Page 29 - the SyI Quarterly 8

Let’s Not Go Back to

Normal

by Louisa Schneller MSyI

There’s no denying the last 18 months have been challenging on
multiple levels. The security challenges have been enormous, with
workforces suddenly having to be managed remotely. People had to
adjust to extended and uncertain periods at home. The stakes for
frontline security officers got higher as they played an integral role in
managing public health throughout this unprecedented crisis, while at
the same time losing jobs as hospitality and event security vanished. All
of this, whilst at the same time so many people losing their lives.

Quite frankly, it’s been a slog. Therefore, it’s no surprise that throughout
all of this, the word “normal” has been a constant refrain in the
background. When will “normal” return? If it doesn’t, what’s the new
“normal” going to look like? It’s utterly understandable, however, I would
like to suggest that we forget all about normal.

Normal, business-as-usual, implies a level of complacency that is at odds
with effective risk and security management. Instead, I would argue that the
current situation requires agility and a constant awareness of a world that has
been turned on its head and shows no signs of slowing down. While some
countries open again, post-vaccination, we must not forget that this is not
happening equally across the globe. Vaccination, health care access, and social
inequalities continue to cause new security challenges and stoke the fires of
old ones, and they will for a long time to come. Moving forward, we should
appreciate how this crisis has changed the way we operate. So that we can
continue rising to the future challenges.

The new partnerships created and increased communication that has been
driven by this crisis is not something to underestimate. In the security sector,
we are not known for openly sharing information, nor for easily forging
partnerships outside of our security bubble, but arguably, the pandemic
has fostered just that. The large-scale move to online workshops, webinars,
and more casual meetups has, in my experience, allowed us to strengthen
our local connections, but also build relationships globally that would not
have happened otherwise. What a fantastic resource! And a resource that
we should not neglect as we move forward. Offline too, partnerships have
been built or strengthened as security teams faced the challenges of keeping
their workforces safe both at home and as they returned to the office. This
would have been an impossible feat without effective collaboration across
their organisations. There have been calls to more readily and openly share
information between ourselves and to step outside our security fortress for
years now, it’s heartening to see that in a time of crisis, we have.

If there was ever any doubt about the interconnectedness of our world today,
Covid should have thoroughly swept that away. Challenges that perhaps have
seemed distant before, are now on our doorstep. For example, Europe has
faced devastating natural disasters over the last few months, floods, fires, and
tornados, all attributable to climate change. These will not go away, and we
would be wise to remember the lessons and skills we have learned from the
past 18 months. A complacent retreat to “normal,” is the last thing we need.

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