In his first blog for Infologue.com, Kieran Mackie, MD at Amulet, discusses the recent reports detailing a rise in abuse towards retail workers, outlines different types of retail settings and explores how each setting presents a different challenge to security officers."I was struck by the alarming rise in violence and abuse faced by shop workers across the UK, as revealed in a recent report from the British Retail Consortium (BRC). According to the BRC survey, incidents of abuse soared to an average of 1,300 per day last year—a staggering 50% increase from 2022. The stories shared by ...

The Valencia fires expose critical gaps in high-rise safety protocols, demanding immediate reform.In the wake of news headlines covering the tragic fires in Valencia, where flames ravaged through high-rise buildings at devastating speed, the echoes of the Grenfell Tower tragedy resonate louder than ever. As rescue workers sift through the aftermath, it becomes painfully clear: this is Spain's Grenfell, a sombre reminder of the critical importance of stringent fire safety measures in protecting lives.Lauren Paver, Commercial Director at Triton Security, who works in fire safety and pr...

Predictive analysis and the future of AIG4S Academy Director Noah Price spoke at the World Institute of Nuclear Security (WINS) in Vienna today on AI. This is an abridged version of his presentation.Contrary to the popular narrative, Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been around for a long time in the security industry; it’s been embedded into our cameras since the 1980s. The first kind of video analytics was just a line on the screen and anything that crossed it would create an alert.In the 2000s we started to see object recognition, facial recognition and behaviour recognition...

Ashley Bancroft, a founding Partner of H&Hendricks LLP, discusses whether bigger really is better in the context of revenue and what red flags to watch out for if embarking on acquisitive growth.With the annual Infologue Top 100 Security Companies by Revenue due to be published this week, the question whether bigger does really mean better will again be a hot topic for debate. The annual rankings have again increased this year and so has competition across the security industry. The quickest way to gauge how well you’re performing versus your peers is to see where your company featur...

In his first editorial for Infologue.com, City Group Security CEO, Simon Giles, discusses the future of canines in managing violence and shop theft while exploring their role in crime deterrence with a focus on protecting retail workers. In recent years, retail premises have faced an alarming increase in violence and shop theft, which poses a significant threat to businesses and employees. As technology advances, innovative solutions are emerging, and one of the most promising methods in combating this issue is using highly trained canines, often known as K9s.These intelligent and we...

In his first editorial for Infologue.com, First Response Group (FRG) CEO, Simon Alderson, discuss the difficulties faced by security employers in recruiting and retaining talented staff. These difficulties include low pay, licensing requirements, unsociable work hours, lack of flexibility, overcapacity in certain areas, reduced local job seekers due to Brexit, high levels of workplace violence, and in many parts of the industry, limited career pathways. Compounding this is the demanding nature of the job, competition from other firms, and limited growth opportunities. Simon argues that addres...

Matthew Margetts, Director at Smarter Technologies discusses how cable theft can be prevented through the use of smart sensors. His background includes working for blue-chip companies such as AppNexus, AOL/ Verizon, and Microsoft in the UK, Far East and Australia.How smart sensors prevent thieves from going off the railsCable theft costs the UK taxpayer millions of pounds each year—and that’s just for infrastructure repairs. The total cost to the economy is even higher. Thieves are attracted to metal for its buoyant pricing, targeting overhead power lines, signalling cables, and ev...

Christian Hviid leads G4S’s close protection business in Denmark and with 14 years’ experience in close protection, security and an extensive policing background.A VIP CEO of a large Japanese technology company is travelling to a country on business and the best Close Protection Officer (CPO) is hired to keep him safe.The businessman’s movements are planned meticulously; The journey from the airport to the hotel; the hotel to a discreet upmarket restaurant for an important dinner meeting; back to the hotel; hotel to his morning meeting. Every site has been recced, every entrance ...

Noah Price, the Head of the G4S academy discusses the role of what he calls "the connected officer" in driving transformation within the modern security industry.For many years, too many people have associated security with disengaged officers, offering a limited set of skills and reluctantly performing and recording a minimum set of daily tasks.While customers may have been aware of these flaws, many have not prioritised security and, as a result, their security has continued in the same shape and design over lengthy periods, becoming outdated and ineffective.Common complaints h...

Ashley Bancroft, a founding Partner of H&Hendricks LLP, discusses how to value security businesses in this tumultuous business environment and what metrics you should be looking at.I’m sure you know the one about revenue being vanity, profit being sanity but cash always being king. But where does value fit into the equation? And when I talk about ‘value’ I mean the enterprise value of a company or the equity value of its shares.Despite the motto ‘cash is king’ being constantly bandied about, you would be surprised to learn that very few business leaders truly understand t...