Daniel Brennan had only been in his new job for a week before he began to hear of some potential problems. He had just started with the company as the director of security, a newly created position. Even in the interviews, he had been told that turnover had been too high in recent months and that productivity in the manufacturing department had dropped. The company also did not seem to be as profitable as the board of directors had expected following an increase in sales.

From talking to employees, Daniel learned that some of the employees had quit and gone to work for a competitor in a suburb because of frustration over their safety concerns being ignored. Several cars had been broken into and one employee had been accosted by a belligerent unhoused person when she arrived for an early shift and the incident had left her upset and worried.

Daniel decided to separate the facts from the fiction and decided to review security incidents. He quickly learned that there was no crime reporting and no one in the organization had any responsibility for security. He talked to his boss, the COO, and learned that security had never been identified as an issue until recently. When the company started 10 years before, there were a handful of employees working out of a small office. As the company grew, security had never been given much thought. The COO admitted that she had heard rumors about security worries and that was why his position was created to take on the task of improving security.

Questions to consider as you read this:

o Faced with rumors about crime, increasing turnover and a decrease in the expected profit margin, what steps should Daniel take to start dealing with security?

o Daniel realized that there were no policies or procedures related to security. What are some of the policies and procedures he should create?

o As you complete the readings this week, keep this question in mind: what are some of the other initial steps that Daniel should take to assess the current security posture?