Feature

Why are Shopping Malls Easy & Lucrative Targets for Terrorists ?


In the 21st century, shopping malls have become the symbol of prosperity. They are omnipresent across the globe – especially in metropolitan cities. India, which is one of the fastest growing economies of the world today, is also not lagging and has made a remarkable part of this global phenomenon that is fast spreading its footprints in Tier-II and Tier-III cities of the country. Shopping malls are also transforming the landscape of rural India. The nondescript and sleepy towns have become vibrant and are buzzing with commercial activities with population drawn to the ambience of flowing music, entertainment, glitter of lights, and opulence of the variety in the stores. Today malls which have become synonymous to shopping culture across all sections of urban India present a potent symbol of rising middle class, and have become the ultimate destination for the shoppers with wish lists in their hands.

Other side of the coin – Easy target for terrorist attacks

While visiting shopping malls is normally a must in today’s time, they have also become an easy target for terrorist attacks. The brazen and gruesome attacks by terrorists on shopping malls in the past decades have left a very tragic, devastating and emotionally wrenching scars down the memory lane of the entire human race. An analysis by Rand Corporation in 2006 reported 60 such attacks on shopping malls in 21 countries since 1998. A mere glance at the historical data of such heinous acts of terrorists as available on Google and tabulated below is very scary, and needs serious attention of the security professionals.

Peculiarities of shopping malls

The shopping malls are very different from the likes of airports which provide specific and specialized customer services and travel experience. Same is the case when we compare shopping malls with shopping complexes which fall grossly short of quality shopping experiences.

The shopping malls are prominently crowd centric as footfalls are the core of their business model. They are usually fat in area – spread in lakhs of square feet of retail space, and multi-storeyed – to house a remarkably large number of stores to ensure all famous international brands are available. Food courts and cineplexes, casinos and pubs, kids play zones, promotional activity zone etc. are the major attractions of malls. Other facilities include large multilevel parking spaces for vehicles, gen sets for power back-ups, escalators and passenger lifts for easy movements of the shoppers, 24×7 presence of the security and facility management personnel, flashy glitter of colorful LED lights in stores and surroundings, and so on.

Security challenges in shopping malls

To be commercially viable and attractive, the shopping malls have got inherently to be in open areas – with wide ranging access for retailers and shoppers and therefore with copious car parking capacity and other above given facilities. This increases the potential vulnerability and challenges before the security system. Some of the other major challenges faced by the security in a shopping mall are:

a) Multiple stakeholders The ownership of the shopping malls is usually in the hands of many stakeholders.

b) Large crowd – The sheer numbers are sitting ducks that invite terrorist attacks.

c) Access to public – Malls thrive on footfalls and thus allow unimpeded access to all.

d) Centre of attraction – Attract wide cross section of the population.

e) Business models – The marginal cost of additional security measures is termed extremely high.

f) Personal privacy vs security – Frisking, search and X-ray scanning of baggage are generally not longed for by the shoppers and hence rarely allowed.

g) Unwillingness for enhanced security – Most countries are not willing to turn shopping malls into fortresses for various obvious reasons.

Risks and threats

The spectrum of risks and threats to the security of a shopping mall can thus be summarized in terms of – shop lifting by shoppers, theft and pilferage by the employees of stores, accidents and thefts in car parking, public violence in casinos and pubs, fire incidents for varied apparent reasons, bomb threats and active shooter incidents, inappropriate behavior in passenger lifts and parking amounting to sexual harassment, and many more.

Active shooter

Amongst the risks and threats listed above, active shooters are the biggest security threat. They are highly trained, hard core, motivated and mission oriented crusader with a singular aim to damage public and their assets. The characteristics of a shopping mall offer them the freedom to gauge the security envelope through repeated reconnaissance and surveillance of the target points and areas, and then strike at right place and time of his choosing within the vulnerabilities identified.

 

Post 9/11 scenario

The aftermath of 9/11 attack on Twin Trade World Towers, New York in the USA, which shook the mindset of a large section of countries, has enabled a dramatic change in the entire security outlook of these infrastructures. The profile of the shopping malls has started deeply embedding security and safety in their processes to leave very marginal and reduced scope of security lapses. The HHMD (hand held metal detectors), DFMD (door frame metal detectors), X-ray scanners and CCTV surveillance play the key role in reinforcing todays’ security umbrella. The AI (Artificial Intelligence) enabled systems for tracking a suspect through facial recognition technology is the latest addition to the recent fleet of security gadgets. The scope of integrating security and surveillance devices has further augmented the viability of security system. The presence of security personnel in civil clothes to ensure that they remain unobtrusive and un-conspicuous while attempting to identify suspicious elements within the Mall serves a big deterrent. However, one needs to home on the ideology of terrorists to figure out the probability of an imminent terrorist attack.

Why a shopping mall cannot be made an impregnable fortress

A one line answer suffices to address this issue that a stringent security arrangement goes totally against the ethos, culture and experience level expected by both shoppers and retailers – as with such deployments the very purpose of creating malls as a profit center will be defeated and the creation will cease to continue. Security and safety are generally taken as granted and usually placed at the lower hierarchy of planing and implementations. Nobody really wants to be trailed or tracked, or be under the eyes of surveillance or scanner at a place which he has selected to unwind and enjoy the personal moments of privacy, fun and leisure time.

Role of private security agencies

While one cannot totally rule out or obliterate the probability and possibility of terrorist attacks, there is still a huge scope for private security agencies to assist law enforcement authorities in reining them and reducing the impact of such incidents. They will help in implementing preventive measures that generally conform to the pattern adopted by stakeholders post 9/11 scenario, illustrated above, and will prominently and additionally figure in the security set up including in analyzing the incident patterns of the past, employing the AI enabled behavioral recognition techniques, strictly enforcing the frisking, search and scanning through HHMD, DFMD, X-ray scanners at all entry points, lockdown drills once in a quarter, mock drills for bomb threat and fire incident once in a quarter, enhanced budgetary support for equipping security to enhance efficacy and minimize the probability, and in many other ways.

Conclusion

Terrorists love to hit the headlines in the media by aiming the soft targets like shopping malls. The PSAs being the second line of defense have an immense responsibility to keep these facilities safe and secure from such terrorists acts causing tragic loss of lives and property.

We, the APS Group, have large number of shopping malls in our list of clientele where we provide security and facility management. We rigorously go through the client SoPs and conduct security audits, identify risks and threats, and home on vulnerabilities before taking over the site. The innovative measures in the form of penetration checks are instituted to plug the loop holes in the security set up. The mock drills for handling emergencies like fire and bomb threat are conducted regularly to rehearse the spontaneous response matrix of security apparatus. Fire safety audits have saved many possible emergency situations. Since lock-down drills are a big drain in the profit center, the frequency is left to the choice of the stakeholders. However, active shooter response training program and security advisory are shared with the client from time to time. Conclusively, we ensure seamless moments of pleasurable shopping, fun, frolic personal moments of privacy and leisure time to all who visit these shopping malls, but in safe and secure manner. We deliver peace and prosperity through our basket of security services in the ecosystem.



 

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