The two men, Godwin Simelane and Cuneyit Ozkaya, who work at the Elephant & Castle Shopping Centre, were nominated for an award by the site’s owners St Modwen Properties for their help in bringing a violent person to order, directly assisting the police in making an arrest.
The two men, who jointly won the Team of the Year award, were handed their award at a ceremony at the Institute of Directors (IoD) by Adrian Ringrose, chief executive of Interserve plc – First Security’s parent company – and Mike Knell, the Shopping Centre manager.
Ringrose praised the men’s efforts which, he said, went far beyond the call of duty: “Businesses increasingly rely on the private security industry to support the law enforcement agencies, and specifically the police, in combating crime and making our streets a safer place to be. For the second year running the team at The Elephant & Castle have been singled out for comment and exemplary courage.”
Knell said: “The work of the First Security team over the last three years has been excellent, making the Shopping Centre a more attractive place to visit. We continue to receive positive feedback from the local police, British transport police, Southwark council and other agencies for the way in which the team supports the safer neighbourhood scheme, and they regularly assist the robbery squad and other units with CCTV coverage that has been crucial in obtaining convictions.
“Along with the all the skills they have for dealing with the unexpected and the undesirables, the team always makes time to be the smiling ‘friendly face’ of the Shopping Centre community. I am delighted that their efforts have once again been recognised with this prestigious accolade.”