An inherent ability to adapt to change has always been prevalent in the security industry. That ability will now be tested to the full, as Security Industry Authority licensing, the Police Reform Act, the Working Time Directive and a host of other legislative measures begin to shape a new future. As Stefan Hay suggests, if security managers and their clients are willing to embrace change then the future will be a very bright one for all concerned.
In today's rapidly evolving business environment, change must be considered the natural order of things, and managers in the security industry will often find that their most important management skill is the management of such change. This arises from the fact that the skilful part of a manager's job is setting up robust initial methods of working, and then renewing and reviewing those methods time and time again.

However, given the current evolutionary changes the industry now faces, there'll be fear spreading among many security managers. Indeed, for some that fear has begun to dominate their work.

That said, if we look back at this industry's history we can see that an innate ability to adapt to change and a common, shared past with the police are arguably the reasons for its continued success.

Security: a brief history
In Britain, there's little or no indication of any organised labour in relation to security or policing until perhaps the introduction of the 'King's Peace' under King Albert in late 800 AD, and the system known as the 'Folks Moot' devised during King Alfred's time as monarch.

The first statutory mention of the word 'constable' is in 1252. The derivation of the term is generally regarded as being 'comes stabuli', meaning 'master of the horse'. In England at this time, every male – unless excused by a certain social position – was eligible for such constable duties.

The next important milestone for law enforcement was the Statute of Winchester in 1285, which remained the only legislation in relation to policing for almost 600 years. Night Watchmen, Parish Wardens, Church Wardens, Parish Constables and Guards of the Highway were commonplace until the 1850s.

With the Napoleonic Wars and the resulting return of many displaced veterans came a time of great social unrest, and thus reform of the policing system was necessary. In 1754, it came by way of the chief magistrate for London...

Policing in the past
Henry Fielding was a well-respected and fair magistrate. Initially, he recruited and trained six privately-funded constables who arrested so many criminals and became so feared that they were a fixture on London's streets. Based at the Bow Street Magistrates Court, they became known as the 'Bow Street Runners'.

Then, in 1822, Sir Robert Peel became Home Secretary. Peel was appalled by the disparate and often eclectic mix of policing and security patrolling systems, and subsequently began a process of reform. In 1829, he eventually carried his Metropolitan Police Improvement Bill through both Houses of Parliament, and it became law on 19 July that year.

Come September, the first thousand of Peel's new officers hit the streets of London and he thus cemented his place in history as the founder of the modern Police Force.

Less than 30 years later the private security industry began to flourish. In the USA, the late 1850s saw Alan Pinkerton found the Pinkerton Detective Agency. In 1874, American District Telegraph (ADT) was formed to provide alarm detection services, while Brink's carried its first cash consignments during 1891.

The industry is likely to metamorphose, becoming more streamlined with companies offering fewer, better trained, greater skilled and higher paid operatives capable of using the latest technological solutions to meet their customers’ needs

In 1909, William Burns founded his detection agency, Wackenhut was founded by a group of former FBI agents during the 1940s and other well-known names such as The Corps (of Commissionaires), Chubb and Sorensen began to emerge in Europe.

These companies, and hundreds of others, have survived two World Wars, many other major conflicts and several recessions. They've also seen off over 100 years of political, economic, social and technological changes. With that in mind, the current state of affairs could be considered a minor challenge for managers working in today's security industry.

Change management: the future
One of the biggest problems for today's security manager is the speed at which change is taking place. Changes in technology, working practices, legislation, the competitive environment and so on now take place with alarming frequency, to the extent that many managers simply feel unable to cope.

If managers can be encouraged to direct their energies away from such feelings of powerlessness so that they're looking ahead to the endless opportunities presented by the future, they'll recognise that there's a great deal of weakness in the industry's current methods of operation… and much scope for success under a New Order.

That encouragement will need to be offered in a variety of ways. Re-training and qualifications, improved resources and assistance in imparting fundamental messages to the workforce – such as the benefits of licensing – will all be of great assistance, and can often serve as huge motivators.

Additionally, companies must start to introduce succession planning and identify the next generation of change managers.

So what changes can we reasonably expect? In less than five years, approximately 200,000 people in our industry will be licensed. Our customers, and the wider community, will be reassured that these individuals possess a clean criminal record, are indeed who they say they are and have been trained to a mandatory level of competence.

Security companies will be given the chance to join the Approved Contractors Scheme and demonstrate business excellence to clients.

Investing in a secure society
Those clients – the buyers – will need to recognise that they'll also have to invest more funding into what will become true allies in creating a secure society, and in doing so return to their common roots.