At long last, it seems, the concept of security is higher on the political agenda than at any time in recent memory. To its great credit, the present Labour Government appears committed to legislation by way of the Private Security Industry Bill. True, the proposals for licensing may not be quite as perfect as many had hoped, but at least some form of regulation is firmly on the agenda. And it’s within this framework that the National Security Inspectorate (NSI) can play a huge role.
Officially launched on 21 January, the NSI has been some time in the making. At its core are two well-established bodies – the National Approval Council for Security Systems (NACOSS) and the Inspectorate of the Security Industry (ISI) – the latter designed to inspect and certify security personnel contractors.
Their union can be seen as the security industry’s main response to the Government’s stated desire to see a single, credible regulator for the entire security sector. It’s a highly logical move, given the growing demand for manned security services to build-in more technological duties, coupled with louder client calls for IT-literate officers ‘on the ground’.
Speaking about the new body Dr David Holt, the NSI’s chief executive, told SMT: “The corporate governance arrangements are such that the NSI is independent, and will be seen to be independent. Instead of having one organisation running one or two inspection schemes in one sector, what we will now have is one body running several schemes across many sectors of the industry.”
The Inspectorate in context
How, then, is the new organisation structured? Although ‘merged’, both NACOSS and the ISI will continue to offer their own long-established approval schemes to the electronic security and manned services sectors under the NSI umbrella. NACOSS, of course, has had much success in improving technical standards in the industry since its formation in 1990, and has helped in reducing false alarms. For its part the ISI has, according to Dr David Holt, achieved “70% penetration across all activities to do with manned guarding services”. A significant achievement for an organisation that provides a range of voluntary schemes.
In simple terms, then, the NSI is the overall umbrella body, with NACOSS (Security Systems), NACOSS (Fire Systems) and ISI (Manned Services) under its wing. “We’re convinced that, if the industry is to be regulated in a way that will create and maintain true public confidence, services will need to be integrated across the entire security sector,” added Sir Michael Bett, the NSI’s new chairman.
With this in mind, ICON – a simplified Inspected Companies scheme – also forms part of the NSI’s divisional structure, and is intended to mirror the well-established scheme for manned services run by the ISI.
The divisional nature of the NSI’s structure is immediately apparent and, crucially, provides an ideal basis for both expansion and diversification into other sectors related to the security industry – as well as the introduction of new [security and safety-related] schemes.
A scheme developed and run by the British Approvals for Fire Equipment organisation has already been submitted to the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) – the NSI’s accrediting body – for immediate development.
The scheme is welcomed by the fire industry due to its modular nature (ie each company will be able to select what part of design, installation, commissioning and handover or maintenance it will opt for when it comes to receiving approval).
Designated a ‘not-for-profit’ organisation, the probity of the NSI and the balance of its strategies have been taken into account in that its board members are drawn from a wide variety of organisations – including insurers, specifiers, trade associations, security professionals, Government departments and the police. Through its constituent divisions, the NSI is represented on – or is a member of – several national bodies, including the British Standards Institution, the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), the Joint Security Industry Council and SITO.
Talking shop: what the industry thinks
Security Management Today has canvassed a broad spread of opinion on the new NSI, and the reaction from those within and immediately without the industry is extremely positive.
Dr James Hart, assistant commissioner of the City of London Police, suggests that the organisation will “help in raising standards right across the security profession. One significant step is the collaborative agreement already in place for the NSI to oversee the Accredited Fraud Investigators Scheme.” This scheme involves not only the City of London Police but the Metropolitan Police and the CBI to boot. More commonly known as the ‘Partners in Crime’ initiative, the move should assist both companies that are working in this particular area of security as well as the police themselves, who use the intelligence gathered for investigation and prosecution purposes.
Hart added: “Part of the NSI’s expanding responsibilities will be to play a vital role in helping to ensure that private sector investigations are conducted ethically, within the boundaries of the criminal and civil law. They must also be conducted with the support of the police services of London and, eventually, forces throughout the country.” Ultimately, the NSI will also be responsible for reviewing selected investigations as part of the annual inspection process, thereby helping to ensure that cases are investigated both thoroughly and to an acceptable standard. A standard defined by the accreditation board.
Mike Schuck, assistant director of retail crime policy at the British Retail Consortium, is also excited by the new Inspectorate. He told SMT: “The manned guarding sector is changing, with the emergence of multi-skilled customer services officers who can provide a higher value range of services. On top of that, the new ACPO policy on alarm response also presents a challenge to the industry and its customers. In my case, that’s the retailers. Its implementation will take time, and it will probably be a while before we can judge whether or not the expected benefits have materialised.” The Association of British Insurers (ABI) is also broadly in favour of the new body. “The private security industry is assuming an increasingly prominent role in society,” said Jackie Bennett, the ABI’s deputy manager for property and household insurance.
“It’s very important that those who come into contact with the industry have confidence in doing so,” adds Bennett. “One way of achieving this is to ensure that companies are properly inspected to recognised standards. The NSI is perfect for that task.”