The Worshipful Company of Security Professionals: looking to the future at GSS 2012

With the Register of Chartered Security Professionals up-and-running and Ian Pearson engaged to speak at the Global Security Summit, the City of London’s newest Livery Company is looking one way: to the future.

The Worshipful Company of Security Professionals (WCoSP) holds the distinction of being the youngest Livery Company in the City of London.

The organisation was formed back in 1999 when Steve Neville and John Purnell GM QPM DL – now Past Masters of The Worshipful Company – registered The Guild of Security Professionals with the City of London Chamberlain’s Office.

On 18 November of that same year, 12 founder members met to plan the creation of a working Guild. The inaugural gathering – at which 62 founder members were present – took place on 27 March 2000. Sir Neil Macfarlane was elected the first Master with Sir David Brewer CMG LL (Lord Lieutenant) of Greater London and deputy Philip Willoughby as sponsors.

Progression to a Company without Livery occurred on 6 January 2004 when the petition for recognition as such was received and acknowledged by the Court of Aldermen. On 15 January 2008, the Court of Aldermen was petitioned and declared that the Company could indeed become the 108th Livery Company of the City of London (on 19 February that same year, in fact).

Today, membership of The Worshipful Company is drawn from the security profession in its widest sense. It includes leading security professionals from the industrial and retail sectors, serving and retired members of the police service as well as the Armed Forces, security consultants, academics, heads of security for corporate businesses, investigators and security solutions providers from the electronics sphere.

Stated aims of The Worshipful Company

The Worshipful Company of Security Professionals’ stated aims are to:

• promote, support and encourage standards of excellence, integrity and honourable practice in conducting the profession of security practitioners and to aid societies and other organisations connected to the profession
• promote and uphold the established and honourable traditions of the security profession
• encourage the advancement of knowledge of security practice
• afford a means of professional and social intercourse and the exchange of information between members of The Worshipful Company, security providers and those who benefit from security provision
• administer benevolence to any needy members, either current or ex-security practitioners, or the immediate family of such members or practitioners, and to support and participate in such other charitable activities as shall be considered appropriate for The Worshipful Company
• encourage education in matters relating to the profession and practice of security
• raise public awareness of the charitable endeavours performed by The Worshipful Company
• foster recognition of the honourable profession of security within the City of London and elsewhere, and to participate with other Companies and Guilds of the City

Register of Chartered Security Professionals

The Worshipful Company’s ‘vision of tomorrow’ really began to take shape in June of last year, with the launch of the Register of Chartered Security Professionals.

Recognising The Security Institute’s experience in developing and refining its own membership validation process, in 2010 The Worshipful Company agreed to partner with the Institute in developing the necessary chartered professional competencies, management controls and processes that would underpin the Register, and for the Institute to be the first licensee permitted to admit registrants into the Register.

This development was funded jointly between The Worshipful Company, The Security Institute and the City of London Crime Prevention Association (a key supporter of the Register in its inaugural year).

Any member of the new Register (ie the ‘registrant’) is known as a Chartered Security Professional and able to use CSyP as a post-nominal.

Entry to the Register is based on applicants demonstrating achievement across five core competencies weighted in favour of security knowledge and application skills, but also including references to leadership, communication and professional commitment.

Those applying must be of undisputed integrity and have a good level of expertise, and be operating at a strategic level (or the senior end of operational level) within a security practice.

Admittance to the Register demonstrates to clients, employers, peers and the public an ability of any given individual to perform their security duties to the highest standard, as well as a commitment to Continuing Professional Development (CPD).

Those joining the Register of Chartered Security Professionals have to demonstrate competence and can do this via the achievement of qualifications and/or demonstrable experience in the practical arenas of the security discipline.

There’s little doubt that this development has significantly raised the bar on the roadmap towards a security profession with a Chartered Security Institute at its helm.

Looking even further into the future

For the inaugural Global Security Summit (which runs at London’s Olympia on 10-11 October), The Worshipful Company has facilitated a key session at conference wherein renowned futurologist and author Dr Ian Pearson will be introduced by immediate Past Master Nigel Churton to speak on an intriguing subject: future threats to security.

As a practising security manager, you may be on top of security today but what’s coming next?

With ongoing miniaturisation, it might not be too long before your company’s air conditioning units are a major security problem. ‘Smart dust’ that floats harmlessly in the air could infiltrate a building’s m&e backbone to spy on you, so what are you going to do about it?

Alternatively, what plans do you have in place to deal with the ‘smart bacteria’ that could follow swiftly behind as terrorism takes on a new guise?

Exactly what could ‘mad scientists’ or rogue regimes realise in order to challenge you in the years to come?

If you want to find out then you need to be at Olympia from 2.20 pm through until 3.00 pm on 11 October. It’ll be well worth your time.

Social, political and business impacts of new technologies

As a leading futurologist for over two decades, Dr Pearson delivers talks all over Europe which concentrate on the future of many aspects of our daily lives – from work to leisure, and fashion to climate change.

He has a strong engineering background and uses this alongside his considerable business expertise to work out the likely social, political, business and environmental impacts of future technology.

Further, Dr Pearson explains often complex technological developments using ordinary everyday language, and shows why they are relevant to executives, in both a thought-provoking and entertaining style.

A graduate in Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics from Queens University, Belfast, Dr Pearson spent over 20 years with British Telecom (doubling as its futurologist for the last decade) before leaving to set up Futurizon in the corporate sector.

He has written several books and has made over 450 TV and radio appearances. Dr Pearson’s also a Chartered Fellow of the British Computer Society, the World Academy of Art and Science, The Royal Society of Arts and the World Innovation Foundation.

Why is The Worshipful Company supportive of the Global Security Summit?

Speaking about The Worshipful Company of Security Professionals’ ongoing involvement with UBM Live and, in particular, the Global Security Summit, Peter French MBE – himself a Past Master of The Worshipful Company – commented: “As the charitable arm of the security profession we fulfil a vital role that Livery Companies have undertaken for centuries: looking after those who have been active in the profession after their working life is over and who have since fallen on hard times, perhaps due to ill-health.”

The managing director of SSR Personnel continued: “In the Middle Ages the Livery Company would have been the Regulator of the security trade. Today, we live in a different time and we already have a Regulator in place, of course, in the shape of the Security Industry Authority.”

As far as French is concerned, the Livery Company has a wider role – that of promoting security education in those environments not satisfied by commercial organisations.

“For instance,” he enthused, “we can support Cadet Forces. Using our title we have the power to make young people aware of the security profession.” Over the years, The Worshipful Company has offered educational bursaries with the Reed School.

“We’re proud to support the education and development programme that UBM Live has carefully crafted for the first edition of the Global Security Summit,” concluded French, “and we’re delighted that Dr Ian Pearson has agreed to support the featured conference session devised by The Worshipful Company.”

Further information on the Global Security Summit

*For further information on Global Security Summit London, the full education programme and speaker line-up please visit http://www.globalsecurity-summit.com/, follow us on Twitter (@GSS_London) or join the LinkedIn Group

**Companies interested in exhibiting should contact event manager Tracy Bebbington on tel: 0207 921 8065 or e-mail: tracy.bebbington@ubm.com or Paul Amura (business development director at Pro-Activ Publications) on tel: 020 8295 8307 or e-mail: paul.amura@proactivpubs.co.uk