Has your business or organisation changed its use of technology and practices since the early 1980s? Not according to one leading publisher, who only last year was still marketing a book on security surveying which was written in 1982! Happily, despite there being many inferior publications such as the example above, there are also plenty of well-established and new books of considerable value to the security professional. The best of these, more competent books, offer us the opportunity to continue our professional development.
The aim of this independent review feature is to highlight worthy books on: current best practice in a particular field of security and books on subjects with either a relevance to the function of security or those of interest to the security professional.
Title:Criminal law.
Authors: Brian Ashton and Alan Slater.
Publisher: Police Review Publishing Company.
Date published: 1998.
Content: 916 pages.
Price: £20.95 (inc. postage).
Details from: Tel. +44 (0171) 440 4703 Fax. +44 (0171) 405 7167
Even those of us with a background in law enforcement have a requirement to keep our knowledge of the law up to date. Times change and new laws come into effect with, it seems, an ever greater frequency. To keep abreast of these changes, or perhaps to help learn the subject afresh, a book such as 'Criminal Law' is a commendable and a generous source of information.
Each statute of (English) criminal law is given a clear definition (including elements to be proved), an explanation and an arrest criterion. Concluding each chapter are accounts of keynote cases, including one on a computer hacker prosecuted for criminal damage.
Produced by the publishers of the much respected 'Police Review' magazine, it covers the subject in depth and detail enough for operational day to day needs and would also prove useful to an instructor or indeed an academic. For those of us who are non Latin scholars even a glossary of legal terms is provided !
Title:Communicating out of a Crisis.
Author: Michael Bland.
Publisher: Macmillan Press Ltd.
Date published: 1998.
Content: 248 pages.
Price: £25.00 Details from: Tel. +44 (01256) 302699 Fax. +44 (01256) 364733
A new twist on an old adage should perhaps read:- If you can keep your head, when all about are losing theirs, you are probably a security practitioner! Appreciated or not, in the event of a crisis, it is frequently the security manager who is expected to take a lead role, regardless of whether the event is security related. Thus, our reputation as 'a safe pair of hands' could put us into situations for which we are not prepared.
The content is not about the physical handling of a crisis i.e. the fire fighting, but how to manage the event and the publicity. Prior preparation is imperative, to calculate your risk exposure, build 'bridges' towards your target audience and have a planned response.
Michael Bland's position is that this is a psychological discipline more than a procedural one and it requires more than knowing how to handle the media once a crisis has started. With chapters and comprehensive case studies written by notable professionals in the field, (such as Christopher Flint, Group Security Advisor for Cadbury Schweppes plc), this book is an absorbing and proficient read.
Title: Effective Security Management (3rd Edition).
Author: Charles A. Sennewald.
Publisher: Butterworth-Heinemann.
Date published: 1998.
Content: 385 pages.
Price: £30.00 Details from: Tel. +44 (01865) 314301 Fax. +44 (01865) 314029
As the title of this book suggests, it is not enough for the Security Manager to only have a competence in their security specialism. For overall achievement and proficiency there is a further requirement, this being the ability to be an effective manager. The author of this book, has identified this requirement outlining, the role, desirable attributes and necessary knowledge as they relate to becoming a successful manager in a security capacity. The five section headings of the book illustrate it's scope, these being:- General security management, Security personnel management, Operational management, Public relations and mistakes to avoid through Mismanagement.
This edition of the book, the third since its original publication, contains fresh material including three new chapters. These chapters cover the subjects of risk management, the security survey and Information Technology (IT). The chapter upon IT would be of particular benefit to those starting or for those who have yet to attempt the IT learning curve. All chapters end with self test questions. Even the most seasoned of Security Managers could find a benefit and value in reading this book.
Title: Security Consultants Guide to Starting a Professional Practice (Guides 1-3).
Authors: Terry Hack and Lida Newman.
Publisher: Safeguard Security Consultants.
Date published: 1999.
Price: £130.00 for the three guides (which are also available individually). Details from: Tel. +44 (01258) 480 066 Fax. +44 (01258) 480 168
To be your own boss is both attractive, and according to Government figures an increasingly accepted proposition, with over one in eight of the working population now having self employed status. The benefits of being self employed, perhaps as a Security Consultant, could be both satisfying and financially lucrative. The route to becoming self employed, however, is not though without complexities.
Terry Hack and Lida Newman (both well respected and established security consultants) have put together a unique package which could make this transition as smooth and successful as possible. The series consists of three guides titled:
More than just books, the guides form a distance learning package, including exercises and self analysis tests for the reader to complete.
The skills, knowledge and ability of both Terry and Lida are evident throughout the guides, which are available individually or in conjunction with 'workshops' and mentoring conducted by them.
One note of warning, although useful and instructive, as is stated within the guides there is no 'short cut to success', you will still require perseverance and a lot of hard work.
Source
SMT
