Without extensive physical alterations and an extensive security program, defending against truck and car bombs is extremely difficult. Nevertheless, individual awareness as well as those physical security precautions your institution may take represent an important improvement over doing nothing at all.  There is a terrific option in using  software to manage “known” vendors provisioning authorization.

Truck and car bomb prevention is a matter of physical security first, search and evacuation second. Your key defense is to exclude potentially dangerous vehicles from your institution. Ideally, all vehicles entering your facility’s grounds should be scrutinized and authorized before being admitted; that is exactly what our loading dock system is all about.

Truck and car bombs might be identified by the outward appearance of the vehicle and the behavior of the driver. Suspicious facts include, but are not limited to:
•    The person driving the vehicle does not enter the facility, but rather runs or walks away. Make certain you articulate clearly to the 911 operator that you have rea- son to believe you are dealing with a chemical, biological, or radiological situation.
•    The car or truck appears to be sitting very low on its springs, indicating great weight.
•    The car or truck is parked illegally (or too) close to your building. Your facility should restrict parking closest to the building.

In an urban environment where on-street parking is close to the facility, consider making a request to the local police department for no-parking designations. Your institution may consider adding physical barriers (cement barriers) between the street and your facility.
•    Note that older cars and trucks are more likely to be used in a car bombing (as are rental vehicles). Be wary of any type of vehicle that appears to have been abandoned (e.g., inspection sticker, registration or license plate expired or missing, etc.).
•   The police should be called immediately if any doubt exists about the legitimacy of such trucks (e.g., no fuel delivery expected or such deliveries are not expected at your institution or are atypical of the neighborhood).

None of these behaviors are perfect indicators of the potential for violent behav- ior — and many are consistent with perfectly innocent behavior — however, they are clues worth considering.

* Observation and rapid response are key to dealing with suspicious vehicles.

You should think through how you will respond to the observation of a suspicious vehicle well in advance of the discovery of one. Suspicious vehicles may require immediate action, including evacuation and calling emergency services. Remember, it may be appropriate to evacuate to a location that puts another structure between you and the explosive threat. Discuss this possibility with your fire marshal or bomb squad.
Incremental Steps for Truck Bomb Security

1. Seek to restrict parking closest to your buildings (perhaps no parking at all or limited to staff/key lay leader vehicles). You may choose to use a wind shield identification sticker to determine quickly who belongs and who needs further scrutiny.

2.    Train staff and security to be aware of the possible appearance of vehicles used in these incidents.

3.    Use barriers, gates, etc. to prevent access to the facility by non-authorized persons.

“Protecting People and Property, One Truck at a Time”

Security professionals know the single biggest risk to any facility is a Truck Bomb. Every loading dock and vendor entrance is an easy target.  Our product significantly reduces that risk and serves to manage both the security and logistics of vendors, vehicles and drivers

A terrorist’s preferred method of devastation is the use of IEDs (Improvised Explosive Devices) transported by vehicles.  While delivery vans, rented trucks, and every other unmarked vehicle is going in and out of buildings everyday, even with guarded loading docks, guards have no way of knowing the reason why the truck is there.

If a driver is questioned, they are usually already situated at a structural point within the facility. Security professionals are trying to solve the question; “Can I trust this person or vehicle? Should they be let in?”

Without being able to ascertain the intentions of the driver coupled with no advance knowledge of a trucks arrival, every truck is a threat.  Millions of trucks are entering buildings, going under buildings and parking next to buildings. Until now, whether the driver can be trusted and/or whether there is a threat was impossible to know.  Our secure vendor program combined with our loading dock security system provides advanced tactical intelligence on vendors, vehicles and drivers.

Using our system, guards have the necessary information to make an instant decision on whether a vehicle and its driver should have access to the loading dock and/or the facility. For several years, the secure vendor program has been in place at one of highest profile buildings in the world.

Our product consists of three major components; a database of vehicles, drivers and their vendors, a delivery scheduling program for vendor management that provides daily authorizations, and an easy to use system for security staff to gather real-time information and record actions.  Using a proprietary system to analyze the data, we provide predictive information on patterned behavior, so guards can easily ascertain whether the vehicle and its driver should be permitted.

To find out more please call us at 1-877-353-3377