The Stars of Security!

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The eighth annual Security Excellence Awards Ceremony held last month at the famous Hilton Hotel on London’s Park Lane proved to be yet another sparkling evening in this event’s rich history. Brian Sims reviews the Hollywood-themed Excellence Awards, and pays tribute to the 2006 winners – all of whom have demonstrated complete professionalism and a willingness to push back the security boundaries.

750 Guests dinind in style in the luxurious surroundings of the Grand Ballroom at London’s Hilton Hotel on Park Lane. BBC Television and radio presenter Jeremy Vine offering many a funny anecdote to enthral the audience. A Charity Casino that raised £10,000 in aid of Hear4U (to the delight of The Company of Security Professionals’ current Master John Purnell)... and who can forget sharing a drink or two with friends and then dancing into the small hours in front of our house DJ!

The Security Excellence Awards 2006 will live long in the memory for all in attendance as a truly fabulous occasion. Now into its eighth year, the industry’s ‘Oscars’ rightly carried a Hollywood theme and attracted more entries and sponsors 15, in fact! than ever before

(with the BT redcare Group, Skills for Security, the British Security Industry Association, Over-C, MITIE Security and Kings Security joining our now well-established supporters Southern and Northern Monitoring Services, ACPO CPI, G4S Security Services (UK), Dedicated Micros, Panasonic (UK), Prima Corporate Wear, the Security Industry Authority, Total Workplace Management and IFSEC/CMP Information).

As always, the Black Tie event maintained a serious purpose namely honouring the very best companies and individuals in the business but there was also more than a hint of fun to proceedings! This is as much a social occasion for the readers and supporters of event organisers Security Management Today, Security Installer and Platform as it is an important ceremony to honour the top practitioners in the industry.

Much deliberation on the part of the Judging Panel had whittled down a substantially increased number of entries on the 2005 event, enabling the assembled masses to congratulate the Best Security Manager, the Best Guarding Company, the Best Security Manufacturer, the winners of the Best Customer Care Initiative and the Best IT Initiative recipients (to name but a few of our categories).

This year’s Judging Panel covered a broad spectrum of the industry, with all of the individuals concerned rightly seen as experts in their field.

Sitting on the Panel for 2006

Professor Martin Gill (director of Perpetuity Research and Consultancy International), Stefan Hay (business development director at Skills for Security), Richard Kemp (director of security for the Canary Wharf Group), Alex Carmichael (the BSIA’s technical director), Lincolnshire Police assistant chief constable Peter Davies, Chet Patel (chief executive at the BT redcare Group), Bill Wyllie (chairman of The Security Institute), Michael Jasper (principal consultant, Michael Jasper Security and Training Consultancy), SSAIB chief executive Geoff Tate, Patrick Somerville (chairman of the International Professional Security Association), John Allan (chief executive of the International Institute of Security), Ian Fowler (formerly with Norbain and now a security consultant at Buro Happold), Ray Ashby (integrated systems product manager with Gardiner Security) and Peter French, the managing director of SSR Personnel Services.

As always, the Panel was completed by Security Management Today’s Editor Brian Sims, Alan Hyder (Editor of Security Installer) and Platform’s Editor Ron Alalouff.

The Government and the SIA: supporting the Awards With a Keynote Address by Vernon Coaker (Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Policing, Security and Community Safety at The Home Office) and a response courtesy of Security Industry Authority chief executive John Saunders, guests could easily reconcile the fact that the Security Excellence Awards are without question the premier awards strand in the private security industry.

SMT, Security Installer and Platform wish to convey their sincere congratulations to all of this year’s winners and finalists!

For our part, we are already looking ahead to the 2007 judging sessions. And remember... Next time it could well be you or your organisation being honoured! Look out for details of how to enter the 2007 Security Excellence Awards in forthcoming editions of SMT.

The 2006 Security Excellence Awards...

G4S Security Services (UK) the largest security solutions provider in the UK, undertaking over 32 million hours of guarding every year

Panasonic (UK)the single source contact for CCTV, EAS and source tagging systems, and the pioneer of the revered Premier Integrators for End Users initiative

Over-C provider of intuitive, web-based management solutions for clients in the security guarding sector Southern and Northern Monitoring Services a market leader in the remote monitoring arena, established in 1983

Prima Corporate Wear the leading supplier of corporate clothing to the security sector (boasting no less than 30 years’ experience in the industry)

BT redcare Group provider of the only alarm monitoring service to be listed and approved by the Loss Prevention Certification Board

ACPO CPI national body that supports the Secured by Design initiative as well as managing the Secured Car Parks project and the national Architectural Liaison Officers Conference

Security Industry Authority the organisation tasked with managing the licensing and regulation process laid down in the Private Security Industry Act 2001

MITIE Security £240 million turnover, ACS-listed security guarding contractor offering bespoke solutions to a growing number of prestigious blue chip clients

British Security Industry Association the industry’s pivotal Trade Association, its 570 Members provide over 70% of the UK’s security products and services

Dedicated Micros innovative producer of digital multiplex CCTV recording systems

Skills for Security the skills and standards-setting body for the industry, created to work alongside employers on raising skills levels within the sector

Kings Security – an ISO 9001:2000-accredited security installer offering a complete service (both locally and nationally) to a wide range of clients

Total Workplace Management – CMP Information’s yearly end user exhibition

IFSEC – the UK’s leading security systems exhibition for practising professionals, which runs at the NEC each May

Best Security Manager

Trevor Gannon (regional director of corporate security at Credit Suisse) accepts the trophy from sponsor Over-C’s managing director Michael Elliott.

Best Event Security Team

Showsec managing director Mark Harding collects the trophy from CMPI’s group director Simon Parker and Security Management Today’s Brian Sims.

Best Guarding Company

A clearly delighted Bill Muskin of guarding contractor VSG is congratulated by sponsor Nick Atkinson md at Prima Corporate Wear and SMT Editor Brian Sims.

Best Security Training Initiative

Ron Dickin (operations director at Wilson James) receives the 2006 training trophy from Linda Sharpe, the chief executive of Skills for Security.

Best Security Partnership Initiative

John Birkenshaw of Raid-control receives the much sought-after partnering award from ACPO CPI’s md Richard Childs and Ron Alalouff, Editor of Platform.

Best Security Consultant

G4S Security Services (UK)’s David Beaton presents Arup Security Consulting director John Haddon with the 2006 trophy.

Best Security Innovation

Craig Swallow , managing director at Connexion 2, accepts the award from sponsor MITIE Security’s UK managing director Jeff Flanagan .

International Achievement Award

The third winner in this category’s history was VIDEF Security Consulting. Bernard Lockett receives the trophy from IFSEC’s event director James Blue.