Banknote Watch recently launched a new website – www.banknotewatch.org - to renew its commitment towards providing useful and accessible information about stolen banknotes to members of the public, businesses and the Police. The crime prevention initiative aims at preventing criminals from profiting from the proceeds of crime by raising awareness about the provenance of stained notes, and encouraging their withdrawal from circulation. It unites the manufacturers, installers and users of cash degradation systems with the Government and Police, and is supported by a number of industry bodies ...

G4S half yearly results announcement for the six months ended 30 June 2012 Developing markets and outsourcing trends continuing to drive underlying growth despite challenging economic environment. H1 2012 Underlying* H1 2011 Turnover £3,903m +5.8% £3,630m** Organic growth +6.8% +5.1% +4.5% PBITA*** £236m** £236m** Operating margin 6.0% 6.2% 6.5%** Adjusted EPS 9.8p** 9.8p** Recommended interim dividend per share 3.42p 3.42p Cash conversion 83% 60% * excluding Olympic and Paralympic Games contract **at cons...

Paul Housego, Labour Lawyer of Beers Solicitors writes about recent court decisions in regards to Tupe. Paul writes: "Tupe cases keep coming. The 2006 tupe regs brought in the concept of a "service provision change" (spc). There doesn't need to be an economic entity which transfers and retains its identity if there is a change of service provider. Security and facilities management are classic services to which this definition applies. It is an spc to outsource, insource or transfer a contract to another contractor. So far so good. But what if a building changes ownership, and th...

An NPIA pilot to speed up the time taken for police to examine computers and mobile phones used by criminals, has resulted in five forces achieving a 90 per cent increase in computer devices examined, helping officers bring more offenders to justice quicker. This examination process, known as eForensics (electronic forensics), often provides crucial evidence in serious investigations such as distributing indecent images of children via the internet, homicide and fraud. As computer crime has increased and techniques have become more sophisticated, the demand on technology experts in ...

Squatting is to become a criminal offence in the UK following a change in the law, which comes into force on 1st September 2012. While this move is welcomed by the British Security Industry Association (BSIA), there are fears that the law still doesn't go far enough to protect commercial and non-residential properties. David Frampton, Chairman of the BSIA's Physical Security Equipment (PSES) section, comments: "Under the revised Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act, squatting has been criminalised for residential buildings, giving the police greater power to protec...

The Claims Management Regulator (CMR) has launched a consultation which proposes, amongst other things, to end verbal contract arrangements between consumers and CMCs and enforcing a written contract before any fee can be taken. The Rules Review consultation is the next step in the CMR units push to crack down on bad practice by some CMCs. Three main amendments to the rules include: CMCs to only be allowed to agree contracts in writing with their clients, before any fees can be take. CMCs to be required to inform their clients of any suspension or variation to the business authori...

Three men have been sentenced to a total of 27 years in prison for committing robberies across England and Wales, including in Downend, South Gloucestershire that targeted security guards carrying cash. The group, who are from Merseyside and Cheshire, all pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy to rob at the first day of their trail on July 30th. An investigation into the organised crime group was launched following the robbery of a cash box by three men from a security guard visiting the Leominster branch of Morrison's supermarket on 21 June, 2010. Before this, on 10 June 2010, t...

More than 2,000 illegal migrants who had been living in London have returned home following a UK Border Agency campaign to tackle visa abuse. In May this year, Operation Mayapple was launched to crack down on students and other migrants staying in the UK longer than permitted. Roughly two thirds were persuaded to leave voluntarily, with one third being removed by force.  Tactics used are varied.  The e-Borders system means that UKBA can now check which people have left the country and this information, along with other intelligence, is then used to contact those who breach the term...

Scottish businesses are to be given an exclusive insight into the security challenges they face at a free-of-charge event taking place in Edinburgh this autumn. Entitled ‘Scotland: Secure for Business’, the event will inform local businesses about security trends, and will take place at Edinburgh’s Murrayfield Stadium on Tuesday, 23rd October. Organised by the British Security Industry Association (BSIA) and delivered with the support of Scottish Enterprise, the event is open to delegates from all business backgrounds in both public and private sectors, and the comprehensive conferenc...

As an increasing number of security industry so-called ‘box shifters’ go to the wall, Viseum UK controversially speaks out against the whole concept of CCTV security box shifting, saying “anyone’s CCTV security has never been a box shifting exercise so good riddance to it.” The Viseum boss points out that a technological sector is “no place for novices looking to make a quick buck by simply moving items from A to B and charging a mark-up, with no concept of quality or the needs of customers – this has gone on long enough and the industry’s reputation can only be enhanc...