Jack Ellis Body Protection is used to protect TV personalities such as Ross Kemp and the Top Gear presenters in dangerous terrains as well as many frontline security personnel in the UK. The armour provides efficient protection to its wearers by using smart technology and material to dissipate energy on impact which significantly reduces blunt trauma. The cutting edge 2007 Home Office certified smart armour defends against modern threats such as knife, needle & spike, ballistic, shrapnel (including flying glass) and blunt trauma (including being hit with pipes and other hard objects and being kicked). Unlike most of its competitors Jack Ellis includes bespoke and ergonomically designed HOSDB 2007 certified female armour in their range.

Stewart Liddell, sales and marketing director of Jack Ellis Body Protection said” We are very pleased to have reappointed Interconnective as our UK distributor. We have been working with Interconnective very successfully for the last ten years and are certain that with their market knowledge and presence we will continue to grow our business together.”

Bobby Logue, MD of Interconnective Ltd said “We are excited about the future of the Jack Ellis offering with the inclusion of some innovative products due for launch later this year. Our customers have faith in the British manufactured Home Office certified Jack Ellis Body Protection which has resulted in brand loyalty from our customers over the past 10 years. “

All Jack Ellis Body Protection meets the 2007 Home Office Scientific Development Branch (HOSDB) standards in the Handgun, Knife and Spike categories. Jack Ellis Body Protection HOSDB certification also includes bespoke ergonomically designed female armour. In addition our armour defeats needle threats and maintains its resistance properties when wet. What really sets Jack Ellis Body Protection apart is the formulation of our body armour packs which uniquely dissipates energy during attacks resulting in a reduction in blunt trauma. Based on our anecdotal research, blunt trauma is a major threat against CVIT teams. All Jack Ellis Body Protection armour packs carry a 10 year manufacturer’s warranty and are produced in the UK in an ISO 9001:2008 facility.

Interconnective Limited is a UK based security industry products specialist with core brands such as Jack Ellis Body Protection, The Partner Patrol Management System and Turtleskin needle resistant gloves. www.interconnective.co.uk

Jack Ellis Live Fire Demo Part 1

Jack Ellis Live Fire Demo Part 2

Bobby Logue believes the desire of the private security industry to include in house security operatives in regulatory framework is not born out protectionism, or discrepancies in remuneration, hours of work or even training levels. There are four good and cogent underlying reasons for this desire which are;

• The creation of a level playing field which will protect the public by ensuring minimum levels of training, criminality and conduct,
• The drive by the security industry towards professionalism, which is important to a much maligned industry who have mostly been in the public scrutiny for the wrong reasons,
• In the age of austerity greater reliance will be made of the security industry, contract or in house, to support the police in their never ending battle against terrorism, crime and social disorder and,
• Finally, common sense, there appears to no logic or fairness where the determination of who requires a licence is based on the type or category of employer. In essence it implies one type of employer is inferior to another. As Lord Digby Jones, former Director-General of the CBI and former United Kingdom Minister of State for Trade & Investment responded in 2003 to the In House issue “It b*ll*cks!!!”

The In House debate has long been a bone of contention within the private security industry being the prime motivation in initiating the award winning campaign “Four Issues Once Voice” by the Editor of Infologue.com, Bobby Logue and the Editor of SMT Online/ Info4Security.com, Brian Sims. The campaign resulted in the SIA conducting an extensive consultation exercise which included; “Our conclusion is that there is no clearly defined or substantiated risk to public protection to be addressed and that we are unable, at this time, to make a case which would justify extending our remit to include licensing of in-house guards. We will review the situation again in the 2012-2013 financial year.” (SIA Website) There was much comment on the findings made as a result of the consultation undertaken by the SIA which were “Our conclusion is that there is no clearly defined or substantiated risk to public protection to be addressed and that we are unable, at this time, to make a case which would justify extending our remit to include licensing of in-house guards.” (SIA Website)

We believe that this decision was made due to a lack of will on the part of the government of the day as well as a lack of cohesion on the part of the private security industry resulting in a lacklustre response to the consultation.

Bobby Logue wonders what the reaction will be if the industry made its case on the in-house issue to the devolved governments of Scotland and Northern Ireland. Both authorities have shown steel by rejecting the planned demise of the Security Industry Authority. If the current cohesive mood of the industry persists there may be a better chance of success.

British Security Industry Association Website

Download the report from the SIA Consultation on In-House Security

THE LESSONS ON FIRST RESPONSE FROM 9/11

Since the tragedy of 9/11 the role of the civilian first responder has become a critical element of any disaster response framework. This was reinforced in the following extracts from the 9/11 Commission Report;

“The lesson of 9/11 for civilians and first responders can be stated simply: in the new age of terror, they-we-are the primary targets. The losses America suffered that day demonstrated both the gravity of the terrorist threat and the commensurate need to prepare ourselves to meet it. The first responders of today live in a world transformed by the attacks on 9/11. Because no one believes that every conceivable form of attack can be prevented, civilians and first responders will again find themselves on the front lines. We must plan for that eventuality,” and;

“… for the private sector controls 85 percent of the critical infrastructure in the nation. Indeed, unless a terrorist’s target is a military or other secure government facility, the “first” first responders will almost certainly be civilians. Homeland security and national preparedness therefore often begins with the private sector. … Preparedness in the private sector and public sector for rescue, restart, and recovery of operations should include (1) a plan for evacuation, (2) adequate communications capabilities, and (3) a plan for continuity of operations. As we examined the emergency response to 9/11, witness after witness told us that despite 9/11, the private sector remains largely unprepared for a terrorist attack. We were also advised that the lack of a widely embraced private-sector preparedness standard was a principal contributing factor to this lack of preparedness. “

“The professional approach to first response by Rick Rescorla, the security chief at Morgan Stanley in the World Trade Centre, saved all but six of Morgan Stanley’s employees after the 9/11 attack. “Rescorla felt it was foolish to rely on first responders (Emergency Services in this case) to save his employees. Morgan Stanley’s employees would need to take care of one another. He ordered them not to listen to any instructions from the Port Authority in a real emergency. In his eyes, it had lost all legitimacy after it failed to respond to his 1990 warnings. And so Rescorla started running the entire company through his own frequent, surprise fire drills. He trained employees to meet in the hallway between the stairwells and go down the stairs, two by two, to the 44^th floor,” as reported by Amanda Ripley in A Survival Guide to Catastrophe in TIME Magazine May. 29, 2008

PEOPLE SAFETY AND SAFER BUILDINGS

Key to the first response function is the role of the modern security officer who today should have a wider remit than security which could be described as “people safety” It is my belief that First on Scene skills in the area of evacuation basics, first aid and fire, including marshalling and practical use of fire fighting equipment are critical constituents in the DNA of the modern frontline security officer. There are other areas that require attention in the skills arsenal of the modern security officer which include report writing, counter surveillance, effective patrolling and customer service. Most of the training improvements suggested are currently available in the form of standalone courses. It was therefore surprising to see minimal increase in the modern security officer’s training requirements for the SIA licence this year. When asked by Infologue.com, the SIA said “When we re-developed the specifications, we involved the industry fully in the development process. We were very keen that we had an industry-led process.” Another surprising element of the training improvement was the failure to introduce “top up” training for security guards who had previously been trained.

CREATIVE USE OF TRAINING CAPABILITY

Extra training does not necessarily mean extra time, if creative use is made of classroom time i.e. there are elements of the current training that could be evolved into a theory test which is administered prior to classroom training. However, if extra training time is needed for the SIA required training then all security officers would have to undertake such training resulting in a costs “level playing field”. Another creative method of adding extra training is through “pop up” training sessions, a practise currently been deployed by some security companies, for refresher or top up training. The SIA could also consider using the South African security industry regulatory model which grades security personnel according to the skills deployed. This would allow training skills to be added to security personnel that require such skills in there deployment. What is also interesting is the South African Regulator, the Private Security Industry Regulatory Authority (PSIRA) provides an illustrative costing model as a guideline for end users and the standard maximum hours allowed to be worked by a security officer is forty eight.

THE PUBLIC REASSURANCE AGENDA

Part of the Home Office public reassurance agenda surely has to be that when people walk into a building they should feel safe and secure when they see a security officer who they know is trained to respond to emergencies. The wider agenda should be developed into a “safer buildings” programme involving the SIA, HSE and ACPO.

Bobby Logue is the Editor of Infologue.com.

]]> http://www.interconnective.co.uk/news-room/1193/feed 0 http://www.interconnective.co.uk/news-room/1179 http://www.interconnective.co.uk/news-room/1179#comments Mon, 05 Jul 2010 11:39:50 +0000 admin http://www.interconnective.co.uk/?p=1179 The speech by the Chairman of the Security Industry Authority (SIA), Baroness Ruth Henig, on looking at the future direction of the regulated security industry, at the Annual SIA conference on the fourteenth of June 2010 was both welcome and timely, writes Logue Corporate Principal and Infologue.com Editor. This is a significant opportunity for all stakeholders to develop a blueprint for the creation of a modern and vibrant security industry that is beneficial. The SIA Chief Executive, Bill Butler, said that whilst the SIA could create the environment, it was the industry, with the assistance of the SIA, that needed to become the change driver. Surprisingly, we have not heard any public response from any of the major players of the industry to this innovative offer. However, if the security industry is to capitalise on this initiative, a vision of what a great industry looks like should be created, enabling the development of building blocks to achieve this ambition.

In his closing speech at the SIA conference, Bill Butler said; “I’m going to say one thing that we are not going to do and this is something that we said originally we were going to do. I’d like to think that I may have said it differently but at the outset we said we were going to create a golden age in the industry where pay goes up where there’s limit-less opportunities for people to do work. I think that over time the standard and the approach of the industry can improve but I think that was an unrealistic promise to make and regardless of what we have said in the past I am taking it back. This is about what the industry does and the improvements that have taken place over the last few years are things that you have done. I like to think we create the environment, I like to think we help but the reason there are more women working in the industry, that there’s more professionalism and there can be conversations about creating an effective profession for the industry, the fact that there is recognition of the standards that the industry create and better partnership with the police, I could go on, is because of what you in the industry have done to take things forward. We want to carry on helping you do that but that’s what you do – that’s your success.”

In her speech Ruth Henig said; “To move forward in tacking these areas of improvement, and others, we will need to work closely with our partners, and with private security industry businesses, to discuss how we can share regulatory responsibilities effectively and to mutual benefit. This is the time to start planning for, and working towards, greater empowerment and lighter touch regulation for those working in the private security industry. We would like to see key industry figures and organisations, such as the Security Institute, BSIA and Skills for Security, to name but a few, as well as individual companies, joining in the discussions, leading the drive for higher standards and for innovation. This means working with the SIA to explain to Parliamentarians, civil servants and to those who work in the industry how regulation in the industry will evolve, and helping to achieve the goals we will all hopefully be united in pursuing. You can all help the SIA to move forward, building on the benefits of regulation which have been achieved so far, and working together to drive forward a joint agenda of professionalisation of the industry and of higher skill levels and continuous training for those who work within it.”

My comments in the June Editorial of Infologue.com, ENERGISING THE SECURITY INDUSTRY, underpins the opening paragraph of this month’s editorial; “It is my belief that one of the flaws in the industry is our wish to create today tomorrow, in other words we are always one step behind. It is my opinion that the current approach of our industry is to examine challenges on a piecemeal basis instead of adopting a holistic approach. Examples include skills development, the Working Time Directive and company differentiation. My belief is that a holistic approach is adopted where security industry best process, practice and output is identified. This will give all stakeholders of the security industry a vision of excellence instead of focussing on minimum requirements. From this vision, standards, skill levels and other “items” on the industry’s shopping list could flow. Part of this approach would require the regulator, the Security Industry Authority to give more weight to their relationships with the security industry trade bodies on industry matters. The trade organisations would in turn have to ensure its positions are fully mandated by its membership.” Before we can move forward we as an industry need to created this vision.

There are some outstanding legacy issues that require resolution such as the In House issue, Cutting Red Tape and other issues raised by Brian Sims the editor of SMT Online and myself in the award winning campaign, FOUR ISSUES ONE VOICE.

When nominating Logue for the Award the Chairman of The Security Institute wrote; “Bobby Logue has made a significant and outstanding contribution to media and communications within the UK security industry. His innovative and informative online journal ‘Infologue.com’, is widely read by both security suppliers and end-users. Through an ongoing series of articles, reports and statistics, Bobby has made the facts and news about the security industry, and in particular, the guarding sector, more widely available to a broader audience, and always in real-time. He has the knack of knowing things before anyone else! Bobby has never shied away from tackling some very sensitive issues. Moreover, he has succeeded in harnessing through ‘Infologue.com’, the viewpoints of the regulator and key representatives of the private security sector, often instigating fascinating debates and exchanges. Infologue.com is read by security personnel at every level, thereby creating an electronic forum from which the industry’s newest recruits, as well as the most experienced security manager, can benefit. “

In 2006 Bobby Logue, was recognized for his efforts in respect of his role as Editor of Infologue.com, when he received the initial Skills for Security Special Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Security Business Sector.

Bobby Logue, the Managing Director of Interconnective Limited said; “With our industry contacts we were able to assist in finding a suitable home for the contracts of Craft Services avoiding disruption to their employees and customers.”

VISIT LOGUE CORPORATE WEBSITE
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