Some thoughts on the creation of a Darwin City Council Crime Prevention Working Group/Crime Prevention Fusion Centre

Unlike many other Australian Councils, Darwin City Council does not have a dedicated crime prevention group embedded within their committees and working groups in Council.

Current alliances are maintained through having a representative on the Neighbourhood Watch NT Board and other government and NFP crime prevention groups, relying on external agencies to take the weight of crime prevention within Council electorates.  

When one considers that crime affects us all and it is the responsibility of all levels of government, and the community, to play their part in reducing crime, having a crime prevention fusion centre/crime prevention working group established within Council can provide an enabling effect for many of these groups and reduce the silo effect that such disparate bodies are vulnerable to.  

Having a Council embedded crime prevention working group/fusion centre allows for a progressive group, working closely with local police, the liquor board and NFP crime prevention organisations along with businesses, local education providers and community groups, to look at initiatives that can tackle crime within our community and identify strategies that may assist reducing the root cause of much of the crime.

The popular Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) is just one tool that can be applied to environments that allow crime to prosper however, it is not a stand-alone tool and total reliance on this model can be counter-productive. 

Some CPTED tools used by CPTED auditors can allow a tick and flick mentality to become prevalent in auditors that can leave gaps in what is understood about vulnerabilities in the target area. There have also been overseas studies that have revealed that criminals have adapted CPTED to assist them in committing crimes through using the very principles that are designed to protect people to that of a tool to target people, who believe that they are safe.

It is essential then that public agencies not get blinded by CPTED as the optional solution. They must expand their options to get better value for the effort put in to reducing crime. CPTED is a great initiative but is only one of many initiatives that will reduce crime, taking into consideration that criminals only require a desire, ability and opportunity to commit any crime, there is scope to develop many different strategies to change the status quo.

All government and non-government bodies must understand that strategies that reduce crime can include a wide range of initiatives, not just policing.  We must involve multi elements within our Darwin community including business, education, Larrakia Nation and community groups, supported by Territory and local government to get valid input into workable initiatives.

Elected officials and Council officers seconded to local and government organised crime prevention groups must have a sound knowledge of crime prevention in order to provide valued insight and input into group deliberations.  This will require training and education being offered to those seconded.

Council must also ensure that Regulations and By-Laws are either in place or enacted to support crime reduction strategies and the work of the group, with funding from other levels of government to support the work.

Council media must also promote the work of the group in an open and transparent manner that ensures the public knows what actions and initiatives are being developed to reduce crime and thus support the reduction of crime in the Darwin region. Failure to promote the work of the group would be counter-productive and lead to concerns about hidden agendas, secrecy etc from the public and business.

Darwin City Council can either:

a.    take the lead in developing a coordinated effort to reduce crime in the Darwin region, or

b.    can sit back and let others tackle the problem in isolation, providing token interest, through observers and Council representatives that provide the perception of a dedicated interest in the deliberations and initiatives proposed by the disparate groups. 

It’s now the time for Darwin City Council to create a unified, inclusive crime prevention working group/fusion centre within Council and be the progressive and pro-active body that the community expects.

CRIME & SECURITY AWARENESS some thoughts by Raymond V. Andersson from back in 2003

Recent media reports have highlighted the threat of criminal activities to individuals, properties and businesses in Darwin, Palmerston, Alice Springs and other areas within the NT.   We live in a society where many criminals operate within their own system of ethical and moral standards, having no respect for the law, age, disabilities or common standards that conform to the general population’s our own standards of citizenship.

The ethical standards and moral positions that we may treasure as being the cornerstone of our communities are regarded as a weakness to be exploited.    This is often supported by arguments regarding the rights of the individual overriding the rights of the many, thus exploiting our own belief system to the criminal’s advantage.   After all, we as a community also believe in the rights of the individual, however we temper this right with our citizenship responsibilities as members of a community.

Much of this crime is blamed on our youth however it must be realised that for every juvenile delinquent there are always one or more adult delinquents – people of mature years who either do not know their duty to their community and nation, or who knowing it, fail.   It is a fundamental fact of life that children emulate adults and adopt the adults’ ethical and moral beliefs in most instances.

What then can the average person do to minimise the threat of crime?

First of all you have to ACCEPT THAT THE THREAT EXISTS. Human nature is a funny thing. We don't like living with threats.  Crime is a subject of conversation nearly every day, or night in homes, bars and workplaces.  You read about it in the papers every day, and the TV and radio tell you about it constantly.  But as soon as we've finished lamenting the problem, we stick it in the recesses of memory; we forget about it.

 You cannot allow yourself to forget that the criminal is out there. They steal for a living.  They assault so they can steal.  They will attack to create an environment of fear and intimidation, so they simply aren't going to forget about you.

Next you have to consciously accept that YOU ARE A POTENTIAL TARGET. Now this is quite difficult for the average person, because the average person is a nice person and it doesn't figure that someone you've never seen before in your life wants to harm you. The bottom line is simply that you have something he or she wants. This goes for every crook or assailant on earth. The criminal assault may be purely an act of theft, or low-level terrorism conducted to gain personal satisfaction in the fear or pain created or just for the individual or groups self gratification in stamping their control over ‘their turf’.  You have to accept that they do not see the world the way that you do. To them you are simply an anonymous target; a bit like those legs dangling in the ocean in front of a shark.

The main problem is that very strong human belief that 'it will never happen to me'.  Every single crime victim is a 'Me'.

 A news item from Sydney in January 2003 reported on a thief stealing from a vehicle stopped at the red lights.   It would have been somewhat of a surprise when he checked his booty, as the driver was a registered snake catcher and was returning from a job with a red-bellied black snake in the bag that was taken.   In this case the victim of theft probably never considered that anyone would attempt to steal from his vehicle whilst he was in it and the thief, of course, would never have considered that his booty resulting from a crime could attack him.

To reduce this type of risk and other crime threats there are a few easy steps that anyone can adopt that can reduce or remove the risk.

a. ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL: Control your environment by being aware of your immediate and proximate surroundings and being able to react to any apparent potential threat. If the criminal wants to mug you, steal from you, pick your pocket, sell your kids some drugs, they must take control of the environment in which they are to operate. They might do this by stealth or by force.   By controlling your environment, you take the initiative away from them.

b. ENVIRONMENTAL AWARENESS: Think about it like this, if I am aware of my environment I will be able to react to anomalies.  Get to know what is happening around you.  Be aware of the normal pattern of life in your neighborhood so that unusual patterns or people will stand out.  Harden the security on your home or business then look outside of this perimeter at the environment that you live and work in.

c. CONSCIOUS SELF-INTERROGATION: This is self-explanatory. As you drive your car or walk, along the street where you live, on your route to work, wherever; ask yourself, consciously what is going on around you, who else is also driving or walking within your local environment? Are those persons standing on the corner legitimate pedestrians, or watching the behaviour of residents or businesses?  Police patrols and professional Security Officers always carry out self-interrogation  whilst working as a matter of street survival.  

Make sure you do it consciously, just to make sure that you are keeping up the habit and after a while, your subconscious will take over.   Healthy suspicion may avoid placing yourself in a position of risk.

d. CORRIDORS AND PATTERNS: Ever heard the saying that 'we're slaves to habit'? It's true. We oscillate between known points; home, work, the bank, schools and we go to them at given times and along favourite routes. This plays into the hands of criminals.  Vary your routine.  Watch for corridors that afford the criminal any advantage.  This includes intersection stop signs, traffic control lights etc.  They all afford criminals and terrorists the advantage of time whilst the target has their attention elsewhere.   Many thefts, car-jacking and assassinations have occurred at intersections and traffic lights’.   Be aware of your environment and what is occurring around you.

e. LEAVING AND APPROACHING YOUR CAR: This is particularly important in parking lots. Imagine you are at a shopping centre and you are driving into the parking area.    This is an area where many people develop patterns or create corridors of opportunity for criminals.

Get into your well-lit parking place as quickly as possible and then get out of your car and stand up as quickly as possible, gaining control your environment once more. Remember that if you are bending down peering at the lock you are surrendering environmental control. After locking up, walk briskly away from your car, observing who is watching you. You don't have rear view mirrors, so consciously turn around and look at your sides and behind you. An observer with ill intent will note that you are alert and, in most cases, will look for an easier target, but don't let this make you 'cocky' they will still have a go if they don't find easier pickings.

Inevitably your going to come back to your car, so as you walk out of the supermarket, the hairdresser, restaurant, you must once more interrogate the area around your car. Do not walk directly to your car, go away from it, at an angle so that you can keep it visual and watch for any reactions in the people around. Once you are happy that the area is clear, walk back to your car from a different direction.

Walk to your car as quickly as possible, unlock it while standing upright, get in the car, lock it and get out of there. If you are carrying goods, stay upright as much as possible and put things in the car from a standing position. Do not lean into the car and thus make yourself vulnerable. .  Having two people can assist here as one can always remain alert whilst the other packs the car.  If you have a remote electronic central locking system, make sure that locking and unlocking is accompanied by a minimum of flashing lights and certainly make sure that your car does not make any bleeping sounds. That will alert anyone in the parking lot that someone with the means to open the car and drive it away is approaching a specific vehicle and that makes you vulnerable to the opportunist

f. ON FOOT: We previously looked at controlling your environment when out of your car.  Using this principle should also enable you to identify areas you should stay out of; alleys, bushy areas, unlit areas, shanty areas where environmental clutter makes it hard to control the environment. You just don't go there without adequate protection.  Ask any expert self defence exponent, what they would do if four men attacked him or her whilst alone in a dark alley. Their response would most likely be that they wouldn't be alone in a dark alley. That's the best possible rule of thumb; if you can't control it, don't go there.  

Studies and practical implementation overseas has revealed that street and other overhead lighting has dramatically reduced the level of crime in those areas that have adopted this strategy.   It also dramatically reduced the fear factor of people going out at night in those same areas.   Lighting is a primary tool in Crime Prevention Through Environment Design and should be considered as a matter of priority by Councils responsible for areas of high crime risk.   Lighting assists in bringing control of the night away from criminals and back to the community and as ratepayers you have a right to live in a safe environment.

When crossing the street in a built-up part of town in a reasonably developed part of the world, you can use shop windows as mirrors if the lighting is right, but it still pays to have the odd look behind you, just so they know you are alert.

Maintaining control of your environment is particularly important at ATMs, which are constantly observed by opportunist thieves. Don't fixate on the screen, examine the screen before you start work, look for any tampering with the machine, but at all times, look around you every couple of seconds. In this instance, as in all other situations, you must have your escape route planned.  If you don’t feel safe, simply walk away.  Trust your intuition when you feel you may be in danger.  Intuition or gut feelings can be more often right than they are wrong.

When using mobile (cellular) phones, it's best to stand with your back to a flat high wall. A shop window is good. Now you only have to sweep through 180 degrees. But remember when you walk off, your environment is 360 degrees again, because some interested party has just seen you use that phone…

Crime will not go away.  We must therefore attempt to control it by reducing the opportunity, increasing the risk of detection and capture. Making the criminal act less desirable to all bar the most desperate offenders.   This can be achieved by being crime & security aware and taking control of your environment.

Crime Prevention for Senior Citizens

It is clear that criminals see senior citizens as soft targets. However, just because senior citizens are vulnerable does not mean they have to be completely helpless.  

Here are some crime prevention tips for our elderly. 

Personal safety at home:

1. Never open your door automatically. Install and use a peephole or use a CCTV system to see who’s there if you have a solid door. Alternatively, install a chain lock that allows you to see who is at the door without it being opened all the way and preventing forced entry.

2. Lock your doors and windows. (Many burglaries involving older persons, similar to all other age groups, involved unlocked doors and windows).  If you have a security door; keep it locked even whilst conversing with strangers. Keep your garage doors locked also.

3. Vary your daily routine.

4. Use “Neighbourhood Watch” to keep an eye on your neighbourhood. A concerned neighbour is often the best protection against crime, because suspicious persons and activities are noticed and reported to police promptly.

5. Don’t leave notes on the door when going out.

6. Leave lights on when going out at night. When you are gone for more than a day, make sure your home looks and sounds occupied; use a timer to turn lights on and off when you are away for an extended period.

7. Notify neighbours and the police when going away on a trip. Cancel deliveries such as newspapers and arrange for someone – a neighbour’s child, perhaps – to mow the lawn if need be. Arrange for your mail to be held by the Post Office or ask a neighbour to collect it for you.

8. Be wary of unsolicited offers to make repairs to your home. Deal only with reputable businesses. Look them up on the Internet, talk to other clients or give the company a call to establish their bona fides.

9. Keep an inventory with serial numbers and photographs of re-saleable appliances, antiques and furniture. Leave copies in a safe place.

10. Don’t hesitate to report crimes or suspicious activities.

11. Install deadbolt locks on all your doors and install window locks, where possible.

12. Keep your home well-lit at night, inside and out; keep curtains closed. Use of motion activated lighting is always useful in deterring 'would be' thieves. These can be used both inside your house or apartment as well as outside. They can provide both safety inside the residence as well as crime detection.

13. Ask for proper identification from strangers who arrive asking for donations or offering work to be done. Don’t be afraid of asking … if they are legitimate, they won’t mind.

14. If a stranger asks to use your telephone, offer to place the call for him or her yourself. Do not let them inside the house.

15. Never let a stranger into your home,

16. Do not hide your keys under the mat or in other conspicuous places. Thieves know them all.

17. Never give out information over the phone indicating you are alone or that you won’t be home at a certain time.

18. If you arrive at home and suspect a stranger may be inside, do not go in. Leave quietly and call 000 to report the crime.

Personal safety when out walking:

19. Walk purposefully and maintain situational awareness of the area and those also in the area.

20. If you are attacked on the street, make as much noise as possible by calling for help or blowing a whistle. Do not pursue your attacker. Call 000 and report the crime as soon as possible.

21. Avoid walking alone at night. Try to have a friend accompany you in high risk areas … even during the daytime.

22. Avoid carrying weapons. They may be used against you.

23. Always plan your route and stay alert to your surroundings. Walk confidently.

24. Stay away from buildings and doorways; walk in well-lit areas.

25. Have your key ready when approaching your front door.

26. Don’t dangle your purse away from your body. (Many crimes against the elderly are handbag/ wallet snatchings and street robberies.)

27. Don’t carry large, bulky shoulder bags; carry only what you need. Better yet, sew a small pocket inside your jacket or coat. If you don’t have a handbag, no one will try to snatch it.

Personal safety while shopping: 

28. Carry your handbag very close to you … don’t dangle it from your arm. Never leave it in a shopping cart. Never leave your handbag unattended.

29. Don’t carry any more cash than is necessary. Most stores accept debit or credit cards instead of cash.

30. Don’t display large sums of cash.

31. Watch out for thieves who may attempt to steal your shopping.

32. Be aware of your surroundings and those who are in your vicinity. Thieves do not like being eye-balled, as it can aid in their identification.

Protect your finances: 

33. Be aware of who is close to you when using ATM’s. Keep your PIN and amount being collected private. Have a friend with you, if possible.

34. Be wary of con artists and get-rich schemes that probably are too good to be true.

35. Store valuables in a Safety Deposit Box (if available).

36. Never give your money to someone who calls on you, identifying himself as a bank official. A bank will never ask you to remove your money.

37. Banks don’t want one of their customers to invite crime by having large amounts of cash around the house. Get it into a bank account.

38. Never fall for the trick of paying fines to Police by going to the bank with them to withdraw money for the fine.

39. When someone approaches you with a get-rich-quick-scheme involving some or all of YOUR savings, it is THEIR get-rich-quick-scheme. If it is a legitimate investment, the opportunity to contribute your funds will still be there tomorrow – after you have had time to consider it.

40. If you have been swindled or conned, report the crime to your local police as soon as possible. Con artists count on their victim’s reluctance to admit they’ve been duped, but if you delay you help them get away. Remember, if you never report the crime, they are free to cheat others again and again and you have no chance of ever getting your money back.

41. When in doubt…..Protect your finances and ‘don’t commit yourself’ to anything.

Personal safety whilst in your vehicle: 

42. Always keep your car doors locked, whether you are in or out of your car. Keep the fuel tank full and your engine properly maintained to avoid breakdowns.

43. If your car breaks down, pull over to the left as far as possible, raise the bonnet, return to the vehicle cabin, lock it and call for help. Wait INSIDE the car for help. Avoid getting out of the car and making yourself a target before help arrives.

44. At stop signs and traffic lights, keep the car in gear.

45. Travel well-lit and busy streets. Plan your route.

46. Don’t leave your handbag/ wallet on the seat beside you; put it on the floor, where it is more difficult for someone to grab it.

47. Lock bundles or bags in the boot. If interesting packages are out of sight, a thief will be less tempted to break in to steal them.

48. If you have an audible central locking system, ask a mechanic to disable the audible alarm part, as it can allow thieves to target you as you approach your vehicle.

49. When returning to your car, check the front and back seat before entering.

50. If possible, never bend over to place items in the vehicle as it leaves you exposed to attack. Have someone with you, if possible, to reduce the risk.

51. Never pick up hitchhikers.

 STAY ALERT AND STAY SAFE

Establishing Business Impact Levels and Risk Tolerance for your business.

Depending on the planning and investment in business plans and risk management, small business can flourish or die if the impact of an event or incident directly impacts on their operations or financial resilience.

Family and micro businesses are especially vulnerable as even a small loss due to repetitive incidents such as burglary, break and enter and shop stealing; or a reduction in family or other employees needed to operate the business due to injury, illness or death, will have a critical impact on cash flow and business operations. A critical impact then can be broken down as any hard dollar or reputational loss that could endanger the survival of the company.

The loss of stock, through fire, can be mitigated through insurance but the loss of customer/client information and listings through commercial espionage or loss of stock and client electronic data through a cyber crime ransomware attack can impact on your businesses reputation and operations.

Operations may also be interrupted by natural events, damage or breakdown of machinery, systems or equipment, power or gas outages, fuel delivery strikes, the failure of a supplier of goods or services or delayed deliveries or absenteeism of essential employees. There are many possible scenarios which should be considered such as:

Some quantifiable impact categories for a small retailer could include:

·         Inability to record sales

·         Inability to accept returns

·         Inability to process debit or credit cards, cheques (checks), gift cards, certificates

·         Inability to replenish merchandise

·         Inability to move merchandise between locations

·         Inability to respond to customer communications

·         Inability to advertise

A manufacturing company may see quantifiable impact categories as including:

·         Inability to order materials

·         Inability to receive materials

·         Inability to assemble materials

·         Inability to advertise products

·         Inability to process orders

·         Inability to ship products

·         Inability to collect payment[1]

 It is incumbent on all business owners to understand their risk tolerance and by identifying and evaluating the impact of disasters on business, owners can establish the basis for investment in recovery strategies as well as investment in prevention and mitigation strategies. To do this you need to have developed a risk management plan.

Once you have developed a risk management plan, you should conduct a business impact analysis to assess the likely impact of these risks on your business operations. This is the preparedness step in the prevention, preparedness, response and recovery (PPRR) model[2] for developing a business continuity plan. A business impact analysis identifies the activities in your business operations that are key to its survival.

Business owners should recognise that a business impact analysis (BIA) is a continuous process that predicts the consequences of disruption of a business function and process and gathers information needed to develop recovery strategies. Potential loss scenarios should be identified during a risk assessment. It is not a one-off process.

We don’t conduct one BIA report then step back from it for a year or so. It needs to be constantly monitored to take into consideration changes in the sales, production or security environment. As crime changes and moves from areas of a city or region, threats levels will change and as many small enterprises have found, a series of break-ins, caused by displaced crime, can change the financial state of a small business in a very short time and threaten its continued viability.

The first step in developing your analysis is to ask yourself some key questions:

·         What are the daily activities conducted in each area of my business?

·         What are the long-term or ongoing activities performed by each area of my business?

·         What are the potential losses if these business activities could not be provided?

·         How long could each business activity be unavailable for (either completely or partially) before my business would suffer?

·         Do these activities depend on any outside services or products?

·         How important are the activities to my business?

As the risks to your business change, so too will their potential impacts. When you update your risk management plan, you will also need to conduct a new business impact analysis.

Seek advice from all levels of your business in order to identify all processes and functions that go into making your business function, then, ask yourself these questions:

·         what could occur if this function of my business was unable to function for any reason?

·         where could critical financial impact occur and what is the potential amount of the impact?

·         where could critical reputational impact occur and what is the potential amount of the impact?

·         under what circumstances could a critical impact occur? and

·         what is the effect of the impact over a lifetime?

 Let’s look at an example of a small business that produces widgets for the mining industry. The widgets are high use and replaced every week to be refurbished by the manufacturer. If we have a crisis and are unable to supply the widgets, mining companies will understand a delay of a few days by adjusting equipment operation to reduce wear on existing widgets, but some may not be able tolerate a delay and may be forced to reduce or cease operations until supply is re-established. The cost to mining companies could be very high but the cost to the small business could be catastrophic if its reputation is damaged by the crisis that results in companies seeking alternate suppliers.

Business continuity and business resilience that arise from BIA reports are critical in ensuring you can weather a crisis and whilst bringing in expert consultants to work with you to develop your report on the results of a BIA is a good practice, you can assist by preparing BIA Worksheets that can greatly assist in bringing critical functions to the fore and allowing you to understand the real impact of events on your business.

A business Impact Analysis Worksheet allows you to look at each function, department or process and identify at which point in time, an interruption would have the greatest impact. Each worksheet should be developed for each department, function or process that you have identified. A simple example is shown below:

Business Impact Analysis Worksheet[3]

Department / Function / Process……………………………………………………………

Operational & Financial Impacts

Timing/Duration	Operation Impact	Financial Impact
Timing: Identify point in time when interruption would have greater impact (e.g., season, end of month/quarter, etc.) Duration: Identify the duration of the interruption or point in time when the operational and or financial impact(s) will occur. •   < 1 hour •   >1 hr. < 8 hours •   > 8 hrs. <24 hours •   > 24 hrs. < 72 hrs. •   > 72 hrs. •   > 1 week •   > 1 month	Considerations (customize for your business) Operational Impacts: •  Lost sales and Income •  Negative cash flow resulting    from delayed sales or income •   Increased expenses (e.g. overtime, outsourcing, expediting costs etc) •   Regulatory fines •  Contractual penalties or loss of contractual bonuses •   Customer dissatisfaction or defection •   Delay executing business plan or strategic initiative	Financial Impact Quantify operational impacts in financial terms.

As part of your business impact analysis, you should assign recovery time objectives to each activity to help determine your basic recovery requirements. The recovery time objective is the time from when an incident happens to the time that the critical business activity must be fully operational in order to avoid damage to your business.

By identifying a time frame necessary to recover and financial amounts to measure your risk appetite where you feel that the business can recover, you can add the information to the table (such as in the above example) to provide better context upon which to base your assessment of priorities for mitigation.

The information resulting from the BIA can be used to bring some local clarity to your consequence rating on your risk management matrix. The table based on ISO31000:2009 below provides a simplified example of how the BIA could be used when applied to business operations, creating your business impact level (BIL).

Minimal BIL-1	Minor BIL-2	Moderate BIL-3	Major BIL-4	Catastrophic BIL-5
Impacts on business operations
Operational capacity
·   Minimal impact on operations. Some reduction on function or process effectiveness but can be dealt with by routine procedures in place.	·   Minor impact on operations. Some reduction on several functions or processes effectiveness but can be dealt with by routine procedures in place.	·  Significant degradation in organisational capability to an extent and duration that, while the business can perform its primary functions, the effectiveness of the functions is noticeably reduced	·  Severe degradation in, or loss of, business capability to an extent and duration that the business cannot perform one or more of its functions for an extended time	·   Severe degradation in, or loss of, business capability to an extent and duration that the business cannot perform any of its functions. ·   Business closure likely.
Business Assets
·   Low or no damage to assets	·   Some damage to assets that will affect functions or processes whilst replacements are obtained. ·   Time frame for replacement >3 months.	· Damage to assets that result in multiple functions or processes that reduces productivity until replacements can be obtained. · Time frame for replacement <3 – 6 months.	·  Damage to assets that results in long term harm to the business. ·  Time frame for replacement <6 months.	·   Damage to assets that are irreplaceable or beyond financial capacity to replace.
Business Finances
·   Low or no financial loss	·   Medium financial loss that does not impact on the ability or capability to meet financial obligations. ·   $100,000 - $500,000	·  Financial losses are covered by insurance and recoverable within a short term but will have a short-term effect on capability. Potential regulatory attention. ·  >$500,000 - $800,000	·  Substantial financial loss leading to key activities being shelved and loss of public/shareholder confidence. Likely regulatory attention. ·  >$800,000	·    Significant financial loss leading to significant damage to the organisations 'brand' and ability to operate. Significant regulatory attention. ·    >1000,000

Note: Estimated financial losses based on micro business model requiring a reliable cash flow.

The information that arises can be used to:

·         evaluate whether the limits of insurance are adequate. Are you underinsured?

·         compile an inventory of properties and assets and determine whether insurable values reflect inflation costs over time, and

·         allow a review of whether property, stock and other insurance policies adequately cover actual cash value or replacement cost.

It can also provide you an overview of just where you need to improve your supply chain to ensure stock, plant or equipment can be replaced within a minimal timeframe to ensure business resilience.

The BIA can assist in allowing you to properly determine just what your risk tolerance level is. A small micro business (such as an on-line business or a restaurant) may have a risk tolerance of BIL2 whilst a medium size business, with a sound client base, good supply chain and regular cash flow may be able to tolerate BIL-3. Each business differs, and each risk tolerance level will differ.

Your mitigation strategies and security investment will, in most cases, align with your level of risk tolerance in which case second guessing would be a dangerous strategy but undertaking a BIA to determine consequences and business impact levels will provide you with quantifiable evidence upon which to make business decisions. Your business impact analysis will also help you develop your recovery plan, which will help you get your business running again if an incident does happen.

Like your Business Plan and Risk Management Plan, your Business Impact Analysis is a tool that can provide you an element of certainty during periods of crisis.  As Benjamin Franklin stated in his Philadelphia address on fire safety, “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure”.

It is as true today as it was in 1736.

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[1] https://www.ready.gov/business-impact-analysis

[2] https://www.business.qld.gov.au/running-business/protecting-business/risk-management/pprr-model

[3] https://www.ready.gov/business-impact-analysis