BSIA supremo welcomes debate on security officer working hours

David Dickinson, chief executive of the British Security Industry Association (BSIA), believes that "the time has come to have an honest and open debate with all the industry's stakeholders concerning hours of work in the manned security industry" – while stressing the need for "adequate time for the industry to adapt to any change" in legislation.

Speaking at a seminar on the Working Time Directive organised by contractor Regent Security Services, Dickinson said: "In the very worst case scenarios people are being exploited by unscrupulous employers. In the best, even BSIA member companies are finding that commercial pressures – not always from competitors – mean longer than average working weeks for a lot of their people."

Dickinson continued: "Some very good work has been done and is being done to address the issue of a 48-hour working week, but everyone must recognise that there are no short-term 'quick fixes'. We need the customers of private security companies to understand that, in today's world, we cannot afford to have tired security officers and managers on site because that lessens their effectiveness."

According to Dickinson, the Association is looking to Government to tell the security sector, in a timely fashion, exactly "what it intends to do" in its review of the Working Time Directive. "We will be supportive of anything that reduces hours to reasonable levels, but we must do this in a thoughtful, controlled and co-operative way," he said. "We cannot hope to change overnight what has traditionally been a long hours culture."

David Dickinson's views on the Working Time Directive are elicited further in this month's Letters to the Editor.

SMT has been informed that Operation Hawk-Eye – the joint police and security industry initiative launched in Manchester alongside Greater Manchester Police's (GMP) own Operation Hawk (street crime-based) scheme ('BSIA joins forces with GMP for launch of Operation Hawk-Eye', News, SMT, November 2002, page 6) – has actually helped to reduce Cash-in-Transit attacks by a massive 77% when compared to the same period in the previous year.

In essence, the scheme is primarily an evidence-gathering operation involving the deployment of various surveillance vehicles equipped with mobile CCTV to cover the routes and final destinations of selected Cash-in-Transit vans.

Speaking about the initiative's success, GMP's assistant chief constable Alan Green told SMT: "Operation Hawk-Eye clearly demonstrates what can be achieved when working together in partnership. GMP and the BSIA have channelled a variety of extra resources into this initiative, which has enabled us to make the streets of Manchester much safer."

In thanking GMP for its support and "proactive approach to a problem that not only affects businesses, but also the whole community," BSIA chief executive David Dickinson added: "Despite the constant efforts of the industry to produce deterrent measures, cash collection and delivery continues to be targeted by criminals because of the very nature of the service. Operation Hawk-Eye has proven to be the most effective deterrent to date."