'Is 'chivalry' a danger to security?' blog discussion

roseygrech

If they work there then they must use their pass - simples!

Saetana

Whilst I am a firm believer in "chivalry" in that I like having doors opened for me (not being a rabid feminist) I do believe that in these type of cases it is an absolute no-no. Many examples have already been mentioned above of the possible consequences of letting someone follow you through the door/turnstile. I hold doors for people myself when I am going through them but would not do so a workplace where scanning was required unless I actually worked directly with them and was sure they had legitimate need for access. We can still hold/open doors for people in non-security protected buildings, don't let this stifle your natural (and very British!) tendency for good manners and/or chivalry!

RobotBlue

Yes it is! Use common sense when deciding whether or not to let your work colleagues into an area that you are entering/exiting. As everyone is aware of the rules, no-one has any reason to take offence if you either don't hold or close a door behind you. If, when you are approaching a door, you see someone waiting to pass through and you don't feel confident to challenge them, simply turn around and walk away. Don't be afraid to report these occurences to your security teams - they would much rather spend all day chasing red herrings than have unauthorised persons entering the protected areas - it's their job and their neck on the line.

Horace

I used to work in a medical dept at a university where security was strict - we had to swipe in and out of the building and yet out of courtesy we used to hold the door open for people until one day an undesirable was let in. This person wasn't a tramp and he was wearing usual student attire - jeans, sweatshirt and carrying a bag, he managed to find his way to the stairs and proceeded to wander into unlocked offices stealing - he even found his way to the men's toilet where he disposed of the wallet after removing the cash, the frequent flyers card and loads of credit cards. Later that day I received a phone call on reception asking to be put through to one of the drs - claiming to be from the bank so I put them through, thankfully the dr had twigged that he was being asked to reveal details of his own bank account and then checked his jacket and found that his wallet had gone. By this time, security had been called and we were all told about the thief who had the nerve to ring back and ask for the bank details and pin numbers of the credit cards, I kept putting this guy on hold explaining that the dr's line was busy but he must of gotten wind and didnt ring again but he did try using the card in one of the banks in the city centre.

We were under strict instructions after that to make sure that we didnt hold the door open for anyone - not even anyone approaching the door on the link between the dept and the main hospital site because thieves had got in that way too and had stolen various computers etc. The upshot of all these thefts was that all doors even those to the stairs were locked and we had to use our security cards to swipe through.

If you're a genuine person then you will understand why the door is closed and not held open for you to wander in at will.

marshallka

I don't really think its anything to do with chivalry by holding open a door. I am female and if I am coming through a door and "anyone" male or female is waiting to go in I often hold the door. If I knew that a certain door required "passes" then i certainly would not be offended by anyone closing the door who did not know me. I would thank them more for putting my security first TBH. We would soon be moaning if someone was let in who was a threat to security and questioning why it was allowed to happen.

manicgiggler

Hi

I appreciate your dilemma I have worked in security swipe card buildings and have lived in buildings with magnetic locks on the front entry system doors for over 7 years now.

This is a difficult one but unfortunately in this day and age this may be less about you appearing rude and more about the safety of other people including yourself within the building and also the issue that if it is you that has let someone into the building who then poses a serious security threat e.g. someone with a vendetta against a company in the building or an individual or a potential suicide bomber or attacker for any other reason unfortunately with the organisations I have experience with if you let them in you are responsible for their actions.

Having had this "Whatever happens it's your fault if you let them in" mantra embedded into my brain for so many years I do NOT let anyone in either tailgating behind me or barging through in front of me. This is not easy at times.

However, I would much rather be seen as rude and lose a few potential friends than see a building go up and end up with people trapped in a pile of rubble and worst case scenario risk people dying.

Apologies if this may seem over the top but that's the level of security I have to deal with and if this can save one life then I'm glad I made my first ever post. Thanks for reading and sorry it's so long.

mr-tom_2

I sometimes work in the stock exchange building. The security there is interesting.

Step 1, security guard to see your pass before you go through the front door. Then once inside, a further security guard with an explosives sniffer going over your clothes and bag before you finally get to reception and hope that you're on an approved visitors list. Even if you are, there's a wait whilst they get an escort and then you get to go through the swipe turnstile system...