Planning and Preparation in Protecting Buildings Against Unrest

In this video, learn about the importance of planning in protecting public buildings and preparing to manage incidents of violent civil unrest.

On April 28, the Security Industry Association (SIA) hosted Part 1 of the 2021 SIA GovSummit, the nation’s premier government security conference connecting government, security and technology. This daylong virtual conference featured insights from experts in government, industry, academia and the nonprofit sector on the security issues that matter the most to government agencies.

In one noteworthy session, a panel of experts discussed how increased domestic tensions, targeted violence and disinformation have made public buildings more frequent targets of violent civil unrest. Understanding the current threat environment with its evolving tactics is critical for risk management and preparedness efforts. In this session, Daryle Hernandez, chief of the Interagency Security Committee (ISC), facilitated discussion among senior security professionals and practitioners on the contemporary threat and how to prepare for and respond to it based on their recent firsthand experience confronting these incidents. Their knowledge and lessons learned may be applied to federal buildings, state, municipal and private-sector buildings accessible to the public.

In this video clip from the presentation, speaker David Kelly, deputy director of the Security Management Group within the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, emphasizes the importance of comprehensive planning when preparing for incidents of violent civil unrest.

“If you don’t make that plan yours and your entire agency’s, it’s really doing nothing more than just checking a box,” said Kelly. “You need to make sure that plan is available and your entire workforce is aware of the contents of the plans and the various actions that are expected of them and the folks around them as different phases of the plan are put into place.”

Kelly, who serves on the ISC Best Practices Subcommittee, also discusses key intelligence considerations for agencies and highlights the subcommittee’s work on a new document called the Compendium on Protecting Against Violent Civil Disturbance, which will be released in the near future and shares key considerations when developing and implementing a plan.

Want to watch the full session? Archived video from Part 1 of SIA GovSummit is available to all who attended the virtual conference via the agenda page. Missed the conference? You can access all the videos and unlock access to SIA GovSummit Parts 2 (June 9) and 3 (Sept. 21) by registering for an All Access Pass. We hope to see you at the next virtual GovSummit event!