CHANGING PATTERN OF SECURITY MANAGEMENT IN COMMERCIAL BUILDINGS

Abstract

Security for commercial buildings has changed since the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. While in the past, security is concerned with theft and crimes, the subject of terrorism is now their main focus. The subsequent attacks on nightclubs in Bali and JW Marriot Hotel in Jakarta have further proved the threat of terrorism in Asia. In Singapore's context, counter terrorism is one of the top priorities to build a safe and secure environment. For privately owned commercial buildings, it is clear that one of the property manager's new priorities must be to determine, detect and prevent terrorist plots in any form. Property management professionals must be ready to accept new challenges and functions. This study discusses the changes in security management and measures adopted by the commercial buildings to protect their occupants and building assets, in the face of terrorism. Survey of private security agencies was carried out to find out the impact of terrorism on their business operations, training of security personnel, and the main considerations affecting security planning. Data analysis was carried out using simple frequency distribution tables. Cross tabulations and Chi-square tests were adopted to test whether there is a significant relationship between the variables. In addition, the Friedman test was deployed to rank the factors affecting security planning.