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Proximity Risks: What’s Next Door?

You work very hard to identify and mitigate risks on your own premises, yet when disaster strikes, you’re crippled, maybe down for the count. Look out your office window. Around or near your building, there stand structures that might be at risk for fires, floods, and gas leaks. Their events extend to you: a traffic shutdown can stop your traffic; proximity to a crime scene can shut you down. Proximity risks are a big deal and need to be addressed.

By Guy Robertson

Guy Robertson is a senior planner at TMC and an instructor at the Justice Institute of BC and Langara College. He has written five books and numerous articles on corporate security and disaster planning, and offered workshops and lectures at conferences across North America and in the UK.

Beyond Your Perimeter

Your building may be safe and well- constructed in itself, but it remains vulnerable to the nearby structures and landscape features. Your

organization’s Risk Register needs to include proximity risks and your Risk Mitigation Plan needs to address them. Consider your building’s proximity to:

Neighbouring Buildings may have:

Roadways may experience:

Retail Shopping Areas

Proximity to shopping areas is often related to incidents of robbery, arson and vandalism.

Gas Stations and Fuel Tanks

Fuel spills, fires, and explosions can occur on any site that contains fuel tanks. In many cases the cause of these problems is human error.

Parking Lots

Parking lots are often scenes of muggings, vandalism, and assault.

Air Traffic

Buildings located near airports, and especially any location in the flight path of aircraft, could be at risk for aircraft accidents. Fortunately, such accidents are rare.

Bodies of Water

Rivers and lakes are the bodies of water commonly associated with

flooding. Note, however, the risk from clogged street drains and sewer backups.

Crime Hotspots

The most common criminal risks might be vehicle theft and break-ins, mugging and assault, vandalism, shoplifting, and distribution of illicit drugs and stolen goods.

Action Plan

Find your site on Google Maps and see what kinds of risks surround you. Better yet, walk around and note those risks.

Address those risks in your Risk Register and Mitigation Plan. They’re not going away. If you’d like to comment on this article or explore these ideas further, contact me at .

This article was published in the October 2020 edition of The TMC Advisor
- ISSN 2369-663X Volume:7 Issue:7

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