Since then, the first training course has been run, feedback from the attending officers has been – in the words of Geoff Deane – "beyond all expectations" and Guardsafe is now being looked upon by ACPO and other bodies as the potential blueprint by which the Security Industry Authority might implement the terms and conditions of the Private Security Industry Act 2001.
To refresh readers' memories, Trafford Guardsafe is a voluntary registration and licensing scheme for all security officers working in the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford. No less than 2,500 officers are employed on the Trafford Park Estate alone by 100-plus contractors (including Reliance, Securicor, Initial and, of course, Noble themselves). The scheme entails all applicant officers being vetted and attending a SITO-approved training course provided by Noble, on top of half-a-day's bespoke training courtesy of Greater Manchester Police.
On completion of the course, which takes Basic Job Training a stage further, applicants are then registered with the local authority (Trafford Metropolitan Borough Council) and issued with an identification badge and certificate to say that they've met the learning and training standards required.
Success all round
The first three-day training course has just taken place at the St Anthony's Centre in the Trafford Park Village and, according to chief superintendent Alan Hutching of Greater Manchester Police, was nothing other than "an historic occasion". Also in attendance were Trafford Park area officer PC Nigel Brown, PC Paul Berry and Chris Pinder, membership liaison manager at the British Security Industry Association.
In all, 20 security officers, supervisors and managers took part, representing Noble, Reliance, Tenmat and GrayWolf Security, as well as the Red Coats (the Trafford Centre's in-house security guards).
Speaking exclusively to SMT, the attending security officers were fulsome in their praise of the course, and what the Guardsafe initiative is trying to achieve. "The course was first class," said Robert Patterson, one of Noble's serving officers. "The police instruction on crime reduction, evidence gathering and powers of arrest delivered by PCs Nigel Brown and Paul Berry was very helpful. It strikes me that this course is a positive step forward in ridding this industry of the stigma that has plagued it for far too long."
Qasim Khan – a mobile security supervisor at Reliance Security – found the course stimulating. "The course has given me a good deal more awareness of what's expected of mobile officers operating on Trafford Park," said Khan.
"It was also useful to learn about Greater Manchester Police, and how they do things in the local community. We can learn from them, and they can learn from us."
Khan's sentiments are endorsed by Noble's George Mensah. "The police will now be prepared to impart information to these trained security operatives. They feel they're now a part of the wider police family." Music to Home Secretary Mr Blunkett's ears.
Commenting on the course, Khan's compatriot at Reliance – Andrew Walker – added: "The training course is going to be a real bonus for all the security companies operating on the Trafford Park Estate. I feel proud to have gained my certificate and licence to operate, and I know that I'll go back to the job with renewed enthusiasm."
Meantime Colin Strachan, a security manager at Reliance, commented: "Guardsafe, and in particular the training course, represents an excellent opportunity for contractors operating in the Borough to buy-in and operate to standards that are recognised by end users and the police service. More importantly, it's a way of guaranteeing that officers working in the Borough are trained and operating to the highest standards."
Gaining client interest
Encouragingly, a good many clients operating on the Trafford Park Estate – home to 1,600 companies including Workman Partners, Premier Paper, Costco and Cellstar – have recognised that Guardsafe has been approved by the British Security Industry Association and SITO, and are coming round to the idea of paying that little bit extra for quality security provision.
Substantial penalties ought to be applied to businesses that shy away from their responsibilities, and rely totally on insurance companies and the police service to bail them out when things go horribly wrong
George Mensah, partner, Noble Security Services
"Trafford Park Printers and CereStar are saying to us that if they are supplied with Guardsafe-licensed officers they'll definitely 'up the ante' when it comes to pay rates," added Geoff Deane.
Taking a wider view of the world, Deane's cohort George Mensah is determined to do his best to help the private security industry rid itself of its major problems.
"This industry is totally upside down," opined Mensah. "The most important people working within its boundaries are the officers. The least important are the security company directors. Unfortunately, 95% of the latter look on security as a business. What they should be doing is serving the needs of clients and the public at large. Instead, they're dominated by money and making a profit."
Geoff Deane added: "Really and truthfully, if the Big Boys in the contracting field were doing things the right way there'd be no room in this industry for companies like Noble Security Services."
The next Guardsafe course is scheduled for June.
Making claims on insurers
Not content to rest on their laurels, the boys from Noble have also been busying themselves in devising Project Peel – a scheme aimed at making the insurance community the true driver when it comes to raising standards in the private security industry.
"As things stand, being involved with the British Safety Council, the International Professional Security Association, the British Security Industry Association, the Joint Security Industry Council, the Security Watchdog, SITO and having our Investors in People accreditation offers us little or no competitive advantage in the marketplace," stressed George Mensah. "Similarly, the insurance community places no greater faith in quality companies."
It is very much Mensah and Geoff Deane's belief that, in the absence of any "positive differential", the insurance industry rates no-quality companies as highly as the quality companies in the private sector. "The insurers do not insist that clients use the better guarding contractors," insisted Mensah, "and don't offer reduced premiums when qualified companies are employed on site."
Mensah and Deane are adamant that substantial discounts should be guaranteed to those businesses adhering to a strict and detailed insurance regime, and that adopt their own self-protection methods.
"In the same light," added Mensah, "substantial penalties ought to be applied to businesses that shy away from their responsibilities, and rely totally on insurance companies and the police service to bail them out."
The message from Noble, then, would appear to be crystal clear: second-rate security equals substantial insurance claims.
Mensah and Deane's proposition is simplicity itself. In an ideal world, the insurers would apply and enforce a Self-Preservation Programme (SPP) for any given business. Once in place, that would reduce the risk and the customer would obtain an insurance premium discount as a result. Ultimately, the SPP will decrease, minimise or eradicate crime-related losses. That will lead to less insurance claims by the client, which in turn saves the insurer money. The police are able to resume their core duties, and crime will then begin to fall in the wider sphere.
Source
SMT
Postscript
End users, contractors, local authorities and police forces who would like to learn more about either the Guardsafe initiative or Project Peel should contact George Mensah or Geoff Deane at Noble Security Services (tel: 0151-257 9995, fax: 0151-257 9996).
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