Research Paper On Private Security Solutions for Warehouses (Research Paper Sample)

Private Security Solutions for Warehouses
Name
Institutions
Introduction
Increasing prevalence in crime rates in urban centers over the past few decades has necessitated the need for creative strategies aimed at providing long term security solutions at minimum costs. Traditionally, business organizations have focused on investing in security personnel like guards and patrolmen, and installing security hardware such as surveillance cameras to detect and deter crimes. Over the years, however, designing the built environment to supplement these security measures has gained popularity in response to the high costs of hiring and maintaining security personnel and hardware (Cozens, Saville, & Hillier, 2005). One of this approaches that incorporates physical designing into security needs is the concept of Crime Prevention through Environmental Design (CPTED), which combines security hardware, site design and psychology to create secure buildings and facilities.
CPTED is a multi-disciplinary approach to crime deterrence and prevention that involves the designing of the built environment in ways that allow easy and effective control the movement and behavior of users. The CPTED strategies, in this regard, work by influencing offender decisions and behaviors that precede criminal acts. The ultimate purpose of integrating CPTED into the designing of physical structures is to create an environment where potential offenders will be discouraged from committing a crime by heightening surveillance, controlling movement, and restricting access to crime target areas.
Application of CPTED in Warehouse Security
The concept of CPTED is informed by the idea that crime can be prevented by designing the physical environment to suit the needs of intended users and discourage access to unauthorized persons, such as intruders and trespassers. CPTED employs various concepts that help to make designated spaces secure and impenetrable by outsiders. These concepts include territoriality, lighting, defensible space, surveillance, landscaping, and physical security. The warehouse owners can achieve these goals by incorporating these concepts into the designing of storage facilities.
Defensible Space
The term defensible space refers to an area that has been designated as a zone of defense by designing it in a way that allows for control of movement and restriction of access to unauthorized persons. Under the guidelines of defensible space, different areas of the built environment are designated as private, public or semi-private/public, with different levels of restriction to users and outsiders.
The warehouse owners can enhance security by demarcating the warehouses into different sections, and placing different levels of security clearance to specific users according to their duties and responsibilities. For instance, warehouse storekeepers and inventory takers will have higher security clearance to allow them inventory stock, while cleaners will have access to public and semi-private areas that need cleaning. On their part, guards may be limited to outer spaces, while visitors will be restricted from accessing storage rooms.
Territoriality
Territoriality refers to an individual’s relationship with and perception of the environment. When owners have a strong sense of territoriality, they are motivated to take control of their environment and protect it from external threats. Territoriality is enhanced by the architectural designing of structures, which allow owners to identify and assign different sections to specific individual or group users. Individuals who identify certain areas as their territory are more likely to defend them from intruders than they would defend public spaces. For instance, a storekeeper recognizes the storage area as his or her territory, and will keep unauthorized persons out of storage areas.
The goal of warehouse owners is to promote responsibility among employees by creating a sense of ownership and territoriality in their areas of work. For instance, receptionists should have a sense of territoriality within the visitors’ area, a supervisor within the cargo loading and offloading area, and security personnel with patrol areas. Towards this goal, the warehouse owners should demarcate the warehouses into specific functional areas where “owners” will take the responsibility of protecting these areas from unauthorized persons.
Surveillance
Surveillance is a critical component of CPTED that the warehouse owners should consider incorporating into the designing of warehouse facilities. Surveillance represents the ultimate weapon in the protection of defensible spaces from external threats. It functions by deterring potential offenders by conveying the message that they are being watched. For instance, surveillance can deter intruders and potential offenders by making them aware that their actions will be detected and their identities known. At the same time, surveillance provides early warning by alerting security officers about intruders. In this regard, surveillance helps to enhance security by both deterring intruders and providing an early warning system about intruders.
The warehouse owners should implement this concept by installing surveillance cameras in strategic points, such as entrances, to hep security persons detect and stop intruders before they can commit crimes. The surveillance cameras should be located strategically to provide protection to vulnerable and crime target areas such as exits and entrances, storage areas, and loading/offloading areas. In addition, surveillance should be designed to protect the entire premises from trespassing and intrusion. Accordingly, cameras should be placed around the perimeter wall to provide security against external threats.
PART B: Advantages and Disadvantages of using Canines for Security Purposes in Warehouses