Krav Maga Boston | Articles On Risk Mitigation & Management

Risk Mitigation & Management

Reducing Risk In Crimes Against The Person

Articles On Risk Mitigation & Management

Personal Safety & Risk

Risk is something that gets talked about a lot however is rarely defined. Often “risk” gets equated with “chance” e.g., what is the risk/chance of getting mugged or attacked etc., however risk is a far more complex concept than simply “odds” or “chance” of something happening etc. because it contains both the chance of a threat or danger being present, along with the vulnerabilities which would allow that threat and/or danger the opportunity to cause harm e.g., there must be the combination of a motivated burglar (a threat), and an open window (a vulnerability) for there to be an increase in the risk of a burglary being committed etc. This means that when we look at risk management and mitigation, we must look at how our exposure to threats and dangers can be reduced, and the potential vulnerabilities that they could exploit being limited e.g., one way to reduce the exposure to a threat such as automobile theft would be to both avoid parking in locations where there is a large number of such crimes, and install a robust car security system e.g., alarms, a sophisticated central locking system, along with a proven steering wheel lock etc. Such an approach would limit exposure to car thieves and reduce the number of security vulnerabilities they could potentially exploit. All of these measures would reduce the risk of auto-theft etc.

In many instances it may be difficult to limit and manage threats etc. If you visit a city center in order to go shopping, your ability to limit the number of muggers present will be extremely limited. You could look at local crime reports to see at what times street robberies are high and avoid being in such locations at these times etc., however it is not in your direct control to limit and reduce the number of offenders who are motivated to commit street robberies, as you have no control over the environment. However, you do have the opportunity to reduce the vulnerabilities that such a street criminal could exploit, such as not walking around talking on your mobile phone and being unaware of your surroundings and the people in it. However, in environments that you may have control over, such as being a manager in the workplace, you could have a hiring policy that looks not just at finding competent employees who can do the job etc., but also looks to screen potentially disruptive and dangerous employees who could jeopardize the safety of the work environment. Effective threat management during the hiring/interview process is one way that such risks could be reduced i.e., mitigated, and managed.

However, in most cases reducing the risk of something happening involves the reduction and elimination of vulnerabilities as we don’t usually have control of the environment e.g., if we look at risk mitigation and management from natural hazards and disasters, such as flooding, it may not be possible to sell your house and move, however there might be effective ways to mitigate the risk of flooding by raising the house/building i.e., by removing/eliminating a vulnerability. In many ways risk-management principles can be applied to any threat and vulnerability, which impacts security, whether it is natural or man made.

References

Few, R. (2003). Flooding, vulnerability and coping strategies: local responses to a global threat. Progress in Development Studies 3(1): 43-58.

Miller, L. (1999). WORKPLACE VIOLENCE: PREVENTION, RESPONSE, AND RECOVERY. Psychotherapy 36(2): 160-169.

Moteff, J. (2005). isk Management and Critical Infrastructure Protection: Assessing, Integrating, and Managing Threats, Vulnerabilities and Consequences. LIBRARY OF CONGRESS WASHINGTON DC CONGRESSIONAL RESEARCH SERVICE. Washington, DC: CONGRESSIONAL RESEARCH SERVICE