No, You Can't Come In

[catcul]

My office is in a secure location. We have to use badges to open the doors so we can get in. Lately, we have had a woman try to get into our building. She claims that she is part of the cleaning crew. However, when asked who her contact was, she couldn't produce a name.

However, that's nothing compared to a secure office in Raleigh. Several people have tried to get into that office. At least one person succeeded in getting in. He proceeded to steal items off of people's desks.

The bank has now banned hoodies. They have also have reminded us that if anyone lets unauthorized people into the building, they will be fired immediately. They have threatened to have all contractors escorted to their work spaces.

[Jay 2K Winger]

Yeah, we have that at The Client, too.

Taken to a completely different level, since anyone trying to sneak into the offices would first need to get past the perimeter, who aren't rent-a-cops, but actual cops.

I will frequently see them "casually" standing around with shotguns and automatic rifles as they wave me and my security badge through. Inasmuch as you can look "casual" while holding such weaponry.

[EricKei]

Inasmuch as you can look "casual" while holding such weaponry.

It's an art.

[Gilhelmi]

It's an art.

This is the first time I have ever wished we had a 'like' button.

OT: Sadly, my company will probably soon need to be getting stricter with our security. We already have ID badges that we have to scan to get us into the main doors, but the side doors and vehicle doors are too easy to bypass (if you know what you are doing with a lock-pick kit). I hear the people who do ITAR certifications are going to be getting stricter.

Understand, we have very lucrative ITAR contracts for making parts. (International Treaty on Arms Regulation) There are certain technologies/tools that we do not want some nations to have, some are allies of the US even. So if you were not born in the US, you get a special colored badge, and we have to hid our Blueprints for those parts. (joke: darn Canadians trying to steal our lucky charms and freedom. Seriously though, even people from allied nations are not allowed to see them.)

[Slave to the Phone]

Our office isn't that secure, people have to pass by an armed guard to get into the lobby. However, there is a coded door to get into the office areas and the back door has a code. I can't remember how many people think that because they were let out the back door means that they should be allowed to just walk in that same door.

Nope, not happening. Yelling at us will get one of us yelling back to go to the front door. Banging on the door will get us to have Tank run around the building to talk to you. The doors are secured for OUR safety and we won't compromise that to for you.

(My sweetie, who always carries his legal sidearm has never come into the office. He stands outside the lobby and gives Tank puppydog eyes until Tank notices him and comes back to tell me that my sweetie is outside. That's how serious we take the issue.)

[Blue Ginger]

I've worked in a lot of secure buildings from the 'first person swipes to get in and then holds doors open for everyone else' to the 'one swipe = one barrier opens' and some people have no offing clue about security.

I have even seen security guards letting people in that weren't supposed to be in an area. And yes, I did tell their boss.
And then there was the moron who let their ex-coworker into the building through an emergency exit. The same ex-coworker that was escorted off the premises when fired because he was making threats to everyone from the canteen staff to the big head honcho.
Ex-coworker was escorted out in cuffs and 5 minutes later moron followed with a small box of personal stuff.

[Rosco the Iroc]

Reminds me of issues of security and sailors. We worked on a piece of gear that was classified, not just what it did but even that there was such an object. So of course someone sent one through the regular supply system no packaging or paperwork. I saw it pop up as inbound in the computer. I freaked and rush to secure it.
They seemed dumbfounded why this was an issue and I had to be making it up because the non cleared people "never heard of this" Duh the point of making it classified is yea so you won't don't know.

[silverstaff]

I've worked in a lot of secure buildings from the 'first person swipes to get in and then holds doors open for everyone else' to the 'one swipe = one barrier opens' and some people have no offing clue about security.

I have even seen security guards letting people in that weren't supposed to be in an area. And yes, I did tell their boss.

I got reprimanded as a security guard once, for NOT letting people without badges through.

A couple of years ago, I was working for a state government agency as a sworn LEO. My duties though, were to provide security for various State Government facilities, offices and buildings.

One day I was assigned to a new building, the office building of an elected official. I'd worked there a handful of times, on weekends and nights when they were closed, but never during the daytime when they were open for business.

I managed to get a dozen complaint calls about me placed to my supervisor inside of 2 hours.

Why?

I sat at the front lobby, at a desk, with the receptionist at the other desk. Most employees who walked up to the building didn't use their ID badge, they expected the guard to buzz them into the building, and they were rather upset that I made them use their badges to get into the building. Apparently some of them didn't even bother to have their badges on them and had to tailgate in with another employee.

Then they were upset that I wouldn't buzz them into the inner parts of the building beyond the lobby. The ones without a badge, I asked for ID so I could compare it to the list of employees I had on file at the desk (and the "do not admit" list). They were enraged about that, even though that's normal written procedure.

The thing is, they'd all been issued badges, the doors had badge readers, but apparently badge enforcement there was so incredibly lax that many employees didn't even have their badges with them, and those that did were used to the guard just buzzing everyone through every morning.

The receptionist didn't even try to tell me that's what the usual guy does. She just answered the phones and smiled politely at everyone as they show up.

I didn't know that. There certainly was no written instructions about that. So, my supervisor at my agency gets around a dozen complaints that morning about me, probably about 10% of the people I made use their badges or asked for ID called to complain about me.

Sure enough, another Officer shows up to relieve me about 2 hours into my shift, and tells me to report to the office. I'm griped at for all the complaints they are getting about how I'm rude and inconsiderate to them. I explain what happened, and THEN my supervisor admits it's a no-win scenario, since if I let people through, I would be in trouble if anything happened, but they would complain loudly if I actually enforced the rules.

My supervisor also didn't know the regular guy apparently hadn't been enforcing badge rules for a very long time.

I was told I would never work at that building again, but they would have a talk with the regular guy and the management at that building about security protocols.

[KuariKaydrith]

I'm a security guard at an ID-required site - it's clearly posted at the main entrance and at the security desk. We do not have an actual receptionist here as we really do not have the public coming through here. There is a sign-in book where people must sign-in and out if they are contractors or visitors, or even staff coming in outside of business hours or scheduled shift even if they have their badges with them.

In your situation, silverstaff, the guard with the lax badging enforcement would likely have found himself in serious trouble - not enforcing badge rules is grounds for termination with our company, especially when it is clearly stated in our post orders. As for the employees putting up a fuss, well, they need to be more responsible for making sure they have what they need to be permitted on site. If it's a visible ID site then they need to make sure they actually have it with them and displayed somewhere on them.

[Cia]

When we do fire alarm inspections at banks it states in large type on the work order that if the work order is not shown to the guard we will not be let in. Makes perfect sense to me.

[Ironclad Alibi]

Back in the 60's I worked on the moon landing program at Cape Kennedy. Everyone needed a badge to get onto the Kennedy Space Center. The gate guards would check everyone's badge in a car. They had security crackdowns several times because instead of their badges, people would hold up cigarette packs, and in at least one instance, a fake badge with a picture of an ape.

[OT]
In one security briefing, I asked about spies coming onto the center from the ocean. They explained that the local population of rattlesnakes took care of anyone that tried.
[/OT]