Praise for our people

SIR – I was most interested to READ Efraim Halevy’s Opinion piece in last month’s edition (‘Taking the fight to the terrorists’, SMT, August 2005, pp13-14). There are many lessons to be learned from the dreadful events that occurred in London on Thursday 7 July, and indeed the subsequent failed attacks.

As with any disaster of this kind, a plethora of questions came before any subsequent recriminations. More detail will emerge that we do not yet know – a missed opportunity here, a lapsed opportunity there – and there’ll always be that thought in the back of our minds... Could we have done more to prevent this?

In among the chatter of the police, the intelligence services and various specialist units (complete with covert unit names and characterised by faces hidden beneath balaclavas), one vital element in the chain in the fight against terror and protecting the public is again being overlooked. The private security industry or, to be more specific, the private security officers.

No-one – least of all my company – would want to be accused of trying to gain cheap publicity out of such an horrific event, but this has to be balanced with the need for praising our officers (and the security guarding industry in general) where praise is due over the splendid way in which they responded on the day, and have continued to act subsequent to 7/7.

It would not be an exaggeration to say that my In-Tray is full of Thank You letters from senior directors of security at many of the City’s Blue Chip companies. It wouldn’t be right to name names here. In any case, it is the content that matters.

One client writes: “The members of your guarding team kept their heads in extremely testing and difficult circumstances, and provided great assistance to the emergency workers who were on site.” The same client singled out one of First’s officers, who “co-ordinated many of the emergency activities, calling for stretcher bearers and assistance when required and keeping people in touch with events throughout London by Walkie Talkie. The officer displayed great qualities of leadership. We are all very proud of the First Security Team. The officers are a credit to your company.”

Another client refers to the work our teams completed in “helping to ensure, as far as possible, that we could maintain a ‘business as usual’-style attitude” and commented on the Security Team’s “commitment to staying late, as others were leaving, to ensure that our members of staff would be cared for if they were remaining at work through the night.”

A final comment thanks First Security’s teams for their “fantastic efforts”.

I hope the readers of Security Management Today will forgive me this opportunity of publicly thanking my officers – and the hundreds of other security officers from similarly like-minded firms – whose commitment to their clients, their dedication and their professionalism (while not always capturing the public eye) is worthy of the very highest praise.