular tactic involves opening several bank accounts for these organizations within a short period of time. Each account has multiple names on the signature card, authorizing any of the individuals to withdraw funds from all of the accounts. Typically, these accounts grow to millions of dollars within a few weeks. Later, the funds are transferred overseas. The latest estimated number of dollars exiting the U.S. is about seven billion per year. These are dollars raised in America by our spending habits that are used to support worldwide terrorist organizations. A significant amount of this money also comes from illegal drug sales.
Innocent Activities?
In addition to raising funds, terrorists are constantly testing our security to plan attacks. Anyone photographing refineries, water and power plants, and other critical infrastructure should be monitored carefully. We often hear reports of a suspicious person taking pictures of a refinery and, when approached, he escapes to a nearby vehicle and hurriedly drives away. This is sometimes reported as a nonevent — no action required. This is a wrong assumption. Industries need to recognize such actions as a potential assessment of their security; when they label this type of activity as a nonevent, they have just been tested and failed. They have also lowered their security breach acceptance level.
While terrorists are moving from safe house to safe house, training each other, and testing our security, they are also making themselves visible. Public awareness plays a key role in protecting our communities. In a recent case, it was a tip from a vigilant citizen that alerted police to investigate a small business where they found two truckloads of explosives. The building was located six blocks from a high school.
As citizens, we need to learn to recognize suspicious activity and notify the authorities when we see it. For example, while on a boat trip in the Gulf of Mexico, I noticed a man who was focused intently on taking pictures of only the critical infrastructures along the coast. I was able to photograph him without his knowledge and gave my pictures to authorities. He was on the terrorist watch list and was eventually apprehended. He had managed to mask his ethnic heritage and blend into the public by legally changing his name. This subterfuge is taking place all across America in every major city.
“Anyone photographing refineries, water and power plants, and other critical infrastructure should be monitored carefully.”
Security Saves Money and More
While public awareness can help alert authorities to possible terrorist activities, businesses need to be particularly vigilant. Management often regards security as a necessary, but burdensome, expense. This characterization could not be further from the truth. Security is like insurance — it is not a priority or appreciated until it is needed. Many studies have been conducted on the subject of security. Their conclusions are the same: Proper security saves companies money.
A reduction in both employee and external thefts is a benefit of a good security program. Clients who have equipment and personnel on your company sites are reassured that their investments are protected when adequate security is in place. Quality security programs increase employee safety awareness and decrease accidents, which boosts productivity and reduces medical expenses. The savings resulting from fewer Workman’s Compensation claims alone can offset most security costs. Companies need quality security to protect their facilities from terrorist attack; these measurable factors are added bonuses.
Creating a Security Plan
What constitutes a comprehensive security program that helps safeguard a company from possible terrorist attacks? The first step is conducting a comprehensive vulnerability assessment. It is preferable for a company to hire someone outside of the organization to perform this assessment so that its conclusions are comprehensive and unbiased. Incorporating the suggestions of an assessment into your safety plan helps ensure that your facility is not an easy target.
Multiple security tools for a facility are mandatory for the best protection. Cameras, roving guards, frequent badge and gate checks, static guards, road barricades, vehicular and undercarriage checks, and random searches using bomb dogs help ensure safety. The importance of drills and training also cannot be underestimated.
Awareness, diversity of routines, and trained security are other key elements of company security. Before being offered any position, a potential employee should be asked to sign a release form authorizing a complete background check. If you already have an employee working for your company whose behavior or activities are questionable, contact the DHS and discuss your concerns so they can check their watch list. If the employee or a relative is on the list, immediately move the employee to a noncritical working environment.
Diversity of daily routines plays an important role in security. Changing the guard post and watch schedules will keep terrorists off balance. It is also critical to have well-trained armed security. Too many of our chemical and refinery plants are staffed with unarmed security staff. They should be trained and tested on a regular basis with Red team drills conducted once a year.
We all deserve more than just the illusion of security. To achieve real security, a knowledge and understanding of the many factors affecting our national and personal security is critical. Better security measures and involved, watchful citizens are keys to help averting another 9/11.