David Foster discusses the five function of security (Deter, detect, assess, delay, and respond) and the technical aspects of ensuring the security of a nuclear facility.

David Foster is a Physical Protection Technical Specialist for Utility Security (Raytheon Canada Limited).

Global Partnership Program

Information on DFAIT's Canadian International Policy eDiscussions:

View current eDiscussion

View Video Interview Library

Video Interview

Note: The opinions presented are not necessarily those of the Government of Canada.

Deter, Detect, Assess, Delay and Respond 3:33 Windows Media | QuickTime

(Video players are available here: QuickTime Windows Media)

Transcript:

Deter, Detect, Assess, Delay and Respond

My name is Dave Foster and I am a Canadian contractor working on this project for Raytheon, which is helping out with Foreign Affairs on this particular project. I’ve been working in the nuclear security industry for about 26, 27 years. The last six or seven years I’ve been working on international projects, with regard to the various strategies within security such as design basis threat, all within the international community, the International Atomic Energy Agency, and workshops that we’ve been putting together for the international community. I think that the work we are doing here is one of the highlights I have been involved with so far. It certainly brings to mind all the various functions of security that I have been working on for a number of years.

My role here is as a technical specialist with regard to physical protection. What I do is try to help make sure the facility comes up to international standards and practices, including such things as the five functions of security: deter, detect, assess, delay and respond. Deter means that we show that we have a well-formed and well-put-together security plan at the facility, so that we send a message that this is a hard target; it is not worth coming here. Then we go into detection: we want to make sure that any intruder who is in the area is detected. Moving on from there, we look at assessment: we assess how many and what kinds of weapons they are bringing, so we can present an appropriate response force. The most misunderstood one is the delay function, which is the fourth one. Delay means that after detection, we have sufficient delays in place that we have time to get the adequate response there to ensure that we mitigate or prevent any sabotage or theft, or whatever they may do.

We also look at different strategies with regard to defence and depth. That is why we have numerous delay barriers, and so on, in place. You make it a little more difficult each time that they have to go through another ring to get through to that particular target, so you put as many barriers between the outside and the actual target. And all those areas would be balanced security, so there are no weak points. And that is what we try to establish: that there are no weak points in the physical protection plan.

Today we are looking at some of the equipment that has been purchased, to make sure that the equipment that has come in is the equipment we expect to be here. We are also going to be looking at the new implementing arrangements, looking at some of the designs to see whether they make sense, whether they meet the strategy that we had talked about in regard to the deter, detect, delay, assess and respond kind of functions. So that is how we look at these designs each time. Are we putting the right things in place? Do we have appropriate and adequate physical protection?