Who among us in his life has not at least once abused the good-natured smile and affection of a bank guard, rocketing towards him with thousands of questions, as soon as he passed the front door: “Is the bank open? And lunch sometime? Where is the cash register? And the ATM did not give a check! and even: “And the dog ran over there! Drive her out!” It is already a well-known fact: if you want to find the administration, find a security guard to ask where the administration is located.
After all, the security guard in such places is for many an information center, a check-in desk, and sometimes even a foundry bureau – a kind of post-Soviet grandmother with the features of a superhero. If something ordinary or, on the contrary, unusual happens – on the advice of “what to do?” go, of course, to him. It is quite clear that the security guard is the person who is more likely to be the first to receive information about something extraordinary – for example, about mining. And taking into account the frequency of periodic mass attacks by “miners” (one of the last happened recently – on June 11 of this year, when information was received about the simultaneous mining of 128 objects in the Dnipropetrovsk region during the day), we considered it necessary to find out what should be optimal interaction of visitors, staff and special services in similar situations. The head of DPRC-26 for the protection of the Dovgyntsiv district of Kryvyi Rih, Major Anatoliy Vashchenko, answered the question.
Anatoly Vashchenko answers: “Don’t run anywhere and don’t look for anyone. After all, the room in which you will theoretically be located may have a large area and you will simply lose time. Immediately call “101” or “102”, after which the fire and rescue services and law enforcement agencies will be dispatched to the scene. Meanwhile, you will be able to find an administrator, a security guard, a consultant – anyone who will put you in touch with the management of the facility for the transfer of information. Remember that any reports of mines or the discovery of an explosive device should be treated as a real situation. Act quickly, calmly, harmoniously.”
Case #2. Suspicious thing. You went, for example, to an electronics store and saw a children’s backpack near one of the windows, but there are no children, no one, or anyone to whom it might belong nearby. What shall I do? Do you need to check the find for compliance with any characteristics of an explosive object?
Anatoly Vashchenko answers: “Remember – there are no objects that cannot be disguised as an explosive device. Therefore, do not touch anything and call “101” or “102”. Only an expert can decide whether an object is explosive or not. We went several times to identify bags left in the entrances of multi-story buildings. We also had a case when a teacher forgot a briefcase with notebooks in one of the bank branches, as was established after the arrival of the operative group. But the administration treated this portfolio as dangerous. People were evacuated, and the premises were inspected according to protocol by the pyrotechnic unit. Therefore, as you can see, it is quite normal to consider the object dangerous and report to the law enforcement authorities only on the basis of what you think so. And while you are waiting for the special services to arrive, you should immediately contact the security personnel or the administration of the facility – whoever you find first. They will help organize a safe regime before the arrival of the special services.”
Case #3. Evacuation. While in a public place, for example, in a bank branch, an employee came out to people and announced the following: “Dear citizens, an unforeseen emergency situation has occurred. We ask everyone to calmly leave the premises through the right and left wing via the stairwells and move 200 meters away from the building.” But you are standing right next to the central stairs that lead to the central exit, and you think that going down it will be faster and safer for you. The guard does not let you in and asks you to go through the right or left wing of the building. Does he have the right to specify the order of evacuation?
Anatoliy Vashchenko answers: “Yes, it does. The employees of the facility, including security, are well aware of the procedure for evacuation from the building and will carry it out in accordance with previously developed and tested methods. In addition, at the time of evacuation, they may have information about the location of a suspected explosive object. Therefore, it will be wise to listen to their recommendations. After all, your task is to save your life and not harm the lives of people who are close to you. It is important that you all remain calm and leave the room quickly. And for this, you need to act slowly, coherently and prudently, avoiding various conflicts.”
Case #4. Objects of the risk zone. Is there a certain list of risky objects – those that are most often mined or from which evacuation is difficult? Should you plan your leisure time, visits to public places taking into account such risks?
Anatoly Vashchenko answers: “There is no such list. To a greater extent, because any object, if fire safety standards are not observed, can be turned into a risky one. I can give one piece of advice – no matter where you are, it is important to have a minimal idea of how you will leave there in the event of an emergency.
In our professional environment, of course, rooms are divided according to the levels of difficulty of evacuation. For example, the evacuation of shopping malls, educational institutions, and offices is carried out in a standard manner, but hospitals are very difficult… After all, it is one thing to remove people from the trading floor, and another thing to evacuate patients connected to life support machines and IVs.
Society mistakenly believes that kindergartens and schools are difficult objects to evacuate. This is not so because these institutions have a high culture of behavior in emergency situations. The special services regularly conduct exercises with the participation of students and staff (by the way, we also conduct similar exercises in the shopping center). In addition, many schools have a security service at the checkpoint, which, among other things, monitors fire safety.”
Interaction between security and intelligence services
A successful outcome of a situation is always the result of coordinated interaction. Our structures pay a lot of attention to establishing communication. For this purpose, in addition to standard exercises, so-called interaction exercises are conducted. This is a type of exercise where we practice the ability to work in the same chain with other special services: police, pyrotechnic services, ambulance, city services. Despite the fact that today there are no prescribed instructions on the interaction between private security structures and government intelligence services, we always, on a voluntary basis, involve security companies in conducting exercises to practice interactions. After all, security personnel, if there is one at the facility, are the connecting link and help us with at least three things:
Data request. Security can transmit information to the arriving security services about the number of people in the building. For example, according to the accounting log, if we are talking about an office building and such employee records are present.
Video camera data. If we are talking about a facility that does not keep records of visitors, the security guard can give access to CCTV cameras to see where people went and where who might be.
Convey information. The security guard can convey technical information about the facility: premises with limited access, the condition of the premises, the location of the electrical panel, the location of an explosive item (which is especially important if we are talking about facilities with a large area), other necessary information for carrying out pyrotechnic work and identifying the item.