SECURITY: MICHAEL McGRANAGHAN
RAIL SECURITY: COUNTING THE COST OR MAKING THE COST COUNT
When people think of rail security, in the forefront of their minds is often the well-publicised issue of cable theft; however, theft, vandalism and trespass on or near the infrastructure also have a major impact on the safe and effective operation and cost within the rail industry.
Words: Michael
McGranaghan
climate, copper, power tools, ‘hand carry’ machinery and even hand tools can fetch a good price and are a real temptation for the petty criminal or opportunistic crime. It is still considered within some of the work force that the weigh-in is the ‘Christmas bonus’. The infrastructure, by its very nature, provides large areas with plenty of secluded places, plus the offer of danger will attract attention ranging from Taggers and drug addicts/dealers, through to the criminal element and those people who may wish to commit suicide. All these elements have a direct or indirect effect on the operation of rail, however, the cost effect is ever present. These threats and incidents primarily affect two areas: -
T
Permanent infrastructure - stations, yards, depots etc.
Temporary maintenance
compounds adjacent to, or within, the fence line of the track often in remote areas next to or near access points.
Unfortunately, as in many other industries and sectors, security is the ‘nice to have’ not the ‘need to
42 RailCONNECT
hese costs are not new and will not change in the foreseeable future; in the current economic
have’, with little recognition or clear understanding that a robust and effective security operation can assist in both the security and safety in the above areas. Budget pressures are prevalent in all areas of business these days; procurement departments are tasked to source security without having an understanding of what is really required, or indeed, what the security profession can offer. This ‘budget driven solution’ often leads to ineffective use of resources, and results in a reaction based decision, that is neither cost effective or fit for purpose. Anecdotally, there are scenarios
where accountability is disputed between different organisations within the industry that leads, inevitably, to a less effective security plan being adopted. Furthermore, there is an understandable unwillingness to acknowledge that the theft of tools (and cable) can often be attributed to staff employed within the industry - some maintenance sites can lose thousands of pounds worth of equipment (not considering the inconvenience and time lost due to ‘missing’ equipment or materials). This cost ultimately is passed back to the taxpayer. The question is: how can this situation be addressed? Firstly, don’t ‘broadcast’ details
relating to the security operation. The relationship between the security operation and the site should be
independent and totally confidential; preferably with only one point of contact from the client and one point of contact from the security company. Simply put, this minimises the opportunity to compromise the security operation and maximises efficiency, cost management and safeguards the integrity of the security plan. Rail and related organisations can further reduce the risk by being proactive with the staff and sub-contractors by prosecuting those found to be guilty of criminal acts. Information on staff and/or contractors committing offences should be shared; not named-and-shamed, but a list of known offenders made available to avoid individuals leaving one site only to be recruited at another. The security industry has changed significantly over the last six years with the introduction of the Security Industry Association (SIA) with regard to the individual officers licencing, but particularly the Approved Contractor Scheme (ACS), which is the only government approved registration within the BS standards set for the industry.
The field of security has also changed, and continues to change, with technology that can be used in conjunction with, or to support, the security personnel on the ground. At this stage it must be remembered that ultimately a security problem can be solved by security on the
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