POLICE & SECURITY ASSOCIATIONS


Looking ahead to 2024


We asked leaders from the security organisations to look ahead and consider the challenges and opportunities for security professionals in 2024


Looking ahead to 2024, what challenges and opportunities do you think it will bring for those working in security? In particular, are there any specific


innovations in technology, changes in working practices or upcoming legislation that you think will make an impact?


City of London Police Acting


Commissioner Peter O’Doherty


I’m delighted to wish you all a


safe and merry Christmas as the Temporary Commissioner of the City of London Police. I find myself in role due to Commissioner Angela McLaren being unwell and currently away from work – and I’m sure you will all join me in wishing her a speedy recovery back into post.


The prevention of violence against women and girls is at the forefront of the City of London Police’s Christmas operation, with thousands of revellers out celebrating in the Square Mile. Safety initiatives, aimed at keeping women safe, will be running through the Christmas period. These include our Walk and Talk scheme – women sharing their thoughts on


9 © CITY SECURITY MAGAZINE – WINTER 2023


City of London Police Acting Commissioner Peter O’Doherty


Security Institute Chairman Julie Nel


ASIS UK Chairman


Letitia Emeana


City Security Council Chairman


Ashley Fernandez


safety with an office; a night safety hub at St Botolph’s church; and our Reframe the Night operation – providing a high visible presence in the night-time economy with our partners.


I’m pleased to say that our special police operation to reduce phone snatching in the City of London has cut the number of offences in half. From June 2023, there have been 263 phone snatching offences, compared with 516 for the same period last year. Our success has been due to the hard work of our officers and the introduction of our highly visible cycle team, who are able to quickly get across the Square Mile and deter snatchers.


Looking to our national responsibilities as Lead Force for Fraud and Cyber Crime, we have huge ambitions for 2024. Fraud blights communities, accounting for 41% of all crime in 2023. According to the Crime Survey for England and Wales there were an estimated 3.5 million fraud offences, equating to every 1 in every 16 adults, and there was £2.5 billion reported losses to Action Fraud. The use of Crypto Currency and AI by criminals is a real concern, but AI will also provide powerful tools to fight crime. We’re already building this into our transformation of Action Fraud, with a new reporting and analysis service launching in 2024.


In 2023 we supported the launch of the new National Fraud Strategy and Economic Crime Plan. We also developed a national Economic and Cyber Crime plan for policing. We visited every force to help improve the fraud response. The Police Cyber Alarm (software used by businesses to enable learning and intelligence sharing with law enforcement), goes from strength to strength. We now have over 7,300 members nationally.


www.citysecuritymagazine.com


Intelligence underpins how we take the fight to criminals. We have built a network of Proactive Economic Crime Teams to target the highest harm criminals, and this year we travelled to Ghana and Nigeria to build strategic relationships to share intelligence and deliver training to ensure we can better disrupt foreign offenders targeting the UK online.


We put victims at the heart of everything we do, and whether here in the City or across the UK, we will be unrelenting in improving outcomes for victims by pursuing offenders and protecting people and businesses from harm.


So, on behalf of us all at the City of London Police, we wish you all a wonderful Christmas, and a safe and prosperous 2024.


Security Institute Chairman Julie Nel


I would say 2024 is a year for great


opportunity within the security industry. I know this


may sound odd, but I have seen first hand how our roles within the security sector are evolving. Those who have listened to some of my presentations this year will have heard this from me already – but how has your own role changed over the last 18 months, for instance? The traditional role of Director of Security or Head of Security is morphing into such roles as Director for Organisational Resilience or Head of Risk. Organisations are learning that security professionals are vital in supporting their business continuity.


Since the global pandemic we have seen huge levels of uncertainty caused by various factors


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36