Partnerships: at the heart of security

As a security company our job involves dealing with society. We ensure the safety and security of individuals, businesses, properties and events.

However, our task goes well beyond undertaking surveillance and policing operations alone. A key element involves working in partnership with other agencies to ensure the safety of the people we are there to protect.

International collaboration and co-ordination between security agencies has been around since the early years of the 20th Century. The most famous, perhaps, is the International Criminal Police Organisation, better known as Interpol. Other forms of security collaboration that exist between states involve intelligence sharing and intergovernmental military alliances such as NATO, which are based on collective defence of its members.

Partnerships are effective for a number of reasons. They are mutually cost-effective, there’s an active exchange of technology, logistics and expertise and they help in expanding business by winning clients based on local reputation and global experience.

Partnerships in the UK and overseas

Within the private security industry, of course, there are many partnerships which have been formed to keep the environment in which we live both safe and secure.

As larger private security agencies embark on global expansion, many are partnering with local security agencies in different countries to provide a range of security solutions. This collaboration is becoming increasingly necessary to understand cultural, logistical and other strategic issues, while understanding the local environment is critical in delivering world class security services.

These partnerships are particularly important in industries such as mining, oil, exploration, construction, banking, aviation and maritime.

Providing security services of any kind in any of these sectors is an incredibly challenging task in any given territory. The sheer scale of the challenge is logistically much higher if the operations are in hostile or disturbed regions.

How does partnership working assist engaged organisations?

Partnerships help organisations to collaboratively act together in carefully monitoring a given situation and then implementing medical, security, logistics and aviation resources. Advice and assistance may be offered in the event of any emergency situation arising either out of political crisis, terror attacks or a natural disaster.

For example, many international security companies have been actively involved in evacuating their clients in the wake of escalating security situations in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and Bahrain.

It’s precisely for this reason that many international security companies involve themselves in partnerships with local security companies to be able to deliver their services more efficiently. Partnering with local security companies is also helpful because the latter enjoy a better understanding of the regional security environment which, in turn, helps in dealing with contingency situations based on expertise.

Local community agenda

Partnerships can also be formed with local communities. It’s a key part of the job we do. We rely on members of the public to provide us with information and support, and liaising with them is vital to the success of security.

One of the best ways to win the confidences of the community is to promote cultural cohesion. In a multi-cultural country like the UK, cohesion is an important policy for maintaining internal security, peace and harmony. However, it would be wrong to see cultural cohesion as a security objective alone.

Rather, it’s about facilitating greater understanding among the faiths and cultures that make up our society. It’s an effective social tool to help minority communities integrate with mainstream society as well as promote tolerance, trust and respect among different religions and cultures.

Police and private security companies in unison

We could see further partnerships develop in the future. A report from Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary highlighted the impact a 20% funding cut to policing in England and Wales will have come 2015. Several police forces were named as being most at risk of not being able to provide a sufficiently efficient or effective service in the future.

This could see private security firms playing a wider role in the provision of UK policing through the formation of partnerships with local police forces. There’s a shared ethos between police officers and security officers: both are highly trained and have a strong commitment to care for people and society at large.

On that basis, it makes absolute sense for police forces to make use of the skills harboured by staff from private security firms. Indeed, security officers already work in conjunction with police forces on a regular basis at public events, such as music festivals and larger sporting events.

In the future, private security firms could investigate some crimes and patrol neighbourhoods under plans being drawn up for policing in England and Wales. This would see staff support officers enrolled but they would not make arrests.

Explorations of outsourcing

Lincolnshire Police is looking at the UK’s first privately run police station. The contract will see a private security firm take over jobs previously handled by police officers including custody and ID duties, investigating crimes and managing intelligence, Control Room staffing as well as managing town enquiry officers, the crime management bureau, the criminal justice unit and firearms licensing.

Further, three UK police forces have agreed to explore the outsourcing of up to ten different support services with a private security company to help tackle a GB pound 73 million shortfall in funding.

Of course there will be concerns, but if police forces build effective partnerships with reputable private security companies who can provide vital support then it will help them meet the high policing standards rightly expected by the public.

Will it really matter if that service is being provided by the police or a private security company? I think not. All that matters to members of the public is that they can continue to rely on the policing service they receive to protect them.

When it comes to building partnerships, if you get it right you can create trust, offer stability and confidence and react accordingly when necessary.

Long term partnerships reflect a commitment to good service and reassure members of the public that they can go about their business in safety. As the security sector continues to grow, partnerships should be at the very heart of everything we do.

Abbey Petkar is managing director of Magenta Security Services

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