<p style="text-align: justify; margin: 0in 0in 8.0pt 0in;"><strong><u><span style="font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif; color: black;">6 Reasons Why Your Organization Needs a Threat Management Solution</span></u></strong></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; margin: 0in 0in 8.0pt 0in;"><span style="font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif; color: black;">There is enough info on cyber threats, it is not too often you get an article on physical threat management. What are threats of physical violence? What does the management cycle look like? Why do you do it? These are all topics that we will discuss in today's article. </span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; margin: 0in 0in 8.0pt 0in;"><span style="font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif; color: black;">First and foremost, we look at concerns in our physical realm, directly impacting your day-to-day safety and well-being. Understanding the importance of safety as well as the organization you are providing safety/security services for, will guide you in a well-balanced threat management program.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; margin: 0in 0in 8.0pt 0in;"><strong><span style="font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif; color: black;">Safety and Security </span></strong></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; margin: 0in 0in 8.0pt 0in;"><span style="font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif; color: black;">Most importantly – no employees, no company. No students, no school. Your employees and your students are your assets, all your assets need to be protected. During the planning stage of this article, I found it very confusing that there is a significant amount of time and space spent on advising people on how to keep their computers safe from threats within their organization but not their people. The safety of the people entrusted in your care is paramount! </span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline; margin: 0in 0in 8.0pt 0in;"><span style="font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif; color: black;">We care – show you care. Having a program in place assures your employees that you care enough to create a program to keep them safe. I cannot count how many times a threat has been reported, after investigation and interviews, we have safety and security discussions with those that are concerned. After these discussions, each employee we have spoken to feels a genuine connection and appreciation for taking time to educate them not only on how to keep themselves safe, but also how we do it as well. </span></p>
<p style="margin: 0in; text-align: justify; background: white;"><span style="font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif; color: black;">Security incidents are usually unpredictable, evolve quickly, and all too often turn tragic. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), along with many other groups, has redoubled its efforts and is poised to continue enhancing school safety and security. Visit their </span><span style="color: black; mso-color-alt: windowtext;"><a href="https://www.dhs.gov/school-safety-and-security"><span style="font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif;">School Safety and Security</span></a></span><span style="font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif; color: black;"> page for DHS documents, resources, and tools related to </span><span style="color: black; mso-color-alt: windowtext;"><a href="https://www2.ed.gov/admins/lead/safety/campus.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif;">school safety and security. </span></a></span></p>
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<p style="margin: 0in; text-align: justify;"><strong><span style="font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif; color: black;">Culture and Comfort</span></strong></p>
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<p style="margin: 0in; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif; color: black;">The mental well-being of those who in your care is extremely important. Human beings can be fragile and understanding those around you and their breaking points will be helpful when trying to mitigate threats. No matter the size of your organization, you will need a resource that has a soft touch and can mitigate mild concerns in mental health or one’s mental well-being.</span></p>
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<p style="text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline; margin: 0in 0in 8.0pt 0in;"><span style="font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif; color: black;">People in your organization need the ability to perform tasks knowing that someone is focused on keeping them safe. I have had countless occasions where employees were thrilled to know that someone is thinking of how to keep them safe while performing their duties. You will get to this point with casual conversations and conducting safety/security training.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline; margin: 0in 0in 8.0pt 0in;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Education and Intelligence</span></strong></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline; margin: 0in 0in 8.0pt 0in;"><span style="font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif; color: black;">With a system in place, you will be able to see trends, track concerns, and utilize available tools to mitigate future concerns before they happen. Understanding what location(s) have the most concerns, business groups, and types of threats made will give you an understanding if more training is needed such as de-escalation or security awareness. In some cases, it gives a clear identification of concerns that allow changes in policies and procedures. </span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline; margin: 0in 0in 8.0pt 0in;"><span style="font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif; color: black;">The information you obtain will assist your leaders to become better at leading, think of the benefits of the business analyst and the information they provide. This will teach leaders how to keep employees safe based on job functions, roles, and responsibilities. This will also assist in identifying those with irresponsible behaviors that could put other employees in harm’s way.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline; margin: 0in 0in 8.0pt 0in;"><strong><span style="font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif; color: black;">Streamlined Process and Consistent Response </span></strong></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; margin: 0in 0in 8.0pt 0in;"><span style="font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif; color: black;">Unless you have a dedicated threat manager, you will need a guide to walk through the process and ensure you do not skip a step. Even if you are a dedicated threat manager, never hurts to duplicate and aid investigations with technology. Having a process is needed for everything from preparing a spaceship for launch to the International Space Station to cleaning your barracks for military inspection, with everything in-between. Having a process to evaluate threats is critical to the safety and security of your organization. </span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline; margin: 0in 0in 8.0pt 0in;"><span style="font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif; color: black;">Central command and management of all stored documents regarding threats for use or validation later will be a lifesaver, especially when the same instigators continue to target your organization. Keeping a paper trail is not only good for law enforcement support/protection orders but also determining the threat level and if the instigator is any closer on the pathway to targeted violence. </span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline; margin: 0in 0in 8.0pt 0in;"><strong><span style="font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif; color: black;">Compliance and Legal</span></strong></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; margin: 0in 0in 8.0pt 0in;"><span style="font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif; color: black;">OSHA</span><span style="font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif; color: #272727; background: white;"> The Federal Occupational Safety and Health Act, also called OSHA, requires employers to provide a safe working environment for </span><a href="https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/employee/"><span style="font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif; color: #2093d2; background: white;">employees</span></a><span style="font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif; color: #272727; background: white;">. Many states also have their own workplace safety law. To comply with OSHA, employers must learn their obligations -- and find out whether they must follow federal or state law. You should always lean to the side of most compliant when analyzing safety and security measures. </span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; margin: 0in 0in 8.0pt 0in;"><span style="font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif; color: black;">There is a reason we put this towards the bottom, the unfortunate truth is that it matters. You do not want to get sued. God forbid something does happen at your organization, targeted attack, or something similar… having a plan in place showing that steps were taken to identify and mitigate any threats, to include known policies within the organization, then the likelihood of additional financial burdens can be reduced. </span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline; margin: 0in 0in 8.0pt 0in;"><strong><span style="font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif; color: black;">Save money </span></strong></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; margin: 0in 0in 8.0pt 0in;"><span style="font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif; color: black;">Return on Investment (ROI) is a factor in every determination made. Creating a threat management program is a fraction of the price of paying out the alternative. In most cases, you can pay for an expert to assist in setting up your program and remain on-call for threats that escalate. Utilizing this with a combination of technology such as our Threat Management software at <a href="http://www.incursus.co/">www.incursus.co</a> or as a standalone product for practitioners will simplify your process, reduce your risk exposure and provide a safer environment for your organization.</span></p>