Part of the problem, in my opinion, is that the security industry is dominated by massive companies selling us stuff that may or may not work. There is little real research that informs us at whether a particular countermeasure works or not.  What I find particularly amusing are the so-called “white papers” that various companies offer up to the industry on a regular basis.

The origin of the term comes from Commonwealth countries which would issue authoritative papers on any number of topics. They were meant to be a document used to enunciate an official government policy. Details of the paper laid out the facts around a particular position to educate the reader in order to help solve a particular problem. 

Unfortunately the term ‘white paper’ in the commercial world generally is simply a marketing tool used to sell a particular product. Most commercial white papers start off with defining a problem then quickly state that the product the company has available will solve that problem. There is often absolutely nothing behind the claim.

I have conducted formal research into various security countermeasures over the years including the benefits or not of implementing crime prevention through environmental design changes, installing cross-stairwell barriers, conducting crime mapping in commercial high-rise buildings, false fire alarms and what caused them and investigating laptop theft prevention strategies. The information I found out always assisted in better decision making for our security team. We ended up saving money in some cases where it was deemed that particular measures were ineffective and therefore not worth implementing. We were also successful in reducing criminal and undesirable activities, and made the work site a safer place.

Several years ago, I was part of team conducting research into the decision making process of shoplifters of fast moving consumer goods. These goods included razor blades and other toiletries, batteries, over the counter drugs, etc. While the study made a number of observations, one of the more interesting was, ironically, the research that offenders put into determining the effectiveness of EAS systems.