This is the second of a series on mall security based on our radio show: Guns, Guards and Alarms (click to listen).
Read the first article in this series: Should Malls Prohibit Firearms?
“Training, training, training” is Brian’s Cescolini’s mantra. He is Co-CEO of Universal Protection Services, the fifth largest private security firm in the U.S. and was referring to training of the mall security force, as well as training of the retailers and their employees. Landlords and tenants might think in terms of fire drills, but more often it should be the landlord’s responsibility to make sure their in-house or contract security group has the best training. Training must be verified and the landlord must ensure the training is continuous. How nice it was to hear Brian make these statements with such assertiveness and passion.
Training should not be limited to the landlord’s security personnel. The retailer’s active participation and preparation is fundamental to the safety of everyone in the mall. Tenants need to coordinate their actions with that of the mall security and police. They should know when and how to close up their stores, whether or not to usher people out the back doors and how to direct people away from an incident immediately. The goal is to save lives. As Brian says, without that training and discipline, the program doesn’t work. Whatever you do, don’t rely on the unknown instincts and heroism of a salesperson.
Coordination between mall security, local police and the retailers is a key factor in mall security. Dave Mistick, President of Circumspex and a noted author and expert on disaster preparedness, likes to use the term “collaboration.” The safety of everyone in the mall depends on collaboration of all the affected parties.
Larger retailers often have their own “loss prevention” personnel responsible for the retailer’s internal security. When loss prevention personnel are available, they are responsible for coordination with mall security and training of the retailer’s employees. In most cases the smaller retailers do not have their own security or loss prevention personnel. Mall security personnel may coordinate efforts and training directly with the retailer’s local management and employees, but when mall security personnel take on a portion of the training responsibility of the retailer’s staff, they may be taking on some unintended potential liability. The question still stands: Who is responsible for the training of the retailers and their employees?
For larger retailers who have their own loss prevention personnel on site, training should not be an issue. How does the smaller retailer, who doesn’t have the same resources, provide effective training? Brian is not in favor of the landlord taking on the responsibility of training the retailers. He feels that doing such training takes on too much of the responsibility and liability. On the other hand, if training and coordination is so important, he recognizes that the landlord and its security personnel cannot just put on blinders and hope their security plan works.
From my perspective, if training and coordination with the retailers is so important, the landlord must provide the training to the retailers who do not have their own loss prevention or security personnel. The cost of such training should be incorporated into the lease. In current leases, it is the retailers who likely will end up sharing the cost of training and insuring the safety of their customers in the form of common area maintenance charges. Mall owners should have no excuse for not providing the training to make sure that their security program is in place and effective.
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