Frequently Overlooked Tasks

[SecTrainer]

These are two "radio-signal" security-related tasks that have particular relevance to larger facilities, and because conditions at many facilities are fluid they should be performed semiannually:

1. Mapping the wi-fi/cell network signals throughout the facility, and ditto for radios if you use them. This is sometimes called a "heat map". You need to know if there are places that an individual might be isolated and out of touch - whether one of your officers or an employee. This can be particularly critical if your facility uses a notification platform with respect to emergencies, lockdowns, etc. For radios, you need to test both send and receive, using the gear people carry. If you find that there are significant "dead zones", you have two options: (a) find a way to eliminate those zones with additional access points (or repeaters), or (b) use compensating surveillance/communications and/or operational protocol.

An example of compensatory surveillance/communications could be better wired CCTV coverage, or wired call boxes. An example of a compensatory operational protocol would be that officers must notify the dispatcher (or supervisor) when entering a dead zone and will be checked on if they do not report back out of the zone within x minutes. But better than either of these, of course, is elimination of the dead zone altogether as noted above.

Make sure the "heat map" covers the *entire* campus. Parking facilities, for instance, are infamous for dead zones because of their typical construction with thick layers of concrete and lots of steel.

2. Mapping the wi-fi/radio signal spillover beyond the facility. By nature, wi-fi/radio signals are "unbounded" in the sense that they aren't confined to a wire or a fiber, but that doesn't mean your organization's signals should be capable of being picked up a half-mile away. Usually, reorienting antennas or using more directional antennas will help to reduce spillover.

With respect to #2, I've said that radio signals cannot be strictly confined to the facility. With that being the case, it also behooves the security operation to be cognizant of what is going on beyond the borders of the facility in terms of any potential form of surveillance, electronic or otherwise. While our authority stops at the property line (or thereabouts), that doesn't mean that our AWARENESS BOUNDARIES should be confined to the property lines. Know what's going on in the space immediately beyond your "boundaries"! If you suspect surveillance activity, you can gather information (vehicle descriptions, license plates, individuals, patterns of activity, etc.) and take your concerns to the local police department. Alternatively, there are lots of ways to let someone know that they've been spotted without contacting them directly (because they're off-site), and in many cases that might be sufficient to terminate the activity.