News Clippings
Shopping Centre Security Bind Spots
By Sunil Duggal, MD & CEO, Vision Group
Shopping malls and large retail venues are becoming more and more popular for their convenience, central location, and recreational advantage. Unfortunately, they are also one of the most vulnerable areas for physical, natural, or terrorist threats.
The retail sector from a global perspective is faced with a unique set of security challenges –in direct proportion to its ongoing growth both in size and complexity. In many countries, including India, Israel, the United States and the United Kingdom, the challenge extends to dealing with thefts, robberies, natural calamities, and unexpected customer behaviour, along with the rising threat of terrorist strikes on shopping centres and malls. The use of technology has now become an indispensable tool in the development and management of shopping centres.
Architectural Design
Security has become an important consideration at the designing stage of the shopping centre. Architectural design can help minimise the
likelihood of a shopping centre crime. They are designed to minimise the potential for criminal activity with measures such as providing good sight lines, removing spaces or blind spots that can be used for hiding, shortening 'dead' spaces such as walkways to toilets, increasing illumination, using bright lights and wider walkways, and limiting the distance people have to walk from car parking.
The overall design of a shopping mall aims to create a comfortable environment for customers. Design components that promote security essentially do the same thing. Lead customers to the restroom through short, well-lighted corridors finished with quality materials, and they will feel comfortable. Conversely, mall visitors with considerable criminal activities will likely feel uncomfortable and perhaps forgo their plans. In this way, a centre's key design goals work hand-in-hand with security goals.
Staircases in buildings are one vulnerable area that always draws an issue of conflict. Visible staircases offer invitation to external help in case it is required.
Glass Laminates
Modern constructions in shopping centre are more and more often utilising glass in architectural design. Unfortunately, glass has a major weakness – it breaks! When glass breaks, especially large panes of glass, it can break into long daggers or small bullet-like projectiles. With any forceful impact, these shards can fly almost anywhere, risking injury to those in proximity. Nearly 85 per cent of all bomb injuries are caused by flying glass. More than 500 people were injured in a 10-mile radius after the bombing of the federal building in Oklahoma City.
To counter this, shopping centres have started using glass laminates. These can protect glass against the smash of a baseball bat all the way to high-end explosives, and the window film prevents shattering from both. It also reduces the risk of penetration of the glass by flying debris due to severe weather or other violent situations.
The laminate rolls over a glass surface like clear wallpaper, making installation quick and easy. It not only protects against shattering, but is also a good insulator that saves air-conditioning cost and protects against UV light.
Modern Surveillance Tools
Shopping centres today have large atriums and parking lots. To monitor these zones, one needs to have many cameras – a high-cost area. With the advent of modern surveillance tools, shopping centres are using tube cameras, wherein a high-end PTZ CCTV camera travels under a disguised tube. This helps in eliminating blind spots; its full pan-tilt-zoom function is added advantage over its travelling facility. It can travel with a speed of 6m/sec to rapidly act upon any suspicious behaviour without delay. It comes with a unique capability of tracing and following individuals, capturing continuous evidence. Presets allow operators to go to the targeted till or aisle in a split second.
IP Video Surveillance and Video Analytics
IP is nno of thncc horlrnrirtechnologies that have truly changed the world. Not only did it provide the basis of the Internet, but by helping to join together other technologies, it has also enabled a host of other applications such as IP video. Advanced quality of service and dynamic encryption allow the use of video analytics applications.
Among other things, these applications
- Pinpoint suspicious activity by tagging video related to specific transactions and events
- Initiate alerts and video transmission to manager desktops when vehicles or people enter restricted areas, and can alert security personnel for potential security threats
- Allow off-site managers to access video via secure Web interface to expedite multi-site
- inwnctinntinncProvide transaction and video monitoring of self-service checkouts, promoting cost efficiencies and customer convenience
- Provide data for business analytics like emerging retail applications that are starting to help optimise store layouts, based on analyses of store traffic around merchandise
Data Analytics
With powerful software tools, shopping centres can mine both security and business data for hidden patterns that can help uncover both risks and opportunities. Anomalies can indicate security violations or insecure environments vulnerable to violations. They can also determine probabilities of various market
behaviours or situational outcomes. Retail data analytics are gaining traction in that market, but the tools are applicable in any security environment generating data flows.
Overall data analytics can make security operations much more predictive and, therefore, proactive.
Explosive Detection
Modern technology has spun off devices that sniff most of the explosives. There are handheld devices that can sniff explosives like C-4, gunpowder, dynamite, RDX, TNT, ANFO, PETN, and Nitro Glycerin. A single person equipped with this device can scan all the cars in a parking area of the shopping centre. The shopping complex can be scanned from outside for probable presence of explosives inside, without even the knowledge of the occupants.
Access Control
Access to various areas can be controlled on an individual basis according to the needs of an organisation – employee/visitor details can be loaded on smart cards, and conditional access given to particular employees to only particular areas. Alarms can be raised when unauthorised or unnecessary access is attempted. Identification can be established through simple access codes to complex biometric algorithms.
RFID
Radio frequency identification (RFID) makes it possible to identify unusual material movement almost as it occurs. RFID's ability to provide item-level information extends its benefits far beyond loss prevention alone. It increases inventory visibility
from the point of manufacture to the front door of the store. This enhances the technology's value as a strategic profit-building tool.
Electronic Perimeter Intrusion Defence
The use of both covert and overt systems for intrusion detection gives valuable advance information, and buys time for specialised teams to react. Where the facilities are large and there are many blind areas around the facility, electronic fencing detects intrusions and raises alarms without being obtrusive. Techniques include pressure sensors, electromagnetic and electric field fencing, and audio and vibration sensing.
Thus, technology incorporating automated systems improves our ability to prevent losses. Starting from
internationally benchmarked systems for risk and vulnerability assessments of industries, to integrated security solutions – including modern surveillance techniques, recording and playback software to help in post-event forensics, access control techniques, and perimeter intrusion prevention, technology helps and aids in loss prevention. In short, losses from external and internal threats can be managed by using modern security technologies. •
About the Author: Sunil Duggal started Vision Group almost a decade ago. Today, it is a multi-locational enterprise that provides security solutions in such allied areas as man guarding, security technology and training, and audit and consultancy.
Source: Shopping Centre News (April-May 2008)