We have several people, including the president of the bank, who are entering the bank in the morning through a back door. The door is locked and requires a key to open it. Once inside, you can take the stairs that lead to the second floor departments or unlock another door which leads directly behind the teller line. The same key will open it. I need some really really good reasons why people should not be entering through this door. I know it is not a good idea but I need to convince the president of the bank.

A number of years ago, I worked at another bank where all employees entered a particular branch through the back door. This door was not visible from the street in front of the building. This was a small branch facility with a limited staff on Saturday. One Saturday morning, two individuals hid in the bushes near the back door of the facility and then accompanied the first two arriving employees into the building at gunpoint. (Yes, opening procedures also were lacking. Although one employee could not enter alone, there was no "all clear" signal, etc.) Luckily no one was injured, but a sizable amount of money was taken and the robbers were never caught. After that, better opening and closing procedures were established, including the requirement that all employees must enter the building through the front door which is visible to passing street traffic.

Regardless of which door the employees use, any shrubbery, etc. that can provide cover for an intruder should be reomved from the area of entry. It's also a good practice to drive around the building (if possible) before parking to scan for any suspicious persons or vehicles.

Once the teller line is staffed, no one should be entering the teller area from that back entrance -- not even the boss! Having the two doors keyed alike is a serious breach of security. What if someone with a key is ambushed on the way in and forced to open the access door to the tellers? Could be messy. At a minimum, I'd have the teller door rekeyed.

Our situation is a little different. Our whole buidling is protected with motion detectors, so the first person in disables the alarm system. Anyone have a suggestion on how to improve on this?

Folks:

Several issues surfaced in this thread -- and the use of opening procedures is still one of the most hotly-debated topics on BOL. Although these suggestions have appeared in answer to several forum questions, they're worth repeating:

1. Entering a banking facility through the "back door" -- particularly one that isn't visible from the street -- is a non-industry-standard security practice;
2. The door through which employees enter the facility should always be under video surveillance;
3. Using two (2) employees to open -- and close -- a facility is the "best" security practice;
4. The two (2) opening employees should agree upon a second signal that's used in addition to the first one;
5. Metal keys leave no audit trail and they should be replaced with an electronic access device;
6. Closing procedures should be the reverse of opening procedures; and
7. As a primary "selling point" to these suggestions, employees who violate approved opening and closing procedures may be held personally liable for the results.

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Dana Turner
Security Education Systems
danaturner@bankersonline.com
830-535-6500
Opinions expressed are always those of my employer.