Many will remember the days when the high street was a safe and secure environment, protected by a local Town Centre Police Sergeant and usually a couple of bobbies on the beat. Town Centre cameras were operated by a controller whose utilised the town link radio to support in arrests, passing over or following known and suspicious people. The private security officers supplied either in-house back then, or by Francis Clark, Antec, Group 4 or others, were all dressed in very different attire to what we wear today. Lanyards, epaulettes, caps and highly polished boots are now, it seems, a distant memory. We didn’t have, facial recognition, DNA sprays, AI (Artificial Intelligence), BWV (Body Worn Video) or even mobile phones, but what we did have was a security provider that had presence, control, were intelligence led, collaborative, supportive and a team that were dedicated to the core, in their khaki uniforms, red beret and red DM’s.
If you needed help to save you from the kids stealing ‘pick and mix’ from Woolworths, a TDK cassette from WHSmith or ‘Morgan’ skirts from Debenhams then you knew by calling up ‘Control’ on your ‘Motorola GP400’ it would be answered by a Lodge Security Sabrewatch supervisor, usually based in a certain store that had ‘sparks’. By the time the call had gone in the Photon PTZ camera was on your front doors and your Lodge Security Sabrewatch backup was there.
Back then it was syringes sometimes pulled on you, very rarely were knives seen and never guns. No one was filming everything, and you weren’t going to end up on social media whilst being taunted by a group of juveniles. What we had through the 90s was respect and protection for our businesses without all the technology and apparent advancements we have now. Security teams and Police collaborated, there weren’t the BCRP’s and incident reporting apps we have now, it was a credit card ‘hot list’ and a round robin print out of the top 10 offenders that we stuck up on the noticeboard in the security holding room (they have gone now too!)
We have seen the security industry change regarding officers, weakened by a race to the bottom on costing, e-learning that is not to the standard it needs to be for today’s issues, and a diminishing workforce. Those officers that come to work every day to protect business, I wholeheartedly salute. They come to work with a constant risk of being threatened, abused, filmed and intimidated, usually for pay that is less than the workers they are there to protect. How can this be?
Our officers deserve so much more for the work they do and the protection they offer. Our customers are now demanding greater protection for their staff and business and a greater return on investment for their security spend. Yes, we can install state-of-the-art equipment, but that identifies the crime, what then? It still needs intervention. If a member of staff is getting attacked, a 3 in 1 camera isn’t the sole answer.
Over the last 3 months we have been working on the Elite Strategy, how and why were Lodge Security Sabrewatch so good? As many of us who worked for them will know, as Lodge Security Sabrewatch officers, we had to always keep standards high, uniform had to be clean and ironed with perfect creases on the shirt and trousers, shoes polished & shined, utility belt prepped, clean shaven or a tidy beard and a neat haircut.
Following an interview process then it started: Day 1, making your way to Essex using the British Rail voucher that you were given at interview for a 5-day induction course. Until now I had not experienced anything like this in-depth recruitment and training process, it became the foundation to the career those in this industry have built
The course included physical intervention, fire safety, terrorism prevention, customer service, body language, communication, officer standards as just a starter. This was then followed up with in-store training for 3 days before being deployed to various retailers across the UK.
When we consider this concept now, it’s just not implemented or adopted, so, we have brought it back! Lodge Elite security officer model has been developed by those that were red caps back then and now are part of the Lodge Lodge Security Sabrewatch leadership team.
Our vision for elite guarding is to provide a highly trained, skilled, and motivated team of professionals who can effectively manage risks and provide exceptional security services.
We select the best individuals with a passion for customer service, professional poise and demeanour, excellent communication skills, as well as an unrelenting focus on safety and preparedness.
Our goal is to ensure that our security personnel possess not only the technical knowledge required in their field but also the critical thinking ability necessary to quickly adapt to changing situations. Through continuous training, education, and development programs that emphasise innovation, diversity, integrity, and responsibility we seek to create a culture of excellence within Lodge Security Sabrewatch.
Ultimately our elite security officers are empowered with cutting-edge technology tools to provide an unmatched level of safeguarding our clients’ assets with utmost care and diligence. This includes GPRS tracked Body worn Video, with ‘Push to Talk’ facilities, person down and panic device monitored by our dedicated 24/7 controllers and backed up by our response vehicles.
Trained and equipped with DNA spray, our officers are able to guarantee an offender’s presence if questioned when detained.
The elite training is off site and provided by a 3rd party specialist training provider. Covering all aspects of today’s demanding security needs, including; customer service and conflict management, diversity and equality, safety & security operations, law & legislation, through to detention, safeguarding evidence, statement writing and public realm security.
Where customers permit the remote monitoring of their CCTV via our GSOC (Global Security Operations Centre), our elite CCTV controllers support the teams on the ground, identifying potential situations through the use of AI and directing the officers accordingly to prevent incidents.
We no longer have the benefit of dedicated Policing in most areas, therefore our Elite officers, will be at the forefront of collaboration, interacting with the BCRP’s, policing other security providers in the area, whilst backed up by our current extensive guarding deployments and BID (Business Improvement Districts) wardens across the UK and Ireland and supported by our dedicated ‘Intelligence and Partnerships’ manager.
For the elite officers, there is a pathway, with enhanced training, pay, career progression and the pride in being part of the Elite team, the best of the best!
To find out more about our Elite services please visit our website https://sabrewatchsecurity.com/ or get in contact with [email protected]