Read more online at www.securitymattersmagazine.com Security’s Role in Society Feature
business sector in wider society. At the
heart of the security industry is an
inherent contradiction. Our stated goal
is to prevent crime, yet we rely on the
continued existence of crime – and the
threat of crime – to sell our products
and services to those in need of them.
We look to stop criminals in their
tracks, but we rarely look to stop
criminality. We help to find evidence of
wrongdoing, but what do we do to help
minimise the factors contributing
towards that wrongdoing?
We strongly suggest that the most
important task for the security industry
is to help minimise risk for our clients
and assist in the creation of an
environment wherein crime is less likely
to happen. The time has come for the
security industry to begin playing an
active role in structural-level crime
prevention. This needs to go beyond
simple notions of Corporate Social
Responsibility. We have to bake in the
idea of committing to genuine social
change as part of the core of our
businesses and our industry, not just
view it as an addendum that looks good
in the Annual Report.
How, though, can that happen in the
real world? We think security businesses
should be actively seeking to engage
with individuals and organisations that
make a difference to the lives of those
who are most likely to commit crime. In
short, we’re talking here about young
people, the poor, the disadvantaged and
those with drug problems.
Grassroots-level work should take
place in communities to help minimise
criminal activity. We should join forces
with charities, local Government and
volunteer groups. Anyone, in fact, who’s
putting feet on the ground to make an
improvement to people’s lives and the
local communities in which they reside.
We often see academic studies
examining the causes of criminality and
any potential structural solutions being
dismissed as entirely theoretical and out
of step with practical reality. If our core
goal is to realise genuine change,
security businesses should be putting
their hands in the air to partner with
universities and other organisations
looking to pilot schemes and undertake
real world trials and research to see what
differences can potentially be made.
Structural change
Similarly, the security industry should
more broadly advocate for the structural
changes and law reforms which would
most benefit the vulnerable, helping to
create a society in which criminality is
less appealing, not for punitive reasons,
but rather because other opportunities
are widely available and accessible.
On top of all of this, we should lead
the way in advocating and supporting
any measures specifically designed to
protect the privacy of individuals, going
above and beyond any legal
requirements. We should all work to
ensure the security industry itself
promotes inclusiveness and diversity
and that it’s active in discouraging
divisive practices elsewhere. Being seen
to take the lead on such civil liberties-focused
issues can be a hugely powerful
tool in changing the way in which the
security industry is perceived from
outside of its traditional boundaries.
Of course, all of this also means
looking beyond what you
We should all work to ensure the
security industry itself promotes
inclusiveness and diversity and that
it’s active in discouraging divisive
practices elsewhere
might reference as ‘pure’ security
functions and at the broader business
potential for the products and systems
we create, market and install. There will
always be a need for the protection of
people and property. We’re not arguing
against the existence of the security
industry itself, but we do believe its
perspective needs to change, moving
from a purely defensive mindset to one
where protection and prevention goes
hand-in-hand with social reform
enacted from the ground up.
The other major part of this
‘repositioning’ that we’re keenly in
favour of is, of course, environmental.
The great crisis facing us in the 21st
Century is global climate change.
Protecting the planet should be at the
top of our agenda in all areas of life.
Even if you’re a sceptic – and really,
come on now, there’s a wealth of
scientific evidence to support
such a stance – there are
41
/www.securitymattersmagazine.com
/www.securitymattersmagazine.com
