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— Property Management Quarterly — January 2016
“A high-rise commercial office
property in downtown Denver is
going to respond differently to an
active shooter threat than in a sub-
urban office property in Colorado
Springs,” he said. “And certainly a
retail property is going to respond
differently than a multifamily prop-
erty.”
As threats evolve, reexamine the
building’s security plans, even if it’s
just a few years old, to ensure that
the program is still appropriate.
Managers may consider changes
to on-site guard shifts, visibility,
updates or repositioning cameras
and access control systems, and
reviewing the skill set of the secu-
rity professionals, he said.
An overall review of the security
program must address the manned
security component, the current
and potential security features,
training and its scope. This will
allow managers to create a risk
profile of the property, which also
takes into consideration who the
occupants are and the structural
characteristics of the property.
“When we take all of those con-
siderations and re-evaluate, we’re
able to customize and refine it to
not only provide a more robust
security atmosphere, but also still
be appreciative and sensitive to the
business needs of the property,”
said Claton.
There are two major hurdles for
many property managers to juggle
– budget and appearance. The lat-
est security features can be outside
many managers’ budgets, so new
plans should increase the visibility
and effectiveness of the security
features while remaining within the
budget.
However, while increasing vis-
ibility can act as a crime deterrent,
managers must be cognizant of
their responsibility to balance a
business-friendly environment with
a strong security presence.
“Our property manager customers
are in a tough position,” said Claton.
“They have to provide an environ-
ment that facilitates business activ-
ity, so they can’t put a barb-wire
fence around their property with
armed guards at the front doors. It’s
not Fort Knox.”
Training
While the role of security guards
is evolving from primarily an
observe-and-report position to one
that encourages situational threat
assessment, other security aspects
remain constant: training and com-
munication.
Training of the property man-
agement team as well as building
tenants is very important. “It’s so
important for all of us to be trained
because in the unlikely event of
some kind of violent activity at your
property, your first instinct will be
to fall back on that training,” Claton
said.
Some security firms, including
Universal Protection Service, will
provide property management
teams active shooter training. After
a presentation, Universal hosts a
tabletop exercise to determine what
responsibilities and actions each
part of the team – managers, secu-
rity, parking, janitorial, etc. – would
take in the event of an active shoot-
er situation.
“This allows us to work with our
customers to assess everyone’s
responsiveness to a situation like
this,” said Claton. “Everyone, of
course, would be able to call 911,
but what happens after that?”
Once the team members’ roles are
determined, managers should edu-
cate their tenants on what actions
they should take. The Department
of Homeland Security website is
a good place to find material on
training as well as information on
the “see something, say something”
campaign.
“We are very concerned with edu-
cation and communication,” said
Edling. “We want people to know
what to do and have a plan in place,
because the time to think about this
is not when it happens. You should
practice and drill; it will save lives.”
DHS created a list of three key
things to remember if found in an
active shooter situation: run, hide,
fight.
“In the event of an active shooter,
the first instruction is to run, to get
out of the area where the shooting
is taking place; if you can’t evacu-
ate, then hide – barricade yourself
in an office or under a desk and
avoid contact with the assailant;
and then lastly, if you can’t run or
hide, follow DHS training measures
to defend yourself and fight against
the assailant,” said Claton.
Edling referred to a five-minute
video on YouTube, “Run. Hide.
Fight,” created by Ready Houston
that breaks down the three options
and steps to follow, which is a help-
ful educational tool to share with
tenants.
“We want people to be aware of
their surroundings,” said Edling. “I
call it a healthy paranoia. It doesn’t
mean you have to have your head
on a swivel, but use common sense
and be situationally aware.”
When creating an action plan, it is
a smart approach to use the train-
ing materials available from DHS,
from a liability standpoint, rather
than creating your own, said Claton.
Tenants should know where they
can go to be safe and how they can
protect themselves. People need
to know how to respond and what
their role will be if found in a situa-
tion that requires them to run, hide
or fight, Edling said.
It’s important for them to know
how to call 911 if the building has a
trunked system that requires mul-
tiple steps to make an outside call.
Also, remind tenants of fire alarm
locations, which can be used to
sound the alarm.
In addition to communication
among the property management
team and clear communication of
the action plan for your tenants,
communication with the commu-
nity is beneficial as well.
“Building owners and property
managers are very focused on tak-
ing care of security in their perspec-
tive buildings, as they should be,”
said Tamara Door, president and
CEO of the Downtown Denver Part-
nership. “We are working hard with
property owners and managers to
bring some of the resources and
tools they have to help us look at
downtown as a whole – to make all
of the security offered in downtown
bigger than the sum of its parts.”
A two-year initiative by the
Downtown Denver Partnership, the
Downtown Security Action Plan,
was introduced recently. The plan
focuses on security in the down-
town area, both in terms of actual
safety as well as perceived safety.
The holistic plan offers a strategic
way to look at the downtown envi-
ronment as one entity rather than
a collection of individual buildings,
said Door.
“It is about making sure that
we’re all communicating and work-
ing together toward a common goal
of keeping downtown safe, as well
as individual properties,” said Door.
“This is the role of the private sec-
tor and the public sector.”
s
Management
The Downtown Security Action Plan was created over a three-month
period by the Downtown Denver Partnership with engagement from
the private and public sectors. The comprehensive plan is looking at
suggested tactics and initiatives to increase the safety and perception
of safety in the downtown area, said Tamara Door, president and CEO of
the Downtown Denver Partnership.
The plan is broken out into five core areas:
1. Infrastructure and environment.
How the physical space and place
drive activity.
2. Communication, education and responsibility.
Communication with
property owners and managers about what information they need and
what information they can share to help the public sector. Also, edu-
cate managers of what to look for, what to report and how to report
it. The goal is to help everyone take greater ownership in the care of
downtown safety, said Door.
3. Regulation and enforcement.
Examine different policies that are not
on the books to address some of the issues.
4. Information and coordination.
Make sure that the public and private
sectors are working closely together and sharing information where
appropriate.
5. Strategy and management.
Conduct an effort to monitor, maintain
and track the plan over time.
One of the first tactical items the plan addressed was concerns about
lighting. The partnership funded and lit eight allies, all private sector
supported by the membership, and advocated to the city for new lights
on 16th Street Mall, according to Door. The project was approve and
now the city is leading the project.
“We really encourage property managers, if they are not already a
member of the partnership or engaged in the partnership, to contact us
and we can talk with them about how they can get involved,” said Door.
“We’ll be working with them and reaching out to them going forward
as well.”
Property managers’ role in the Downtown Security Action Plan
Photo courtesy Universal Protection Service
Every property is unique, so it’s important to assess each property individually to design a system that complements the business and
security needs of the building.
