Do you know how and when your company might be targeted by criminals?

In my previous article I spoke about the Insider Threat and what I believe are a few disciplines you can focus on to improve/enhance your security plan.

In the article I mentioned that CRIMINALS NEED INFORMATION TO COMMIT THEIR CRIMES and how this relates to the development of their Modus Operandi – their preferred use of tactics and implements – and how this information can be used during your threat/risk assessment to evaluate and develop your security plan. ?

It does not make a difference if you are protecting yourself from a sophisticated criminal syndicate or a group of organised criminals - even an opportunistic thief requires information and a quick assessment of the situation before committing their crimes.

Professional criminals are patient and often have the advantage, especially if they have an inside man who assists them to bypass security controls and advise when the safest time is to strike.

In addition to what I have stated above, criminal insiders may be tasked to recruit other staff members in key positions, to solicit additional information if required during the planning phase and/or to ensure their co-operation rather than to obstruct the criminals on the day of the crime.

A less favourable alternative to acquire the information would be through observation and surveillance of their target. This method is time consuming and less accurate - forcing the criminals to rely on assumption - which is risky.

Think about this for a moment, even if you have not been the victim of a crime, it is highly conceivable that one or more of your staff have been approached by criminal recruiters, either directly or indirectly to gather information about your operations.

Criminal’s plan their crime with the intention of getting away with the goods without being caught, they would rather err on the side of caution and walk away if they believe they do not have an absolute foolproof plan – in their minds at least - this is one element you must exploit to your advantage.

Before we continue, a word of caution. Investigating or confronting criminals can be a dangerous game and can pose a serious threat to your wellbeing. Stand in the way of a criminal and his freedom and you might not live to tell the tale.

It is for this reason I would recommend that your security strategy be one of deterrence. It is far better to deal with a criminal on a psychological level - to attempt to prevent an incident, than to pursue him through investigation and/or all-out confrontation.

We are all familiar with the methodology of the five whiskeys and hotel questions. But from a criminal planning perspective, what do these questions look like?

I’m not going to delve into the many questions that would need to be asked and answered to identify the intricacies of each security element needed to be defeated. Or the sequence of events as they unfold in each of the developmental stages of the method of operation – pre, during and post incident activities, as this would differ depending on the specific target location and crime type.

Let’s say that the criminals have already identified their target and what they intend to steal, by the way, this is where it truly all begins – they can’t start to plan until they have a prospective target, and know whether there is a market and a buyer for the goods.

Once they know this, they can start gathering information to identify target vulnerabilities, they do this by peeling back the layers of protection surrounding the asset/targeted goods. Starting from the outer perimeter and moving inwards towards the assets identified for theft.

Here are a few high-level aspects of the crime the criminal must consider during the planning and execution phases and for which the Insider will be extremely valuable in providing information.

• When is the best day/time to commit the crime,
• What security obstacles will they need to overcome,
• Will they have someone on the inside who will help enable the crime and assist them to overcome security measures such as, access, alarms, and panic alarms systems etc.,
• What crime type and tactics will they use,
• What is the best escape route, and alternative escape routes available,
• What security and contingency’s must they (the criminals) have in place.

The crime type and tactics deployed by the criminals will depend on your security program strengths and weaknesses - and the window of opportunity they present.

To attack their strategy, you need to develop a plausible threat-based scenario, based on the questions you have formulated - such as the ones I have listed above. And then counter each action/element of their anticipated plan. Making sure your plan is balanced and includes the possibility of a violent confrontation.

The real obstacle which must be overcome, is the justification for not taking appropriate action. In many cases, the costs (ROI) and operational tradeoffs associated with resolving the situation is what stands in the way. However, in the long run, if the matter persists it will cost you not only in financial terms, but in reputation.

Besides, do we not have a moral obligation to do something to make the world a better place?

Do not let the bad guys win! ?

In my next article I will discuss how Modus Operandi information can be used during incident analysis to identify suspects and link incidents.