New Security Challenges at Museums and Historic Sites: The Case of Spain

Abstract

Security at museums and heritage sites has been an issue that has traditionally been oriented towards the protection of buildings and their contents against theft, and the evacuation of people in the event of a fire. But nowadays, analysing the wide range of risks and threats that they may be affected by is becoming increasingly complex. While contemporary societies are continually changing in terms never seen before, the risks and threats are increasing and evolving faster. This article aims to analyse how other security-related areas can help to resolve these challenges, for example, the different perspectives prepared by the National Security Plans and Civil Protection Systems, making an analysis of Spain, as an example within the European Union, and how the COVID-19 crisis has made these shortcomings even more evident.