Introduction
Identifying real security risks is not about theory, job titles, or qualifications on paper. It is about understanding how crime happens, how criminals think, and what creates opportunity. True risk identification requires you to view the property through the eyes of a criminal. Such understanding is not something that can be taught in a classroom.
At Alwinco, we specialise in independent physical security risk assessments. We do not sell products or services. Our role is to assess, identify, and expose actual vulnerabilities, providing clients with clear, risk-specific solutions to eliminate opportunity and prevent crime.
If you are serious about understanding the true risks facing your property, we invite you to get in touch. Contact us via email at andre@alwinco.co.za, schedule a Microsoft Teams meeting, or arrange a phone consultation. Let us show you what real risk identification looks like.
Identifying security risks
Independent security risk assessment – The ability to identify security risks involves seeing the property and opportunities for crime from a criminal’s point of view. Over the years, I have worked alongside various security managers on properties ranging from schools to farms, warehouses to corporate companies, and homes to residential estates in both the public and private sectors. I understand the responsibilities of a security manager, and to be honest, I often possess more knowledge and experience than those managers who have pursued their profession.
Allow me to explain.
Most managers and security managers hold two or three career positions, meaning they have an average of three “career experiences,” whereas I have dealt with hundreds of different property assessments over the last 36 years. This makes me more knowledgeable than the average security manager, who sees the same property and people daily. I have dealt with more than 600 different entities, which has broadened my knowledge and understanding tremendously.
Over the years,
I have learned how criminals and security guards think, and I am familiar with the guarding network and the criminal network in South Africa. Exceptional knowledge of operational documents, processes (SOP), and agreements. I research risk and crime daily and am familiar with the most recent criminal modus operandi, security hardware, and technology. Unfortunately, no tertiary institutions provide a course in security risk assessment, making it difficult to obtain a degree specifically in the field.
These establishments only provide courses for risk managers, which is a vastly different concept and approach from being an independent security risk assessor. You must first identify a risk before you can manage it.
At https://www.securitysa.com/14053r read the article “Risk assessment vs. risk management vs. health and safety.”
Many risk managers can write a thesis about risk.
However, students cannot apply this knowledge to their everyday lives. Risk is not about what a professor told you in class a few years ago. Risk is what is right in front of you at this moment. As previously stated, I have experience in various fields, including the police service, the security field, and security risk assessments. I focus on security risks because they create opportunities for crime. Written by André Mundell André Mundell is an independent security risk assessor. # Independent security risk assessment
If you would like to learn more about our services or need additional information on security risk assessments, please send us an email or visit our website, Security Meetings, and subscribe to our newsletter.
Our programs for assessing security risks cover the Gauteng Region, which encompasses Centurion, Fourways, Sandton, and Littleton. In addition, we also have coverage in Bloemfontein, Pinetown, and Cape Town.