The recent incident at Las Vegas shows that a determined killer/terrorist can wreak havoc and kill dozens even in societies which are highly security aware and secured with the best tools that technology and money can provide. It makes one shiver at the prospect of such a dastardly attack and the mayhem it would cause were it to take place in this country. With our woefully inadequate and ill-equipped police forces, much higher crowd densities, lack of personal security awareness and total lack of sensitivity towards common safety protocols, we are indeed sitting ducks for such attacks.

During the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, our police forces were found totally helpless. It took days to eliminate the terrorists at a great loss of human lives both civilians as well armed forces. It was purely the valour of a few, even when they were ill-equipped, that could help us achieve this. It showed how ill prepared we were all around.

But have we learned anything from such incidents? An emphatic No.

Every-time I visit a popular mall, I am appalled at the skills, equipment and the mandate of the security personnel. I have frequently seen them skip scanning the car boot etc. when the owner protests. Even when they do carry out the visual scans they are done perfunctorily. Every time you notice that no effort is made to check or enquire about the contents of the boxes/packages/bags/suitcases etc. lying in the boot. It has always befuddled me as to how they arrive at a decision if a vehicle is safe to be let through. The assumption, it appears, is that the mere fact that someone agreed to allow them to inspect the boot proves that he is harmless. Most of us undergo and/or witness such security checks frequently. But how many of us have tried to do anything about it?

 Have we learned anything from such incidents?

I was in Nairobi when the terrorist attack took place on Westgate Mall in 2013. Some of my colleagues were trapped inside during the attack and luckily all were rescued unharmed, while the flushing out of the terrorists went on for several days. Countless lives were lost and businesses closed bringing in financial ruin too to many. The mall could re-open for business only after a few years. Not willing to live with the available security apparatus the Mall has now introduced top notch security equipment with state of the art scanners that the well trained and no-nonsense security personnel use to scan the incoming vehicles. Body scans have also been upgraded.

Would this help them prevent any future attacks? Most certainly. Would this rule out any future attacks? Probably No. But these steps will most definitely help reduce the chances of such attacks happening, drastically.

But everything cannot be simply left to the skills of the security personnel. The guile of a motivated attacker cannot be checked just by our good fortune. We need much more than that. Each one of must contribute to our own safety and the safety of the community we live in.

One comes across frequent announcements at airports and train stations which caution you against unattended articles lying around and advise you to inform the security personnel in case you do notice such an abandoned article. How many of you ever take notice? And how many of you ever report to security personnel if you did notice?

 Security is not just about a terrorist, a murderer, a molester. It is about safety against anything untoward.

It is said that charity begins at home. So, does sensitivity. In one of the residential societies I frequent, a major issue is enforcing the agreed security protocol. The residents are simply unwilling to co-operate on an issue which has a common objective. Their personal convenience out-weighs their concern for security. Most of the residents are in fact totally aloof to the issues of security in a large residential complex. Numerous incidents of robberies, molestations, murders in residential complexes by outsiders are reported daily. Invariably, these criminals could gain access to the premises because of the lack of security. And still we are not willing to learn anything from such incidents.

But security is not just about a terrorist, a murderer, a molester. It is about safety against anything untoward. However, most of us bury our heads in sand. We always feel that such incidents happen to others and that we have God-given immunity. All would be well advised to not to go to lengths that would put this immunity to test. It is already quite late in the day and we need to wake up to the need for each one contributing to enhancing the security awareness and security readiness of the community and the country we live in.