Security Services – Before & After the Fact
SMSI Inc. offers two broad based services: Security Management Support and Security Litigation Support. The litigation support is provided on behalf of plaintiffs and/or on behalf of defendants. Security Management Support is generally a proactive offering, while the Litigation Support Offering is reactive, responsive to a lawsuit. Security is a situational discipline, and the product of the ambient threat environment. In other words, security programs are predicated on need, requiring an assessment of the ambient threat environment. Most of the litigation support cases are responsive to a lawsuit. The security Management Support offering is partially intended to reasonable mitgate lawsuits.
Our litigation support offering generally has included hospital, hotels, public and private schools, shopping malls, and entertainment and sports venues. The crimes committed include, but are not limited to sexual assaults, excessive use of force, theft, and fraud. Many of the legal cases are characterized by personal injuries, committed by criminals. Some cases also are characterized by excessive use of force, and or, false imprisonment. The goal of SMSI Inc. is to reasonably mitigate litigation. We cannot guarantee the prevention of lawsuits.
Among the vertical markets previously alluded to, have included the healthcare industry. Hospitals are usually held to the highest standard of care, followed by malls and thelodging industry. On the consulting side our goal is to cost effectively mitigate litigation. However, no security program is completely invulnerable.
A plurality of our clients has been within the healthcare industry, in part because hospitals are generally held to a very high standard of care, under the doctrine of do no harm. They have included hospitals, extended care facilities, and behavioral health institutions Our goal is to identify, and reasonably mitigate vulnerabilities. The best security programs are those involving a team effort.
The graphic above illustrate the complexity of the typical security program. The outer circle illustrates some of the industry verticals that would benefit from an in-depth security review. When it come to effective security programs; one size does not fit all.
The elephant in the room, not to be ignored for the foreseeable future is the corona virus threat, and not to be ignored form any security adjustment.
All security programs will need to meet the mitigation demands of the medical team, as related to the corona virus, and the need for containing the threat, as well as isolating the hazard. Clearly, any security strategy that is, in anyway, related to the control corona threat, should be studied, with making adjustments as knowledge and expertise expand. Communication with colleagues locally, and from throughout the nation, as new strategies are evaluated for effective control and containment.
Finally, the interaction between the security department, risk management and the C-Suite is an ongoing essential. We are all in this together. Collectively, we are all our brother’s keeper. Regional medical centers should keep communications open among all hospitals, as well as organizations such as ASHRM, IAHSS and the C-Suites.
William H. Nesbitt, President of Security Management Services International.