Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services - Assignment Example

? Case Study Introduction Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services (DPSCS) is one of the largest agencies in the ofMaryland. It provides employment opportunities to around 12,000 employees with a budget of US$ 1.2 billion. It includes 27 establishments and 45 community supervision offices under its agencies. The body is also responsible for upholding the activities of ‘Maryland’s Criminal Justice Information Repository’, ‘Criminal Injuries Compensation Board’ and the ‘Maryland Police and Correctional Training Commissions’ along with many other criminal related functions. The human resources play a considerable role in the operational procedure of this agency as well. The main mission of the body is to protect the public, its employees and control offenders under its supervision. The main vision of the legal body is to establish itself as the most recognized body in the nation which believes that their employees are the biggest strength and can stop any form of illegal activities. The leadership quality of DPSCS is well known all over the state for maintaining a strict form of leadership quality which helps in maintaining law and order in the country. Within the periphery of DPSCS, The Maryland Public Safety Education and Training Center (MPSETC) is located in Sykesville in Maryland. It functions beneath the Maryland Police and Correctional Training Commissions which is a division of DPSCS (Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services, n.d.). The main objective of this paper is to execute a comprehensive security plan for the Maryland Public Safety Education and Training Center operating beneath DPSCS that would help in minimizing the probability of loss of the assets occurring on account of a lack of proper security measures in the mentioned agency i.e. MPSETC. Brief Summary of the Facility Being Reviewed The DPSCS is the only body in the state of Maryland, USA that provides a wide variety of facilities to the public and the employee. A few of the facilities provided by the Maryland Public Safety Education and Training Center (PSETC) among all are being reviewed in a broad way: Firearms Training Facility (FTF): The DPSCS offers FTF courses relating to the requirement of the state’s public safety Article 3-208. It is a general overview of the operational and the basic safety measure of firearms, as applicable for the purchase, rental or transfer of regulated firearms. It does not allow students to pursue this training course as the law does not permit it. The institute includes staff office, class room for training the applicant, an armory for storing the firearms used during the training, weapon cleaning areas with solvent storage and a computerized shooting stimulation station. Though the institute provides no indoor range for practice however the FTF building consists of 4 pistols and one riffle range all with self-contained bullet traps (Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services, n.d.). Drivers Training Facility (DTF): Another facility provided by the DPSCS is the facility of training drivers. The facility mainly deals in training new drivers the different rules and regulations which should be considered while driving. The institute is co-located and approximately 2 miles from the academic related institute of the agency. The institute consists of training vehicles, classrooms, fuel, automobile supplies and a DTF repair garage. The enrollment procedure for drivers training can be done online in the official website of DPSCS (Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services, n.d.). Academic and Administrative Complex (AAC): Academic and Administrative complex controls all the administrative and most academic and training centers in this complex. The Public Safety Education and Training Center is located in the ground of Maryland Springfield State Hospital. The main aim of this department is to improve local infrastructure along with reducing the expenditure by establishing legal bodies such as Police and Correctional Training Commission (PCTC) which helps to decrease the vehicle accident diminishing monetary spending in case of injury. The division hosts approximately 400 residential patients under the department of Health and Mental Hygiene. The public safety and education and training center provides public water and sewage to half of the country, ensuring improvement of local roadways at state expenses. The department has also been working with Carroll country officials to work on the emerging medical radio tower. It also provides water resources by offering or making well to meet the countries water needs. The department also facilitates around 450 students to pursue the correctional training program daily (State of Maryland, 2013). Police and Correctional Training Commissions (PCTC): The body mainly provides crime prevention measures in the present day context. A sequence of free crime deterrence training presentations for community, business and the specified law for different crimes are enforced by this body. The technological help rendered by PCTC offers online technical suggestions to associations and communities that want to organize crime prevention. It also offers assistance in terms of enacting strategies in many ways such as mobilizing communities, establishing partnerships, facilitating workshops and seminars to stop crime in the state. It also serves as a database and provides resources for crime prevention in the state (The Maryland Community Crime Prevention Institute, n.d.) Renovating Vacant Buildings into Classrooms and Offices: The MPSETC also provides the facility of making renovation of old buildings to facilitate the different facilities in a residential way to the people of the state. It mainly aims at renovating old building so as to provide new facilities to the people resulting in proper law maintenance in the state (The Maryland Community Crime Prevention Institute, n.d.). Details of the Crime Prevention and Security Measures Currently In Place The Maryland Public Safety Education and Training Center operating from Sykesville, Maryland has ascertained certain measures regarding crime prevention. The division of the PSETC is separated into two areas on ground spreading about 700 acres. The FTF and the DTF are located in 7320 Slacks Road Sykesville, MD an area covered with less residential area in comparison with other residential areas of the state. With reference to the case, it is apparent that the taken measures were quite inadequate from the perspective of maintaining strong and prudent security. Both the divisions were co-located with an approximate distance of around 2 miles. The departments were unfenced and were tangent to the public residential area with the public road passing parallel to the departments. The Academic and Administrative Complex (AAC) was located in an area were considerable security measures should be taken. With reference to the case scenario, it is evident that the complex used for academic training was located in the extreme corner of the hospital ground. There was no proper form of boundary given as agreed by both the parties, considering the fact that it’s a hospital for psychologically challenged people. The minimum distance between the hospital and the department was considered to be 100 yards. It is also to be noted that no security personnel remain after the working hours. The surveillance service of the AAC was done by minimum security personnel from a local institute and other works such as the maintenance of the apartment was done by the MPSETC staff or contractors. The hospital adjacent to the AAC had a small security force which patrols the hospital ground and takes necessary precautionary steps in case of emergency, but it in this endeavor it requires to maintain a proper co-ordination amid 400 residential patients (The Maryland Community Crime Prevention Institute, n.d.). Overview of Security Issues that Will Be addressed in the Security Plan Formulating an effective security plan for an agency such as Maryland Public Safety Education and Training Center can be considered as an utmost decision for the agency in order to efficiently identify the assets and its potential risks. Moreover, other factors like identifying threats on the assets and the probability of loss should also be considered. Identify the Assets: Installation of security system for any organization is a costly affair, as a large amount of money needs to be invested in order to establish a better working environment for the people involved in the department. Identifying the assets is the first step in the process for which a considerable amount of surveillance is required. With reference to the mentioned case it can be viewed that in the FTF and the DTF departments of the agency the main assets are present. In the DTF, there were the vehicles used for training the new drivers, moreover fuel and other automotive parts were stored in the garage along with a computer based driving simulator station/ computer based driving system. In the FTF department, an armory stores all the weapons used to teach the trainers. Moreover, there is also a computer based shooting simulator station which uses graphical interface to teach the different procedures of shooting a firearm. It is also to be noted that as the building provides no indoor range or area for practice it consists of an outdoor range comprising 4 pistols and one rifle all with loaded bullet traps (Microsoft, 2013). The Academic and Administrative Complex is another major part of the agency located at an area were continuous surveillance is needed. Being located in an area where 400 psychological challenged individuals or patients exist it is very vital that a proper security plan is made. The main assets present in the department are computer labs with several systems present, a food preparation system, graphic arts and video studio for the students, and a maintenance shop for repairing the various components. The PT center of the academic building includes classroom and weight training areas among others which need considerable security measures. The most important of all is that the academy has a database which maintains certification records for every public law enforcement and correctional officer in Maryland. It is also worth mentioning that as the academy is adjacent to a hospital, the security of the people should also be considered while designing the security plan (Microsoft, 2013). Identifying Risks to the Assets: After identifying the different assets, it is important to determine the different forms of risk that may damage the assets present. Identifying the risks helps in better planning of the security measures to be taken. The risk identification can be done by recognizing the financial information of the goods and different factors leading to damage of the goods (Microsoft, 2013). The different forms of risk for the aforementioned assets of the agency are mentioned below: Vehicle, Automotive Parts: In comparison with the other crimes, the rate of vehicle theft is regarded to be the highest in Maryland. The percentage of theft has been rising by a considerable extent since 1999. On the basis of the chart given below, the risk of theft can be estimated as one of the major risks on the vehicle present in the DTF department among others (Microsoft, 2013). Fig: Maryland Motor Vehicle Theft Rate (State of Maryland, 2013) Armaments: In case of armaments, the primary risk that needs to be considered by a significant degree is the risk of theft. It has also been observed that the other risks relating to armaments are risk of fire arm murders and fire-arm assault (Microsoft, 2013). Computers and Graphical Based Systems: The first risk which needs to be considered while identifying the threats include technical components related risk of virus or unwanted programs. The second risk is the risk of theft as all the departments had no physical boundary which separates the departments with the public, thus there are chances of theft which should also be considered while executing the security plan (Microsoft, 2013). Database: The AAC maintains a database of the administrative records of the PCTC. Its main work is to maintain a proper record of all the enforcements done by the law enforcement body of Maryland. The risk of unwanted program, theft of the records and unauthorized access can be considered in this scenario (Microsoft, 2013). Human Beings: The lack of proper fencing of the different departments from the outside world can result in diverse risks. Moreover, the probability of being attacked by the robbers and thieves in FTF and DTF departments of the MPSETC is also quite high. Again, in the AAC department, the students or the employees can be attacked by the patients as the distance between the hospital and the apartment was less than 100 yards and there were no proper security measures available to stop them. This factor can violate Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) standards required for safety of an employee in an organization (Microsoft, 2013). The different security measures which can be implemented to stop the predicted risk on diverse assets in an affordable way have been depicted below: Fencing and Gates: Fencing is considered to be the first layer of security for any organization. The best fencing in this case would be to adopt the perimeter form of fencing. It is a structure that circles the parameter of an area to prevent access from the outside world. Perimeter fencing is considered to be an affordable way of securing an area with a gate in the centre for entrance (Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, n.d.). Figure: Parameter Fencing (Gov.uk, n.d.) Exterior Lighting: Exterior lighting can be placed throughout the departments to highlight the fencing, gates and guards. It can also be used to highlight the important signs which need to be displayed to minimize crimes (Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, n.d.). CCTV: The use of closed circuit television (CCTV) is considered to be one of the most important aspects to reduce crime rate in the 21st century. There are different forms of CCTV cameras. The best option in this case would be to use the dome form of CCTV. It is a form of CCTV where the pointer of the lens is not known as the lens is covered with a plastic layer. The camera detects infrared radiation and can detect things happening within a long range (Bosch, n.d.). The greatest advantage of the camera is that it can detect activities occurring at low lights as well. Placing adequate amount of CCTV camera around the department would decrease the chance of theft of the important equipments present in the departments (Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, n.d.). Figure: Dome Camera (Hikvision Digital Technology Co., Ltd. 2013) Electronic Access Control System: Electronic access control system is defined as a protecting system which stops inappropriate or undesirable access of the unofficial individuals/persons. It identifies the concerned persons with the help of the defined authorization policy. It can be installed in doors, gates or other barriers where granting access can be electronically controlled. With reference to the case i.e. MPSETC, it is best to install the security control system in the AAC department as it would stop unauthorized access of the patients from the Maryland (Mental) Hospital if any patient attempts to enter the department (Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, n.d.). Figure: Electronic Access Control System (Ocean Fire & Security, n.d.) Intrusion Alarms: Intrusion alarms or bulgur alarms are a form of security component which provides 24?7 monitoring in the remote areas of boundary. The system gets activated when it detects any unwanted motion and glass break. It can also be connected to CCTV camera to mechanically record the actions when an unauthorized activity occurs (Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, n.d.). Figure: Intrusion Alarm Systems (Bosch, n.d.) Conclusion Preparing a comprehensive security plan for any organization involves certain important steps. It essentially involves activities entailing steps such as analyzing the area, identifying the assets, the amount of risks on those assets and the condition which may result in affecting those assts. In recent years, there has been a sea of change in terms of augmentation in security violation related issues and contextual preventive measures. Therefore, it can concluded that the above mentioned security plan would facilitate MPSETC by a considerable extent in maintaining more peace and harmony in the state and to uphold its own services in a proficient manner. References Bosch. (n.d.). Intrusion Alarm Systems. Retrieved from http://www.boschsecurity.us/en-us/ProductInformation/Intrusion/ Bosch. (n.d.). Selecting the right CCTV camera. CCTV camera basics, pp. 1-16. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. (n.d.). Security systems. Example Security Plan, pp. 1-80. Gov.uk. (n.d.). Ministry of Defence. Retrieved from https://www.gov.uk/security-services-group Hikvision Digital Technology Co., Ltd. (2013). Dome Camera. Retrieved from http://www.hikvision.com/en/us/Products_show.asp?id=6738 Microsoft. (2013). Security Planning. Library. Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services. (n.d.). The Maryland Community Crime Prevention Institute. Retrieved from http://www.dpscs.state.md.us/agencies/mpctc.shtml Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services. (n.d.). About DPSCS. Retrieved from http://www.dpscs.state.md.us/aboutdpscs/ Ocean Fire & Security. (n.d.). Access Control Installation Somerset & Dorset. Retrieved from http://www.oceanfireandsecurity.co.uk/access-control/installation/ State of Maryland. (2013). Fact Sheets. Retrieved from http://www.goccp.maryland.gov/msac/graphics/MD_VehicleTheft.jpg State of Maryland. (2013). Firearms Safety. Retrieve from http://167.102.137.115/welcome.aspx Read More