Chris Cully, the Managing Director of risk & security management company, Dilitas has to agreed to exclusively produce a monthly column for Infologue.com. The column will review current security issues. Chris writes “To start the ball rolling, let us review the subsequent chaos at New Scotland Yard (NSY) and the riots. Recently, the Metropolitan Police (Met) has sustained more damage to its reputation and brand image than at any time since its formation in 1829. Whilst “Brand Image” has nothing to do with preventing crime & arresting criminals, it is of great importance...

When you have people who are off ill for a long time they can tend to drop off the radar writes Infologue.com Workplace contributor and labour lawyer of Beers Solicitors, Paul Housego. Once SSP runs out, there is nothing to pay and the months can slip by. A while back a problem came up with a case, which said that if someone was off a year because of long term sickness then they should get holiday pay for the year (Stringer and others -v- HMRC). Quite what the position is for absences of less than a year has not really been made clear. This has caused less of a problem than might have been th...

July saw the publication of our annual report and accounts, as promised in my last blog. I appreciate that these are rather formal, but they do show how we performed last year, how we spent licence fees and where we are on the proposals for changing the regulatory regime. During the month, a lot of my time has again been focussed on seeking the views of our various stakeholders on the future of regulation. At the end of June I attended the Security Institute Annual Conference which provided me with another opportunity to speak about our proposals and take questions. Our Minister, Lynne Feat...

The national winners of the British Security Industry Association (BSIA)'s Annual Security Personnel Awards were recognized yesterday at a ceremony attended by the who’s who of the security industry. The awards, which celebrate the excellent work, including exceptional acts and vital contributions that those working in the security industry make consistently across the country, were presented by Lynne Featherstone MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Equalities and Criminal Information. BSIA Chief Executive, James Kelly, commented after the ceremony: "Each of the winners has sho...

"The cash-in-transit couriers that are receiving these awards today have demonstrated outstanding bravery in their line of work. They have been faced with extremely violent and traumatic situations and their ability to remain calm and level-headed is testament to both their training and strength of character. I applaud them for their actions and for being prepared to perform this essential public service in such a proficient manner," said BSIA Chief Executive, James Kelly, when announcing the BSIA Special Awards for Outstanding Service. The Special Awards for Outstanding Service were present...

The Chief  Executive of the Security Industry Authority updates the industry on S.I.A. activities during March in his latest on-line blog. Bill writes; “Work on our plans for the future of regulation (our 'Blueprint for Change') continues in earnest and since the Minister's request in March, we have been working with the industry and other stakeholders to put together more detailed proposals. The discussions from these meetings have helped to shape our suggestions for the new regulatory regime paper in support of the Government's intention for the private security industry.&nb...

Last week Infologue.com undertook an exclusive behind the scenes tour of G4S Canine Security Services headquarters, training and kennel facilities near Luton, writes Infologue.com Editor, Bobby Logue. As a canine fanatic who has a jaundiced view of the canine security industry, I was pleasantly surprised. It was an open book visit; class rooms, training fields, kennels, interviews of the trainers and the tail wagging students. The first impressions were the flow of passion and professionalism in the organisation from top to bottom and that included the four pawed members of the team. The canin...

In his fifth exclusive article for Infologue.com the BSIA’s Director responsible for the Olympics, David Evans continues his Countdown to the Olympics exclusively on Infologue.com, David writes about the security planning surrounding the work of the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) – the building developers of the Games – and LOCOG – the organising committee who put the Games on. David writes; “In my first article for Infologue.com, I described how the security planning for the 2012 Games sat within the UK’s Counter Terrorist Strategy, CONTEST, and how industry was recognised as a...

The Chief  Executive of the Security Industry Authority updates the industry on S.I.A. activities during March in his latest on-line blog. Bill writes; “Like all public bodies at this time of year we have been pulling together our annual report for the year that ended on 31 March. Annual reports are laid before parliament so that MPs and peers can monitor public bodies. "There is no doubt that it was a demanding year for security companies, security personnel, and the SIA due to the economic downturn and political changes following the General Election. Our auditors are stil...

From 6th April 2011 people can no longer be forced to retire at 65, writes Infologue.com Workplace contributor and labour lawyer of Beers Solicitors, Paul Housego. People are living longer and the government needs people to work longer to save for their retirements to reduce the cost of state support for the elderly. This does not stop people who want to retire at 65 from doing so, but simply gives them the choice to work for longer, rather than being forced into financial disarray at a set age (though you might think 65 years was long enough to prepare). Up until now, a properly organised re...