Councils to Communities

Over the past year, ASIS volunteers have worked to further the reach of ASIS councils and connect more members—by transitioning the councils into communities on ASIS Connects.

With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020, volunteers quickly rallied to turn their planning efforts into reality, launching 34 ASIS subject area communities by June. These communities open new ways for members to connect with their industry peers for helpful resources and discussions around the professional concerns that matter most to them.

“One of the most valuable assets of ASIS International membership is the ability to access information and expertise,” says Eddie Sorrells, CPP, PCI, PSP, ASIS council vice president. “The transition from councils to communities brings this value to the forefront of each member’s experience.”

There is a community for every line of work in the security profession—from executive protection to banking and financial services, from information technology to petrochemicals. Other communities connect members from all industries with an interest in networking with women in security or young professionals. In these communities, members can ask questions, share insights, find resources, and build valuable connections.

“Open communities provide a perfect conduit for members to receive instantaneous feedback from our security peers,” adds Donna Kobzaruk, ASIS council vice president.

Explore ASIS subject area communities at asisonline.org/communities and become involved with the ones most relevant to your own expertise and interests.

Active Assailant Annex in Revised Standard

As employees around the globe return to work following the COVID-19 pandemic, it is more important than ever that organizations have a workplace violence/active assailant program in place. After months of heightened stress, anxiety, and fear, organizations need to have procedures in place to detect and resolve concerning behavior in employees returning to workplaces.

In June, ASIS International published the first revision of the Workplace Violence and Active Assailant—Prevention, Intervention, and Response (WVPI AA) standard in nine years. This standard delivers best practices from industry experts that organizations can use to help build workplace violence programs or to improve upon ones that are already in place.

First published in 2011 with the partnership of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), the WVPI AA standard provides an overview of policies, processes, and protocols that organizations can adopt to help identify, assess, respond to, and mitigate threatening or intimidating behavior and violence affecting the workplace.

The standard:

• Describes the personnel within organizations who typically become involved in prevention and intervention efforts;

• Outlines a proactive organizational approach to workplace violence focused on prevention and early intervention; and

• Proposes ways in which an organization can better detect, investigate, manage, and—whenever possible—resolve behavior that has generated concerns for workplace safety from violence.

New in 2020 is an Active Assailant Annex that provides actionable prevention, intervention, and response guidance that personnel can turn to when protecting facilities against these threats.

“The newly revised Workplace Violence and Active Assailant—Prevention, Intervention, and Response standard is an updated, current, and relevant standard for use by both the public and private sectors,” says Michael A. Crane, Esq., CPP, chair of the ASIS WVPI AA Technical Committee. “The annex provides guidance on issues and conditions that are normally not addressed in a typical workplace violence incident, such as a site becoming a crime scene and being unavailable for a period of time, establishment of a family notification/reunification center and a communication area, business continuity issues, and behavioral science and psychology implications of those exposed to the trauma scene.”

ASIS standards and guidelines serve as a critical resource and business tool for ASIS members, as well as the broader security industry and business community around the globe. New pricing that debuted in April provides ASIS members with 55 percent savings on print copies of ASIS standards and guidelines. Members enjoy unlimited online access to all standards and guidelines.

Learn more about the WPVI AA standard and the brand-new Security Awareness standard, coming soon, at asisonline.org/Standards.

Life Member

ASIS congratulates Rebekah Wells for achieving life membership. An ASIS member for 23 years, she has been an active volunteer for many of those years. Wells has served ASIS as a regional vice president and a senior regional vice president. She also filled many leadership roles for the Greater Los Angeles Chapter, including chapter chair, vice chair, and secretary. In addition, Wells served on the ASIS Awards Committee for several years.