The Four Rs Model of Physical Security
To help HOAs and community managers get the most out of their security budgets, Settler Security developed the “Four Rs” security framework. This simple framework helps answer key questions: Does our community need cameras? Should we invest more in security? What do we do about a burglary? What about squatters?
There are plenty of other security frameworks out there, like CARVER, (multiple) Seven Layer security models, elemental models, and even detailed HOA-specific checklists. Most of these have been developed by and for security professionals in large organizations with big security budgets. Even checking off every box on some of the community checklists we’ve seen requires bigger budgets than most HOA Managers or HOA Boards are willing to commit to.
Four Rs is designed for organizations that don’t have a dedicated Director or VP of physical security (although it can be used by orgs that do have those people too). It helps ensure that key functions are covered, avoids over-reliance on single solutions, which lead to single points of failure, but without being overly-prescriptive about budget or preferred solutions.
So what is the Four Rs Framework?
THE FOUR Rs
The Four Rs address each stage of responding to a security or safety incident, in order:
Repel
Recognize
Respond
Recover
For every type of threat anticipated, the level of risk should be considered and each of these stages should be planned for. Investments should be skewed toward the front of the process without leaving a gap at the end. The reason is that each stage mitigates the stage after it. It is better to repel or prevent an event entirely than to recognize it happening. If it happens, recognizing it as quickly as possible will make for the fastest response. Responding quickly will minimize the impact from which a community must recover.
As the level of risk increases, so should investment. More serious threats are harder to deter, require faster recognition, need a more vigorous response, and take more robust preparations for recovery.
Even without dedicated “security” planning, many HOAs and small businesses actually do have plans in place for each stage. Without planning or investment, these are generally not robust and are only appropriate for low threat environments. As the legal and criminal environment changes, it may be worth planning more intentionally. We’ll review a case study for this scenario later in this article.
Now, let’s look at each stage in a bit more detail:
1. REPEL
As noted above, the best case for any security or safety issue is to keep it from happening at all. This can be done in one of three ways: reducing target signature, hardening a target, or increasing consequences.
Reducing a target signature might sound like military jargon, but it just means making something a less obvious target for whatever crime or threat is being considered. Hiding cash in a register drawer instead of leaving it stacked on the counter is a simple example. When people don’t see how much cash is there, it’s much less tempting to try and take it.
Hardening a target means making it more difficult to commit a crime or less likely for a dangerous situation to occur. Locking the aforementioned cash drawer is one example. Hardening a target against a non-crime risk (like Illness in VIPER) may involve something like regular HVAC inspections at the community hall to prevent elderly people from overheating.
Some risks, crime especially, can be reduced by increasing the likelihood that a perpetrator will be detected, caught, and punished. Visible security cameras are a common example of such a measure.
Some Repel measures work by more than one of these mechanisms. Doors locked at night make it harder for thieves to see what is inside, make it harder to get inside to take it, and - because they will take time to break or lockpick - make it more likely the thieves will be caught.
2. RECOGNIZE
If a security even occurs despite efforts to prevent it, the next stage is to recognize that it is occurring. An event happening where nobody can see it will not be interrupted and ended, but will be continued until its natural termination, increasing risk of loss, property damage, injury, or even death.
Security cameras a are common solution for this, but without expensive, ongoing monitoring, they will be useful only as post-hoc diagnostic or evidentiary tools. Luckily, advancements in AI are dramatically lowering the cost of monitoring and making real-time alerts available even to small business owners, often without even requiring investments in new hardware.
(Settler Security is a reseller for several excellent AI solutions - if you would like to upgrade your existing camera installation, please get in touch.)
HOAs, communities, and small businesses can also improve Recognition by providing simple training to residents and staffers. Being aware of what to watch for can help reduce normalcy bias and give people the confidence to report on exigent events.
There are other options too: sensors, inspections, and security professionals are all options for detecting emergencies and initiating a response.
3. RESPOND
Once a security situation has been recognized, it must be dealt with.
For most communities and small businesses, responding to criminal activity will be the exclusive domain of the local police force. With a few exceptions - like bouncers and well-trained loss prevention officers - even security personnel will be strictly limited in their options for dealing with dangerous situations and will often need to await the response of official emergency services.
Depending on jurisdiction and community structure, volunteer organizations with a stake in the community may also offer an alternative mode of response. This is especially true of medical emergencies; many states offer “Good Samaritan” protections for people who respond to medical emergencies in good faith. Basic training (such as First Aid or Stop the Bleed for a medical volunteer) is critical for effectiveness and should be supported for any such group.
No matter who is responding, any situation that threatens the health and safety of your patrons or community members must be handled as quickly as possible. For security systems intended to support this stage, they must be supported by staff or monitoring services who can confirm the alarm for 9-1-1 dispatchers, prompting a much faster response than unconfirmed alarms.
4. RECOVER
Once a security event has ended, whether the response was considered “successful” or not, a community or business must get back to normal life.
Physical damage will need to be repaired. Police and investigators will need to be supplied with evidence and statements. A business will need to recoup losses and restart regular operations. A neighborhood or other community may need to do those things AND restore the confidence and comfort (or “repose”) of its residents.
Preparing for a recovery may include insurance to maintain financial stability, spare parts or redundancies for critical systems (e.g. power for life support in an assisted living community), and continuity planning.
After an event, audits, assessments, or even increased investments in security may help rebuild confidence for customers and residents.
HOW DO WE USE THE FOUR Rs?
Using the Four Rs is simple. Consider key threats for your community or business. Check out our scenario planning cards for residential communities and businesses [coming soon] if you need help brainstorming.
For each threat, ask how you would repel it? Recognize it? Respond to it? Recover from it? Make a note of answers that are difficult or unconvincing. Those are areas you may want to consider planning more thoroughly or making some investments.
Here are two case studies that demonstrate how two communities at different levels of sophistication might use the Four Rs.
CASE STUDY 1 - “NO SECURITY INVESTMENTS”
Situation: A community with no HOA and no ongoing issues wonders if they have the Four Rs covered.
Assessment:
Repel: The community has working streetlights and most residents lock their doors at night. Many have visible doorbell cameras.
Recognize: Community members pay attention to their cameras and watch their neighbors’ homes during vacations.
Respond: The community has a good relationship with municipal police department, which is well-staffed and averages an emergency response time of 5 minutes. Many residents are armed.
Recover: Homeowners are assumed to all have homeowners’ insurance, which will cover material losses.
Analysis: Although there has been no specific community investment in security, there are, in fact, measures in place for each of the Four Rs. The measures are likely appropriate for a low-crime jurisdiction without any extant issues.
CASE STUDY 2 - FOUR Rs x VIPER
Situation: A gated community has growing concerns about the crime in nearby commercial district. They used VIPER to define possible threat areas and have used VIPER x Four Rs to assess their response plan.
Assessment:
Analysis: The results match the expectations for a calm, high-end community, with a reliance on high-quality public services and investments in a clean, enjoyable neighborhood.
With increased concern about crime, the community may want to consider increasing investments focused on preventing violence and property crime. They should consider investing first in the Repel phase, with visible cameras and and a license-plate reader on the gate. A well-designed system will support the addition of monitoring services later on to support the Recognize and Respond phases should concerns continue to increase. Restarting active participation in the community watch program will not require much budget, but will increase the communities Recognition capabilities.
The community could have used another framework or even specific scenarios to define threats instead of VIPER.
CONCLUSION
Four Rs is a simple, flexible framework for evaluating security plans, whether informally or paired with a methodology like VIPER. It can be used to assess an organization’s overall plans or scaled down to specific sites. HOA and community managers can assess standard operating procedures and specific communities.
If you would like to invest in cameras and software to improve deterrence, better recognize security events, and improve coordination with law enforcement, please give us a call.
If you would like help evaluating whether these steps are necessary, please contact us for FREE VIPER Lite assessment.