A counter-terrorism emergency planning exercise in a Glasgow nightclub before the holiday (10 April) saw security operatives dealing with realistic terror scenarios presented by actors.The Security Industry Authority (SIA), which is the regulator for the private security industry, ran the safety resilience exercise at Kokomo on Glasgow's West Regent Street. The SIA organised the exercise, which is the first of its kind in Scotland, in partnership with Police Scotland counter-terrorism officers and Glasgow City Council.The training event at Kokomo confronted security staff with a s...

Connelly Security Systems (CSS) recently won the Scottish Family Business Award at the Herald Family Business Awards.Security and alarm providers CSS have been trading since 1986 and are long-standing principal BSIA members. The company started amongst brothers and is now run alongside Managing Director Paul Connelly’s three sons with “family values” in the foundations alongside integrity, honesty and trust.Fast forward over three decades and the company is now one of the largest security and fire alarm system providers in Scotland.John Macaskill, Director Security and Ex...

The 2022 ACS Pacesetters Security Officer of Distinction Awards will take place at the Riverside Pavilion, Royal Windsor Racecourse, on 25th May. ACS pacesetters have announced this year's sponsors.The annual ACS Pacesetters Security Officer of Distinction Awards reward and celebrate front-line security staff who have carried out exceptional actions whilst on duty.  It is a great opportunity for members of The ACS Pacesetters to recognise and nominate their front-line Officers who have gone ‘above and beyond’ for both their employer and the client.This year's sponsors are:...

Survey on influencing the security budget – deadline extendedPerpetuity Research is seeking the views of security professionals, in order to better understand the obstacles faced by security managers/directors and particularly the influences on the security budget. For example: How important is it for security managers to have control of the security budget? What has to happen to be able to achieve an appropriate budget? To what extent does the spend on security dictate how effective security is? What factors increase the likelihood of security managers influencing the security budget? A...

The Outstanding Security Performance Awards 2022 was held on February 24th 2022 to much fanfare at the Royal Lancaster London. The event was black-tie as usual with guests coming from all of the largest security and security adjacent businesses. Paul Sinha was welcomed back as the presenter for the event which seemed to be at capacity. The winnners of the 2022 OSPAs awards are listed below:Outstanding In-House Security Manager/Director – sponsored by Bidvest Noonan Laurence Perkins – University of Leicester Laurence, as Head of Security, has transformed the University security depar...

The Latest from Perpetuity Research:Historically security managers have been marginalised from key decision-making roles in organisations but there is evidence this may be changing as security professionals are increasingly able to demonstrate that security is a business enabler. Perpetuity Research is seeking the views of security professionals, in order to better understand the obstacles faced by security managers/directors. They would welcome your insights.You can share your views, anonymously, via their survey. It is open to any type of security professional/expert. The questions a...

The National Security Inspectorate (NSI), the UK’s premier Certification Body in the security and fire safety sectors, is once again an official Event Partner of The Security Event and NSI experts are preparing to share important standards updates with professional installers and integrators throughout the three days.Taking place on 5th-7th April 2022 at the NEC Birmingham, the event will bring together over 200 exhibitors, providing an ideal opportunity for the industry to connect and keep up to date with the very latest technologies, products, services and insights.NSI CEO Richard ...

This year’s UK Outstanding Security Performance Awards (OSPAs), attended by hundreds of representatives from the UK security sector, took place yesterday (24 February) and NSI approved companies were amongst the winners and finalists recognised for outstanding performance, with two approved companies winning five award categories.The UK OSPAs is part of a global awards scheme, now running in 15 countries, recognising and rewarding the outstanding performance of companies, individuals and innovation across the security sectors of participating countries.As the UK’s premier independe...

ECHO is has announced that it is now supporting almost 200,000 Intruder and Hold-Up Alarm systems on police response with URNs (Unique Reference Numbers).Launched last year, following extensive development, ECHO provides virtually instant alarm signalling to police control rooms from approved Alarm Receiving Centres (ARCs) who remotely monitor premises protected by Intruder and Hold-Up alarm systems. Transforming the speed with which police can respond to confirmed alarm signals by replacing the legacy of manual call handling, ECHO is automating police alarm response to homeowners, busines...

The fourth OSPAs Thought Leadership Summit, organised in association with NSI (National Security Inspectorate), takes place on Thursday, 24th February 2022 at the Royal Lancaster London and the full programme has now been released. The programme has an impressive line-up of speakers covering a wide range of hot topics relevant to the whole security industry including:What are the expectations of the security sector now? A police perspectiveIan Dyson QPM - Recently retired Commissioner, City of London PoliceGeoff Zeidler - Chair, Police and Security Group (PaS)There was...