In most states in the U.S., landlords/proprietors have some
basic obligation to provide a reasonably safe and secure environment for
tenants, patrons and other invitees.
This obligation may arise from specific laws/statutes, or from general
laws/statutes relating to negligence, or from case law.
In any event, the obligation to provide a safe environment
virtually always uses the concept of reasonable security based on foreseeability
as the test for adequacy and sufficiency of security when some incident
occurs. In simple terms, this means
that a landlord/proprietor must take the precautions that a reasonable person
would take under the same/similar conditions and circumstances after giving due
consideration to factors affecting the premises (namely: the inherent nature of the premises; the
history of problems at the premises; the history of problems in the area
immediately surrounding the premises; and any industry standards that may exist
relating to the premises). This
definition thus presupposes that some “one-size-fits-all” approach to security
will usually not be adequate or sufficient since circumstances are different at
every premises. But the single factor
which exists in the majority of times when some security incident occurs at
some specific place is what I refer to as the “environment conducive to
criminality.”
Let me here make a disclaimer: There is no such thing as absolute security (meaning continuous,
constant, total, complete and unqualified protection and safety of a given
asset) – any security system or strategy can be compromised given sufficient
motivation, opportunity and resources.
So, since security breaches can occur even when adequate and sufficient
security exists, then the primary purpose of any security strategy is to
control as many variables as possible to limit the opportunity for criminal
acts to the extent reasonably possible, i.e., make it as difficult as possible
for crime to occur successfully.
Except for crimes of passion (which generally occur
spontaneously), criminals usually seek 2 conditions when deciding
how/when/where to commit a crime:
environment/circumstances which allow greatest probability of the
criminal act succeeding; and environment/circumstances which allow greatest
probability of committing the criminal act without being stopped, caught or
identified. This means that criminals
generally choose the circumstances and places which provide the greatest
opportunity for successful accomplishment of the crime – they choose a place
which has an “environment conducive to criminality.”
As noted above, every place is
different and has different conditions to consider when determining security
needs. But regardless of place or
conditions, an “environment conducive to criminality” usually has some common
traits:
- no formal or careful consideration has been given to security needs (nothing has been done to assure that appropriate security measures have been implemented commensurate with foreseeable threats)
- no formalized security plan exists (security measures, if any even exist, have been chosen and applied haphazardly with no formal strategy or objective)
- area has easy access (a place which has a perimeter which cannot readily be secured or which has access controls which can be easily defeated)
- area is unkempt (making it difficult to determine if something is missing or providing places to hide or move furtively)
- area is dark (a place where crime can occur undetected and persons cannot be readily seen or identified)
- area is not routinely surveilled either by technological means (such as cameras) or persons (a place where crime can occur undetected and persons cannot be readily seen or identified)
- area has no regulatory or warning signage prominently displayed (information is not provided to advise patrons of proper or prohibited behaviors, to publicize security measures as a deterrent to inappropriate/criminal activity, and/or to warn of the penalties for engaging in inappropriate/criminal activity)
- there is no ready security response when problems occur (no plan is in place or competent personnel available to deal with inappropriate persons or activities)
- employees, even those ostensibly having security responsibilities, are not selected or trained properly (personnel are not competent to identify suspicious persons or respond to inappropriate/criminal activity)
- records/documentation related to security are not maintained (history of security issues is not kept or reviewed to ascertain that security measures are adequate and sufficient)
- security is not given adequate management attention (nothing is routinely done to assure that security measures are adequate and sufficient for current or changing security needs)
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