By DAVE HOOK.
I want to share a resource with you that takes high level security concepts and brings them down to earth. Do you want to know the latest ideas on security lighting? Maybe you don’t, not because security lighting isn’t important, but perhaps you’re too busy to read and digest the meaning of an author’s words. Wouldn’t it be easier to see examples of, say, bad and good security lighting?
Security by Design, a part of the Association of Chief Police Officers and headquartered in London, England, created a practical toolkit for improving security. The toolkit deals with residential areas, but with a little imagination the concepts it presents can easily be applied to airports and airport businesses.
Click here to go to the toolkit. Note: You will need an Adobe Flash Player to make the toolkit work properly.
By clicking on the various scenarios and the red or green icons, you see both good and bad examples of applied security concepts.
Here are five scenarios that I think are especially applicable to airports and airport businesses:
- Scenario 6: Climbing Aids
- Scenario 8: Landscape Planning
- Scenario 9: Street Lighting
- Scenario 10: Front Door
- Scenario 14: Dwelling Security Lighting
“If you’ve seen one airport, you’ve seen one airport.” This maxim hints at the many differences that exist between one airport and another, even if they appear to be quite similar at first glance. Toolkits like the one by Security by Design show good and bad examples of desired security effects and leave it up to the viewer to determine how to apply security concepts effectively to their own circumstances.
I’m a big believer in keeping things simple. I also believe that small changes can have big impacts. So as you go through the toolkit and click on the icons, think about how small changes can have a big impact on the protection of your airport, the FBO, your hangar, and so on. Could a garbage truck replace a dumpster so it’s too far from a fence or wall for someone to climb on top of and jump to the other side? Could shrubs and hedges be trimmed so as not to provide a hiding place for criminals? This toolkit should get you thinking.
Fly safe and be secure!