Security at Bay Street Shopping Mall

Brief Description of the Mall Bay Street Mall is situated in Emeryville in California. It can be delineated as a mega mall as it comprises of over 60 retail stores, 10 cafes and restaurants, a major movie theater, a huge hotel that includes more than 200 rooms and also several residential units. Other amenities within the mall comprise of telecommunication services, forex bureaus and also playing areas for children. The opening hours of the complex include 8 am to 10 pm from every single day of the week including weekends and also public holidays.

The main objective of this paper is to conduct and complete a security survey of the mall, ascertain the key security concerns facing this particular facility and also its resources and plans for its capability to withstand any emergency that takes place. Security Concerns with Bay Street Shopping Mall Subsequent to conducting a survey of the mall, there are a number of key security concerns identified with respect to this facility. From the perspective of physical security, there are security concerns regarding the physical structure of the mall.

Specifically, the buildings within the vicinity have susceptibilities, for instance the service areas, the outer limits of the mall, the pavements together with pedestrian entrances. A concerning issue is that taking into consideration the landscaping of Bay Street mall, it is impossible for it to diminish the prospective speed of incoming vehicles. According to studies, statistics indicate that more often than not terrorist attacks in malls have taken place through explosive. The mall lacks static bollards which facilitate the prevention of such instances.

In particular, an area that is safeguarded using bollards offers a blast stand-off distance just in case an explosion takes place beside the complex and hinders vehicles from lashing into the buildings structure. The downside to this is that it is presently possible for a car coming to the perimeter in high speed to get into the building and if in case it has explosives can easily injure and harm people.

The mall’s service and delivery regions are presently a major target and at high risk of potential attacks. Taking into consideration that they are situated underground, in the event that an explosion took place beneath the buildings, then this would have severe impacts. Owing to the fact that there is a lack of barriers, it is not guaranteed that the existing perimeters can fully and effectively deter vehicles that are unauthorized, planned deliveries or even stopping and conducting verification of vehicles coming through.[footnoteRef:1] [1: Norman, Thomas.

Physical Security Risk and Countermeasures: Effectiveness Metrics. CSO. Retrieved from: https://www.csoonline.com/article/2124831/metrics-budgets/physical-security-risk-and-countermeasures--effectiveness-metrics.html] Plans and Resources for the Mall’s ability to withstand an Emergency Bay Street Mall does have plans as well as resources that can facilitate its capability of weathering any emergencies that may occur. To begin with, the mall’s resources encompass incessant personnel training programs. Specifically, the mall plans to continue carrying out training for its security staff on antiterrorism.

Furthermore, the mall has outsourced a state security company to provide generic organizational programs that guarantee that the security staffs are well trained to cope with emergency instances that may come about. The security personnel are comprehensively trained by specialists in the field regarding different aspects such as pinpointing potential terrorists and recognizing immediately any distrustful packages.

In addition, the training takes into account the effective ways of responding to an attack such as safeguarding the vicinity and dealing with first responders.[footnoteRef:2] [2: Davis, Robert C., Christopher Ortiz, Robert Rowe, Joseph Broz, George Rigakos, and Pam Collins. "An assessment of the preparedness of large retail malls to prevent and respond to terrorist attack." A report submitted to US Department of Justice(2006).] Other key resources that are employed within the mall are closed circuit television systems (CCTVs).

These CCTVs are employed in the vicinity for deterrence of potential terrorists and being cognizant of any possible attacks. In particular, the mall has fitted in complex systems that are monitored at all times and at the same time record different events taking place within the mall that facilitate the security personnel to make reference to subsequent to the occurrences of such events. This real-time monitoring of what is taking place within the mall is beneficial in being able to preclude any possible attacks in the area.

In addition, the inside areas of the mall have been fitted with air decontamination technology that is purposed to clean the air inside the rooms in the event that there is smoke or other harmful pollutants. The mall has also set up emergency plans that provide directions on the actions that ought to be adhered to in the event of an attack. Notably the mall has written processes to follow in case there is a threat to the mall or an authentic emergency.

Characteristic procedures subsequent to a threat to the mall comprise of restricting accessibility to vital parts of the mall, amassing the presence of security staff, and maintaining a keen lookout on the parking area and the entrances of the mall. In the event of actual emergencies in the mall, the delineated processes and guidelines encompassed evacuations in such emergencies included gas leakages, fires, or suspected bombing attacks.

Other procedures included crisis communications, basic first aid and triage in addition to the usual processes of coping with misplaced kids and property that is out of place. Furthermore, in case of predicaments, the mall has set out procedures that encompass making contact with emergency services, communicating with elected emergency management personnel in the mall such as security manager, offering first aid to any individual that is injured, ensuring individual vacate the mall and also closing off a specific part of the mall.

More importantly, the mall has marked the specific routes that individuals should use to evacuate when emergencies take place.[footnoteRef:3] [3: Lutchminarain, Natasha. "Safety as a priority at shopping centres in Gauteng: an assessment of existing security measures." PhD diss., 2015.] Critique of Bay Street Shopping Mall for its strengths and weaknesses using at least two categories that are covered in the security industry One of the key categories covered in the security industry is terrorism.

Progressively more apprehension over the threat of terrorist attacks over targets in the private sector has instigated commercial sectors to take into considerations different ways of diminishing the risk of terrorism. Imperatively, shopping malls and centers are especially susceptible to terrorist attacks for the reason that they are easily accessible and face huge numbers of individuals on an everyday basis.

This is all the more significant owing to the fact that from the start of the century, there have been more than sixty terrorist attacks that have taken place all across the globe. In light of this threat, owners and operators at malls are incessantly exploring and carrying out increased security measures particularly intended to deal with terrorism.

Taking this into consideration, there are different strengths and weaknesses that Bay Street Mall has in relation to the threat of terrorism attacks.[footnoteRef:4] One of the key strengths of the mall is effective vehicle management. The mall conducts efficacious and thorough vehicle inspection. To begin with, the mall undertakes a manual search for every car for bombs at the parking entrance. In addition, there is comprehensive control at the loading dock access area with access granted to solely authorized vehicles.

Furthermore, the mall has dogs positioned at the parking and loading area that aid in detecting any unwanted matter such as drugs in the vehicles. There is also the inspection for explosives at the parking areas.2 [4: LaTourrette, Tom. Reducing terrorism risk at shopping centers: an analysis of potential security options. Vol. 401. Rand Corporation, 2006.] An additional strength of the mall takes into consideration the prevention techniques and measures that have been put in place.

One of the key measures that have been instituted within the mall is the prohibition of photography by individuals within the vicinity and also the amassing of huge group gatherings without any previous notification. More often than not, terrorists have been able to accomplish their attempts owing to the fact that they previously visited the malls and took photos of the area and understood the approach of attack. In addition, the mall security personnel partakes in the profiling of the different behaviors perceptible through the real-time CCTVs.

In addition, the security staff is keen on scrutinizing different characteristics that can aid the prevention of attacks. Some of these measures comprise of checking for apparent protuberances under the clothing of individuals, carrying of huge rucksacks, having heavy attire such as coats, disinclination to make eye contact, visiting the similar area of the mall recurrent times or even sitting in one specific place in the mall for an extensive period of time. What is more, the security staff are expected to undertake frequent patrols all over the mall.