7.2 Security strategies
The three principles of security strategies are: Acceptance, Protection and Deterrence (refer to the CARE International safety and Security Management Plan Guide, pp. 14-15). The Safety and Security Officer and the emergency team must decide on the appropriate mix of security strategies to adopt, taking into consideration CARE’s culture, values and capacity in relation to the mission.
Based on the overarching security strategy, the Safety and Security Officer and emergency team shall prioritise each risk, establish a threshold/limit to how much risk they are willing to accept and will identify ways to reduce these risks by:
- reducing the probability of occurrence
- reducing the potential impact by reducing vulnerability
- being prepared to respond to security incidents and their consequences to lessen the impact.
This should be documented in the emergency Safety and Security Plan, which should be communicated to relevant staff.
Community and authority acceptance (formal and informal) represent CARE’s most important security strategy, and has a direct impact on staff safety and security. Acceptance depends on CARE’s image, reputation, staff behaviour and nature of programmes. The way that projects are designed and carried out, and how CARE reacts to events, must be transparent and consistent with the guiding principles it communicates.
