Risk Reporter for Senior Living Communities

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Protection (security teams)

Ramp up protection with security teams

It’s hard to miss reports of crime in the news these days. It seems no one is immune to violence, senior living centers included.

Creating a security team at your senior living center, however, can go a long way toward ensuring the safety of your staff, residents, visitors and volunteers.

Here are tips for creating your security team, putting a plan of action in place and setting standards for its operations.

1. Put staff members and volunteers on your security team.
2. Identify potential crisis events.
3. Establish a written security and violence response plan for your organization.
4. Train and use staff members and volunteers as a first line of defense to detect potential threats involving suspicious people, packages and vehicles.
5. Establish procedures for patrolling exterior and interior areas before, during and after special events as well as during regular business hours.
6. Conduct a security sweep of the entire building before locking all doors and windows for the day.
7. Ask local neighborhood watch groups to help keep an eye on the property and report unusual activities to law enforcement.
8. Conduct periodic safety surveys of all buildings and grounds and keep written records of conditions and corrective actions.
9. Call police if a suspicious person is on your facility’s property and let the police investigate the situation.
10. Establish a position on on-site armed protection.

If a potential thief knows he or she will be under surveillance, that person will likely think twice before targeting the establishment. This can mean the difference between your residents feeling safe or at risk.

 

Editor: Amy M. Kimmes akimmes@churchmutual.com

Risk Control Advisor: Edward A. Steele, CSP, ARM esteele@churchmutual.com