The Standards Development team at Skills for Security is calling on industry practitioners to lend their knowledge and experience to the development and review of National Occupational Standards within their sectors. Starting in May, five Advisory Working Groups will be developing a new suite of NOS for Fire Protection Systems, reviewing the existing NOS for Air and Sea Port Security Operations, Cash Processing and Security Managers and developing a qualification structure for Locksmiths Ruth Oliver, Skills and Standards Manager said: “We are looking for people who work within these secto...

“If you had a serious heart problem – who would you see? A cardiologist or your family doctor?  If you had serious security concerns, I would strongly recommend seeing a security specialist rather than a service bundler. We believe in specialization, not diversification,” wrote Securitas AB President and CEO, Alf Göransson as he set out Securitas’ stall as a focused security specialist in a an ever increasing sea of bundled service providers, writes Infologue.com Editor, Bobby Logue. Passion and inspiration were in abundance in the statement of the CEO Alf Göranssonas he introduced ...

The UK’s newest hi-tech security hub, designed to protect some of the world’s largest companies, has opened today in Craigavon, Northern Ireland. MiTec is one of the most advanced security hubs in the UK and will help businesses protect their personnel and premises through a suite of services. These include 24 hour remote monitoring of sites and buildings, lone worker protection and real time vehicle tracking, all with close co-operation with the police and other emergency services. The centre, which has created 38 new jobs in Northern Ireland, has been built by MITIE, a FTSE 250 strate...

There is just over a week remaining to participate in this year’s Approved Contractor Scheme review. Responses from ACS companies, security suppliers and security buyers must be received by Thursday 21 April 2011. ACS Assistant Director Andrew Shephard said: “We have had a good response so far, but we can never have too much feedback. We are encouraging all ACS companies, security suppliers and security buyers to respond to the review. This will help us to build an accurate picture of the shape of the private security industry.” The questionnaires can be found here:  ACS su...

A new study exploring the partnership between counter-terrorism police and Muslim communities argues that police need to improve information sharing and transparency if they are to build trust and support. Researchers from the University of Birmingham’s Institute of Applied Social Studies stress the importance of establishing good relationships between the police and local community members and note that overt information-sharing is a good way of creating trust. The study suggests that officers should be open about the nature of their role as counter-terrorism officers and calls on police to...

The policing approach to preventing violent extremism has become more sophisticated and has not caused widespread damage or harm to relationships between Muslim communities and the police, says a new report commissioned by Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) Terrorism and Allied Matters (TAM) business area. In the most comprehensive study yet conducted, the research, carried out by Universities’ Police Science Institute at Cardiff University (UPSI), assesses the effects of policing in delivery of the Government’s current Prevent strategy, in the Muslim communities of Britain. The ...

G4S Secure Solutions (UK & Ireland), the UK’s leading secure solutions company, today announces the acquisition of The Cotswold Group (Cotswold), the UK’s market leader in surveillance, fraud analytics, intelligence and investigations services.  The acquisition will significantly strengthen the strategic development of G4S’s covert surveillance and investigations capability, allowing it to embed increased intelligence offerings into its service portfolio and introduce these offerings as part of its existing solutions based contracts. Adding to similar services offered in the US, Mi...

The SIA has launched a new page highlighting enforcement activities led or assisted by investigators from the Compliance and Investigation team. The 'Enforcement Operations' page contains details of locations where operations took place, the number of sites inspected, details of partners involved and the total number of offences found. Director of Compliance and Enforcement Dave Humphries said: "An integral part of the Compliance and Investigation team's remit is to work closely with police, local authorities, training providers, trade associations, industry representatives and other gov...

The Department for Business Innovation and Skills (BIS) has confirmed that Skills for Security is the sole designated Issuing Authority for English Apprenticeship frameworks for occupations in security. This currently encompasses the Security Systems and Providing Security Services frameworks, which have been issued today and are available to view on the Skills for Security website, but also includes responsibility for any future, additional frameworks that may be developed for security sector occupations. As the English Issuing Authority, Skills for Security is directly accountable to the ...

Public consultation on the future of police leadership and training was launched today by Nick Herbert. This follows the publication of a report into leadership and training by Peter Neyroud, former chief executive of the National Police Improvement Agency (NPIA). The policing minister said: 'In challenging times we need strong and focused leadership at every level in the police to ensure all the service makes the best use of all its resources. 'We also need high quality training to ensure the service has the skills needed to fight crime. The government is clear that the service should ha...