Security Radar 2024

1. Strategy

The security industry of tomorrow will be more collaborative, professional and technology-led.

Jason Towse Managing Director, Business Services

Rising crime, coupled with a strain on public resources, is leaving communities in danger and organisations at risk of economic harm, or even collapse. Private security fills that void, safeguarding the public and protecting the future of organisations.

But, to ensure perpetrators face adequate retribution, we must bridge the gap between public- and private-sector security. Otherwise, despite private security personnel having the skills and capacity to plug the gap in public resources, they’ll lack the authority to make any real impact.

And there’s so much more the private security sector can do to aid police – with smaller crimes and tasks like crowd management. This would give the police increased capacity to deal with major incidents and carry out specialist work only they are trained to do. But maximising resources necessitates private security professionals being given more responsibility and authority.

“Maximising resources necessitates private security professionals to be given more responsibility and authority.”

Through Mitie’s strong networks in key sectors, including retail and transport, we have brought together customers and organisations to create advisory groups. The aim of which is to drive the strategic agenda for protecting people and assets, lobby the government to instigate change, and create a collaborative environment across the sector to share best practice. A good example of public and private sector collaboration is Project Pegasus which Mitie played a key role in. In conjunction with the police, Home Office and UK retailers, private security personnel are now able to share intelligence, evidence and data to enhance the response to retail crime and reduce violence against shop workers.

With the increasingly prominent role private security plays in protecting public spaces and creating safer communities, professionalising the industry is essential by introducing accreditation and career frameworks. Over time, this will also ease the skills shortage and lead to a more robust and skilled workforce by promoting training, knowledge-sharing, professional development, and attracting and retaining talent. To this end​​ Mitie has been integral in launching the Security Skills Board, providing thorough training that goes above and beyond standard regulatory requirements in areas such as conflict resolution and customer service.

3. Violence against women and girls

Organisations need a proactive approach to ensure safety for women and girls.

Lucy D’Orsi Chief Constable, British Transport Police

There is a long history of underreporting of violence and sexual harassment against women and girls. But, thanks to increasing public awareness and growing confidence, more incidents are being reported and more crimes solved.

There are many reasons why reporting has increased, including the introduction of new police contact tools – like our 61016 text number and Railway Guardian app – as well as awareness raising campaigns around what constitutes unwanted sexual behaviour. BTP has also worked with the rail industry to encourage ‘active bystanders’ to not only step in and intervene where they feel safe to do so, but also to report on behalf of others.

When it comes to solving crime: evidence is improving through the use of CCTV and particularly the use of body worn video; we’re investing more resources in investigators and specialist training; and make use of our sexual offence liaison officers to support victims. We’ve also introduced the Consider Course to help some perpetrators to better understand the impact of their behaviour.

“With the introduction of the Worker Protection Act, the onus is on [organisations] to take reasonable steps to protect their colleagues from harassment.”

Ultimately, there’s a long way to go before we’ll see a societal shift in these issues – but we are already seeing some green shoots of progress. I have been particularly encouraged by the recent rise in reporting we have seen – as although it shows the scale of the problem, it does indicate that women and girls have a growing confidence to speak out when they are victims of, or witnesses to, violence, intimidation or sexual harassment on the rail network. There is so much more to be done, whether through the integration of AI (making security more data-driven and lessening its reliance on people); or granting the appropriate powers to private security firms and rail staff.

Organisations need to think differently about their workplace strategies for the safety of women and girls. With the introduction of the Worker Protection Act later in 2024, the onus is on the employer to take reasonable steps to protect their colleagues from harassment. Third-party reporting of sexual violence and sexual harassment is crucial – victims may find it easier to confide in their employer in the first instance, before reporting to the police.

There’s a lot private organisations can do:

• Run mandatory induction training to educate colleagues about violence against women and girls
• Well trained staff with knowledge of how to protect both colleagues and the public and how to report both internal and external matters where there are concerns
• Make sure you have an easily accessible, confidential reporting system to better protect workers from all types of violence and harassment, while knowing their concerns will be taken seriously and investigated without prejudice. BTP launched its ‘Speak Up’ campaign internally, to encourage colleagues to report in confidence, and this continues to go from strength to strength, with a 63% increase in reporting last year
• Seek White Ribbon accreditation to encourage men in your organisation to behave as allies against harassment
• Encourage all colleagues to download the Railway Guardian app and promote reporting via 61016 (always dial 999 in an emergency)
• Actively maintain and monitor CCTV within your premises and ensure it is of adequate quality that offenders can be identified once reports are made

For me, the most important thing that you can do is to make your teams aware of their role in defeating violence against women and girls on the rail network and direct them to resources like text 61016 and our Railway Guardian app. These enable discrete or anonymous reporting of crimes or concerns on the rail network.

Both have seen rapid uptake, with a 28% increase of 61016 text reports in 2023/24 compared to 2022/23 and Railway Guardian downloads now at 162,718 compared to 121,437 at the end of 2023. This helps us solve crimes and build our intelligence picture. We’ve also invested in ‘Zero tolerance for sexual harassment’ and ‘Speak up to interrupt’ campaigns to encourage passengers to be active bystanders in the fight against crime.

5. Retail crime

Taking affirmative and collaborative action based on data and intelligence will be an organisations strongest weapon in the battle against retail crime.

Paul Gerrard Director of Campaigns, Public Affairs and Board Secretariat, The Co-op Group

Violence and abuse in the retail sector continues to rise,​​ increasing 35% in 2023 alone. Retail colleagues face racist, misogynistic and homophobic abuse, threats of sexual assault or harm to their families, and physical violence. This is all part of a broader rise in retail crime, from petty theft to organised crime.

The first responsibility for protecting colleagues, customers and the community lies with the retail business itself. Over the last five years, Co-op has invested significantly in security measures including state-of-the-art CCTV; panic buttons deploying centralised security; protective packaging; secure store design; body-worn cameras; and static and undercover guarding. This investment has had a positive impact, with Co-op under-indexing on crime in the community in the 2024 British Retail Consortium Crime Survey.

Indeed, most retailers are already investing all they can to protect colleagues. The police are also taking retail crime seriously. Since the introduction of the Retail Crime Action Plan, they’ve delivered on their commitments to improve attendance rates. But, ultimately, neither retailers nor the police can solve these problems alone – it has to be a collaboration.

“Ultimately, neither retailers nor the police can solve these problems alone – it has to be a collaboration.”

​​​​​Retailers can do more to help the police by sharing data, evidence and intelligence. ‘Hotspot policing’ is an effective strategy: retailers identify the most at-risk stores and repeat offenders working across a local area. Armed with this information, the police can deploy resources more effectively and get the evidence for conviction more easily.

Co-op has 15 strategic partnerships with police across the UK, including the critical work of Project Pegasus. In the first quarter of 2024, these partnerships resulted in a 100% increase in the number of offenders managed by police. This shows the combination of government and police measures, with effort from retailers on the ground, has the potential to be a powerful force against serious organised crime.

It’s not just collaboration with the police that can benefit retailers. Collaborating with other retailers across the UK can prove an invaluable resource. Through Mitie’s unique data sharing agreement, originally signed by Co-op, Sainsbury’s, and M&S, with a number of other organisations joining since, they now share intelligence and data, supporting us all in identifying crime hotspots, organised crime group activities and prolific offenders, enabling a more proactive approach. The more retailers that buy in to initiatives such as this, the more we all benefit.

7. ​​​Counter-terrorism

Widespread adoption of Martyn’s Law amid the continuing threat of terrorism.

Figen Murray OBE Initiator of Martyn’s Law and counter-terrorism campaigner

We were an ordinary family: a husband, wife and five children. But our world came crashing down when my son Martyn died in the Manchester Arena attack on 22nd May 2017.

After it happened, our family attended a concert where no one even checked our tickets, let alone searched our bags. Back then I knew nothing about security or terrorism. But when I found out security in venues wasn’t obligatory, I started an online petition to change that.

In collaboration with Brendan Cox (husband of murdered Labour MP Jo Cox), the Home Office, multiple security ministers and the Government, Martyn’s Law was created. We’re asking venues over a certain capacity to take part in free online training, conduct risk assessments, mitigate risks, formulate a counterterrorism plan and make sure all staff know what to do in the event of an attack.

Thanks to leadership changes, the pandemic, intense scrutiny, and a general election, legislation hasn’t yet been passed. But rising geopolitical turmoil – including the Gaza conflict, Ukraine war and Crocus City Hall attack in Moscow – has a knock-on effect here in the UK. This is supercharged by the internet and its fast dissemination of misinformation, so Martyn’s Law is only becoming more urgent.

“Terrorists are always adapting – you need to stay a step ahead.”

Lots of venues are making a real effort to prepare. In my area, many night-time venues, banks, hotels, retail outlets and others have done free training run by Manchester City Council in collaboration with the Counter Terrorism Police. Meanwhile, organisations from Parklife Festival to Stoke-on-Trent Shopping Centre to Manchester Central are improving security procedures and investing in security technology.

I urge every organisation to follow their lead. There’s so much training on offer from the Government, Home Office and Protect UK, much of which is free or low-cost. Organisations must also ensure they have an onsite evacuation room with bottled water, non-perishable food, first-aid equipment and ideally toilet facilities in the event of a prolonged lockdown – all common sense, yet lifesaving in the event of an attack.

Above all, my advice is never to think, ‘It can’t happen to us’. The Ariana Grande concert where my son was killed was deemed low-security because it was attended mostly by children. Jo Cox was killed in a small village hall. Terrorists are always adapting – you need to stay a step ahead.