Situational prevention and ensuring security in the management of business and other risks in companies

Abstract

In the management of business risks, it is very important to ensure security as well as to provide private security services in companies and other business organisations (limited liability companies, unlimited companies, joint-stock companies, private entrepreneurs and all other companies, state agencies and organisations, municipalities, societies, associations and others, and also individuals) in which an interest in security has always been connected with benefits and the satisfaction of certain needs, which has been most often related to specific material gain.

Situational crime prevention is of particular importance in this regard. It is based on the presumption that people freely decide on the commission of crimes and that their decision to commit crime depends on situational factors. Situational prevention is most applicable to the prevention of property and other crimes for profit, such as burglary and shoplifting, as well as for the prevention of vandalism and other forms of violent crimes. Situational prevention is equally applicable to the prevention of other criminal and harmful acts, the destruction and appropriation of property, protection of business secrets, management of business risks etc. The success of the application of situational prevention depends on the scope of measures undertaken, the perception of a potential perpetrator of criminal offences and harmful acts and, in particular, his assessment of the risks involved in successfully accomplishing a crime. Situational prevention implicates a higher level of responsibility of all economic and other subjects to secure or protect their own property. This applies in particular to companies, since economic and business activities are connected with a number of possibilities of causing damage to property by various criminal offences and other sorts of harmful conduct. If companies are able to identify in time all these situations, circumstances and processes which make possible or even provide conditions to cause any kind of damage or loss of profit, by taking appropriate measures (which can also be called situational measures) they can prevent such harmful acts, or at least obstruct the opportunity to cause damage.

Those responsible in companies should turn to private security firms, which can successfully help them in the prevention of damage and loss connected with business and other risks, and in the prevention of crime and other criminal conduct. Today, however, company managements only rarely decide to seek the protection of private security services and even fewer for security advice, which is nowadays successfully provided by various well qualified services, detective agencies and detectives.