Initially, a threat analysis or risk factor survey for the individual property must be accomplished. A chart for determining your property’s vulnerability relating to various

emergencies is in the back of SABOMA’s Crisis Management Guide. You may ask, are potential terrorist threats viable in San Antonio? Here is a wake-up call: during

one of our seminars, I was personally approached by an attendee who gave me information about an alleged terrorist sympathizer, right here in San Antonio, attempting to recruit young men for training and service in the al-Qaida organization. The local FBI field office is following up on this information. More recently, locally targeted facilities have been visited and effigy dolls left on site, threatening actions to come if Iraq is invaded. My answer is yes, we are at risk.

You should contact our local police department to request a threat assessment for the individual property based on their knowledge. Next, define or reevaluate your threats and vulnerabilities in advance, especially should the United States move to invade Iraq. A good place to start is your tenant base – who are they, what do they do, do they have national or international recognition, do they contribute to government projects, are they directly affiliated with the government, has their type of organization already been identified as a perspective terrorist target, etc. Does your facility support large athletic, educational, or social functions? You can also utilize a Risk Reduction Matrix to reduce vulnerability. If your Risk Matrix identifies you as having a relatively high risk factor, you should then include a Blast Evaluation Analysis in your plan. Coordinate drills with local authorities, and hold them regularly.

In your analysis, don’t forget to include a recent CPA Risk Factor Survey for your area. This survey is a combined crime study from law enforcement agencies, which lists crimes against persons and property by zip code. It shows the propensity for crime to occur based on crime that has occurred. It also identifies to a property manager the need to employ specific security techniques based on how high their property rates; additional lighting, on-site security, security patrols, controlled access, etc. The survey data changes quite often and is definitely a liability factor if reasonable and responsible actions to protect tenants are not employed. Plaintiff attorneys use this report when looking for liability factors to sue a property owner and their manager (third party liability) for their client who was injured on the property.

Deterrence is best achieved through the visibility of effective preventive measures, which is generally described as upgrading a soft target to a hard target. The need for improved or increased security levels is based on the threat analysis, which allows a cost effective approach.