Screening People and Belongings

If you are working at a location or with an organization that sees a variety of people every day, it can be beneficial to create a screening plan for these people and their belongings. Screening can not only help prevent the introduction of actually harmful objects into an area, but can help deter those objects from being brought in the first place. let's breakdown what that might look like at your location.

Why Screen?

Screening may seem like a tedious or even unnecessary procedure when it comes to security. However, we live in an age where concealed weapons are common, and criminals have the capability to construct and smuggle in explosive devices, other weapons and more. Outside of dangerous objects, screening can be a convenient way to prevent the transport of illicit substances. On top of this, if a perpetrator understands that screening is conducted at a certain location, they are less likely to attempt to enter in the first place.

Additionally, screening employees and guests as they leave a building can be a good way to ensure no sensitive information or important objects are being removed from a site.

Building Your Screening Process?

When building a screening process for your particular location, it's important to consider not only the physical environment but the types of people that visit. For instance, are you hosting a large outdoor event, or simply screening individuals as they enter a building? What types of people typically visit? What type of device or weapon do you think is most likely to be brought to your location? All of these things as well as the nature of your business, and the staff you hire are important to take into consideration. Once you have completed this assessment, you can begin to create rules specific to your organization. Some of the most common types of rules include limits on bag sizes and badges for specific personnel.

Types of Screening

Depending on what you have deemed necessary for your needs, your screening process may look like a queue that ends in a bag search, or something like a simple metal detector. Bag searches have a higher success rate when it comes to preventing prohibited substances from being brought onto property, while metal detectors can help identify weapons.

If you do decide to implement metal detectors however, you may consider investing in discriminative metal detection, which involves a machine that can differentiate between dangerous metal objects and those that are mundane. Additionally, a non-technology based form of screening must be set up for those with medical or other prerequisites that prevent them from being able to pass through a metal detector.

Regardless of the process you end up choosing, screening in itself can be an effective deterrent when combined with other security measures. That being said it should not be relied on for preventing the entrance of all weapons, active shooter prevention or other devices into your location. Other security measures should be employed to ensure that all of your bases are covered when it comes to screening.