SIA leads multi-agency enforcement operations across London and Manchester

A Security Industry Authority-led multi-agency operation orchestrated to check on security licensing and tax evasion took place over two weekends in May.

With the support of HM Revenue and Customs and the Metropolitan Police Service, investigators from the Security Industry Authority (SIA) conducted checks on door supervisors and security officers working in London and Manchester.

The team was assembled after the SIA submitted intelligence to HMRC on companies and venues with doubtful employment statuses for their staff – a suspected tactic to evade the payment of tax.

Door supervisors and security officers

Over the first weekend, the operation focused on door supervisors working in licensed premises including pubs and clubs. On the final weekend of the month, the focus changed to security officers working in retail venues in shopping centres across the two cities.

In total, 180 security operatives were checked across 67 venues. Of those checked, a door supervisor in Stockport was found to be working with another person’s photocopied SIA licence. Enquiries are being taken forward by the police.

Dave Humphries: director of partnerships and interventions at the SIA

A further five warnings were issued to individuals for failing to notify the SIA of a change of their address, which is a breach of SIA licensing conditions.

HMRC investigations are ongoing.

Working together to tackle crime

The SIA’s director of partnerships and interventions, Dave Humphries, commented: “It’s encouraging that the SIA, the police and the HMRC are working together to tackle crime. This gives a clear message that non-compliance with the law, be it to do with the requirements of SIA licence regulation or tax evasion, will not be tolerated within the private security industry.”

Andrew Odin of HMRC’s Specialist Investigations Division said: “We work with other Government departments and agencies to crack down on those who don’t want to pay what they should. Our message is clear… If you seek to evade tax or defraud the tax system, HMRC can and will track you down. You will face not only a heavy fine, but possibly a criminal prosecution as well.”

Crimestoppers and E.ON commit to raising awareness of energy-related offences following recent influx of information

Crime-fighting charity Crimestoppers and partner E.ON have reaffirmed their commitment to raising awareness of energy-related offences after a wave of information was received from the public following recent efforts by the two organisations.

Activity carried out by the charity and energy firm sought to raise the profile of incidents such as energy theft and meter tampering. Both Crimestoppers and E.ON reached out to colleagues, customers and the general public to educate them on the dangers and consequences of these offences.

A ‘Spot The Signs’ leaflet (see graphic, below) was produced to give staff and customers an idea of what they should look out for when checking whether their meter had been tampered with, ensuring they’re receiving their energy safely and without risking some serious consequences.

Spot The Signs: how to recognise meter tampering

As a result, in 2014 an average of 109 pieces of information per month have been passed to the charity from the public in relation to gas and/or electric meter tampering. While this may not be perceived as a serious offence by some, the consequences can be devastating if the tampered meter were to malfunction and cause a fire or an explosion.

Agreement extended for a further 12 months

Following the positive response of this recent work and the information passed to the charity, Crimestoppers and E.ON (who began working together in 2009) have extended their agreement for another year to continue raising awareness of energy-related offences and cement their commitment to bringing those responsible for these incidents to justice.

Rodger Holden, director of development for Crimestoppers, said: “The continuation of this partnership between Crimestoppers and E.ON is paramount to raising awareness of energy-related crime and for appealing to the public to help catch those responsible.”

Holden also stated: “The partnership also highlights the trust large-scale companies have in Crimestoppers. Our anonymous system for reporting crime is unique. Businesses affected by crime recognise that working with us can achieve results. We look forward to future success with E.ON as we carry out more work moving forward.”

Barrie Millett MSyI of E.ON

Barrie Millett MSyI (acting director of safety, health and environment at E.ON UK) commented: “Our partnership with Crimestoppers, which is now running for the fifth consecutive year, reaffirms our commitment to raising awareness of energy-related offences. Most importantly, we hope to highlight the dangers and risks of these offences, helping our customers and colleagues identify and report incidents either by contacting E.ON directly or Crimestoppers on an anonymous basis.”

*If you have any information on suspected energy-related offences please contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111. To find out more about the work Crimestoppers and E.ON have carried out, visit the campaign page on the Crimestoppers website.

Frost & Sullivan Report: ‘Sustained threats to oil and gas infrastructures boost need for security solutions’

New infrastructure development in the oil and gas industry and the growing threats to the security of critical oil and gas assets are encouraging end users to invest in security solutions.

Plant owners are particularly interested in security products, services and solutions that can detect and delay threats and are able to employ cutting-edge innovation and technology.

Acknowledging these requirements, market participants are offering user-friendly security solutions that create superior customer value.

New analysis from Frost & Sullivan, entitled: ‘Global Oil and Gas Infrastructure Security Market Assessment’, finds that the market earned revenues of $19.63 billion in 2013 and estimates this to reach $24.68 billion in 2021.

New infrastructure developments in the oil and gas industry and the growing threats to the security of critical oil and gas assets are encouraging end users to invest in security solutions

The study covers the segments of security services, command and control, screening detection, surveillance, access control, perimeter security and cyber security.

“Security system manufacturers will find more opportunities and earn higher profits from the upstream oil and gas segment than the midstream or downstream segments,” stated Frost & Sullivan’s aerospace and defence research analyst Katherine Evans. “Regardless of this, security system manufacturers must continue to provide solutions across all segments, with a particular focus on surveillance and intrusion detection.”

Uptake of cyber security solutions

As cyber security is currently not a spending priority among oil and gas companies, this area will bring limited opportunities for market participants. They are more likely to spend on safety measures such as fire detection and prevention than cyber security even though cyber attacks pose as much – if not more – of a threat than natural disasters.

The uptake of cyber security solutions is expected to surge with the passing of national and international legislation that highlights the need to protect oil and gas assets from cyber attacks, as well as initiatives to raise awareness of these standards.

“With the implementation of the aforementioned measures, cyber security will emerge as the highest priority area for oil and gas companies,” noted Evans.

“In preparation for this, market participants should try to integrate Internet connection sharing and ICT systems such that a holistic view of the infrastructure can be obtained. This will enable end users to ascertain where the attack threat is coming from, and treat the cause rather than the symptoms.”

*’Global Oil and Gas Infrastructure Security Market Assessment’ is part of the Security (http://www.defense.frost.com) Growth Partnership Service programme

**Frost & Sullivan’s related studies include:

• Global Airport Security Market Assessment Update
• Global Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Market Assessment
• US Defence Geospatial Market
• Global Physical Security Information Management Market Assessment

ISS rated “global Number One outsourcing provider” by IAOP

For the second year in a row, ISS has been ranked the global Number One outsourcing provider by an independent industry jury for The International Association of Outsourcing Professionals (IAOP).

The complete rankings list has been published today in a special edition of the Fortune 500 magazine.

ISS has successfully defended its ranking as the world’s best outsourcing provider in competition with other global outsourcing companies such as Accenture, Johnson Controls, CBRE, Capgemini and Aramark.

The international specialist jury assessed participants on a number of parameters, with ISS receiving the highest possible scores from all jury members on size and growth, customer references, organisational competencies and management capabilities.

“What was very obvious in reviewing ISS’ application was that the organisation has made a tremendous investment in the areas that we evaluate,” said Michael Corbett, the IAOP’s chairman, “and really hit it out of the ballpark in terms of demonstrating that the company is the best in the world in all of the criteria.”

Strong engagement in delivering quality services

Jeff Gravenhorst, Group CEO at ISS, points to his 529,199 colleagues as the key factor in ISS’ success.

“I’m so proud of my colleagues throughout the world,” explained Gravenhorst. “It’s their appreciation and understanding of how our services help our customers’ businesses, coupled with their strong engagement in delivering those quality services day after day, that make our customers happy and satisfied.”

Jeff Gravenhorst: Group CEO at ISS

ISS Group’s CEO added: “We will use the boost we receive from this recognition to further fuel our efforts in taking care of our customers’ facilities and promoting their businesses.”

In addition to being named the Number One outsourcing provider, ISS was delighted to receive a number of ‘sub-list honours’ such as ‘Leaders in Overall Revenue’, ‘Leaders in Number of Centres Worldwide’ and ‘CSR in Outsourcing’.

At a time when there’s a growing need to outsource, Debi Hamill – the CEO of IAOP – outlined that independent assessments and rankings of outsourcing providers and advisors “have become invaluable reference tools to help companies research service providers.”

IAOP chairman Michael Corbett said: “With developing economies expected to see high growth and the global economy accelerating in 2014, choosing the right outsourcing partners will be more important than ever.”

The IAOP Judging Panel included independent researchers from universities and business schools as well as industry and customer representatives.

Pilgrims Group’s swift response protects news organisations in Ukraine

International security specialist Pilgrims Group has proven itself ‘the security company of choice’ for media organisations working in the Ukraine during recent political unrest.

The company has been working with journalist teams throughout the country during the political disturbances which resulted in the departure of ousted president Victor Yanukovych in February, the installation of an interim Government and the subsequent Russian military intervention in Crimea.

At one point, Pilgrims had 13 teams deployed across the Ukraine supporting a number of media organisations and ensuring their correspondents and camera crews were kept safe in what was a volatile and changing political climate.

The company has teams in many of the country’s major population centres, including Kiev, Donetsk, Lviv, Kharkov, Odessa and throughout Crimea.

International security specialist Pilgrims Group has proven itself ‘the security company of choice’ for media organisations working in the Ukraine during the recent political unrest

“Initially, the challenges facing our teams were the dangers associated with rioting,” explained Phil Drinkwater, operations manager at Pilgrims. “We have been keeping news teams safe and remaining alert to potential threats, such as personal attack or even flying bullets, while they’ve carried out their work interviewing and reporting on the situation.”

Drinkwater continued: “Now the threat has changed slightly, with protests from all sides of the political spectrum combined with the potential for military operations starting in the country. There has also been a growth in ill-feeling towards the Western media.”

Drinkwater also stated that Pilgrims has been able to respond rapidly to broadcasters’ demands by drawing on its extensive networks to mobilise former special services personnel, who were on duty within 12 hours of the clients’ initial requests (and frequently considerably quicker).

Pilgrims Group has teams in many of the country’s major population centres, including Kiev, Donetsk, Lviv, Kharkov, Odessa and throughout Crimea

In addition, the company continues to maintain the highest level of awareness of the unfolding political situation in the Ukraine by maintaining its local contact network, with regular updates of information on the ground.

*Due to the sensitive nature of their role, the client organisations preferred not to be named