Corporate responsibilities: a shared vision on crime reduction

“So many people are talking ABOUT the extended police family, or the extended security family as some have dubbed it, but that family and how it might shape up means different things to different factions. To my mind there’s no clear vision at the moment. That is what we desperately need if we are going to progress matters.”

Andy Drane doesn’t mince his words when talking about this issue, and neither would you expect him to. After all, the Security Industry Authority’s (SIA) deputy chief executive spent 30 years in the police service (joining the ranks at the tender age of 19 and working mainly for Essex Police and, latterly, the Avon and Somerset Constabulary where he served as assistant chief constable tasked with looking after specialist operations before retiring in December 2002). At one point, he was also seconded to Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary. Put simply, he knows a thing or two about policing. Precisely why he has taken the lead on the extended police family as part of the SIA’s Executive Team.

That background has already been enormously helpful to Drane, who joined the regulator early on in 2003. The fact that he understands and continues to work with senior police colleagues is “vital”. Apparently, high-ranking officers whom Drane has quizzed on the subject of private security companies working in tandem with the police are quite open-minded about the proposals.

“There is a gulf of trust which must be overcome, though,” says Drane with genuine conviction. “It’s our job at the SIA to facilitate the closing of that gap. Then you can formulate a shared vision and make it work.”

The Authority’s primary goals

We want to involve the whole of the private security sector in the extended police family

Drane rattles off the SIA’s four core aims, which are always worth reiterating (particularly so given the topic of our present conversation at 50 Broadway).

“The first is all about increasing public trust and confidence in the private security industry by setting and maintaining standards of probity, and improving the professionalism and opportunities of all who work in the industry,” states Drane. “That's where licensing comes in. The second aim is concerned with encouraging businesses in the industry to improve their standards by creating a framework for developing, promoting and spreading Best Practice. That’s where the Approved Contractor Scheme makes an appearance” (and, when it does, Drane will assume overall responsibility for it in addition to his current remit).

“The third aim,” he continues, “is to create a security industry ‘Centre of Knowledge’ and expertise which enables and encourages effective industry development and investment. This is about the SIA being an expert organisation in its own right.

“The fourth aim centres on strengthening the extended police family by encouraging and supporting further engagement of the private security industry.”