Admission procedure filters
Physical barriers must be accompanied by an admission procedure “filter”. Such procedures determine when, how and who gains access to any part of the office. Access to sensitive areas, such as keys, information and money, must be restricted.
The easiest way to gain entry to an office where human rights defenders work is to knock on the door and go inside. Many people do this every day. In order to reconcile the open character of a human rights office with the need to control who wants to visit you and why, you need appropriate admission procedures.
In general, people have a particular reason to want to enter or knock on your door. They often want to ask a question or to deliver something, without necessarily asking permission first. Let’s examine this case by case:
Someone calls and asks for permission to enter
You should then follow three simple steps:
1. Ask why the person wishes to enter. If s/he wants to see somebody in the office, consult the latter. If that person is not present, ask the visitor to return at another time or to wait somewhere outside the restricted office area. It is important to use spyholes, cameras or entry phones to avoid having to open or approach a door, especially if you want to refuse someone entry or are facing violent or forced entry. It is therefore good to have a waiting area which is physically separate from the office’s internal entrance. If an easily accessible public area is essential, ensure that there are physical barriers blocking access to restricted parts of the office.
Someone could request entry in order to check or repair the water or electricity supply or carry out other maintenance work. S/he could also claim to be a media representative, a state official, etc. Always confirm their identity with the company or organisation they claim to be representing before allowing them entry. Remember that neither a uniform nor an identity card are guarantees of proper and secure identification, especially in a medium or high risk situation.
2. Decide whether or not to allow access. Once your visitor’s reason for entering has been established, you’ll need to decide whether or not to allow them in. Just because someone states a reason for entering isn’t a good enough reason to let them in. If you are not sure what their errand is, don’t allow access.
3. Supervise visitors until they leave. Once a visitor has entered the office, make sure that someone is supervising them at all times until they leave. It is useful to have a separate area to meet with visitors, away from the restricted areas.
A record should be kept of every visitor with name, organization, purpose of visit, who they met with, when arrived, when left. This can be particularly useful when reviewing what went wrong after a security incident.
Someone arrives or calls asking questions
Regardless of what a caller or visitor might say, you should under no circumstances tell them the location of a colleague or other people nearby, nor give them any personal information. If s/he is insistent, offer to leave a message, ask them to come or call back later or make an appointment with the person they wish to see.
People can often show up mistakenly, asking if so-and-so lives there or if something is for sale, etc. Some also want to sell things, and beggars can come looking for help. If you deny these people access and information, you will avoid any security risk.
Someone wants to deliver an object or package
The risk you run with a package or object is that the contents could compromise or hurt you, especially in case of a package or letter bomb. No matter how innocent it may look, do not touch or handle a package until you have taken these three simple steps:
1. Check if the intended recipient is expecting the package. It is not enough that the recipient knows the sender, because the sender’s identity could easily be faked. If the intended recipient is not expecting a package, s/he must check that the supposed sender has actually sent them something. If the package is simply addressed to your office, check who sent it. Wait and discuss the issue before making a final decision.
2. Decide whether or not to accept the package or letter. If you can't establish who sent the package, or if this will take time, the best option is not to accept it, especially in a medium or high risk environment. You can always ask for it to be delivered later, or collect it at the post office.
3. Keep track of the package inside the office. Make sure you know where in the office the package is, at all times until the recipient accepts it.
During functions or parties
In these circumstances, the rule is simple: Do not let anyone whom you don’t know first hand enter. Only people who are known to trusted colleagues should enter, and only when that colleague is present and can identify their guest. If a person shows up saying they know someone in the office who isn’t there, don’t let them in.
Keeping records of phone calls and visitors
It may also be useful to keep a record of phone calls and phone numbers and – keeping record of people that visit the organization (in some organizations, new visitors are requested to present an identity document and the organization registers the number of the document)
Working extra-hours at the office
There should be procedures for staff working extra-hours. Members of an organization intending to work extra-hours late at night should report by certain hours with another designated member, take special care when leaving the premises, etc.
Checklist: Identifying weak points in admission procedures
- Who has regular access to which areas and why? Restrict access unless it is absolutely necessary.
- Distinguish between different types of visitors (messengers, maintenance workers, computer technicians, NGO members for meetings, VIPs, guests for functions, etc,) and develop appropriate admission procedures for each. All staff should be familiar with all procedures for all types of visitors, and take responsibility for carrying them out.
- Once a visitor enters the office, can they access weak points? Develop strategies to prevent this.
Checklist: Access to keys
- Who has access to which keys and when?
- Where and how are
All staff members have a responsibility to take action against anyone who is not properly observing the admission procedures. They should also make a note in the security incidents book of any movements by suspicious people or vehicles. The same applies to any object placed outside the building, in order to rule out the potential risk of a bomb. If you suspect a bomb, don’t ignore it, don’t touch it, and do contact the police.
When moving offices, or if keys have been lost or stolen, it is essential to change all the locks in the entrance area, at the very least.