Security guarding – a new form of policing?

Forthcoming cuts in police budgets suggest an increasingly important role for security guarding services but the industry is already playing a hugely important role, reports Amanda Beesley of the British Security Industry Association (BSIA).

Crime has increased out of all proportion to police numbers since at least the 1950s and the prospect of further policing cuts has as much to do with prioritising resources than with crime prevention as a whole. Simply stated, there are things that the police do best and things that are better suited to a well trained private security team. The protection of places like out-of-town shopping centres springs to mind as an example of an environment where the industry offers cost-effective security solutions.

The ability to mix the benefits of personnel and technology lies at the heart of the industry’s impact on crime reduction as a whole. Organisations that recognise the benefits of this dual approach frequently witness a transformational effect on their security. They find, often to their surprise, that the combined measures deliver more than the sum of their parts:

- Electronic systems such as CCTV surveillance, intruder and fire alarms, building management and integrated access control systems become more effective because an on-site security presence guarantees an immediate, appropriate and versatile response to emergencies and false alarms alike.

- Security personnel become more effective because the electronic systems extend their reach, enabling fewer people to protect a larger area.

- Perhaps even more importantly, there is considerable evidence that a permanent security team with good technology support - whether contracted or in-house - quickly develops a high level of local knowledge and a proprietary interest in the site that often leads to further, continuing improvements in systems and procedures.

In a purely practical sense, the reason for such improvements is easily explained. Whereas management at a particular site generally regard security technology as part of the infrastructure - something that is necessary but basically incidental to the company’s prime purpose - the security team sees it in precisely the opposite way. For them, security systems are tools of the trade and the better they work the easier and more effective the officers’ jobs become. Like any tools in daily use, their users quickly gain practical experience of how to make them work better. This knowledge becomes a valuable asset for facilities management, for example:

- CCTV surveillance systems can be installed, redesigned, expanded and maintained based on a specialised working knowledge of the site and the unique characteristics that every location possesses. There are countless instances of security officers delivering better functionality and value for money by working closely with technology providers to maximise the capabilities of monitoring and video communications systems. And in operational terms, the ability to detect and monitor not only crime but also on-site procedures in real-time can have highly beneficial outcomes both for the protection of assets and the maintenance of a good health and safety record.

- Similar considerations apply to access control technology, an area where officers quickly come to understand the relationship between the sometimes conflicting demands of security, effective circulation and the convenience of employees, which, if not managed, can generate serious risks in areas like the misuse of emergency exits. Once again, it is common for security staff to take ownership of this issue by adopting not only the operational control of access but also its related administrative functions, such as the production and distribution of access cards and continuing database management, including the allocation, monitoring and amendment of individual users’ access levels. Administrative tasks alone can remove a significant, continuing workload from HR staff in areas like photography and the physical production, recording and updating of identity cards.

- The day-to-day monitoring of intruder and fire alarms, cashless vending and building management systems creates a fund of practical know-how that not only guarantees an effective, rapid response but often improves technical performance by, for example, identifying common, recurring causes of faults or false activations and guiding the necessary remedial work. This level of familiarity obviously ensures better protection but it also cuts future maintenance costs, enables previously unrecognised risks to be identified and covered, minimises the cost and inconvenience of calling out either in-house or contracted engineering staff and, importantly, avoids the problems associated with false calls to the emergency services.

- Just as importantly, the ongoing supervision of a good security team tends to identify technology gaps, as well as maintaining and improving existing systems. There are many recorded instances of security officers playing a lead role in recommending and implementing a wide range of new systems and procedures, from physical protection and key control to new methods for reducing shrinkage and preventing stolen goods leaving the premises - again based on experience of what is really happening ‘on the ground.’

In many ways, an on-site security team is analogous to a small town’s police force. Team spirit is one aspect of this comparison and the BSIA receives frequent reports about its member companies that indicate a wide range of benefits arising specifically from the combination of staff and technology. Importantly, they indicate benefits that could not realistically be met with police resources. An example is the use of private security in two West Yorkshire tower b locks which house residents from a variety of different backgrounds, including asylum seekers, the homeless and ex-offenders. In this challenging environment, a team of security officers is deployed to provide 24/7 CCTV surveillance and security patrols as well as a concierge service, enabling officers to resolve problems and react to incidents brought to their attention by residents, something that would be unthinkable for a police force..

A key element of such real life examples from end-users is that security staff are not only employing security systems effectively but doing so in a way that exceeds their remit. Added value is a regular feature in reports of this kind. It appears to be driven by the high levels of team spirit and ‘ownership’ of the site’s interests arising from the close working relationships that develop between security and the site’s everyday users - the policing role mentioned earlier. In one sense, added value could be described simply as an inevitable element of a security team working conscientiously to discharge its responsibilities but it often goes far beyond that. The willingness of security officers to voluntarily put themselves forward for work that would normally by done by in-house employees is a recurring theme. Bearing in mind that security often assumes duties that other employees would otherwise have to be employed to carry out - reception staff for example - they are a highly cost-effective way of making the best use of technology and filling the gaps left by police budget cuts.

The British Security Industry Association (BSIA) is the professional trade association of the UK security industry. Its members produce over 70 per cent of the country's security products and services to strict quality standards. For further information, visit www.bsia.co.uk The BSIA operates a local rate help line on 0845 389 3889.