As apprehension mounts in advance of the G8 Summit, brace yourself for every conceivable heavy- handed excess in the name of security.
We’re told bloodthirsty anarchists are getting ready to tear down our walls. So alert the daily papers and march out the bullet- headed security goons. Restrict access to Calgary’s city centre. Rev up the F-18s. Bring in the heavy artillery and ground-based sensor systems.
Call up Sgt. Pepper, a.k.a. RCMP Staff Sergeant Hugh Stewart, and beg the fabled protest-buster to protect every quaking capitalist in the City of Fear.
Frankly, from a safety viewpoint, such shows of force and overheated terror-mongering are probably bad strategies. In fact, they fly directly in the face of most current trends in new-age corporate security.
Sophisticated experts in 21st-century protection prefer the strong, silent approach. They’re all about iron fists in velvet gloves. This philosophy preaches that the best corporate protectors are the ones you never see.
“The companies we work for don’t want a high profile,” explained Rui Amaral, in charge of operations for a Calgary outfit called Protection Solutions International.
“So we don’t do anything to attract attention to ourselves.”
Protection Solutions isn’t involved with G8 preparations, but it does provide risk- management services for corporations with a vested interest in global hot spots. For reasons of confidentiality, Amaral declines to identify PSI’s clients.
But most are major oil and gas companies with assets in Ecuador, Colombia, Africa and various Middle Eastern locales, so it may not be difficult to connect the dots and draw your own conclusions.
PSI’s sole priority is to protect client assets, which naturally include staff members and their families. But overkill and heavy-handedness are never part of the plan.
“We don’t go in to change the world. The client’s job is to get oil out of the ground. Our job is to make sure they can do that safely, with a minimum of fuss,” said Amaral.
At first blush, Amaral may not seem the type to champion a non-confrontational brand of protection management. In fact, the title of his recent book, Eat Your Weakest Man (currently heading into its second printing), might lead you to the opposite conclusion.
Amaral’s book includes his take on the last days of the disbanded Canadian Airborne Regiment, with which he served in Somalia. And his picture on the cover depicts the standard militaristic meat-eater, automatic weapon at the ready.
But Amaral’s back on civvy street now, and he’s a firm believer in smart security. That means no bullies need apply.
“That heavy-handed approach just doesn’t work. It only attracts attention,” he shrugged.
When a client asks how to protect assets in unfamiliar territory, Protection Solutions analysts sift through factual reports compiled by their own people on the ground, as well as via Foreign Affairs and other sources. They thoroughly assess local governments, crime patterns and terrorist activity, real or imagined.
Spanish-speaking employees monitor radio broadcasts from Latin American countries and keep clients informed with daily news bulletins. They draw up precise evacuation plans and design warning systems. They make sure a client’s insurance will cover everything from ransom demands to tropical diseases.
At the same time, they discourage jittery clients from going overboard, i.e. insuring themselves against phantoms that are unlikely to materialize.
Smart security means profiling and tracking each of a client’s employees who may be travelling on a given day. By using satellite phones and other high-tech gear, Protection Solutions took only 90 minutes to account for the whereabouts of about 60 individuals who happened to be in transit around the world the morning of Sept. 11.
In the field, PSI consultants advise builders about the efficient lighting of employee parking lots and how to get the most from the minimum number of security cameras.
“Instead of putting out guards and more barbed wire, we plan low-impact preventive measures. Sort of like convenience stores that pipe classical music outside to discourage kids from hanging around,” explained one Protection Solutions analyst.
And contrary to hysterical news reports, terrorists are not the No. 1 bugaboo on most offshore turf. Actually, one of the primary concerns is ordinary street crime.
So when you’re waiting for a flight in Quito airport, hang on to that laptop. And don’t wear gold. Smart security is about precautionary measures, excellent information, client education, in-depth preparation and liberal applications of common sense.
Dumb security is about . . . well, we’ll find out in a few days.
