Recent Book: The Principle Object to Be Obtained: Practical Security in Commerce and Industry
| DOI | 10.1177/0032258X7905200328 |
| Author | Cranham |
| Published date | 01 July 1979 |
| Date | 01 July 1979 |
| Subject Matter | Recent Book |
forming part of the bargaining unit also
has apparent merit.
There is much in this book
that
will be
of consuming interest to genuine
exponents of crime prevention, and
perhaps to students of the American
scene, but it is by no means a book for
bedtime reading".
CRANHAM
ERIC
OLIVER
ANDJOHN
WILSON:
Practical Security in Commerce and Industry
(3rd Edition) Gower Press £12.50
For
many years senior staff have been
concerned with legislation of one sort or
another designed to promote safety and
maintain the health or comfort of their
workforce but it is only comparatively
recently
that
they have been asked to
turn
their attention to the growing problem of
industrial and commercial security and
sometimes the conundrums posed by
customers thefts, contractors fiddles or
staff pilfering are complex.
It
is small
wonder managers sometimes prefer to
ignore obvious signs of criminal activity
in fa-vour of other more acceptable
explanations for disappearing profits
which can be listed under the general
term "shrinkage". There are other
matters outside their organisation which
also need to be considered. Kidnapping
and the threats of bomb attacks on
influential members of a firm or
important premises must not be over
looked. Industrial espionage is another
facet of the crime scene which should not
be considered too "James Bondish" to
merit serious thought. Acomprehensive
text book which provides insight into the
philosophy of security as well as guide
lines for its general application is
"Practical Security in Commerce and
Industry" by Eric Oliver
and
John
Wilson - the 3rd Edition of which isnow
available.
The Ist Edition of this well known
volume was published in 1968, by the
authors - both of whom were once senior
detective officers - at a time when such
instructive works were few and far
between. Now it has to compete with
several other guides of a similar kind and
1 am pleased to say that it does so with
distinction. Not least
among
the
attributes are the useful appendices
which provide' the basis for company
policies on subjects ranging from the
job
description of a Chief Security Officer
through Fire Instructions to Bomb
Threats.
Although Messrs. Oliver and Wilson
have drawn on their experience for the
book, they have both been engaged in
industrial security long enough to
understand
completely
senior
management's point of view
about
crime
- which is somewhat different from
that
of
most senior police officers. Criminal
statistics and social conscience has little
bearing on the profit motive; a point
which is diplomatically explained but the
value of understanding the Rules of
Evidence and the Theft Act is forcibly
underlined.
Just
as Moriarty's has
become the "Plain Policeman's Guide to
Criminal Law" perhaps in due course
Oliver and Wilson may become its
counterpart in general security matters.
If
any strides are to be made in
improving
police
awareness
of
commercial management problems or
enabling the latter body to appreciate the
practical procedures required to ensure
successful prosecution of offences, then
such books asthis oneshould be read and
referred
to
frequently
by
those
concerned.
Furthermore,
active
application of many of the concepts
described will reduce the opportunities
for crime and it is worthwhile for both
parties to attempt this laudable goal.
CRANHAM
ASEMINAK REPORTED
The Cranfield Papers: Peel Press
23~pp.
£4.50
This is a book about Crime
Prevention. There is nothing remarkable
about
that, one might feel. After all, the
objectives of the Police Service, set in
1829, are
'the
protection of life and
property and the prevention and
detection of crime'. These objectives are
frequently stated without comment or
question by most police officers from
early days at training school. However, a
closer examination of the objectives
raises some important issues.
If
the
304
effectiveness of policing is based on the
statistics of crimes reported, one might
argue
that
policing has not been
particularly effective. There is cause for
concern in crime figures which
appear
to
get worse year after year. Concern has
also been expressed in a different
direction. Because of growing crime
figures, pressures of manpowerand other
factors, there has been a tendency
towards a reactive styleof policing which
has developed at the expense of the
July 1979
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