SECURITY MANAGEMENT MAGAZINE
March 2002
USA
BOOK REVIEWS:

Jane's Facility Security Handbook.
By Christopher Kozlow and John Sullivan; published by Jane's Information Group, 703/683-3700 (phone), 703/836-0029 (fax); 320 pages; $50.

Jane's is a well-respected name in defense and military circles. This book is evidence that its expertise extends to private security as well. The authors cover numerous subjects intelligently, ranging from terrorism to special events.

The book's ten chapters are devoted to specific critical incidents and to how various crises affect different industries or service groups, including healthcare, utilities, educational institutions, transportation systems, and entertainment facilities. General security measures are given for handling and managing each event. For example, as part of an overall plan, hospitals are advised to establish a list of priorities in the event of a terrorist incident, including such considerations as establishing an incident command post and regularly providing status updates to people located throughout the facility.

The authors devote much of the section on educational institutions to crisis preparation, planning, and response in the event of a Columbine High School-type incident. This chapter provides useful, succinct policies and procedures, such as designating a staff person to be at the local hospital to help with identification, support parents, and perform other duties.
Information deemed critical by the authors is printed in bold for added emphasis. Additionally, each chapter is labeled on a tab for quick and easy reference. A glossary of acronyms is provided at the end of the book.

Checklists are presented to assist in evaluating situations and conducting assessments. An antiterrorism survey, a sample hospital vulnerability assessment, and an action-planning checklist for educational institutions are all included. Of particular note is the 11-page workplace security survey that covers, among other topics, access control, office security, and personnel matters. With about 150 "yes or no" questions, this survey could help any security practitioner appraise or develop a comprehensive security program.

Although basic security concepts are presented, the handbook focuses on terrorist attacks and other large-scale acts of violence. The more commonplace and frequent incidents such as assault, burglary, and theft receive scant coverage.
With its wealth of baseline security information, this handbook could be useful to anyone in the security profession. With its focus on terrorism, it is most applicable to those responsible for organizations with a considerable international scope and profile.

Reviewer: Jack F. Dowling, CPP, is director of safety and security at Philadelphia University, a private security consultant, and a member of the ASIS Educational Institutions Council.