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Sunday, Aug. 9, 1998
Local companies stay alert to security threats
But there's no sure way to avert violence, CPL exec says
By GLASTON FORD
Staff WriterSecurity guard Porfie Torrez scans the 45 video screens that monitor the Central Power and Light building downtown.
One monitor shows a man styling his hair in the elevator. Another shows a car pulling out of the parking garage. And dozens more show still scenes of doorways, corridors and parking lots.
Torrez, a 12-year veteran of the CPL security team, looks for anything out of the ordinary, someone he doesn't recognize, someone who looks lost, he said.
The security measures at the CPL building are one way that businesses deal with the hostile and potentially dangerous visitor.
No security system can stop incidents like the recent shooting at the U.S. Capitol building in Washington, D.C., which left two police officers dead, security experts say.
But companies can take measures to reduce the likelihood of workplace violence and prepare their employees in the event of an incident, those in the industry say.
The security measures in place at CPL are standard measures for the building, said Bryan McLauchlin, facilities supervisor for CPL. ``Nothing has happened in the city or the United States to make us go into a heightened state,'' he said.
CPL monitors and restricts the movements of every visitor. Only the first and fourth floors of the building are accessible to the public. The other floors are locked and require a computer card for entry. If someone tries to tag along with an employee to another floor without going through the reception desk on the fourth floor, a security guard will track the visitor down.
``There is no foolproof system,'' McLauchlin said. ``And we don't want it to be a burden on our employees and visitors. We just want people to feel safe and secure.''
Despite the tragic deaths of the two police officers in the Capitol shooting, security at the Capitol worked, said Thomas L. Preston, chief executive officer of Preston Global, a security consulting firm specializing in the prevention of and response to violent crises in the workplace.
``Unfortunately, there were deaths,'' he said. ``But it could have been horrendous. The officers did their job. Nothing is going to stop an armed individual from running through a barricade.''
Statistically, most businesses will never face something so severe, Preston said. But it doesn't hurt to be prepared.
For those on the front lines, such as receptionists and security guards, the thought of a potentially violent incident is never far away.
No end to threats
Mary Helen Garanzuay, a receptionist at the CPL building, is also a security guard and has an armed security guard nearby. Still, if someone were to come off the elevator to the reception area, she knows she could be hurt.
``No one has made a threat,'' Garanzuay said. ``But it is always in the back of our minds.''
During one recent encounter, a hostile customer came in wanting to pay a bill and demanding to see someone right away, she said.
He became more angry when she told him he had to call customer service.
Although he never said anything threatening, Garanzuay kept thinking he could just reach over her desk and grab her, she said.
Physical security measures such as armed guards, limited access and security cameras are only one way companies can deal with potential threats, Preston said.
One of the most important things businesses can do is set up procedures for the potentially dangerous situation, said Pete Rivera, a certified crime prevention specialist with the Corpus Christi Police Department. ``If you have a procedure, at least everybody is acting from the same page, whether it be an armed robbery, fire or a disruptive person,'' he said.
Security procedures
A procedure could be something as simple as making sure an employee is not left alone with someone who seems threatening, or a panic button at a desk, or a code word to let others in the office know an employee does not feel safe, Rivera said.
Contingency planning is an increasingly important part of a safe workplace, Preston said.
If a company has a violent incident, one of the first things that will be asked in court is what steps did the company take in advance to provide a safe working environment, Preston said. Locks and guards are not enough anymore, he said.
Preparation, vigilance and alertness can go a long way toward preventing violence, he said. In many cases of workplace violence caused by an employee, the worker gave signals and hints beforehand, he said.
Not that every manager will be an expert in workplace violence, but someone in the company should be, and all managers need to be aware of it. The costs of not preparing are high, he said.
In one case involving a hospital, being alert to potential danger could have saved a life and a lot of havoc, he said.
Murder in hospital
The hospital, which Preston declined to name, admitted a patient who had known connections to organized crime and had enemies in other organized crime organizations, he said. The hospital treated this patient, who was very ill, like any other patient. Within 24 hours the rival organization came into the hospital with automatic weapons, murdered the patient and created panic, he said.
Although no one else was hurt, the hospital was perceived as an organization that did not take adequate precautions. It had to spend enormous amounts of money for attorneys' fees and counseling services, not to mention the physical damage within the facilities.
Other companies are looking at ways to profile, or quickly assess, who might be dangerous.
Part of the challenge of preventing workplace violence is preventing the unpredictable. Many Fortune 500 companies are now trying to do that, said Dan Korem, a Dallas-based consultant and author of ``The Art of Profiling: Reading People Right the First Time.''
Many companies, schools, and police forces are now training people to identify the ``random actor,'' or people who commit random acts of violence, said Korem, who has conducted training sessions in Corpus Christi.
Random acts, common traits
People who commit random acts of violence such as the postal shootings or the shooting at the Capitol share common traits, he said. These people tend to be extremely unpredictable and unconventional in their day-to-day actions, he said. This alone does not make them dangerous. They also make their day-to-day decisions based on fear and paranoia, he said.
Korem instructs executives in a comprehensive profiling system to help them recognize potential problem people in their workforce and take preventive action, he said.
The CPL building has not had any major incidents, said Torrez, a sergeant with Secureco, a private security company for the building. The most common troubles are customers angry about their bill or skateborders in the parking lot, he said.
The discussion comes down to two different security issues -- access and people -- and they are handled differently, said Bill Dodge, president of Pacific Southwest Bank.
The bank at one time had an access problem with its offices in One Shoreline Plaza. People were wandering into the bank offices from the back door, he said. So the bank went to a restricted access system for bank officers only.
Planning for trouble
In the customer service areas of the bank, which need to be open to the public, dealing with people is the issue, he said. Most of the time bank officers know beforehand when a hostile or difficult person is going to arrive because the person calls and complains first, he said.
When the bank knows they are coming, it makes sure a branch manager or operations manager is present, he said. Then the first thing the officer does is take the person out of the lobby so other customers won't be disturbed, Dodge said.
``We use all the techniques about talking to them and trying to defuse the situation, try to get to the root of the problem and solve that,'' Dodge said. That works about 90 percent of the time, he said. In rare cases, bank officers have to call the police or threaten to call them, he said.
That of course does not apply to the man who comes into the building with an automatic weapon and starts shooting, he said. The police department also encourages businesses to call the police whenever someone comes onto the premises who makes people feel threatened, he said.
The issue is how to create a safe environment for employees and visitors and how to respond to threats to safety, Preston said. Interest in security measures other than traditional locks and guards has increased over the past 20 years, he said. But many companies still don't give workplace violence the attention it deserves.
``There is still the lethargy and overconfidence of management that it isn't going to happen to me or us,'' he said. ``Statistically, they are correct. But when they are wrong, it is devastating.''Post your comments about local news eventsFront Page || Main Index || News || Business || Texas || South Texas Outdoors || Birdwatching || Sports || Entertainment || Selena || Education || South Texas Attractions || World Wide Web