Resilience and Sustainability
The benefit of partnerships and collaboration in 2024.
L
ooking ahead to 2024, and the benefit of partnerships and collaboration to enhance resilience and sustainability in the security industry.
Collaboration and partnerships
The last decade has witnessed the once- segregated private, public and government sectors making progress in sharing information, mainly since the 2017 terrorist attacks and the Manchester Arena inquiry, meaning today's security culture is very different to that of the past two decades.
The transition
Having worked in the industry prior to the Private Security Industry Act 2001, I witnessed a lack of diversity; working conditions were not particularly good, with buyers wanting a deterrent rather than a trained and competent security officer. Remuneration did not reflect the risk, and the industry relied on self- regulation. Although many former police and military personnel did gravitate towards the private security sector as a second career, security was not a career of choice until the last two decades, when the 9/11 travesty changed the security culture worldwide.
More recently, lessons learnt from Brexit, the impact on globalisation and the skill deficit, followed by a catastrophic global pandemic, created a paradigm shift in working conditions, taking advantage of online studying, communicating with others, and seeking more advantageous partnerships.
17 © CITY SECURITY MAGAZINE – WINTER 2023
There is no doubt that such incidents have catapulted security personnel to the forefront to be the eyes and ears on the ground, significantly contributing to public safety. Ultimately, this means the UK will have a workforce of capable guardians to protect the vulnerable (individuals and communities), which will be invaluable for the embedding of Martyn's Law (Protect Duty) and maintaining safe spaces for everyone to live and work in.
Risk resilience
Risk resilience is multi-dimensional and relies on coordination and beneficial alliances to prevent the development of silos and stove pipes; this requires a solid conceptual basis for evaluation purposes and an element of change management. For a more succinct approach, I use four main cornerstones in practice and align them with the SMART goals philosophy: this assists in capturing evidence and identifying areas in need of improvement, with a significant focus on public safety within the post-incident analysis phase.
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Resources – do we have enough resources to deliver expectations?
Yes; data from March 2023 confirms the Security Industry Authority issued 466,825 licences , which is over and above those working in the sector who do not require an SIA licence: government personnel, armed forces, or emergency services. It also excludes personnel from disaster management, family assistance and translators.
Communication – how do we communicate our needs, achievements, and failures?
The public and businesses alike have access to a broad range of open-source intelligence from multiple government agencies and various membership bodies: research papers plus a number of free publications. Internal communications will need to be more succinct and in layperson's terms by limiting jargon to support understanding and objective decision- making.
Time – where to prioritise time?
Providing time to prepare, deliver and analyse a plan is essential; this does come at a cost, but regular training to test plans and recruiting for knowledge, skills and growth where required are vital.
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