Risk Assessment

Kia Ora,

Ok so there was one other thing going on in NZ security wise yesterday, but I thought I would leave that until today.

That was the breach at Premier house at Prince Williams BBQ.

Again it comes back to the NZ mindset or as a health & safety inspector said to me in discussion on this topic. NZ is all about risk management. As I said "yes but before you do that you need to do a risk assessment or have a risk assessment culture & that is the next thing needed in the security industry.

It showed during that breach that no risk assessment of even a basic level had being carried out of possible actions by protest groups or others. Not only that like most security situations in NZ it would of being in breach of health & safety but until there is a complaint then nothing will change. That is an issue as well as if a company complains the client is likely to go elsewhere to someone who doesn't want to comply.

As one former army comrade & now security consultant said.

"If the NZ security industry actually looked at Health & Safety it is empowering to the industry. But they all have to buy into it".

To comply fully with Health & Safety means more staff, more work & greater cash flow.

Again come back to the Prince William situation & a proper Rish Assessment would of had private security covering those areas suspect to breach & have ensured that the police were able to carry out their assigned duties.

Risk Assessment is one of the most basic issues confronting security, yet it is not done.

People tend to pander to the way the current Health & Safety Legisaltion is written. If you don't identify the threat  or risk then you don't have to cover for it.

But it is a catch 22 situation because if something does happen & on investigation it is found you should of identified it then you are liable.

Compare that to the military idea which is to cover the worst scenarios you can think of with actions on, then plan for best outcome. It means even if something outside your thinking happens all are already in the mindset to morph their actions to fit. 

As one section commander from Vietnam said "If you have a positive action even if it is wrong, then it is better than standing like stunned mullets" or words to that effect.

A strength should be to have a successful outcome, but still be able to look & say well actually that response is wrong, we will change it for next time.

There must be serious questions now (in my mind there already were) over being able to hold the Rugby World Cup 2011 in NZ, unless there are drastic changes in Risk assessment practices & the mindset of at least the NZ police & security industry.