Guy Mathias FSyl New Chairman of


the Security Commonwealth 2019 W


e caught up with the newly appointed Chairman of the Security Commonwealth, Guy Mathias, to find out more about his background, views and ideas for taking the security sector forward.


Guy is a well-known expert in Extremism and has lectured widely on the threat it poses. This follows his role with Huntingdon Life Sciences where he directed counter-extremist operations during a campaign of public order threat, violence and intimidation. He is Chair of the Food and Drink Security Association and has held many other leadership roles in security. Guy is now the risk and operations director at a major drinks manufacturer and well placed to take the Security Commonwealth to the next stage.


What are your goals and priorities for the Security Commonwealth under your chairmanship?


To maintain our key strategic aims of ‘Collaboration, Communication and Influence’. We represent over 40 constituent member bodies and seek to channel their contribution and considerable resources, when required, to support UK national security challenges and emerging issues.


We intend to be involved at as many national security events in 2019 as our resources permit, to continue our aims of developing positive relationships with our existing and new stakeholders. We will assist in signposting a clear pathway for awareness of our sector and reinforce the collaboration between Public/Private sector.


We want to promote skills profiling and the most effective ways to ensure our stakeholders can find and obtain the right skill sets for their roles and future careers in security. We would like to see further consultation on how to support apprenticeships (especially the Trailblazer scheme supported by the Security and Resilience Industry Suppliers Community – RISC) as well as mentoring initiatives. Whilst we wish to attract young people to make a security profession a first-choice career, we should also continue to support those who seek to move from law enforcement


SyCom supports the UK Public/Private objective in fulfilling our economic potential to market our world-class private security resources on the domestic and international trade stages.


How do you see partnership working between the security sector and law enforcement evolving?


I very much hope that I can build on the effective steps to date that my SyCom Chair and their Board predecessors have undertaken to develop and promote linkage. Our law enforcement colleagues are doing a magnificent job in the many demanding areas of policing in which they provide a first-class service, whilst under the ever-challenging landscape of budgetary constraint. It would be


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remiss not to acknowledge, however, that these cuts are having an impact.


It behoves the private sector to support UK policing with the most effective partnership arrangements; for example, assistance in intelligence provision and analysis capabilities to deliver against the law enforcement mission in combating fraud; data theft; on- line stalking, grooming and exploitation of children; and Serious & Organised Crime (notably Human Trafficking/Slavery). Our members do have a range of skills to support, if required. With the right protocols in place, we are sure that these could be used to assist law enforcement in certain areas.


Our desire is that all our SyCom membership are champions in support of UK security, to promote best practice, shared learning and professional competency.


How do you think the security sector should evolve to meet the challenges it faces?


Our sector has to become ever more professional, upskilled, and diligent in process and application. The challenge will be to embrace this aspiration and then apportion funding to achieve this necessary aspiration.


There is a real need for all constituent bodies to work together and we have the vehicle


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