Why guards should be armed

Gene Plews runs Guarding Security Ltd at Wigston, on the outskirts of Leicester. Despite his firm being one of the largest and most respected in the area — with over 200 guards on the books at any one time — Plews says that reputation is not enough.

The case, he believes, for guards to have some form of armed protection is now irrefutable, and without protection they are "putting their lives at risk".

In a recent incident, one of Plews' officers was rushed to hospital and needed 10 stitches in his head after being hit with a bottle as he was on patrol in the Abbey Lane area of Leicester. The incident was the latest in a number of attacks on Guardian Security guards — attacks, says Plews, which are happening at the rate of at least one a month.

He is now renewing his appeal for guards to be allowed to arm themselves with CS gas and batons. "We have had our officers threatened with Stanley knives, and punched and spat at," says Plews. "It is just not acceptable. It may be to some companies who just think its part of their job, but it's not. Security guards are not there to be assaulted without having any means of defence.

"If security officers are deemed responsible enough to man private prisons, escort prisoners, help with illegal immigrants and patrol MoD sites and courts, then why aren't they deemed responsible enough to carry CS gas and batons? These are front-line duties — exactly the same duties as carried out by police officers, but they have personal armed protection. Why shouldn't we?"

Plews is an ex-Army guardsman and prison service instructor, and he originally called for guards to be armed after one of his staff was beaten up when he was investigating reports of a stolen car.

Despite the fact that the Home Office are soon to introduce a draft Bill to establish an Authority to act as a licensing body and watchdog for private security firms, there are still no plans to allow guards to be armed.

His call follows hot-on-the-heels of a complaint about police response times following a £35,000 jewel robbery in Leicester's famous Golden Mile. The director of Ram Jewellers, Mr Mahur Visram — whose shop was robbed — is seeking a meeting with the city council to persuade them to provide cash to help employ security guards to patrol the area, because he is dissatisfied with policing.

Visram's claims are strongly refuted by Leicestershire Police, but his views prompted Plews to write an open letter in support, pointing out that such a scheme was already working well in Willenhall, Birmingham.