 Secure redundancy
"Some years ago a statistic was published in New York Magazine. It showed that compared to the amount of car alarms going off, the number of prevented car theft cases was zero. Isn't that the case with security control in malls?" This was how Oray Eğin began his article, "Are private security services seeking revenge?" earlier this year.
I believe this is a just comparison. Have you ever witnessed a thief getting caught thanks to a metal detector? An x-ray seems more efficient but can security guards waiting at the entrance holding a toy-like stick really prevent crime?
When I'm entering a mall or anywhere with similar security at the entrance, I say hello to the security guard, swing my bag towards him/her, the security guard says welcome, passes the metal detector close to my bag until the thing beeps, and then I keep on walking, completely ignoring the sound. If it's a walk-through metal detector, the process is similar. I hand my bag to the security guard, pass through the gate which may or may not beep, take my bag back and walk away.
 So as you see, in my case, the process has become automatic. I don't even think about it. Sometimes I don't even see the security guard. It's like how you would ask "Naber?" to someone you bump into while rushing to your next class. You don't expect an answer, but you just do it out of habit. Therefore the question is, What's the point?
The point is that we feel safe, or at least create the illusion that we are safe, because we bothered to put up a security system however loose or tight. Of course one might think that such security measures have a deterrent effect, but to what extent really? If security guards are particularly easy-going towards me, but, on the contrary, if most people are familiar with the security control process I mentioned above how much protection can they offer? Everyone knows that if someone with bad intentions set his/her mind on whatever kind of evil deed, he/she will go through with it and no metal detector will prevent that.
I am not by any means suggesting that methods of security should be made more severe. I'm not happy feeling as if I'm queuing for a rollercoaster ride while I know that what's inside is packed computer labs and no free tables. Removing security won't solve the problem either. But perhaps we don't have to make them so visibly weak. Creating the illusion that we are safe is not the same as being secure. However, vice-versa is. If a person is under the impression that there is no security control when there actually is, we might have a better chance of fighting crime.
By Gönenç İnal (TRIN/IV)
g_inal@ug.bilkent.edu.tr
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