Guns, gates and guards going out of fashion

By PETER ESILA
PAPUA New Guinea businesses will have to look into the future beyond guns, gates and guards – the 3G security plan – to best protect their assets.
Brian Kelly, former owner of Black Swan Security, said this during the inaugural PNG security congress in Port Moresby yesterday
He shared his thoughts on the future of security in companies in PNG.
Kelly said a lot of negative perceptions had been painted about the security situation in PNG by the international media.
“Every country has a different level of threat and risk,” he said.
“As security professionals, we must understand what is real and what is fiction.
“There has been lots of talks on business surveys and how much businesses spend on security.”
Kelly said in any businesses anywhere in the world, investing in security was always a company’s number one priority.
“No question: security is the number one concern of business in PNG, number two is corruption,” he said.
“We have a higher level of tolerance on security than corruption, because sometimes we have to bend towards the client’s perceptions.”
Kelly said the traditional 3G security plan provided a physical barrier and it showed people that there was security there.
“As security professionals, we know that does not work, it is not cost-effective and in most places it doesn’t work,” he said.
Kelly said there needed to be a more proactive response because criminal organisations were becoming more professional.
“They are not coming in two, three anymore: they are coming in 30s and 40s,” he said.
“We have to reassess our security measures.
“We must change our reliance on what is happening in the past.
“This is the challenge that security managers need to look at.”