On the heals of a significant security breach or crime, organizations often beef up security by adding more security personnel, installing new security systems, increasing training frequency, or writing new policies. While this is sometimes a reasonable option, more often, maximizing existing resources is a more sustainable option. This process is called security optimization and should be undertaken to prevent security incidents, or at least those that can be prevented.
How does one maximize an existing security resource? By thoughtful deployment and maintenance of all resources. Policies should be reviewed for relevance and applicability to today’s conditions, training should be constant, security officers should follow sound post orders, and systems should operate as designed.
A comprehensive security risk assessment will identify the utilization of each security resource. When was the last time your facility was assessed?