It Can't Happen Here! Be assured that it can

"Je suis Charlie," French for "I am Charlie" is a slogan adopted by supporters of free speech and freedom of expression after the January 7, 2015 massacre in which 12 people were killed at the offices of the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo in Paris, France. We Americans, having lived under the Constitution of the United States, have taken free speech and freedom of expression for granted. It is one of the "Four Freedoms" that were the goals articulated by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt in his State of the Union address in January 1941. He proposed four fundamental freedoms that people "everywhere in the world" ought to enjoy: Freedom of speech, Freedom of worship, Freedom from want and Freedom from fear. We know no other way in our true democracy here in America, and we cherish our democracy and our freedom. But, times are changing and there are threats to our democracy and our freedoms by sinister forces. Our government recognizes these potential threats and so must we. Just as major cities throughout the world are threatened, it is believed that New York is a prime target for these threats. The tragedy of "9/11" was a "wake-up call" in New York City, and for approximately the next 12 to 18 months, most businesses scrambled to obtain a crisis plan. This effort diminished over the next year or two for a variety of reasons. One might have been complacency. We experience crisis all the time such as massive blackouts, Hurricane Sandy, heavy blizzards, fires, explosion and floods and some more serious and devastating man-made disasters such as an active shooter incident. Our law enforcement communities are saying, "Not if, but when." How often do the world's business and institutional communities revert to complacency and blindly believe that they are safe and secure; that the publicized disasters, natural or man made, tend to happen to others; that "It Can't Happen Here!" Well, be assured that "It Can Happen Here! We must re-address our security in place and re-assess its ability with regard to detection and control of pedestrian traffic in and around buildings, loading docks and warehouses. An assessment by an independent security consultant of your potential risks and vulnerabilities will go a long way to tighten your security and uncover overlooked weaknesses and perhaps deteriorating systems. Most building owners and managers have had emergency plans prepared. The crisis or emergency preparedness plan should address all of the familiar potential disasters than can occur, but now we have to factor in the potential man-made attempts on our people, property and assets. A most important and critical aspect of any emergency plan is the periodic review and drilling on what to do on its recommendations. Once again, utilizing the services of an independent, outside security consultant to review emergency plans and conduct periodic drills on the plan's chapter content will further assure a building's readiness to efficiently respond to an emergency or crisis and ultimately save lives and protect property and assets. The outside security consultant can analyze every aspect of your business to assure that your business systems and processes can continue to operate with minimum downtime, with a minimum loss of revenue and more importantly no loss of life. What these plans provide is client confidence, optimal efficiency and productivity, and virtually seamless continuation of business. The approach to security, safety and protection has changed. Take appropriate action now. Yes, "It Can Happen Here!" Allan Schwartz, CPP is president and CEO of Safeguards International, Inc., Yonkers, N.Y.