Home > Articles By Issue > Safety & Security > Article Sept 2003

Making Public Spaces Safe
This month marks the two year anniversary of 9/11, and one federal agency is taking assertive steps trying to prevent any further tragedies.

By John P. Kelly, BOMA International

In the last two years, building security has become the paramount priority for facility managers. While providing security for any building can be difficult, securing public facilities, such as museums, court houses, theatres, and other public places can present challenges above and beyond those of commercial properties.

From monitoring who and what enters the facility to training security personnel, maintaining public safety often requires not only careful planning and training, but also technology and innovation as well.

As with any facility, securing public spaces requires a blueprint, including a comprehensive threat assessment. Such an assessment encompasses determining a thorough "portrait" of a facility's structure and systems. It also requires a good understanding of the facility's tenants and their organizational functions, including awareness of what services they provide to the public.

Security Assessment

The Department of Homeland Security has placed the Federal Protective Service (FPS) in charge of determining the primary security requirements for public facilities, specifically all federally owned and leased space. The FPS notes that such needs can vary widely depending on several factors, including the number of employees working at the location; the mission or charter of the government agency or organization housed in the facility; and its public access needs and requirements. FPS also notes that a publicly accessible federal facility's security requirements can depend upon crime statistics and in some cases, threat intelligence or alerts.

For each federal facility, FPS conducts a Building Security Assessment (BSA). Using the Federal Security Risk manager (FSRM), a software package designed for FPS, each site is examined in terms of these factors:

• agencies housed in the building;
• important points of contact;
• existing countermeasures;
• credible threats; and
• building structure design.

In the last two years, federal facilities' security requirements have increased in accordance with changes in national threat risks. Some of the most significant changes include centralized delivery procedures to assure that any item delivered to the facility is tracked. X-rays of mail and other packages also assure secure deliveries. In many cases, 24 hour guard patrol has been implemented to enhance the security of the facilities, and back up power systems have been installed to assure continuous function of critical building systems in the event of an emergency.

Many facilities have extended their perimeters and secured them using concrete or steel barriers. Hardened parking barriers have also been added. For new construction, street setback requirements have been amended, and adjacent parking control has also been mandated. Other federal agencies and organizations have specified additional requirements in accordance with their missions and functions. Some facilities that had been open to the public now limit access.

Assuring And Securing Public Access

Any facility with public access faces security challenges in terms of monitoring peoples' egress and ingress without creating onerous lines for screening. For facilities where the primary functions include public entertainment, balancing those needs can be very difficult.

Access technologies can aid in assuring efficient entry by assisting with screenings of any people, bags, purses, and other personal items coming into the facility. More and more publicly accessible federal facilities are implementing state-of-the-art screening equipment to aid in monitoring.

For instance, FPS's use of smart card technology at higher profile federal buildings has eased the entry/exit process. Screening with magnetometers and x-ray machines where needed can take additional time, though FPS reports the vast majority of employees and visitors welcome the additional measures being taken to secure facilities. Other technologies deployed by FPS to assist with accessibility include wand scanners, proximity cards, and CCTV. FPS has four control centers that monitor alarms in all FPS-controlled facilities and can dispatch law enforcement officers at any time.

Smart cards and other such technologies may not be a viable option for every public facility, given their costs. In cases where technologies cannot assist in screening entrants, security personnel can help to assure both safety and accessibility-provided there are adequate numbers of trained officers.

The number of guards who staff the various entrances at federal facilities has increased. FPS provides both initial and refresher training for security guards, some of whom are FPS employees, while others are outsourced. The training includes not only the use of screening and access technologies but also in access procedures. As with the overall security requirements, the access procedures and policies also vary according to the facility's and/or their tenants' missions. Training of security personnel should include thorough coverage of the facility's access procedures and policies. On-site facility managers should also be conversant with tenant, public, and delivery access procedures and policies.

Evacuating Public Facilities

Training should include evacuation plans and procedures. Every federal facility must have a current Occupant Emergency Plan (OEP), which includes a full staff trained to assist in the safe evacuation of all facility personnel and visitors during any emergency situation. Such plans are common for any commercial facility.

In order for these plans to be effective, training must include testing and drilling to assure that critical personnel respond in accordance with the plan. FPS provides both initial training and semi-annual refresher courses to assure their facility staff is prepared for such emergencies.

While training staff and tenants in these procedures assures their familiarity, public guests and visitors may be unfamiliar with the facility's emergency procedures. They must depend upon clear instruction from facility security and management staff. Many public facilities are equipped with communications systems that allow for broadcast of emergency procedures. For federal facilities, those systems could include a public broadcast system installed throughout the facility, and/or a telephone system (possibly wireless) with a protocol passdown for security procedures. Providing a communications system-and in some cases, two systems to assure a backup-that can be deployed in the event of emergency is absolutely essential for safe evacuation and prevention of public panic.

Federal facilities also display a facility layout (including maps of specific areas of the facility), which shows the nearest exit during an emergency situation, and all pathways are clearly marked. Such signage is commonplace in commercial facilities as well, though some also provide emergency kits in stairwells, and glow-in-the-dark signage and paint in stairwells.

Any evacuation procedures should also encompass evacuating those with special needs, which may be especially challenging for facilities that see high volumes of public traffic.

Some public facilities' security planning also incorporates emergency medical services and technologies, such as automated external defibrillators (AEDs). Federal and state legislation have mandated that certain public facilities be equipped with AEDs. While AEDs have been developed for use by anyone, especially those without any medical training, facility management and security staff should know how to use the equipment.

Ultimately, securing public facilities does not vary dramatically from securing any commercial facility: it requires careful planning and assessment of the facility's risks; training of facility staff and occupants; and may include implementing additional technologies. What makes security planning and preparation for public facilities so difficult and yet so critical is the very nature of these facilities: an ever-changing stream of visitors adds many variables to any security scenario planning, preparedness training, and technology implementation.