Security Institute commitment

Bill Wyllie - chairman of The Security Institute (TSI) - has answered certain practitioners' questions about the organisation's desire to achieve Chartered status by reiterating that he and his fellow Board members are "resolutely committed to that goal".

Speaking at TSI's recent Annual General Meeting (held at the London Marriott Hotel, Marble Arch), Wyllie stated: "A Chartered Institute for the security profession is a long-overdue requirement. It remains a firm medium-term commitment of the Institute that we should gain such status. To this end, Council has appointed vice-chairman Stewart Kidd as Chartered Status Co-ordinator, and he will have the remit of reporting - at each Council meeting - the extent to which we are on track in terms of meeting our goal."

The achievement of Chartered status has been a core Institute goal since its inception, but Wyllie is quick to temper enthusiasms for a ‘quick fix route to goal' by stressing that, before any application for Chartered status can be made, the Institute "needs to jump certain hurdles" in terms of membership numbers, professional standing and reputation and financial stability. "If you are competing in the Olympic Games, you don't just pitch up and say: ‘Give me a medal'. You train, train and train again and then you can perform," explained Wyllie.

TSI's chairman then expanded on the numbers theme. "All of the road markers that we need to pass are factored-in to our current tactical objectives," suggested Wyllie. "However, despite all of the work that the Council, the Validation Board and other Sub-Committees are doing in terms of moving the Institute and the profession of security management forward, the most critical and significant assistance that can be given by the membership at large is to recruit more members."

Wyllie's goal for the past 12 months has been to double TSI's membership and, although that target hasn't quite been realised, a new membership leaflet - to be distributed within next month's Security Management Today (SMT) and at IFSEC 2006 - has already begun to reap rewards.

"Today marks the start of our New Year, and the level of both membership renewals and new member applications indicates that we are providing what security professionals want," opined Wyllie. "However, I cannot stress enough that the future of the Institute hangs very much upon our recruitment campaign. We need more members now. That will aid our financial viability, and ensure that we are representing the broad view of committed security professionals."

It has been a busy year for TSI. The organisation has worked extensively with the Security Industry Authority, the British Security Industry Association, the National Security Inspectorate, Skills for Security and other bodies (including SO13 and the British Standards Institution) to discuss the future of private security provision in the UK, and move towards what Wyllie refers to as "the total incorporation of professional standards into the national security life."

During the year, Council has also established four Focus Groups to look at membership issues, innovation, resource management and standards. "We hope to use their conclusions to inform the way in which we move the Institute forward in the immediate future," added Wyllie. "Of course, those bodies are largely inward-looking, whereas the Institute's mission lies outside of itself. We are, therefore, in the process of setting up four Professionalism Groups to tackle aviation security, counter-surveillance measures and consultancy, in addition to communication with CEOs."

Wyllie's immediate priority over the next two months is to "transform" the Institute's web site (by way of a redesign and expansion of content) in time for IFSEC, at which TSI is running ‘Institute Day' on 9 May - and presenting a series of talks in conjunction with SMT.