With just 67 days until the start of the London 2012 Games, the British police service has worked together to resource what will be the largest ever pre-planned policing operation A total of 52 individual forces are contributing officers to keep the Games safe, while measures have been taken to ensure that core policing continues to be delivered. Overseen by AC Chris Allison, the National Olympic Security Coordinator, the Games require a 105-day long policing operation from 4 June until 16 September. On peak days, around 12,500 officers will police the Games nationally, with around 9,500 in ...

The University Centre Blackburn College, The Security Institute and Perpetuity Training are pleased to announce that successful completion of the Foundation Degree in Security Management offered by Blackburn College also allows the Security Institute’s Diploma in Security Management to be awarded. This is the first time the Diploma course content and learning outcomes have been mapped into a higher educational award. The key benefit to the student is not only the achievement of two qualifications for one fee, but that the Diploma carries an automatic grade of membership (Graduate for those ...

Department of Justice minister David Ford is seeking views on the future regulation of the private security industry in Northern Ireland. The consultation will be used to determine how the industry in Northern Ireland should be regulated in the future. The paper will consider three main areas: A review of the impact of SIA licensing since its introduction in December 2009 Options for future regulation of the private security industry in Northern Ireland Northern Ireland specific issues The closing date for responses is Friday 24 August 2012. The consultation paper is av...

The Training Providers Section of the British Security Industry Association (BSIA) officially launched its new Code of Ethics at IFSEC International yesterday, committing all section members to the highest standards of service delivery. The Code of Ethics, which each section member has pledged to uphold, outlines the section’s commitment to best practice in maintaining a high standard of customer service. Safeguarding the interests of consumers is a core aim of this pledge, and section members have agreed to promote their services, guarantees and warranties in a legal, decent, honest and f...

Members of the SIA’s Approved Contractor Scheme (ACS) are continuing to raise the bar, results published today have shown. Figures for the past year have shown that there has been an average improvement of 11 points across all approved contractors. The median for the top 50% of ACS companies has risen from 18 in 2008/9 to 45 in 2011/12 with the top 5% rising from 108 to 116 over the past year. This means the threshold score in order qualify for the 2012/13 Infologue .com ACS Star Performers list is 116 – (2011/12- 108) Every year all approved contractors, except for those on certain Pas...

MITIE, the FTSE 250 strategic outsourcing and energy services company, has secured a new three year contract with Bristol City Council to provide CCTV PSS monitoring operators. MITIE’s operatives, supplied by its total security management business, will monitor all public space areas in Bristol’s housing estates via the Council’s control room. The officers will work closely with the local police force to provide safer neighbourhoods for the residents. Following a competitive tender process, Bristol City Council selected MITIE based on its experience in the public sector and large...

Described as “A man in a Million" by the Mayor of Walsall when presenting the Rt. Hon. Bruce George in 2011 with the silver casket and scroll marking his being granted the Honorary Freedom of the City of Walsall in recognition of serving 36 years at its Member of Parliament, the International Professional Security Association expresses similar sentiments and is pleased to announce that Bruce George has been appointed Honorary President of the Association.  Bruce George is well known in the Private Security Industry having campaigned for over 30 years for the regulation of the manned servi...

Security Institute Chairman Mike Bluestone CSyP reported an excellent year of progress for the organisation at its Annual General Meeting, hosted by Allen & Overy in London on 3rd May 2012. With Security Institute Vice-President and Founding Chairman Geoff Whitfield in attendance, along with directors and members of the organisation, Mike delivered his report which included details of several successes in the last twelve months, largely due to the introduction of portfolios of responsibilities for the Board of Directors. As a consequence, excellent progress has been made, including the lau...

A small team of UK football policing officers will head to Euro 2012 as part of an international policing contingent to assist authorities in Poland and the Ukraine who are hosting the tournament The UK team of 24 will be lead by the ACPO lead on football Assistant Chief Constable Andy Holt and will be made up of officers from 11 forces along with experts from the UK Football Policing Unit. Authorities in the Ukraine and Poland will fund the contingent, which are being sent to support the local police operations to ensure a safe and trouble-free tournament. The team wil...

With only three weeks left to the British Security Industry Association’s (BSIA) Information Destruction (ID) conference and exhibition on the 30th of May at the National Motorcycle Museum in Birmingham, the BSIA is reminding companies operating in the Information Destruction sector of the importance of keeping one step ahead of the issues affecting their business. Anthony Pearlgood, Chairman of the BSIA’s Information Destruction section, comments: “Changes to the EU Directive on Data Protection as well as a tougher stance by the Information Commissioner’s Office on data breaches by o...