A recent survey by the British Security Industry Association (BSIA) has revealed that 98% of members who provide the BSIA with feedback feel that it is taken on board and responded to accordingly. The survey, conducted in the first quarter of this year, provided all BSIA members from across the 18 sections of membership with an opportunity to have their say on the Association’s overall performance, achievement of key objectives and the benefits of membership, and has revealed an interesting insight into member perceptions, which the BSIA will now use to inform its future strategy for 20...

Europol releases the second of its cybercrime prevention bulletins, this time on geosocial networking. In recent years we have all become increasingly reliant on Internet technology that uses our offline location: to find directions, check the weather, search for restaurants, shops and attractions in a particular place, and a whole host of other activities. Services which combine your offline location with social networking (“geosocial networking”) have also become very popular, because they enable users to connect with friends, family and other contacts that happen to be in ...

The British Security Industry Association (BSIA) has launched a dedicated webpage to provide businesses with key safety and security updates fed in directly by the Metropolitan Police during and after the Olympic and Paralympic Games. The webpage was created as part of the Cross-sector Safety and Security Communications project (CSSC), an information-sharing initiative developed by the Metropolitan Police, Home Office and London First, and endorsed by UK organisations and businesses across 23 sectors, including security, transport, hospitality and retail. David Evans, Project Directo...

The facts about communications data. What is it? Communications data includes the time and duration of a communication, the number or email address which has been contacted and sometimes the location of the originator of the communication. What is it not? Communications data does not include the content of any communication – the text of an email or a conversation on a telephone. It is information about a communication – not the communication itself. Why is it important? Communications data has played a role in every major Security Service counter-terrorism operation over the pas...

With the average data breach costing UK firms around £1.9m annually1, and the new European data privacy framework asking for greater commitment from businesses on the way they handle data security, the BSIA’s Information Destruction section is urging end users to understand how compliance with relevant industry standards can actively guarantee an improved level of protection against data breaches. “With the wide range of products and services available within the Information Destruction industry, establishing whether a security provider complies to the relevant National and European ...

The continued partnership between government, the security industry and its customers has led to a 39% decrease in the number of attacks on cash-in-transit couriers in the past year, the latest British Security Industry Association statistics have revealed. Statistics published this month by the BSIA’s cash-in-transit intelligence service, SaferCash, show a marked downturn in the number of attacks, from 751 in 2010 to 460 in 2011. However, with criminals' modus operandi constantly evolving, the industry, Government and Police must continue to work together to remain one step ahead of th...

Sir Denis O'Connor will retire as HM Chief Inspector of Constabulary this July. He will leave after more than three years in the role at the inspectorate, which is in charge of monitoring national policing effectiveness and efficiency. Sir Denis spent five years as an Inspector of Constabulary before being promoted to Chief Inspector in 2009. Home Secretary Theresa May said: 'I would like to thank Sir Denis O’Connor for his dedication and commitment to HMIC, both as inspector and chief inspector, during the past eight years. 'His expertise and knowledge have been invaluable in enabl...

Policing across borders was the theme of today’s visit to Europol made by Bernard Hogan-Howe, the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police in London. Accompanied by Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley, Mr Hogan-Howe met with Rob Wainwright, the Director of Europol, and his senior staff, to discuss ways in which the challenge of policing London’s increasingly global community could be better supported by Europol. Following a tour of Europol’s state-of-the-art new headquarters, including Europol’s operational control centre, which is responsible for coordinating the exchange of cri...

The return of British Summer Time on Sunday 25th March marked the end of long nights and the arrival of brighter days. Although spring can seem like a season to be light-hearted, failing to take into consideration the changing requirements of your security systems in longer hours of daylight could make your premises more vulnerable to theft and vandalism. James Kelly, Chief Executive of the BSIA, explains how: “Although winter has historically been a more productive time of the year for opportunistic criminals, a complacent approach to security during the lighter months can also co...

Youngsters in the capital are being given the power to pass on information about crime in the palm of their hand with the launch of a new mobile website. The Fearless website www.fearless.org, the youth brand for independent charity Crimestoppers, can be accessed via mobile phones and gives those who have details about gun and knife crime an opportunity to give information without anyone finding out who they are. The site allows users to access an anonymous secure online form which has been optimised for mobile devices. With approximately 4,500 gang members being responsible for 22 per cent ...