Criminal Record Checks - Protection Against Criminals

A criminal record (also called a police record) check is a documentation or file of a person's criminal history. This is used by prospective employers, lending firms, government and also other agencies like adoption centres, etc. to assess the credibility of an individual.

The information included in a criminal record varies from country to country and may even differ between different jurisdictions of the same country.

Typical information that is included (but not limited to) in a criminal record could be…

• Forgery / Cheating
• Kidnapping
• Murder
• Rape
• Extortion
• Violence

Depending on specific needs investigations are done.

In various cases, a criminal record check may include traffic offences like drunk-driving, arrests, dismissed charges, charges pending, drug tests, etc. Financial institutions for example, may need a credit report check. Companies needing to hire C-suite candidates may go for much deeper and separate investigations on a number of aspects.

Criminal record checks in the third world countries including the Philippines criminal records checks are not only extremely laborious but are also extravagantly time-consuming compared to the Western World. This is due to bureaucracy, corruption, unprofessionalism and even rampant alteration of electronic records.

The professional search agencies in the Philippines provide the Philippines criminal records checks through a robust professional network and with the help of experienced, skilled professional private investigators.

The widespread and authentic network that these agencies have, both nationally and internationally assist them to check the accuracy of any information more accurately. Their professional private investigators are vigorously trained with years of experience in their fields which enable them to crack even the best-hidden information.

Orion Support Incorporated (OSI) is a Philippines-based Private Investigator and Security Risk Management firm which is licensed to conduct investigations. The firm is in operation since 1984 with unblemished and a proven track record. From private parties to leading multinationals, OSI’s rich clientele has grown over the years due to the firm's capability, speciality and diligence.

Corporate Security Investigations: An Important Aspect of Business

As much as you want to believe that your employees and candidates for employment are completely trustworthy, applicants rarely tell all and they don’t always speak the truth. Many surveys and studies confirm that a high percentage of personal applications contain less than truthful statements and false claims, whether they are pertaining to their educational credentials or their employment history. These patterns create enormous risks for employers and businesses as they often lead to unwanted terminations (high turnover) and even legal liability. This is where corporate security investigations come to play. Investing in security background investigation right before on-boarding is a small price to pay, considering the negative impacts of not conducting in-depth pre-employment background checking:

Replacing any skilled and experienced employee is a costly endeavor that usually amounts to at least 50 percent of that particular individual’s annual wage in turn-over costs—including costs relating to advanced training, specialization, and extensive experience building for replacement hires. These expenses can better be illustrated by the following costs and business disruptions:

• Loss of overall productivity while a particular position or job is vacant
• Loss of productivity from dependent or related jobs
• Cost of management effort in recruiting, selecting, and interviewing new candidates; and
• Loss of productivity as the replacement worker gains effectiveness and learns duties

Corporate security investigations in the form of background checking during the pre-employment process is a critical aspect of business risk management. Not only does this process reduce turnover—it also ensures constant productivity while reducing legal liability as a result of bad hires. Educational and employment verification and criminal background searches provide employers with essential information and ensure your due diligence as an employer, which is critical if you wish to achieve high employment retention rates. Federal laws and state regulations dictate the type and extent of security background investigation that you need to perform on your candidate employees. These regulations depend, to a certain degree, on the nature of employment being sought. Deeper investigations are permitted for high integrity risk positions as well as for jobs involving public risks.

A negligent hire can be extremely costly to a business and its implications are not only severe but potentially long-lasting. By hiring a private investigation firm to handle our corporate security investigations, you ensure proper due diligence and prove a great degree of employer responsibility, particularly in your hiring process. Your primary goal for investing in security background investigation should be to ensure good hires and retain experienced, trustworthy, skilled, ethical, and productive employees.

Security Risk Management – Protection of Physical and Human Assets

Security risk management is the process of identifying an organization’s assets (physical and non-physical) and developing policies and procedures in order to protect those assets. Certain policies and procedures are implemented so as to safeguard assets and prevent loss. Soliciting the help of a private security agency in the Philippines will ensure proper risk assessment and analysis, information classification, threat identification, asset categorization, and system vulnerability rating, so you can implement processes that protect your company’s best interests.

One of the main features of security risk management is loss prevention. Having a risk management system in place can help ensure that all your critical assets are protected against losses. Loss prevention requires proper and thorough assessment of potential threats, which, in addition to potentially causing damage or loss, may also impede the achievement of an organization’s goals. Prevention of loss must include opportunities to further an object (never taking risks unless there is a clear upside), balancing probability and impact, and determining/implementing measures in order to minimize threats or eliminate them altogether.

An effective security risk management system should protect against external and internal threats. Some of the most common forms of external security threats include strategic threats like the following:

• customer demand and competition
• operational threats like supplier issue and contract issues and regulation
• financial threats such credit and FX
• external hazards like natural disasters
• criminal acts
• cyber threats
• compliance threats that may involve new legal or regulatory requirements

Internal threats, on the other hand, may also be strategic, operational, financial, and hazard and compliance-related in nature. Some common internal threats include:

• R&D
• operational systems and processes
• liquidity and cash flow
• employee and equipment safety
• legal/regulatory compliance

Hiring a private security agency Philippines will help you make sure that all these threats are weighed in as you design and implement a security risk management system that is tailored to your organization’s needs.

Ensuring the protection of your physical and human assets forms a huge part of security risk management. An effective system requires the proper integration of physical, personnel, and cyber security procedures and measures. The human element is almost inevitable, however, directly or indirectly at a point of a particular security failure. Personnel or people security is a well thought out system of procedures and policies that seek to mitigate risks such as workers or insiders exploiting their privileged and legitimate access to the assets of the organization for any and all unauthorized purposes.

Points to Consider while Choosing Security Guard Agency in Philippines

When your organization doesn’t have enough security staff, technological solutions can only go so far. It’s time to contact a security agency Philippines that can provide you with the personnel you need to complete your public safety functions. Vetting contract providers of security guard Philippines is crucial. After all, a well-trained security officer squad can drastically improve your company’s security profile, while inexperienced and ill-equipped guards can often do more harm than good. Here are some factors you need to consider in selecting a contract security provider.

1. Look for specialized experience. You want to work with a security agency Philippines that has years of experience in your industry and understands its unique regulatory environment and issues.

2. Determine if your prospective provider of security guard Philippines has the local infrastructure and can efficiently deliver services in your areas of operation.

3. Evaluate factors such as the guard force provider’s financial stability, billing procedures, program management, and supplier quality controls. You might also want to look into following:

• The agency’s statement of qualifications and experience
• Proof of required licenses
• General liability and insurance
• Current contracts (active)
• Reference contacts
• Copy of their employee manual and employee grievance procedures

4. Make sure that the provider complies with all applicable government regulations as well as client quality service standards. Ask for their proof of adherence to the rules and regulations of the Philippine Association of Detective and Protective Agency Operators

5. Have a look at their proposed team and management structure for your site or project. Evaluate whether it addresses your concerns and fulfills your goals.

Choosing a security guard agency in the Philippines is not easy. It’s often more prudent to work with a security company that provides competent guard force screening and selection services. You can trust them to conduct an evaluation process based on your criteria and requirements while applying their expert-level industry experience and knowledge.

They can also perform audits and on-site inspections in order to ascertain that the agency adheres to all standard operating procedures and client requirements on a round-the-clock basis. Some of the best companies even offer security guard training in the Philippines to ensure that your contract security personnel are well equipped to do their jobs. They can also act as your external security department to manage your company’s security system on your behalf. By combining satellite management and on-site inspections, they can provide an efficient and balanced system of developing and implementing security policies and procedures, supervise your local guard forces, as well as coordinate with your management on routine security procedures.

Crisis Management Planning for your Business to Avoid Risk

“Then the shit hit the fan.”  - John Kenneth Galbraith, A Life in Our Times. Though this may sound grouse, it’s the harsh reality that when we are struck by a crisis, our whole world falls apart and we are thrown into a frenzy. Preparedness is one way we can hope to mitigate the physical and emotional impact that befalls us all of a sudden. As unpleasant as it may sound the threat of natural disasters like hurricanes, earthquakes, tornados, floods, cyber crime, terrorist attacks are very real.  And companies would need to react and recover quickly if they are caught off guard. Proper crisis management is the backbone of a speedy recovery. Though situations are unique and may warrant different plans, preparedness is the only saving grace that companies should latch on to.

General Tips on Crisis Management

Companies anywhere in the world, therefore, need to create and implement an effective crisis management plan that would include emergency response planning, disaster recovery, contingency communications, business continuity and a clear delineation of key personnel and their responsibility areas.

• Any crisis can lead to loss of life and physical well-being and safety of employees. It is important to set guidelines that would stipulate whether to shelter in place or evacuate so that a decision can be taken away if the dire situation arises. However, it does not pertain to fire where a fire plan should be in place and practices with evacuation drills should be held periodically.

• Instructions for assisting disabled personnel, visitors, customers, and vendors in any emergency procedure should be included in the crisis management plan

• When preparing for emergency situations, it is important to encourage everyone to have a basic emergency kit is wise, which the US Homeland Security Department’s website lists as water, a three-day supply of perishable food, flashlight and extra batteries, first aid kit, etc.

• A company's essential documents and information should be regularly backed up as a business practice. The crisis management team should regularly check procedures are being adhered to. They should store back-ups offsite so that they can be retrieved when needed.

• As the key in any communication crisis is important, it is needed to have phone numbers or e-mail addresses for all personnel, and prepare for several alternative methods for communicating with emergency personnel, co-workers, and the families of employees.

• Securing property and planning for business continuation is also important in the realm of crisis planning.

The lens on Crisis Management in the Philippines

The Philippines is among world's most disaster-prone countries. Over the past two decades, the Philippines endured a total of 274 natural calamities, making it the fourth most disaster-prone country in the world. This is based on “The Human Cost of Weather Related Disasters,” a study conducted by the Geneva-based United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR) and the Belgian-based Centre on the Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED), which covered the period between 1995 and 2015. The report also revealed that the Philippines was among the top ten countries with the most number of people affected by disasters, at 130 billion. The Philippines emergency response must be quick on the uptake.