Faith, hope... and security

That's certainly true of the 'wider police family', without doubt the most important relationship strand ever to emerge from the corridors of Westminster as far as the private security industry is concerned.

Home Secretary David Blunkett's far-reaching plans, outlined in the much-talked about Police Reform Act 2002, are already starting to bear fruit. By all accounts, the Police Community Support Officers deployed by the Metropolitan Police in the Capital have been a major success. Above all, they make for an additional – and highly valuable – presence on the streets, which is what most tax payers want to see for their hard-earned money.

Allied to the fact that overall crime recorded by the 43 police forces in England and Wales is up 7% for the year to April 2003 ('News Update', p7), it's easy to see why the clamour for complementary policing has begun in earnest.

Many protagonists in the policing ranks have fought shy of working with private sector contractors. The latter's poor media image and perceived lack of professionalism have constantly fuelled deep-seated fears of ensuing reputational damage from security breaches. That is something the police service can quite obviously do without.

At the end of the day, though, the time has come for mandarins in the police service to lay their cards squarely on the table and take the plunge by working with contractors of proven merit. Only then will the crime statistics improve.

Last month, SMT reported on a perfect private sector-police service 'marriage' in The Port of Liverpool ('Vintage Port', SMT, July 2003, pp22-27).

Now, the whole idea of complementary policing has been taken to the next level by an enlightened client (Virgin Trains) and the British Transport Police (BTP) – whose forward-thinking chief constable Ian Johnston has sanctioned determined and sustained moves by north west area commander Martyn Ripley to engage support from an award-winning contractor ('Parallel lines', pp18-24).

Employed by Virgin Trains but deployed at six West Coast Main Line stations by BTP, Noble Security's bespoke officers are actively defining the blueprint for community policing in UK plc for decades to come. The future starts here.