Security expert shares tips to keep business people, firms safe

You hop into the cab in your driveway of your home, headed to the airport to start a business trip. The cab driver asks where your journeys will take you today. How long will you be gone?

It's a good idea, Joey Walker says, to stifle your impulse to join the friendly conversation.

The knowledge that a homeowner will be gone is valuable to a burglar, Walker says, and it's even more valuable if the burglar knows that the exact day that the occupant will return.

Walker, who rose from a street officer to a position as a lieutenant during a 25-year career with the Reno Police Department, now heads Leading Edge Threat Mitigation. The Reno company provides corporate training in security, as well as personal-security classes.

Speaking to participants in the quarterly Reno Area Business Continuity Management Community Forum last week, Walker said awareness and preparation provide protection against workplace violence.

Folks going into a meeting room, for instance, should make a quick mental note of the location of exits including windows that could be broken open with a chair.

Pay attention to people who come into a business as well.

Someone wearing an untucked loose shirt say, a T-shirt may be carrying a concealed weapon. Because most people are right-handed, a bulge under the right side of the shirt should be cause for heightened awareness, Walker said.

But increasingly, killers who target workplaces or other public locations bring multiple weapons with them, and that should raise awareness of visitors carrying bags that could hide a weapon.

"Anytime you see someone carrying a backpack, you should be asking yourself, 'What's in the bag?'" Walker said.

Even the best security systems armed guards at the front door of a business, for instance don't eliminate the need for common sense vigilance, the security expert said. He suggests, for instance, that businesses should lock restroom doors to prevent potential attackers from hiding inside.

Psychology, too, is important.

Managers need to remember, Walker said, that a workplace killer with a grudge usually targets supervisory employees rather than co-workers.

In a hostage situation, a hostage who is being held tight by a person with a weapon should remain as quiet as possible. The natural inclination of a hostage-taker is to relax his grip with the passage of minutes, but a hostage who speaks up will remind him to tighten his hold.

And no matter what you learned in Sunday School, Walker suggested that moral scruples can be set aside if you life is in danger.

"I'm lying, I'm cheating, I doing everything I can to win," he said.

Business travelers, Walker said, need to stay alert as well.

It's not unknown, for instance, for thieves to quietly grab personal belongings out of a tray that's moving through a security checkpoint.

And travelers shouldn't think that they are totally safe from thieves even after they've cleared security. Walker said he's seen potential thieves obviously trolling airline gates, looking for valuables that could be easily stolen.

SIDEBAR

Getting businesses ready for emergencies

Michael Tedrow, the business continuity manager for Microsoft Licensing in Reno, was considering ways that he could make a difference to his community as the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks neared.

His answer: Creation of a series of forums that will help business owners and managers share information and experiences about emergency management.

The second of the forums, which are scheduled for a couple of hours once a quarter, met last week.

The goal, says Tedrow, is straightforward: Help businesses get back into operation as quickly as possible after fires, floods, earthquakes or incidents such as workplace shootings.

He notes that Washoe County emergency planners have taken steps to ensure that businesses are represented during planning and emergency-management situations. The Reno Area Business Continuity Management Community Forum works closely with public agencies, Tedrow says, as it seeks to improve the preparation of individual businesses.