From Guards to guardians

With Security Industry Authority (SIA) licensing of private sector operatives now well underway, thoughts are rapidly turning to the practical development of security officers’ potential role as members of the extended police family. As former Lincolnshire Police chief constable – and recently-appointed Joint Security Industry Council (JSIC) chief executive Richard Childs pointed out three years ago, regulation is a key issue underpinning this concept (‘Childs demands ‘fast-track’ response to industry regulation’, SMT, July 2002, pp13-14).

Alongside this, the Police Reform Act 2002 provides for specified police support staff (including private sector security personnel) and civilians to be given certain powers in various defined circumstances in order that they might perform specific duties.

“We are dealing with a new threshold of threat from international terrorism,” stated David Veness ahead of his recent retirement as assistant commissioner (specialist operations) with the Metropolitan Police. “Law enforcement and intelligence agencies cannot deal with this in isolation. We need to combine our work with the skills and assets of others. The duties undertaken by partners within the private sector are fundamental to assisting us in maintaining a safe environment for all.”

While attention has been focused on such steps as the somewhat controversial introduction of Police Community Support Officers, it’s fair to say that the introduction of Project Griffin has enjoyed a far less bumpy ride. The initiative involves the education and training of security officers from organisations operating across the City of London, in Westminster and on the ever-burgeoning Canary Wharf Estate in Docklands in order to raise their awareness of counter-terrorism measures and issues.

The theory being that, post-training, the private security personnel involved will be better equipped to provide genuine assistance to their client organisation(s) – and the police service – on both a daily basis and in the event of a major incident.

Project Griffin actually emerged after the success of an ‘in-house’ joint venture between the City of London Police and the Metropolitan Force which embraced front line, uniformed officers. Back in January 2004, five one-day pilot training exercises were held involving between 350 and 400 officers, with the aptly-named ‘awareness days’ focusing on terrorism-related topics.

It was felt that the idea should be trialled on an expanded scale. Thus in the summer of 2004 over 500 security officers passed through a further five, one-day seminars. This time around, the course content was designed in conjunction with the other emergency services and central security industry bodies – including SITO, the BSIA and JSIC – as well as the Sister Banks organisation (representing 12 of the major finance houses operating in the Capital) and several other business groups.

Project Griffin in section

Overseen by Mike Bowron, assistant commissioner at the City of London Police, Project Griffin comprises three strands.

First, there’s the aforementioned awareness or education day. These are held at Wood Street Police Station in the City, and include input on the current terrorist threat as well as an overview of the differing threat from other, non-terrorist groups given by the City of London Police Special Branch.

There are also incisive presentations from Metropolitan Police explosives officers seconded from the Bomb Squad, who teach security operatives about the component parts of explosive devices and what actions should be taken at the scene of a detonation. A further 30-minute tutorial brings the security officers up-to-speed on person-borne explosives. How to recognise such a threat – and the best ways to react in terms of a positive response – form the core of the discussion.

The day’s education process also covers a number of separate key areas such as emergency services command and control, conflict resolution, hostile reconnaissance and anti-terrorist planning, in addition to cordons and associated powers.

The second strand of Project Griffin is a ‘bridge call’ facility for security managers. This consists of a secure, password-controlled telephone conference call, held weekly (usually on a Friday evening) and hosted by JP Morgan Chase Bank (one of the Sister Banks organisation members). Information from the City of London and Metropolitan Police Force’s Intelligence Bureaus – not to mention the Anti-Terrorist Squad – updates all participating security staff on recent and current crime trends and present terrorist threat levels.

Terrorism is a serious issue, and safety must be paramount. Security officers have a role to play in duties such as reassuring the general public, but this role should not be blurred with that of dedicated police officers

Richard Childs, Chief Executive, JSIC

Although it’s hoped that this will never have to be invoked, the third strand is the deployment of security officers to work alongside police officers on cordon control in the event of a major incident.

It was assessed that this concept would provide core benefits due to the business community and the security industry working more closely together with law enforcement in maintaining and developing a continuing and productive working partnership.

Benefits of the briefings

One of those benefiting from the ‘bridge call’ briefings is Canary Wharf Group’s estate security manager Keith Trowbridge. Speaking to SMT, he explained their value. “Around 45 different organisations are involved,” commented Trowbridge. “We find this weekly event a useful means of conveying intelligence concerning localised threats specific to each of the three areas currently involved in Griffin. The ‘bridge call’ is very much a two-way exercise, as the police forces involved can also ask for help. They might, for example, request assistance from our security officers to keep an eye out for stolen items on their patch.”

Trowbridge stated that all of the organisations taking part in Project Griffin have an opportunity for interactive dialogue during the ‘bridge call’. However, the problem of a “Tower of Babel scenario” developing means that, in practice, the exercise is essentially ‘toploaded’ in terms of the police dispersing relevant advice and information as and when deemed necessary.

Security officers from the Canary Wharf Estate also comprise the majority of those who’ve so far attended the awareness days hosted by the City of London Police since Project Griffin passed into ‘live’ status in October 2004. The six-hour sessions are able to ‘process’ around 100 officers each time. Over 1,200 officers have now attended the training, with plans for 900 more to have achieved the same status before the year’s out.

A checklist of activities that might be regarded as suspicious is encapsulated in a pocket-sized aide memoire for police and security officers. This has been produced as a joint initiative between JSIC and ACPO, and is handed out to all course attendees.

As stated, SITO has assisted with the awareness day content, and fully endorses the certificates given to security officers on completion of their training.

Blurring of the roles?

Speaking on behalf of JSIC, Richard Childs is supportive of Project Griffin. “We welcome this connection between the private security industry and the police service in London. Terrorism is a serious issue, and safety must be paramount. Security officers have a role to play in duties such as reassuring the general public, but this role should not be blurred with that of dedicated police officers.”

Proceeding to describe Project Griffin as a “very important initiative”, Childs nevertheless expresses some concerns over related costs being passed on to the security industry or its clients. He suggests that any such costs ought to be absorbed by the public purse, since the anti-terrorism support functions provided by security officers will ultimately be carried out in the public interest.

In response to Childs’ concerns, a spokesperson for the City of London Police confirmed to SMT that a £25 per person administration charge is levied for the awareness days (which, in essence, covers the fee for lunch and refreshments for all those officers attending the course).

The ‘bridge call’ is very much a two-way exercise, as the police forces involved can also ask for help. They might, for example, request assistance from our security officers to keep an eye out for stolen items on their patch –

Keith Trowbridge, Estate Security Manager, Canary Wharf Group

The Corporation of London has funded the supply of 2,000 high visibility fluorescent tabards for use by security officers if they're deployed to work alongside the police on cordon control in the event of a major incident. These tabards include space for the addition of each officer’s own company logo.

Commenting on the likely roles of security officers in terms of cordon support, Canary Wharf Group’s Keith Trowbridge suggests that detailed operational deployment issues – such as the likely number of officers that could realistically be allocated in each area, and the powers bestowed upon them in such a situation – have yet to be addressed. “One of the main challenges for the police service is the question of how to communicate the potential availability of this relatively new resource to all of their own officers,” said Trowbridge.

“If a major incident were to occur today, for instance, I suspect the majority of police officers wouldn’t even be aware of the Griffin support function that private sector security officers could provide.”

Helping with forensics

A large-scale trial designed to test the practical aspects of security officers working alongside the police – and similar in nature to the disaster scenario exercise conducted in the City back in 2003 (see panel ‘Project Griffin’s genesis: commercial assistance on counter-terrorism’) – has not yet involved private security officers. A City of London Police spokesperson suggested that plans had been in place to use officers in the Atlantic Blue exercise previously scheduled for this Spring, but this has since been converted to a ‘table top’ scenario.

That said, a number of Project Griffin-trained security officers in the Barbican area of the City provided unsolicited help following a recent drive-by shooting. The officers – a mixture of contract personnel and in-house staff – helped police to cordon off a specific area while forensics work was carried out. Indeed, this is exactly the type of task many envisage could be a central feature of private sector officers’ involvement in the extended police family.

Meantime, plans are now in place to expand the Griffin initiative around the country. Representatives from police forces, Chambers of Commerce, retail concerns, security companies and local councils in the counties of Dorset and Avon & Somerset are considering the adoption of awareness day training.

Further liaison and enquiries have also involved relevant officials in South Wales, Hampshire and the West Midlands.

Learning to feel valued

For its part, the City of London Police is continuing Project Griffin in the Capital, and has opened its doors to the entire City security industry. A series of training days have been planned – one every month, in fact – over the coming year.

The City of London Police is keen to involve as many members of the security industry as possible such that they receive the necessary education because it provides a great deal of information that cannot be obtained elsewhere. Feedback from security officers who have attended Project Griffin awareness education training identifies that they have learned much, feel more valued and key players in the extended police family.