RISK MANAGEMENT IN ORGANIZATIONS

Risk Management in Justice and Security Organizations



Risk Management in justice and security organizations

Introduction

Risk management is the study and practice of how people deal with threats to humans and what they value. Communication is inherent in risk management, discussions of whether something is a threat, reports on how large a threat scientists or activists think it to be, or decision making on what, if anything, to do about it; communication is not restricted to messages between authorities (for example, government, business, scientists) and “the public,” although that is a common assumption among many professionals. Effective risk communication requires understanding other aspects of risk analysis, just as other aspects of risk analysis require understanding of communication to be effective.

Threats covered by risk management are usually physical (for example, an invasive species, terrorism, or injury, illness, death, property damage, or ecological disruption due to natural disasters or chemical or microorganisms in the air, drinking water, or food). Physical threats were the focus of early risk analysis and still get most of its attention. But nonphysical effects (for example, disruption of social networks, loss of social status or power, and moral outrage) may be included in risk analysis as well. For example, much early work on probability from the 17th century was devoted to gambling and investment, or financial risk analysis. Social scientists argue that nonphysical effects can be as important as, or more important than, physical effects in arousing concern and preventive action. Risk management thus covers natural, technological, and social hazards. (Culp, 2001)

Vulnerability and threat identification

Theft identification concerns the processes and outcomes by which people decide whether an event, activity, or technology might present a threat. This can be nearly automatic in very limited cases: For example, someone will flinch as the angle of a shadow suddenly changes at the edge of one's vision, possibly indicating an attacker or other object moving toward one at speed. Other cases involve very subtle and systematic methods, as when a scientist might determine a chemical has the same structure as other chemicals already found to be potent promoters of cancer, implying that it also could be a cancer promoter. Observed correlations between two kinds of events are one common means of hazard identification. Historically, fevers in people living near wetlands led doctors to presume “bad air” (hence the origin of the word “malaria”) emitted from swamps caused disease. In the ...