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Shopping Centers Today -> March 2004
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SECURITY CONFERENCE TO AIR ANTI-TERROR TRAINING
BY DEBRA HAZEL
Training sessions, lobbying, communications — these are among the ways the shopping center industry is confronting the threat of terrorism. And they will be under discussion at this month’s Shopping Center Security Conference, being held March 28-30 in Dallas.
The conference’s terrorism awareness training session is the brainchild of the Department of Homeland Security’s Soft Target Unit. “It’s a very basic terrorism awareness program,” said David Levenberg, vice president of security and loss-prevention at General Growth Properties and chairman of ICSC’s Subcommittee on Security. The unit conceived the techniques last year after discussions with ICSC and other industry associations.
“We began talking about the resources DHS could provide the private sector,” said Levenberg. “The department looks at shopping centers as potential targets for terrorists.”
DHS, which is also working with other property sectors, including hotels and stadiums, held the first shopping center training session last September at Pentagon City, in Washington, D.C. Consultants outlined the history of terrorism, gave an overview of the department’s structure and provided advice.
A second session was held in December at Tysons Corner Center, McLean, Va., and a third in Allegheny County Emergency Operations Center, Pittsburgh. Twelve more have been set through September.
ICSC is working with DHS to tighten the program. “DHS is open and willing to listen,” said Levenberg, who also says he hopes the department will create an advanced session for more-senior security professionals.
Separately, ICSC is maintaining its opposition to any moves by the National Fire Protection Association to issue codes or standards for such things as parking lot lighting. So far the organization has managed to persuade the agency to go no further than offering guidelines.
“It’s ICSC’s position that standards for the sake of standards are not always good,” said Bill Strother, director of corporate security for Houston-based Weingarten Realty Investors and chairman of the ICSC task force monitoring the issue. Shopping centers differ in tenancy, layout and demographics terms, he says, noting that crime statistics, for example, can vary greatly.
“One strip center’s security needs may be completely different from one three miles away,” Strother said.
In any event, the industry needs to stay vigilant, says Wayne Melhman, ICSC’s director of economic issues. “Members should be aware … that NFPA guidelines could be adopted as code at the local level down the road.”
Information sharing is yet another key issue. To that end ICSC and nine other real estate organizations helped create the Real Estate ISAC (Information Sharing and Analysis Center) to pass security-related information to and from DHS.
In particular, the ISAC provides a way for smaller owners — those with only a handful of centers and no corporate security department — to receive regular updates regarding security, says Gene Thompson, director of corporate security at The Macerich Co.
“It’s a place for them to go get specific information,” Thompson said. “DHS puts out general alerts, but sometimes specific intelligence is available.”
Any company or center that knows of a credible threat should first contact a local FBI office and then get in touch with ISAC, says Thompson.
“The agencies are getting better,” said Thompson, who was with the Secret Service. “They realize that not disseminating information could be critical.”
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