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720 Preventing Workplace Violence
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Conducting a Security Survey

It's important, as part of the initial assessment, to conduct an initial security survey to determine whether modifications need to be made in the physical aspects of your business.

Receptionist greeting visitors for requiring they sign in.
If warranted, require visitors to sign in and out at reception, wear an identification badge while on the business premises, and/or be escorted.

Again this is highly dependent upon the location and type of business. Two considerations would be physical access and jurisdiction.

Access

Precautions regarding physical access include:

  • Limiting the access, as appropriate, to the workplace by former employees or clients.
  • Developing policies regarding visitor access within facilities. For example, if warranted, require visitors to sign in and out at reception, wear an identification badge while on the business premises, and/or be escorted.

Jurisdiction

Work out in advance all jurisdictional issues among the various security and law enforcement entities that may be involved should an emergency occur. There have been cases where an employee has called 911 and critical moments were lost because in-house law enforcement were the ones with jurisdiction, rather than the local police. In other cases, employees called their in-house security guards and time was lost while local police were being contacted because the security guards did not carry firearms.

Knowledge Check Choose the best answer for the question.

1-7. Which of the following is a possible effective strategy to address physical access to company facilities?