News & Articles
Crisis Management and Civil Enforcement
Given the size and expertise of the private security industry it’s fair to say that the government are missing a trick in defending our communities from the kind of civil unrest we have witnessed over the past few days. Without doubt there does need to be some accountability laid at the feet of private security companies – any legislation that enables private sector organisations to have the power to apprehend suspects has to be carefully monitored to avoid ‘have-a-go-hero’ interventions; these are after all dangerous situations.
The facts remain bleak in that given the police force are facing public spending cuts businesses are inevitably taking it upon themselves to ‘police’ their property, personnel and assets privately. Regardless of the fact that some sceptics might say this move is doing nothing more than lining the pockets of the owners of the security companies deployed, what are the options?
Recent news footage proves that even an entire army of police with riot shields, dogs and armoured vehicles do little to stop the more determined mindless factions of society in their quest to destroy our society. But is their time spent apprehending someone casually trying on a pair of trainers in a looted store an appropriate use of their time and tax payers’ money? The answer surely is, clearly not.
Diverting the powers of arrest is inevitably a sensitive issue which requires careful scrutiny, but consider for a moment that the dedicated teams working in the private security industry are approximately five times larger than our UK police force. In times of crisis, or extreme circumstances does it not make sense to increase the powers of Door Supervisors or Security Guards to detain suspects prior to police intervention?
Obviously this plan would require the security industry to raise the bar in terms of the training available and the conditions ‘in times of crisis, or extreme circumstances’ would need to be clearly defined; that can only happen via strict consultation with government departments, law enforcement chiefs and the security industry training providers as a whole, a move that would be wholeheartedly embraced by all reputable organisations involved in the tuition of security staff.
In an entirely justified, but albeit, knee-jerk reaction, the worlds press was informed recently that a team of 6,000 law enforcement officers were being moved from the north to assist the London police to prevent further violence and looting on the streets of the capital. No surprise what happened in Manchester, Salford and Birmingham the following day. That statement amounts to leaving the keys in the ignition of your prize BMW with a sign on the windscreen saying ‘come get me’.
Taking into account the emerging press coverage, does it take years of expensive police training to reason with an eleven year old child who fancies showing off to his mates with a new games console, or a supposedly intelligent teaching assistant who’s recently been salivating over a sparkling new laptop? No, and public safety is not an option to be toyed with – the police need time to prevent crime and in this case to avoid the death of innocent people on our streets.
Security industry personnel work in the business because they have an interest in protecting people and property, they are trained to a high standard governed by whether or not they have an SIA Licence, fact is they can’t work in the industry without one it’s illegal to do so. The majority of their training is to prevent conflict situations and although they may not yet have the powers of arrest they nonetheless act as a disincentive to volatile situations and 6,000 expertly trained staff could have been found anywhere in the country without compromising the police forces in the north.
No one with an ounce of intelligence wants to live in a society where there are more police on the streets than shoppers or innocent people going about their lives, but with the right minds coming together, and sensible round-the-table discussions there is a way forward to prevent creating weak spots in our safety infrastructure.
Today David Cameron has promised to ‘restore a sense of morality to Britain and ensure that offenders are caught. To bolster that proposal perhaps it’s time he looked at some of the crisis management options available and the crack teams of security personnel on his doorstep.
