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Maximizing Security – Avoiding the “Shell” Configuration
By Gunnar Sommerfeldt
A “shell” configuration is when your premises have an outer shell that is hard to penetrate, but the inside is soft and accessible when the first frontier is breached. There are a lot that can be said about the shell approach, and though it might be a good complement to your security configuration, it is far from ideal, and far from enough.
Going to the animal kingdom for comparison for once, we can look to the turtle. It has a basic shell configuration, where the outer layer is hard to crack, but once broken the goodies inside can be brought out with a minimal amount of trouble, and made into excellent soup. Now, we wouldn’t want our belongings and investments turned into some opportunist’s soup, would we?
There are other examples from nature to draw on. The ones we should focus on are those that make use of a proactive approach to punish those that trespass, namely by either attacking or incapacitating the assailant. Poison works well…
That said, please don’t poison anyone.
However, we do want a would be burglar to regret having set foot in our establishment. That can be done in a number of ways, but most notably it is done by denying the burglar or trespasser exit before authorities arrive, or at least denying exit whilst carrying your stuff. More on that later.
The shell configuration dictated that only the outer limits of a place is geared towards preventing unauthorized entry. In order to have a viable security system, that has to be combined with something more. Inner doors, e.g. to offices, storage rooms, main display areas and so on have to be secured not only with locked solid core doors, but also with an alarm system that will alert either a privately responding unit or police. Alarm systems that alert police will unfortunately be less effective than one that provokes response from a dedicated private source, but the former will do if there isn’t a choice.
How to prevent exit is a more complicated issue, as such measures will, in some cases be questionable when it comes to protecting life. In the event of a fire, or other situations that threatens the life of those inside the building the owner might become liable for damages if an innocent person suffers under such measures. The easiest, least costly and perhaps most effective measure is to install security locks that have to be opened with a key from the inside. So-called police bars is another option. These things might not prevent the burglar from exiting, but if the person has to exit through that broken window they “found” when entering, that will effectively prevent them from bringing out anything of value.
In short, what you should aim for is that if someone breaks in, they should be confined to as small a space as possible, a response is provoked by an alarm system and any removal of goods or valuables should be made as difficult as possible. That, simply put, is avoiding the vulnerable shell configuration.
SnallaBolaget.com is a public and private resource for security information, being added to every day and run by experienced security professionals.
G. Sommerfeldt is closing on a decade of security experience in both private and public sector, and has been a security supervisor and manager for several of those years.
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