Source: Get Surrey
A doorman left with facial injuries after being assaulted with a pint glass at a Guildford bar has said he wants to return to his job as soon as he can.
On December 9th, Chris Smith, 28, was struck twice on the left side of his face at Pews Bar, in Chapel Street, as he was speaking to a customer.
The cuts required in excess of 30 stitches during more than three hours in A&E, and doctors said plastic surgery may be necessary to repair the damage.
However, despite admitting the incident had put a dampener on Christmas, Mr Smith insisted the attack was highly out of the ordinary and defended Pews as a great place to work.
Mr Smith, also a pharmaceutical recruitment specialist, had approached a group of men to speak to them about their behaviour when he was assaulted.
Having worked at Pews for four-and-a-half years, he said he had never known such an incident to happen in the area and stressed this was not something that any doorman ever expected to experience.
“I don’t recall any incidents like this happening in Guildford, it’s unheard of,” he said.
“You get your small altercations wherever you go, but in Pews, never. I had no reason to think there was going to be a violent attack.”
He added: “I’m in a lot of pain now. The skin on my cheek had to be stretched where some tissue was missing and the left side of my mouth has dropped where a nerve has been cut.
“I am disfigured for life, but I dread to think how much worse it could have been.
“I’m lucky to have come away with my eye, as if the cut on my eye lid was any lower I would have lost it.”
Doormen receive regular training in first aid, drugs awareness, safe escorting and understanding reasonable force and Mr Smith said he believed security staff in Guildford were very professional.
He said he was working hard to get onto the property ladder and was determined not to let the attack stop him from doing the job he thoroughly enjoys.
“Don’t get me wrong, this incident has put a lot of fear in me. I’m wary of leaving the house and of going out. I’m constantly looking over my shoulder.
“But, in my mind, Pews is one of the best bars in Guildford and as soon as my scars have healed and I feel safe to go back I will return to the door.
“I have received an overwhelming amount of support from friends, family and colleagues and want to say a huge thank you for all the messages I’ve had from people.”
Surrey Police arrested a man following the incident. He was later released on bail to return to Guildford police station on January 31.
Witnesses to the attack can contact police on 101, quoting reference GD/11/12019.
Source: Banbridge Leader
Banbridge is a safer place to socialise, security experts have said.
A meeting between the SIA and PSNI has revealed that Banbridge night clubs have a high compliance rate with their licensing and employing certified door staff.
Sharon Roberts, SIA Head of Investigations, said that she was pleased so see the high compliance rates in the district, because Banbridge has such a vibrant night time economy.
The results for the district have also been consistent in the last two years, with Banbridge performing well on 3 random spot checks.
Jacqui Gillespie, Neighbourhood Inspector said: “The last spot check took place in the Banbridge area on 22 October and a number of unannounced visits were made. We have the balance right and there will be more inspections carried out.”
The SIA has been successfully running for two years in Northern Ireland, regulating the private security industry and is a non-departmental body which reports to the Home Office and Department of Justice,
Before the SIA was put in place there were no legal requirements for door staff in Northern Ireland.
It takes a hands on approach to monitoring and enforcing security compliance levels with premises across the country.
Ms Roberts said: “We started regulating in England in 2004, Scotland 2007 and 15 December 2009 in Northern Ireland. We are part of a regional team and deal with compliance levels in Northern Ireland and Scotland.”
The partnership was also discussed between the organisation and PSNI, with Inspector Gillespie stating that they have a good working relationship.
Ms Roberts reinforced this, adding: “We are working really well in partnership with the PSNI and want to highlight regulation and reinforce to the public that they are safe on a night out with SIA guards.”
Although Banbridge performed well with the regulations and compliance rates in Northern Ireland compare favourably with the UK, Ms Roberts wanted to remind the public to report any unlicensed venues to Crimestoppers.
She said: “It is important that if the public see any non compliance issues when they are out that they are addressed and guards licenses must be on display. Premise owners can be prosecuted for this offence, and this can be anything up to six months in prison or a fine of £6,000 for the provider.”Ms Roberts also stressed that premises need to be licensed so the door staff working there can be trained properly to deal with anti-social behaviour and general disorder.
She said: “In the security industry we need to make sure people are properly acredited and that they know how to diffuse situations before they get out of hand. Coming up to Christmas and with the increase of door staff, people need to make sure that places are licensed.”
Although the regulation has been here for two years, the SIA is working towards a new regime and is working hard with ministers in the Home Office to co-operate with businesses.
The SIA therefore encourages businesses and people working in the industry to take part in consultation exercises.
Inspector Gillespie added: “The scheme lends support to businesses because it reinforces that it is legally obliged to have a license in place.”
If a premise is caught without a license,the provider will be called for an interview which can later lead to prosecution, however penalties are all considered on a case by case basis.
This is a three year license at a £245 fee, however in the New year it will be reduced to £220 and Ms Roberts wanted to remind people that when license holders come to renew, they can take advantage of reduced costs
Source: Get Surrey
A doorman was taken to hospital after being attacked with a bottle at a Guildford bar.
Police officers were called to Pews Bar in Chapel Street at around 11.20pm last Friday.
The victim, Chris Smith, sustained serious facial injuries and was taken to the Royal Surrey County Hospital for treatment. He is employed by security provider DGL Services.
Jane Lyons, chairman of Guildford Pub Watch, said attacks of this nature were very rare for the area.
“It was totally unprovoked and horrific,” she said. “The doorman was just following procedures.
“Doormen have families and are doing their job like anyone else. They say it’s line of duty for the police but it’s the same for them at times.
“There's no excuse for such behaviour and it’s an unacceptable thing to happen to anyone. We are giving our full support to DGL Services and sending all our best wishes to the doorman.”
She added that due to the fact incidents like this were impossible to predict, there were unlikely to be any future special measures put in place as a result of Friday’s incident. However, she did say that additional security staff were likely to be in place at bars during the Christmas period.
Lewis Jessop, one of the owners of Pews, said: “I’m disgusted that this could happen to one of my doormen but I don’t want to comment any further. He’s got enough to deal with as it is.”
A DGL spokesman said: “The attack on Chris in Pews, an upmarket, trouble-free, trendy bar, was an unprovoked, mindless act of violence that is unusual for Guildford.
“Chris has shown great courage throughout this terrible, isolated incident and we are pleased to be able to support and help him through this awful experience.”
A man was arrested and has now been released on bail until January 31.
Officers are continuing with their investigations and are asking anyone who may have witnessed the incident to call Surrey Police on 101, quoting reference GD/11/12019.
Source: Men Media
A popular city centre nightclub has been shut down over Christmas after 13 people were arrested at a mass brawl in the venue.
Lounge 31, near the Printworks, has been shut down during its busiest season after concerns from police.
The bar’s fate will be decided after a full review by a town hall licensing panel on December 31.
Earlier this month, 13 people were arrested in one night at the venue, on Withy Grove.
After the incident, believed to be a fight involving several people, police urged the council to suspend the licence immediately until a full review.
Licensing chiefs have the power to revoke the nightclub’s licence completely, but could instead order them to increase security staff and CCTV surveillance, or impose other conditions.
Police and bar bosses will be able to make representations to the licensing panel.
A council spokesman confirmed that licensing officers temporarily suspended the bar's licence this month after ‘serious concerns’ from GMP.
Greater Manchester Police confirmed officers were called to Lounge 31 after reports of violent disorder, and 13 people were arrested.
Two were released without further action, and 11 others were bailed until the New Year.
A spokesman for Lounge 31 said it would be inappropriate to comment before the full hearing.
The Lounge 31 website says the nightclub has been open for three years and ‘has established itself as Manchester's most successful and longest running RnB, funky/urban house club’.
The nightspot has had live performances from local and also international acts, including US hip hop star T-Pain.
Source: Men Media
When darkness falls over the city streets and crowds of shoppers fade into the night, they are soon replaced by droves of party people looking to dance and drink the night away.
Manchester after dark has an alternative economy all of its own and draws visitors from all over the country and beyond.
From smoky jazz dens to chic designer bars and sweaty underground raves, the city has more than 650 licensed premises welcoming more than 500,000 patrons every week.
Manchester’s night-time economy is worth more than £100m a year and supports at least 12,000 jobs.
And if this alternative city has an unofficial mayor it is Sacha Lord-Marchionne, the clubland king nights out for almost 20 years. As owner of The Warehouse Project he has pulled off the unlikely trick of making an underground car park below a train station Manchester’s hottest ticket.
He is also part of the summer festival scene, with tens of thousands attending his Kendal Calling and Park Life events this year, as well as promoting giant one-off gigs at Jodrell Bank.
But the Ferrari-driving nightlife mogul’s career had a faltering start one night in July 1994 when the then 22-year-old chose the Haçienda nightclub as the perfect venue for his first venture.
Mr Lord-Marchionne, 39, said: “It was supposed to be a student night, but I quickly realised that all the students had already gone home for the summer.
“The night was going to stiff, so I went around every single shop in Manchester and told everyone that Take That and M People were going to be there!
“In the end we got 700 people through the doors and broke even.
“Luckily, I was friends with Jason Orange’s brother, who came down. He looks just like Jason, so I just about pulled it off.”
Mr Lord-Marchionne moved on to successfully promote regular student nights at venues across Manchester until, in 2000, he teamed up with partner Dave Vincent to open his first venue.
They chose the Ancoats nightclub Sankeys Soap which had been closed two years earlier largely due to the problems which plagued the city after dark at the time – gangsters, drugs and violence.
Despite the huge success that Sankeys went on to enjoy – it was voted the country’s best club in 2004 and enjoyed revenues of £2.75m in 2009/10 – Mr Lord-Marchionne says that by 2006 he was bored and looking for a new challenge.
He said: “We were booking the same DJs week after week, but during that time we ran three or four warehouse parties under the Tribal Gathering name.
“I really enjoyed the events and decided to sell my shares in Sankeys to set up Warehouse Project.”
Warehouse Project is a temporary nightclub in an improvised venue which appears every September and disappears again on New Year’s Day.
A moveable feast that is currently housed in a car park underneath Piccadilly station, it enjoys an international reputation as one of the country’s best nights out.
A recent gig by disco legends Chic, who were joined on stage by Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr, has already passed into legend. While time has been called on its current Store Street location, Sacha hints at a “very special announcement” in the first week of December about its future.
But there was a period in the 1990s when the city’s venues became victims of their own success.
High-profile clubs began to attract the wrong kind of attention and Manchester was nicknamed Gunchester when criminal elements spotted a market to exploit.
Security became a big problem when thugs and drug dealers tried to move into the city centre and attempt to take control of the sector.
Lord-Marchionne said: “When I started out I had to give a percentage of my takings to the door team. It was seen as a perk of the job for them.”
He decided to take control of security at the Warehouse Project by starting his own business, Primary Security, with doorman Mark Turnbull, who has spent 22 years working on club doors.
Mr Lord-Marchionne said: “The way that Primary Security came about was because I employed a couple of different door firms at the Warehouse Project and I was frustrated because the staff weren’t consistent, punctual or smartly dressed.
“Mark was the only decent member of staff that stood out. I thought it would make financial sense if I began to employ staff in house.”
In the past 12 months Primary has looked after 500,000 punters, including people at Creamfields and Park Life.
Mr Turnbull admits that the regulation of door staff in the past was inadequate.
“At some venues there was most definitely criminal activity,” he adds, “At Primary, we have around 70 staff who have come to us by word of mouth. We look after our staff and they appreciate being treated like professionals.
“After my time on the job I know all the scams and tricks. We do things straight down the line.
“The industry was plagued with people working for cash, and we have totally eliminated that.
“We are there to look after the public, not to bully them.”
And the team is also keen to praise the efforts of Manchester City Council and Greater Manchester Police have made in leading the city out of its darker days.
He highlights the City Centre Safe scheme, now renamed as Operation Custodian, which brought together the police and licensing officers to combat problems associated with Manchester after dark.
“It is down to them that Manchester has been cleaned up and we have got a thriving night-time economy in the city.”
Source: Daily Mirror
Gay rights campaigners have slammed a London nightclub after two men were thrown out for kissing.
The couple were ejected from Shooshh nightclub in Croydon for “over the top” canoodling in the VIP area.
Shocked clubbers reportedly saw doormen physically pick the men up, by their arms, and escort them outside.
Witness Ronnie Harris said: “It is quite disgusting to treat them like that, shocking.”
The incident, which happened in the early hours of Decemeber 4, has prompted a backlash from a local gay rights group which slammed the nightclub’s “out-dated” attitude.
Gary Mills, from the Croydon Area Gay Society, told the Croydon Guardian: ““If all they were doing is kissing the attitude is very out-dated, they are not taking drugs or starting a fight, they are kissing.
He added: “I would be very interested in speaking to this couple and taking their case to this nightclub. I think the club will find people’s reactions will quickly lead to a change in policy.”
Shooshh manager Albie Saliba confirmed that the gay couple had been ejected but denied that the club had discriminated against the men.
He said: "The way they were kissing was way over the top. They were asked to stop.
“If it was a guy and a girl we would have behaved in exactly the same way.”
Mr Saliba claims other customers complained that the men were kissing and touching as though they “thought they were in a hotel room”.
Earlier this year, hundreds of people staged a ‘kiss-in’ at the John Snow pub in Soho after a gay couple claimed they were thrown out for kissing.
Jonathan Williams, 26, and James Bull, 23, say they were ejected by the landlady who branded their public display of affection “obscene”.
Source: The Guardian
Young adults aged 18 and over who have forked out up to £30 for government-endorsed "proof of age" cards so they can get into pubs and clubs are being increasingly turned away by door staff, who will accept only passports and driving licences as valid ID.
Figures from the Proof of Age Standards Scheme (PASS), an accreditation scheme endorsed by the Home Office and the Association of Chief Police Officers, show that the number of refusals of cards carrying the PASS hologram has trebled over the past 18 months.
This has infuriated parents, many of whom have picked up the cost of their offsprings' PASS cards so they don't have to carry around valuable documents such as passports. And in online forums disgruntled youngsters have complained of the embarrassment and inconvenience of being refused entry to licensed premises. The topic has now gathered enough momentum to prompt questions in the House of Commons this month.
PASS director Kate Winstanley says the cards generally work well in places such as supermarkets and corner shops. But acceptance at licensed premises, including pubs, bars and nightclubs, is far lower, and refusals are on the increase.
This is a problem that particularly affects the estimated third of 18- and 19-year-olds who do not have a passport or driving licence, and for whom a PASS card may be the only affordable means of proving their age – an adult passport now costs £77.50 and a provisional driving licence £50.
A survey conducted last year by CitizenCard, one of the largest issuers, found that 47% of cardholders had their card refused on at least one occasion. PASS says 85% of refusals take place at pubs and clubs. More than 80% are by door staff, and it is a much bigger problem in England and Wales than in Scotland.
This cross-border difference seems to stem from the fact that the licensing law in Scotland makes it clear that PASS cards, like passports and driving licences, are acceptable as proof of age. "The Scottish law leaves no room for doubt as to the legitimacy of PASS cards and avoids any room for confusion with fake ID," says Winstanley.
"In England and Wales there is no specific mention of PASS in relevant licensing legislation."
The mandatory code on proof of age, introduced in October 2010, which all licensed venues must follow, refers to cards with "holographic marks" in the guidance to licensees but, unlike the Scottish legislation, does not specifically name PASS.
This omission has caused confusion among venues. Given the huge number of websites selling so-called "novelty cards" which bear a photograph, date of birth and holographic marks, and which can easily be bought by young people to use as fake ID, the suspicion is that many licensees and the security firms they employ, have decided to play safe by refusing to recognise any type of holographic card.
Andrew Chevis, chief executive of CitizenCard, says his company has contacted every firm in the UK that employs door staff, of which just over half are willing to support PASS cards.
"But what's very worrying," he adds, "is that about 40% of these companies say, 'Yes, we know about PASS but until the government actually tells us to recognise PASS cards as valid proof of age, it's easier for us to reject all hologrammed cards and recognise only passports and driving licences. That way, we don't have to worry if a card is fake'."
This is despite the fact that, to date, says PASS, there is no evidence that the PASS hologram has ever been forged or used on fake ID cards.
The only way to start solving the problem of young people with government and police-endorsed cards being turned away by door staff, says Winstanley, is for ministers to amend the existing guidance for licensees to make specific reference to PASS cards.
Robert Humphreys, chairman of the PASS board, says: "It's high time for the Home Office to amend the law to make it clear that PASS cards can, and should, be accepted for proof of age.
"At present the wording … is ambiguous and licensees, who are terrified of being prosecuted for getting it wrong, are afraid to take any chances."
CitizenCard is employing various tactics to get the government to take notice.
Conservative MP Nick de Bois recently tabled a written question to home secretary Theresa May, at CitizenCard's request, asking her to make a statement on what steps she was taking to ensure that licensed premises accept PASS cards as proof of age.
The Home Office replied that while it "supports" the scheme and "encourages" acceptance, the types of ID accepted by a shop, pub or club "properly remains a decision for the management of those premises".
A group of MPs has also tabled an early day motion requesting that the government acts. Chevis has also launched an "e-petition", again calling on the Home Office to oblige licensees to recognise PASS cards as valid ID.
Mike Hansford, 18, from Bristol
Mike is at university in Lincoln, where his CitizenCard featuring the PASS hologram has been turned down twice in recent weeks by door staff at bars.
"I'm the only one of my friends to have a PASS card, and it has got me into most places in Lincoln.
"However, door staff take a lot longer scrutinising it than they do driving licences, which most of my friends use as proof of age.
"So, having now been turned away by two venues, which was extremely irritating and meant I had no choice but to move on somewhere else, I'll be bringing my driving licence back from home after Christmas, and use that instead.
"It takes a long time to get hold of a PASS card because you have to go through a huge number of identity checks and references so, with all of that, you would expect it to be more reliable.
"On balance, if other 18-year-olds have got an alternative form of proof of age ID, I wouldn't recommend buying a PASS card."
Charlotte Scott, 18, from Essex
Charlotte has found herself in what she describes as a "ridiculous" situation.
When she turned 18, and tried to get into bars and clubs in Romford with no other valid proof of age, she was advised by door staff to spend £15 on a Validate UK official ID card, only to have it turned down by many venues – including the one that advised her to buy it in the first place. "Most places don't know what it is, and the door staff are often really sarcastic … which is really embarrassing in front of my friends.
"Each time I'm refused entry, I have to ring my dad and ask him to come down with my passport, which is out of date, plus his passport to show who he is. I don't need a new passport and can't afford to renew it. Anyway, I'd be scared of taking it out with me in case it got lost or stolen. I also don't want to learn to drive and pay £50 for a provisional licence.
"But because of this ridiculous situation, I'm thinking I'll have to get one, despite the cost, just so I can go out with my friends and my dad doesn't have to come and help me."
The schemes
Around five million Proof of Age Standards Scheme (PASS) cards have been issued since the scheme was set up in 1993. PASS itself does not issue cards but regulates four schemes that are accredited to use the organisation's unique hologram on their plastic. All also carry the individual's full name, date of birth and a passport quality photo.
To get a PASS card, applicants must provide proof of age and identity, and have their application and photos countersigned by "a suitable referee".
The four national accredited card issuing schemes listed on the PASS website are:
• CitizenCard can be applied for using forms available from some retailers, schools and colleges, and the company's website. Standard cost £15; urgent fast-track £30.
• ONE-ID4U Forms can be downloaded from the website. Standard cost £14.75; urgent applications £24.75.
• Validate UK. Forms available on the website. Standard cost £15 (10 working days) or £25 (five working days).
• Young Scot is the national youth information and card agency for Scotland. The Young Scot National Entitlement Card is supported by the Scottish government. The cards carry the PASS hologram and are available free to those aged 11 to 26 living in Scotland, who can apply through their school or in person at local council offices or libraries.
Source: Grantham Journal
Hoteliers and door staff have joined forces with police on a pioneering project aimed at reducing child sexual exploitation.
They will be asked to look out for signs that young girls are being targeted at their venues and then pass on any relevant information to the authorities.
The scheme in Preston, Lancashire, was at a special workshop with about 50 representatives from the city's hotels, nightclubs and bars attending.
The event is designed to make hoteliers aware that their premises might be used by those seeking to exploit young girls and also to alert door staff to the potential warning signs of when youngsters are being targeted by older men outside late night venues.
They will then be armed with information and advice on what they can do to help prevent offences taking place, say Lancashire Constabulary.
The hotel hosting the workshop - The Legacy Preston International Hotel - is already working alongside Deter, the multi-agency team in Preston which is tackling child sex exploitation.
Detective Sergeant Paul Burnside, from the Deter team, said: "Sexual exploitation is child abuse and children and young people who become involved face huge risks to their physical, emotional and psychological health so we are committed to working with local communities to reduce offences.
"That includes local businesses and in particular hotels because we know from experience that some of these offences are committed in hotels as opposed to private addresses. Likewise, door staff may notice young girls hanging around outside venues with older men, or getting into cars, which may at first look innocent but which could be potential grooming.
"We hope that by making hoteliers and door staff aware of the problem, the signs to look out for, and what action they should take, we can prevent and detect offences at the very earliest opportunity. Lancashire Constabulary would like to applaud the progressive and forward thinking approach of hoteliers in Preston who have engaged with this initiative."
Phil Dunn, general manager at The Legacy Preston International Hotel, said: "It is of paramount importance that people in Preston do all they can to alert the necessary authorities as soon as possible to prevent serious crimes occurring in the city, and although we have not experienced any incidents at the hotel we want to keep it that way."
Source: BBC News
A man who died after he was thrown out of a Lincoln nightclub and restrained by bouncers was unlawfully killed, an inquest has found.
William Pleasants, 23, from Barrington, Cambridgeshire, stopped breathing outside the Engine Shed at the University of Lincoln in 2008.
He died at Lincoln County Hospital three days later, the inquest at Lincoln Crown Court heard.
A jury of three men and eight women returned a verdict of unlawful killing.
The hearing was told Mr Pleasants, who had a pre-existing heart problem, was ejected by bouncers and then subjected to physical restraint in October 2008, while celebrating his girlfriend's birthday.
He suffered a cardiac arrest while being restrained, the inquest heard.
'Reviewing the case'
Summing up, Deputy Coroner Richard Marshall said that although the 23-year-old had been under the influence of alcohol and drugs it was the compression which was most likely to have led to the cardiac arrest, and "sealed his fate".
Police called to the scene found him lifeless and immediately summoned an ambulance.
Six bouncers arrested over the death were subsequently released without charge.
Lincolnshire Police said the investigation would now be reopened.
Supt Rick Hatton said: "In the light of the evidence heard at the inquest we will now be reviewing the case."
For more updates on this story, click here
Source: Birmingham Mail
A doorman shot five times while working at a Kanye West concert has lost his claim for compensation against the NEC.
Former soldier Robert Tough, from Hockley Heath, near Solihull, suffered life-threatening bullet wounds to his face, foot, head and stomach in the shooting in February 2006.
The 51-year-old was shot by Abidan Raphael, who was convicted of attempted murder and sentenced to at least 20 years in prison, after Mr Tough had twice ejected him from the arena.
Mr Tough had been contracted by Core Security to head rapid response teams at NEC concerts where there was a perceived threat of violence.
His legal team had claimed there were 44 separate breaches of duty owed to Mr Tough and that the NEC Group, which manages the NEC and the NIA, was liable for the shooting.
Central to the claim was whether Paul Ickringill, head of security on the night of the concert, had failed to inform Mr Tough that Raphael was believed to have been carrying a weapon before ejecting him.
Judge Robert Owen QC at the High Court in Birmingham spent more than two hours analysing the evidence in the case before making a ruling.
Judge Owen said: “There was a duty of care owed to the claimant, nonetheless there was no breach of duty. In these circumstances this claim must fail and I dismiss it accordingly.”
Source: Lincolnshire Telegraph
A man who died after a night out celebrating his girlfriend's 21st birthday was "killed" by door staff, his friend has claimed.
William Richard Pleasants, 23, died in intensive care at Lincoln County Hospital on October 7, 2008, after he was restrained with feet and knees outside The Engine Shed in the early hours of October 4.
Six door staff – five men and one woman – arrested over Mr Pleasants' death were later released without charge.
His brother Charlie, 17, had died 18 months previously in a motorbike crash near the family home in Cambridgeshire in March 2007.
An inquest heard Mr Pleasants and his friend James Chisholm were ejected from a drum & bass night after an argument involving Mr Pleasants and a man and a woman on the dance floor. Outside, door staff held Mr Pleasants face down on the ground.
Witnesses said Mr Pleasants' head was at a 45 degree angle. He was held by his neck, back, arms and lower body and lost consciousness.
A police officer who attended gave him the kiss of life as they waited for the ambulance.
The inquest heard one of the door staff told an officer: "This one's a lively one. You'll need to handcuff him."
The officer replied: "Actually, he's unconscious."
Mr Pleasants was on a night out with a group including his sister Charlotte Pleasants, his girlfriend Victoria Nichol, both students the University of Lincoln, Mr Chisholm and his wife Sevanne Chisholm.
Mr Chisholm said he saw one member of door staff with his foot on Mr Pleasants' neck, another with their knee in his back and holding his arms and two others holding the lower half of his body.
Mr Chisholm said: "He was killed by a load of geezers.
"He had stopped breathing. His veins seemed to be bulging out of his forehead. I could hear him gasping for air. He was making a rasping noise.
"I spat at one of the bouncers and ran off. I did not think Will was going to die."
Miss Nichol told the inquest how she pleaded with door staff to release her boyfriend after she noticed the noises he was making.
"His face was grey and his lips were blue," an emotional Miss Nichol said. "His eyes were rolling around in his head and going backwards.
"I couldn't feel that he was breathing."
Miss Nichol, who spent three years as a St Johns Ambulance volunteer, said as she became more concerned she told door staff "they'd killed him" and asked for Will to be put in the recovery position - but this was not done until the police arrived.
The inquest heard Mr Pleasants and Mr Chisholm were led from the venue by door staff via different exits after the incident inside the club.
Mr Chisholm had held Mr Pleasants back to prevent any trouble, the court heard.
Mr Chisholm added that once outside the club: "Two-to-three people were restraining him and one gave him a jab to the stomach area.
"It stunned Will. It stopped him struggling momentarily. I walked closer and tried to pull door staff off him.
"The same door staff that threw me out pushed me out of the way."
Mrs Chisholm said that outside two door staff had their feet on Mr Pleasants' head and one had his knee in his back holding his arms by his side.
She said excessive force was used. The inquest continues.
For more updates on this story, click here
Source: Daily Mirror
Elite armed bodyguards are being trained at a secret location in Northern Ireland in the run-up to the 2012 London Olympics to keep athletes safe.
Civilian mercenaries are travelling from across Europe to the countryside camp to hone their skills in close protection, the prevention of terrorism and major incident control.
With the official qualifications earned during a gruelling three-week course in Co Down, they will be ready to guard VIPs and groups around the world – and command lucrative contracts.
The Games’ official organising committee in London is under fire from the US who claim the safety of their top athletes is at risk after the English experts admitted they had underestimated the number of security staff needed.
And we can reveal today that officials working on the Olympic programme have already been in contact with the specialist security trainers in Northern Ireland.
A Washington source told the Daily Mirror: “We believe al-Qaeda, or one of its affiliates, is likely to try to disrupt the Olympics, with the US team an obvious target.
“Our sportsmen and women and their coaches and staff need proper security. We mean to insure that happens at all costs, whether we use our own people or trusted contractors.
“The men and women taking up these new posts from Northern Ireland will be leading the way. They have the training and experience and they have that sixth sense that only comes from having been in challenging security situations.
“We know about the Northern Ireland training camp. It’s run by people with excellent credentials, vast experience and knowledge. We’ve been in contact and we like what we see.”
The contact came after bosses in Washington revealed they now plan to send 500 FBI and 500 other security agents to London to protect their citizens next year, and the Metropolitan police announced live on TV that most of its officers will not be armed during the Olympics.
The Daily Mirror was given exclusive access this week to two groups planning to sell their knowledge and experience to the world’s top names, as they were put through paces.
The men and women taking up the training pay thousands for the privilege and many of the more recent applicants are PSNI Reserve officers who are facing the sack next month.
Training included dealing with:
- kidnappings,
- sniper fire,
- surveillance
- ambushes,
- conflict management
- medic awareness
- handgun training
- hostile environment training
- physical intervention, and
- security guarding
A source said: “The training offered at this camp is the best in the world. It is also recognised that the people being trained are some of the best in the world and are in huge demand.
“But there are rules and regulations. People who want the big jobs need current qualifications. The Co Down course gives them that as long as they’re good enough. For some of the men and women who come here the courses are simply a matter of a refresher as they’ve been working in the same area for the police and Army.
“We have SAS specialists coming through who have left the job but just need certification before they can apply for the civilian contracts.
“We have elite security trainers going through their paces for paperwork. And then we have people coming from all walks of life who believe they have what it takes to make it in the tough world of high-end, full-on security.
“This week we have one young man who has turned out to be an absolute natural and he’s a 24-year-old carpenter. But it looks like he has chosen the right career path now.
“If he was on my security team I’d be more than happy. He’s a good lad. He listens, watches and learns and I’d predict he’ll do very well.”
Only one woman, 40-year-old Marion, from Donaghadee, Co Down, completed the most recent course alongside 13 men.
She said: “I’m a police officer at heart and this area of policing is what really interests me. It gets the adrenaline pumping and you’ve got to be on your game. I don’t want to leave the police but I’m being forced to because of the cuts to the Reserve Force.” Marion – not her real name – applied for the specialist security training and took leave from her job knowing the PSNI would pay up to £5,000 towards the fees to assist with the imminent redundancies.
She said: “The course was fantastic. The medical training alone is superior to anything I’ve ever experienced. I feel confident now that if you had your leg blown off I’d be able to handle the situation and save your life.”
Marion is already well-versed in riot control and anti-terror training as a member of the PSNI’s Tactical Support Group. But she has learned other skills on the civvie street course.
She said: “This training will help me find good work after the job I’ve been in for 14 years comes to an end. I could travel the world but there are enough close protection specialists needed in Northern Ireland.
“Women are at an advantage with these qualification as there are fewer of us about.” Many of those trained in Northern Ireland will be contracted to security work at the 32 Olympic sites.
The London Organising Committee originally claimed it only needed 10,000 guards at the Games. But after a review the number is now 21,000.
Venue safety will not be the responsibility of the police, so security firm G4S has been awarded the contract to find and train the initial group.
It has set up an advertising campaign to meet that target and applicants from the Northern Ireland training camp are of special interest.
One of the three men behind the Co Down training camp is Andrew Mawhinney, a retired police officer. Their company Minerva was partly funded by Invest NI.
Mr Mawhinney said: “We are training men and women to a level three close protection qualification.
“They can work for almost anyone and almost every company. The training is arduous, gruelling and repetitive but that’s what it takes. This is not a TV show, these people are going into real situations where the enemy’s intention is to kill and maim. There are many ways of doing that and our trained specialists need to now how to act in any given situation. This can be life and death.
“Yes we have former members of the RUC, RIR, PSNI and SAS and we expect to have increased numbers of redundant prison officers soon. But we also have many civilians who have a natural leaning towards security work.
“For some people our courses will be life- changing and will lead them to an amazing and well-paid career. For others who don’t cut it, they’ve enjoyed an exciting course, learned some essential skills and made some very good friends. This training is not for everyone. But then we only want the best for the job.”
Anyone can apply for an elite Minerva security course and each applicant must pass security vetting before they are accepted. They must also be accepted as a gun club member to be allowed legal access to live weapons and ammunition
And each course graduate receives certificates from City&Guilds and the Security Industry Authority. They must agree to attend monthly refresher firearms courses to keep their qualifications valid.
Source: Falmouth People
A 22 year old woman may have suffered life-changing injuries after falling into a river in the centre of Truro.
The tide was out when the woman, whom the West Briton has chosen not to name, fell about 15ft from Old Bridge Street car park to the River Allen.
Police believe this was not a consequence of drinking alcohol.
Two door supervisors at The Office nightclub and Zafiros bar clambered down to help the woman, who could not feel her legs, as the tide rose.
The victim, from Newquay, was believed to have been out in the city with a group of friends before the accident on Saturday evening.
She is thought to have sustained life-changing injuries, but nobody at Derriford Hospital, where she was transferred from Royal Cornwall Hospital, was able to comment on her condition.
Door supervisor Chris Ball was about to start his shift as The Office opened just after 10pm when he heard a scream.
"I ran and looked over the bridge and there was a girl face down in the mud," he said.
He climbed into the river to help another woman, believed to be a friend of the victim and a lifeguard, who had already jumped in and turned the injured woman over. Mr Ball said: "She was conscious but wasn't making much sense.
"I did all the checks to see if she could move her feet and arms, but she couldn't move any part of her body.
"I couldn't figure out if it was the effects of alcohol or something worse."
While The Office's head door supervisor Gail Ansell dialled 999, Mr Ball wrapped the two girls in tablecloths to keep them warm while they waited for the emergency services.
His colleague Andrew Willis, who was working at Zafiros, then climbed into the river to take over assisting the injured woman.
Tide
He said: "I made sure she wasn't being moved because I could see she had done something nasty. She kept saying she couldn't feel her legs.
"We needed to get her out fairly quickly because the tide was rising and within the hour the water would have been up to our necks."
Paramedics assessed the woman, who started drifting in and out of consciousness, and put her on an inflatable spinal board to move her down the river.
Racing against the rising tide the fire crews, paramedics and Mr Willis then lifted her out of the water to the car park above. The rescue took about 30 minutes.
Specialist water rescue crews from Falmouth and St Austell, a specialist line rescue team from Camborne, two crews from Truro and a specialist technical rescue officer were called to the scene to help with the operation.
Cornwall fire and rescue service attending officer Kathryn Billing said: "It was a job exceptionally well done by professional blue light services, and we do hope the girl makes a recovery."
Source: Doorwatch
National Doorwatch, the Institute of Criminal Justice Studies and the University of Portsmouth are carrying out two surveys for Door Supervisors:
Door Supervisor General Safety Survey: here
One-man/woman on doors Survey: here
The research will examine the personal safety of door supervisors working in the events, hospitality and leisure security sector.
The closing date is 29th of November.
Source: Doorwatch
On the 12th of October National Doorwatch (NDW) attended the the SIA conference (part 2) in Sheffield. In the morning session the conference focus was on the impact of the proposed changes on busnesses, individuals, and the Approved Contractor Status (ACS) scheme.
The government, through the SIA, outlined that they would be introducing compulsory licensing for all those businesses involved in security provision. This would of course potentially generate additional revenue for the government. The government will further reduce their costs, by streamlining the internal processes and devolving responsibility back to the newly licensed business.
What this means to you
What this means in reality, is all newcomers to the industry would have to apply to the SIA via a licensed business or a mediated access partner (MAP), such as the Post Office. Consequently the SIA would no longer be the first point of contact for applicants, once they had commenced the licensing process. From that point the applicant would have to go through either the employer or the MAP. This will inevitably result in an administrative charge being required for this service. The going rate for this type of service can be anything between £25 and £50 plus VAT. If going through these organisations was mandatory the charge may be higher. This cost will have to sit on top of the licence fee. This may result in you paying more rather than less..
Potential for abuse
Whilst there are undoubtedly many professional companies who would provide a superb service; there are far too many who will let the system down. It is already common practice for some security companies to deduct all their own running costs (licence, insurance, uniform, training, etc) from the individuals weekly wage. They achieve this through the cynical manipulation of the individual employees general lack of knowledge of their legal rights and responsibilities. This allows these companies to create a false market, which depresses wages, impacts on public safety, and makes responsible companies look bad. Hence the need for business licensing to create a level playing field.
Good news for renewals
The good news is the proposals for the renewal process should should at least make things much simpler and quicker. The new legislation will allow the SIA to change the way it does business. At present a renewal is in effect a reapplication, which makes things overly complicated. The new legislation will also mean they can also actually change the way it gathers evidence on a form. (At present, they can legally, only use the existing formThe other notable benefit will the use of new and emerging technolgy to deliver a better service. Finally it is expected that your badge (proof of licence token) will need to have the photo renewed every 5 years.
Over reliance on intelligence
The main concern is the proposals rely far too much on intelligence-led risk assessment models as a mechanism for enforcement. At present the proposed system is open to abuse, and therefore it will be abused. One of the biggest flaws in the current system is the lack of incentive for anyone to report anyone for malpractice throughout the licensing process. At present there are no details as to how any of the proposals will be enforced in the future, and how that will impact on public safety.
Source: BBC Newsbeat
The company behind some of the biggest clubs in the UK has closed 11 venues after going into administration.
Luminar runs 76 clubs but lost nearly £200 million in the year up to February. The company has blamed its problems on the recession and claims young people are not spending as much money going out.
Administrators are hopeful of finding someone to buy the remaining 65 venues, which have stayed open and employ 2,500 people.
The clubs to close are in Brighton, Bury St Edmunds, Basingstoke, Wigan, Hemel Hempstead, High Wycombe, Northampton, Mansfield, Redditch, Sunderland and Swindon.
Source: WtD
Luminar, Britain's biggest nightclub operator, has become the latest victim of the downturn after Lloyds Banking Group and Royal Bank of Scotland pulled the plug on the company's finances.
The state-backed lenders, together with Barclays, opted not to renew Luminar's banking facilities on Wednesday, forcing the company's directors to initiate steps to put it into administration.
The decision has put 3,000 full and part-time jobs at risk at Luminar's 75 clubs, including the Oceana, Liquid, and Lava & Ignite chains.
The company has been hit by the introduction of the licensing act in 2005, which allowed pubs to compete for late-night drinkers, eliminating Luminar's unique selling point. The smoking ban further rocked the business, while the recent spike in youth unemployment was the final straw, sources close to the company said.
Mark Brumby, an analyst at Langton Capital, said: "Luminar has arguably had the smell of death about it for some time."
It remains unclear whether the administrator, which has yet to be appointed, will continue to run the clubs and retain staff. Luminar's directors had been trying to offload assets in recent weeks, with private equity firms R Capital and Sun Capital among those believed to have been interested, and it is possible that either group could now look to take control of some of the clubs.
He also told The Sun: "Youngsters are losing jobs and having to pay high tuition fees. This is forcing them back to the Bank of Mum and Dad, but the Bank of Mum and Dad has run out of cash."
Source: NPIA
Police forces will today be reminded of the need to maintain high security at all London 2012-related events around the UK before and after the Games and not just at the Games themselves.
The message comes in new awareness training from the National Policing Improvement Agency. The online training package provides a vital tool to enable police officers and staff across the UK to prepare for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, the biggest ever peacetime policing operation.
The training, aimed at all 250,000 police officers and staff in the UK, also gives details of the safety operation for the London Olympics and information on the main security threats including terrorism, public disorder, domestic extremism and serious and organised crime as well as natural hazards.
The package advises police to look out for less obvious forms of offences such as IT crime, ticket fraud and human trafficking. It also highlights measures to deal with Olympic-related crime particularly those involving international criminals or victims.
It outlines the challenges of policing the four-month period from the start of the Olympic Torch Relay in May to the closure of the Olympic Park in September, including the Games themselves and numerous parallel events around the country.
The Olympic awareness training will help police adopt a consistent and coherent approach to the national security operation around the Games, which will involve police officers and staff from forces across the UK. The 70-day Olympic Torch Relay will impact every force area as the Flame will travel to within an hour of 95 per cent of people in the UK including the Isle of Man, Guernsey and Jersey.
Nick Gargan, Chief Executive of the NPIA, said:” Our awareness training recognises that the Games will need a massive national policing operation involving forces in every part of the country. It highlights the significant challenges facing police for several months before, during and after the Games themselves including possible targets away from the main Olympic venues. The e-learning will help ensure the Games are policed effectively yet unobtrusively so that the sporting and cultural celebrations are not overshadowed by the security operation.”
Assistant Commissioner Chris Allison, the National Olympic Security Coordinator, said: “Every force in the UK will play a key role in the Olympics – either providing mutual aid to venue forces or policing an Olympics-related event. The Games will be a once-in-a-lifetime event and it is vital that all those policing them are clear about what is expected of them. By completing this awareness training module they will be prepared and motivated for this unique challenge.”
Completion of the online training via the Police Managed Learning Environment is automatically recorded so forces can monitor and track completion of the learning by their staff.
The new training follows the NPIA’s launch of the first instalment of the Olympic awareness e-learning module last May for all the emergency services and agencies involved in the safety and security operation for the Olympics. The third and final Olympic awareness training module will be aimed specifically at those personnel directly involved in policing the Games and will be available in April 2012.
Source: BBC News
Six people have now been charged with murdering the head doorman of a West End nightclub outside his home in north London last November.
Bogdan Paduret, who was 29 and worked at the Mayfair Club, was shot in the head as he sat in his car in Finchley.
Sibigam Ekprkpo, 57, of Arden Crescent, Docklands, has been accused of killing him, along with Danny Dixon, 29, of Sheffield Square, Bow.
They are due in court on 20 January, along with four men charged last year.
All will appear at the Old Bailey.
The other men who have been charged include Errol Jeffrey, 28, of Gilbertson House, Mellish Street, Limehouse; and Troy Shaw, 19, of Wharfside Point North, Poplar High Street, Poplar.
Christopher N'Jie, 19, of Elderfield House, Limehouse; and John Otugade, 19, of Stanford Road, Frien Barnet; are also accused of killing Mr Paduret, who was known as Tony and was a Romanian national.
He was shot four times through the passenger window of his vehicle.
Source: Birmingham Mail
A door supervisor at a Solihull night club was sprayed in the face with CS gas when he went to help colleagues who were ejecting a drunken customer, a court heard.
The spray caused Carl Insall’s eyes to sting for two hours after the incident, Warwick Crown Court was told.
Luke Cogan pleaded guilty to possessing a prohibited CS gas canister and also admitted possessing cocaine.
Cogan, 23, of Hay Mills, was sentenced to seven months in prison suspended for 12 months and ordered to do 150 hours of unpaid work.
But unemployed Cogan was not ordered to pay any compensation to Mr Insall following the incident at The House night club in High Street, Solihull.
Prosecutor Neil Bannister said that in November last year Mr Insall, the door supervisor at The House, escorted someone out of the premises at 2.25am.
He was on his way back inside when he was asked to assist two colleagues who were ejecting Cogan from an area known as The Loft.
As he went over to them Cogan stood back and took out a CS gas canister and sprayed it into Mr Insall’s face and towards the other two doormen.
Cogan was restrained by the doormen until the police arrived and when he was searched at Solihull police station officers found a rolled-up £10 note with traces of cocaine inside it.
Interviewed after he had sobered up, Cogan claimed he had no recollection of how he came to be in possession of the CS gas canister.
Carl Vasey, defending, said Cogan, who was a regular at The House, had gone out for a quiet drink with his brother, but they met up with friends and it escalated.
“He accepts the gas canister was discharged in his presence, but has no recollection of having it.”
Judge Trevor Faber responded: “It is absolute nonsense to suggest he didn’t know he had it.”
And he told Cogan: “I am quite satisfied you must have gone out with it that night. You sprayed Mr Insall and his colleagues, and he was particularly affected by it. Fortunately for you and for him, there has been no lasting harm.
“Using it on door supervisors who have a public duty to perform is a serious aspect of this case, but you have no relevant previous convictions and it has taken nearly a year for these matters to come before the court.”
Source: Dorset Echo
Bouncers are resorting to using handcuffs to clamp down on late night troublemakers.
Door staff in Weymouth are equipping themselves with the cuffs as it emerges that the dedicated town centre police team which patrols on foot on weekend nights has been axed.
Nightclub owner and security company boss Steve Parker has trained staff to use the cuffs – but stressed that they are there as a last resort to detain people until police arrive.
He said: “I have taken steps and had training given to a select amount of my door staff so they are fully trained in the use and application of handcuffs and we will use them in only when a situation needs.
“With the disbanding of the town centre team and them being moved to a response unit I can only see an increase in door staff executing the use of lawful detention.”
Police have been informed about bouncers having the handcuffs and officers confirmed that using them is legal when used as a citizens’ arrest.
Mr Parker’s company United Doors Ltd provides door staff to eight premises in Weymouth including two fast food outlets.
They include La Dolce Vita, the Golden Lion, the Lazy Lizard, Dusk, Aura, the Surfside Diner takeaway and McDonalds, and Mr Parker’s club The Dorothy Inn.
His staff are not carrying handcuffs on the doors of Dusk or Aura on the request of the owners.
The town centre police team patrolled for the last time last weekend.
The team – also known by licensees as the town centre police squad – consisted of a sergeant and two police constables walking around the town centre and speaking to revellers.
Mr Parker said: “They’ve been tremendous and breaking up a team like that is disgusting. It’s a step back in public safety.”
Police say the town centre team have been operating in addition to a constant town centre presence which will remain.
But nightclub owners said having the same officers on patrol when the team operated every three weekends out of four meant they built up an effective relationship.
Keith Treggiden, owner of the Rendezvous, said: “The town centre squad stopped trouble before it could happen. We’re now going to see more violence on the streets.”
Pat Slade, landlady at the Black Dog in St Mary Street, added: “They prevented trouble when there was a situation arising. They will be greatly missed.”
Brett Dunster, general manager of Dusk, said “It’s a crying shame because of the relationship they have formed with the licensees.”
Mr Dunster said PC Mike McCabe’s work had been monumental in improvements in the town centre.
The police confirmed PC McCabe’s work as licensing and enforcement officer would continue as part of Operation Protect.
Officers who were part of the dedicated town centre team will now be integrated into the regular shift patterns of their colleagues.
A Dorset Police spokesman said officers will still patrol the town centre on foot on Friday and Saturday nights.
He said: “We are looking to streamline and be as efficient as we can to save taxpayers’ money and provide the best service we can to the people of Weymouth and Portland.
“We are committed to providing foot patrols in Weymouth town centre at the core times.”
He added: “The policing of the night time economy and wider community in Weymouth and Portland is a priority for Dorset Police.
“We can confirm that a review of police officers’ shifts has taken place across the force to ensure that there will be sufficient resources available to meet the demands of the public and provide an effective service.”
Landlord of The Golden Lion pub in Weymouth, Lawrence Hulbert, 50, said: “I’ve operated pubs all over the country and Weymouth should be a role model for how the police and pubs, including landlords and bouncers, operate together.
“Certain characters in drink unfortunately warrant this behaviour so I am pleased the bouncers have been granted this right.”
Danni Sims, 25, is a donkey handler on Weymouth beach. She said: “Unfortunately, people won’t take as much notice of bouncers as they do of police. Using handcuffs is not what bouncers are qualified for.”
Retired civil servant Dennis Wood, 69, from Weymouth said: “Giving bouncers the use of handcuffs is very wrong.
With plastic handcuffs it may be acceptable but with metal is damaging to the skin. To be honest, I thought metal handcuffs were gone years ago.”
Source: Bristol Evening Post
A teenager with a vendetta against a doorman who threw him out of a club pulled a hammer on him in a busy shopping centre.
Daniel Hood, 19, attempted to frighten Robert Sprigg in the Sovereign shopping centre in Weston-super-Mare on June 14.
Bristol Crown Court heard that Hood had a previous conviction which involved using a hammer to frighten another young man.
And one conviction for assault causing actual bodily harm when he head-butted a player who tackled him during a game of football.
At court yesterday Hood, of Weston-super-Mare pleaded guilty to affray.
He was jailed for six months in a young offender's institution.
Mark Humphries, prosecuting, said there was history between the two men because Mr Sprigg had ejected Hood from a local nightclub.
He said Hood had seen Mr Sprigg on numerous occasions since the incident and made threats that he would be pay for what he did.
"At 5pm the complainant had finished work and was walking through the sovereign shopping centre," Mr Humphries told the court.
"The defendant got in his face and said 'Let's do it now'.
"The complainant pushed Hood away and he landed on the floor.
"The defendant got up and swung at him and there was a fight with a lot of shouting.
"The defendant was trying to walk away from the situation but the defendant pulled a hammer out of a black rucksack.
"A witness said he was waving the hammer aggressively and thought he was going to attack Mr Sprigg.
"Mr Sprigg managed to grab the defendant's arm and the witness managed to grab the hammer and hide it."
Kannan Siva, defending, said his client was a troubled young man who was making continued efforts to be a better man and who had pleaded guilty to affray straight away.
"He did not set out to injure this man," Mr Siva said.
Judge Julian Lambert also gave Hood a restraining order banning him from contacting Mr Sprigg for seven years.
Source: Liverpool Daily Post
A fifth man appeared in court charged with the murder of a former doorman outside a Liverpool pub.
Jason Abraham Gabbana appeared at the city’s magistrates court yesterday in connection with the killing of Bahman Faraji.
The 29-year-old spoke in the dock only to confirm his name, age and date of birth while flanked by two prison guards.
The defendant, of Score Lane, Childwall, is accused of the murder of Mr Faraji in Aigburth.
He was remanded in custody and a bail application was due to be heard tomorrow.
Gabbana, who is believed to be a part-time model and actor, was arrested by detectives three days ago.
Bahman Faraji, 44, was shot at close range by a killer with a shotgun outside the Belgrave pub, on Bryanston Road on February 24.
Known to friends as ‘Batman’, the Iranian dad-of-one came to Liverpool 15 years ago to escape persecution in his home country.
When his initial bid for asylum failed he attempted suicide in 2003 and was found in a pool of blood in his flat.
At around 7pm on February 24 the victim had just left the pub with two friends when the gunman struck.
Mr Faraji had worked the doors of several clubs and had homes in Toxteth and the city centre.
Among the other four men accused of his murder is former Brookside actor Brian Regan, 53, from Garston, who played screen favourite Terry Sullivan for more than 14 years.
Also charged with murder are Edward Heffey, 40, of Beloe Street, Dingle; Simon Smart, 33, of Kylemore Way, Halewood and Lee Dodson, 42, of Logfield Drive, Garston.
Source: SIA
The next door supervisors’ network meeting will be held in Leeds on Tuesday 15 November.
Delegates working within door supervision will have the opportunity to discuss and explore issues about the industry and regulation with others from the industry and with representatives from the SIA.
The meeting is being organised and facilitated by UK Security Facilities and Novus Leisure with the support of the SIA, forming part of the SIA’s stakeholder engagement strategy.
If you would like to attend the meeting, please visit here to register your interest by 31 October 2011.
Source: Coventry Telegraph
Two men from Coventry have appeared in court charged with the attempted murder of a Nuneaton dad who is in hospital fighting for his life.
Ronald Murray and Daniel Grantham, both 31, were arrested on Friday, five days after 37-year-old Craig Hurst suffered serious stab wounds in his neck in an attack at The Prince pub, in Arbury Road, Nuneaton.
The pair appeared before magistrates in Nuneaton yesterday where they were remanded in custody ahead of a further hearing in October.
The court heard Mr Hurst has undergone two emergency operations and doctors still do not know whether he will recover from the attack.
Prosecutor Niala Iqbal said: “If it had not been for the quick action of the pub landlord in taking him to hospital, doctors say he would not have lived.”
Murray, of Brazil Street, Tile Hill, and Grantham, of Sherbourne Street, Spon End, both face charges of attempted murder, while Murray is also accused of actual bodily harm.
Outlining the case, Mrs Iqbal said Mr Hurst had been stabbed in the neck on Sunday night, a day after trouble broke out in the bar as punters watched late-night sport on TV.
Presiding magistrate, John Davenport, told both men they would be remanded in custody until October 7, when a preliminary hearing would be held at the Crown Court in Leamington.
Source: Herts & Essex Observer
Bouncers at a Bishop’s Stortford nightclub feared for their own safety when a fight broke out.
Chelmsford Crown Court was told punches were being thrown in all directions outside Scorch in Southmill Road in the early hours of June 5 this year.
Prosecutor Laura Kenyon said: “Nightclub staff broke up the fight to protect the men on the floor, but they feared for their own safety as they intervened."
One of the attackers, Zackariah Ehrenburg-Samuel, 21, from Chelmsford, was said to have knocked a man to the ground, causing him to lose consciousness.
The prosecution said that after one man was asked to leave the night spot, a fight ensued which soon included six or seven other revellers who "jumped in" from the smoking area.
"Punches were being thrown in all directions and Ehrenburg-Samuel was seen by bouncers to punch another man, Mr Fuller. He fell to the ground and appeared to lose consciousness. CCTV shows it was more of a push," said Miss Kenyon.
Ehrenburg-Samuel said he had been out with 20 friends, taken MDMA and drunk a lot. He stated he was easily led and that he couldn't remember anything about the incident until he woke up in a cell.
The defendant, of North Avenue, Chelmsford, pleaded guilty to assault by beating. He also admitted it was his sixth breach of a six-month prison sentence, suspended for 12 months, which was imposed for assault causing actual bodily harm.
Mitigating, Peter Butterfield said the defendant had been offered a job as a percussionist in a night club and had given up alcohol.
Judge Charles Gratwicke deferred sentence until November 21: "If you have taken the opportunity to make something of yourself then this court will not send you to prison. If you haven't, then it will.”
Source: Coventry Telegraph
Police say a 37-year-old Nuneaton bouncer remains "critically ill" after being stabbed in the neck at a packed Nuneaton pub.
The victim – named locally as father-of-one Craig Hurst, from Hill Top – needed emergency surgery following the attack, which happened at about 7pm on Sunday in The Prince in Arbury Road, Stockingford.
His injuries are said to be life-threatening.
Mr Hurst was taken to hospital where doctors operated immediately.
His condition was described last night as “critical but stable.”
A friend, who did not want to be named, told the Telegraph: “There had been some altercation at The Prince on Saturday night and a man was ejected.
“Apparently the same person came back the following night and stabbed Craig in the neck and in his body.
“It was obviously a premeditated assault, which was meant to cause serious harm.
“Craig is a lovely man, very popular and well known for working as a doorman at pubs and clubs around Nuneaton.
“The pub was quite crowded at the time, because it had been a busy day with boxing, rugger and soccer on the TV.
“Everyone is in a state of shock over what has happened.”
Police cordoned off the pub, while the normally-busy B4102 road, between the junctions with Heath End Road and Westbury Road, remained closed from both directions for most of yesterday.
House-to-house inquiries were being carried out by police searching for witnesses.
A scenes-of-crime tent was put up in front of the pub entrance while forensic tests were carried out.
Forensic officers also lifted drains in the street in a search for the weapon.
An appeal has been made for witnesses to come forward and anyone with information should contact detectives at Nuneaton on 024 76 641111.
Source: Yorkshire Evening Post
A drunk thug thrown out of a working men’s club in Leeds went back later the same night and broke the doorman’s cheekbone.
Robert Jackson punched Belle Isle WMC doorman George Barton in the face after returning to the club, knocking him to the floor.
Leeds Crown Court heard how Mr Barton suffered a fractured cheekbone and was treated in hospital for the injury, which continued to cause him problems six months after the attack.
Jackson, 23, of Middleton, admitted wounding.
He was jailed for 18 months.
Prosecutor Tom Gent said Jackson and another man were play-fighting in the club foyer when committee member Julie Weston asked them to stop around 7.30pm on Saturday, January 22.
They were asked to leave, but Jackson returned at around 9pm along with two other men.
The court heard how Jackson then punched Mr Barton in the face after the doorman said he couldn’t go in the club.
The attack was witnessed by Julie Weston and Mr Barton later picked Jackson out at a police identity parade.
Mr Gent said that when Mr Barton made a victim statement in July, he was still suffering a tingling sensation in the left side of his face where the eye socket in his cheekbone had been fractured.
The court also heard how Mr Barton lost a stone in weight due to stress after the incident.
Jackson’s lawyer Susanna Kitzing said the offence happened because of her client’s problem with aggression after drinking alcohol.
She added: “He knows that behaviour is unacceptable.”
Jailing Jackson, Judge Sally Cahill QC told him: “When you were refused entry, your response was to punch the doorman in the face. I have seen the photographs.
“It caused extensive bruising and a fractured cheekbone.”
Source: Info4Security
Is there a genuine future for the door supervision sector as we know it today? Ian Fox airs his carefully considered opinions.
At first glance it would be easy to dismiss the notion of an alternative to the current door supervision sector/industry/market – call it what you will – as somewhat fanciful. However, delve deeper into the subject matter and the evidence suggests that radical change to the existing order is inevitable.
Using information which is already common knowledge, it’s easy to envisage how this change mightlook in practice.
Venues would employ their own security personnel. These personnel would be trained in the venues’ policies, procedures and protocols, and be held responsible for all matters concerned with enforcing primary legislation.
In addition, those personnel would be supplemented by agency staff according to business demands. The agency staff supplied will have achieved a level of training which exceeds current requirements.
Direct employment of door staff
What, I’m sure you’re wondering, is my rationale for reaching such a conclusion, and why might employing door staff directly be the most sensible option in the real world?
First, let's examine a Case Study: the Court of Appeal ruling in relation to liability for third party actions between Everett & Another and Comojo (UK) found in favour of Comojo (UK), the reason being that the incident was unforeseeable given that it involved a private members club and all reasonable steps had been taken.
However, their Lordships also made it clear that this is dependent on circumstance, as each venue will have different levels of risk.
The effect of this is to make venue managers aware they need to have structures in place to deal with the foreseeable results of alcohol consumption on licensed premises. Although this has yet to be tested in court, it’s simply a matter of time before it is and/or insurance premiums rise to reflect the potential risk.
Changes to the Licensing Act
Second, upcoming changes to the Licensing Act will encourage the police and local authorities to take a more aggressive approach when enforcing venues’ licensing requirements. It also presents them with the ideal opportunity for adding further stipulations to a venue’s licence in the event of any failure over compliance.
The driver for this action will be reducing costs when it comes to management of the night-time economy (and, indeed, across the events, hospitality and leisure industry as a whole).
As a result, the need for venues to avoid a licensing review will require an increasingly higher standard of vigilance and compliance. In reality, this can only be achieved through employees – and most notably door supervisors – building knowledge of a given venue's business over time.
Put simply, any reduction in employee churn will have a positive impact on profitability (as is shown by research across all sectors).
'Lighter touch regulation' and door supervision
Third, those who have heard Bill Butler – the CEO of the Security Industry Authority – speak on the proposals for ‘lighter touch regulation’ will know what he sees as one of main the benefits of business licensing in the sector at a personal level.
Bill happily states that, in future, he will be able to go to bed on a Saturday night only having to worry about approximately 5,000 companies rather than 300,000 individuals.
However, achieving the ‘lighter touch’ goal in the door supervision sector presents a very difficult and different set of challenges for the Security Industry Authority. This is because door supervisors in the events, hospitality and leisure industry as a whole are predominantly employed on a part-time basis.
Further, they are mainly classed as ‘workers’ or employees on “zero-hour” contracts typified by the notion of mutual obligation. As such, their employer – and there can be more than one – is unable to exert the kind of influence available to security companies providing their own employees with full-time work.
Majority of security in-house
Given the desire of the Regulator and the Government to simplify the process, this could be easily achieved if venues/chain operators were made responsible for directly employing the majority of their security in-house. Under such a set-up the individual door supervisor would still be licensed on a central basis.
Fourth, as of next month changes to employment legislation will also have a keen impact on matters. One of the main reasons to hire agency workers is the flexibility they offer a business. Maintaining that flexibility is becoming increasingly difficult, though, as EU regulations radically alter employment rights to the point that agency workers may as well be employed.
Consequently, for many venues it would actually be easier to employ the best door supervisors in-house. It will also be cheaper as venue managers can vary the rates they pay to the individual. This will allow the venue to reward knowledge and experience as many door supervisors work at the same place for considerable lengths of time.
On top of that, it would ensure any investment in people can benefit the venue directly. This regime provides the opportunity to build loyalty between the venue and the staff which will be an essential component to success in the coming years.
Olympic Games in 2012: added appeal
Finally, employing door supervisors directly becomes a much more appealing prospect when one takes into account the upcoming 2012 Olympic Games.
The pressure this event is going to place on national security at every level is beyond anything we have ever experienced, with the nation’s Event Calendar running alongside from Easter until October 2012.
The basic security requirement (excluding police) for the Olympic Games alone has been severely underestimated, as recent reports in the national media have shown. The number of trained personnel required for the Olympic events has risen almost three-fold (from 8,000 to 23,000). If that increase is replicated in the non-Olympic events occurring as part of the London Events Calendar then the requirement will rise from 8,000-12,000 to 36,000.
The combination of these figures represents almost 60,000 trained personnel, all of whom need to be prepared in less than 12 months.
Creation of a seller's market
In essence, in terms of door supervision a seller’s market has been created. Individuals working in the doors sector across the country owe their allegiance to no particular employer: they will maximise their value.
No company or agency will be able to guarantee the level of provision necessary as door supervisors will work for the highest bidder. Already, some London-based door supervisors are talking about asking for double their hourly rate during the Olympic Games period.
Consequently, those venue operators and/or door supervision companies across the UK who act quickly and seize the initiative will have a better chance to adapt and survive in the new reality.
The key driver for this will be the need to secure business continuity and maximise profits. Moreover, this change could happen sooner rather than later.
Ian Fox is chairman of the National Doorwatch Steering Group
Source: Birmingham Mail
Hospital security guards who battled to stop a baby snatch from a Birmingham maternity unit have been honoured with bravery awards.
Mazar Akram, Ibrahim Bilow and Peter Luckman jumped into action when they spotted a gang of men running to a car with a baby at Heartlands Hospital, in Bordesley Green, in June.
The trio were presented with an award for bravery in the line of duty by TV presenter Michael Collie at Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust’s staff awards.
The Birmingham Mail revealed in July how a tag on the baby boy’s leg sounded off alarms as he was swept out of the maternity unit and a series of doors that should have slammed shut and locked were blocked by men involved in the scheme.
Despite the men making a getaway after whacking one of the guards over the hand with a metal bar on June 27, the security team passed on the licence plate number to police who recovered the baby.
The baby was unharmed and is understood to have been taken by family members concerned social services might be taking the child into care.
Trust chief executive Mark Newbold said: “Many of our teams have very difficult roles to play especially when a situation becomes tense and challenging.
“The security team across the three sites are often called to tackle some of the most aggressive situations.
“Potentially a thankless task, the security staff often put themselves in harm’s way to protect staff and vulnerable patients.
“These three heroes handled a very volatile and sensitive situation successfully with the utmost professionalism at the maternity unit.
“They showed real courage in the face of potential danger.”
A West Midlands Police spokesman, said: “Police made enquiries about this domestically-related incident, contacted the family and returned the child to hospital. The matter has been referred to Social Services and there is no further police action.”
A Birmingham Social Services spokeswoman could not comment on individual cases.
Source: Morning Star
Private security guards supplied by G4S to remove immigration detainees were branded unprofessional and racist today by the head of Britain's prisons watchdog.
HM Inspectorate of Prisons inspectors accompanied 104 guards during the removal of 35 detainees to Jamaica and 53 detainees to Lagos on behalf of UK Border Agency.
They found that some detainees were spoken to in patronising terms - and in certain cases officers had used "extremely offensive racist language" with one officer using terms such as "gyppos," "pikeys" and "typical Asians."
Others were overheard using crude stereotypes, inspectors reported.
Handcuffs were used on visibly distressed detainees despite there being no evidence of any violent behaviour which might have justified them.
Chief Inspector Nick Hardwick said that while most guards worked sensitively others had been "unacceptably unprofessional" and shown "a shamefully unprofessional and derogatory attitude."
He said some of the officers had raised tensions on the flights by using unnecessary force and restraints while others had used "highly offensive and sometimes racist language."
Mr Hardwick said: "Escorted removals are a difficult and distressing process.
"On these inspections, most escorts, most of the time, performed their duties well and dealt sensitively with the needs of individual detainees.
"However, tensions were sometimes raised when force or restraint was used unnecessarily and some staff demonstrated an unacceptably unprofessional attitude.
"The vulnerability of detainees during the process of removal is not to be taken so lightly."
He said that it was a matter of concern that the UK Border Agency needed to be told to ensure that detainees are treated decently at all times, "with no physical or verbal abuse, throughout their journey and when they arrive."
Amnesty International said that the whole system of detainee removals needed to be overhauled.
Amnesty's refugee programme director Jan Shaw said: "A complete overhaul and reform of the current enforced removal process is required.
"The government needs to meet its obligations to protect people being removed against human rights abuses.
"At the moment that is not happening.
"Reforms must drastically improve the training, monitoring, accountability and techniques employed during enforced returns. There must be no excuse for delay."
The Star contacted G4S but by time of press they had not responded.
UK Border Agency head of criminality and detention David Wood said: "Removals contractors operate within a clear legal framework and to exacting standards set by the UK Border Agency.
"We expect the highest levels of integrity from our staff and contractors and racist and unprofessional behaviour will not be tolerated."
Source: Bournemouth Echo
The dangers of knife crime were highlighted in Bournemouth on Sunday as door staff were taught how to deal with a potential attack.
Door staff from First Security, who are based at pubs and clubs in Bournemouth including Walkabout, The Mary Shelley and V, were shown by instructors from Canford Cliffs-based Gladiator Academy how to defend themselves and others against violence.
The staff were put through their paces by Phil Norman, formerly of Gladiators fame, and fellow instructor Woody White.
Marc Smith, operations director at First Security, said: “There is a perception that there is more knife crime than there used to be in Bournemouth.
“Obviously it is not a regular problem but we need to be prepared for an incident, which is why we are taking preventative action.
“Door staff can’t carry weapons so they need to know how to take care of a situation so they and members of the public aren’t harmed.”
Acting Inspector Steve Lyne from Dorset Police said: “Incidents involving weapons are very, very low in Dorset in general. I think that the purpose of this training is more about the people and the door staff just remaining aware for their own safety. It is important that Dorset Police work closely with the security industry mainly to ensure a safe night time economy for everyone.”
Source: London Evening Standard
Olympic organisers have been forced to double the number of security guards to protect the London Games in a blunder that leaves taxpayers facing an extra £150 million bill.
A document obtained by the Standard reveals that "20,000+" guards are now needed next year - twice as many as the previous estimate.
The scale of the increase will raise questions about the performance of senior managers at Locog, the organising committee, and has caused deep anger in Whitehall.
It takes the total cost for civilian security guards at venues to £432 million -nearly 15 times the £29 million figure in London's original Olympic bid. A Whitehall official said: "There is a lot of annoyance and frustration about how
Locog's plans could be so far adrift."
The huge increase in the number of guards will prompt concerns about whether enough security-cleared staff can be found in time. It fuels speculation that the Army might have to be called in to fill the gap.
The guards hired by Locog will man scanners around the Games venues and will carry out airport-style security searches.
Games chiefs officially refused to comment on numbers. But sources denied any failings and insisted any changes were the result of altered security requirements imposed by the Government.
The Whitehall document obtained by the Standard warns that ministers are now planning to deploy a team of senior civil servants to help Games organisers improve their security planning and sets out the scale of the problem that has been uncovered.
"There are significant issues regarding Locog's ability to forecast their requirement for security guards," the document states. "Last year the Government provided £282 million to help Locog deliver their venue security programme.
"This was based on Locog's assessment that they would need a guard force of 10,000 personnel. Locog have reassessed their position subsequently and now anticipate that they will need substantially more. Some recent estimates suggest 20,000+ at peak."
Although Locog is a private company, the document says taxpayers are likely to be liable for the extra cost.
It adds: "Locog's new assessment of their guarding requirement would place a further burden on Government of £100 million-£150 million."
The organising committee announced this year that it had hired the security firm G4S to provide the guards needed for the Games.
But the document warns that London 2012 organisers are "facing some challenges in their wider management of this contract" which "have led to some of the above problems" in working out how many guards will be needed.
It says that the "Government Olympic Executive" within the Department for Culture, Media and Sport is now preparing to respond "through the provision of seven or eight senior staff" to "support project management and contract management activity".
The bill for guards is on top of the separate Home Office security budget of £475 million for policing the Games. A further £125 million reserve fund is also available to the Home Office under spending plans announced last year.
It means that the total potential spending on security for the Games is now likely to exceed £900 million and could top £1 billion if the bill rises further.
Locog said: "Locog has worked in close collaboration with all security agencies across government on a day to day basis.
"Government has been involved in our planning, have validated our guarding approach, provided the standards we have applied and approved expenditure."
Locog chief executive Paul Deighton was paid £480,000 last year, while other executives received substantial performance bonuses on top of their six-figure salaries.
A Home Office spokeswoman said today: "We are committed to delivering a safe and secure Games which includes robust security of venues delivered by the right people with the right skills."
"Government, Locog and G4S are working together to finalise the requirements for Olympic venue security. As is common with all major sporting events, we will make the best and most appropriate use of all available resources."
Source: BBC
Since arriving in Britain almost five decades ago, high-visibility jackets have become inescapable. Is this a blessing or a curse?
It is impossible to ignore - and that's the very point.
Bright, synthetic and, above all, cheap, the ubiquity of high-visibility clothing means that it surely symbolises the Britain of 2010s in the same way that miniskirts summed up the 1960s.
In the past, "high-vis" was associated with hazardous occupations - the emergency services as well as road and rail maintenance workers. Now it is just as likely to adorn security guards, cyclists, car park attendants and joggers - an all-purpose symbol of both authority and safety-first caution.
Kent County Council is the latest authority to promote its use, heralding its 120 "walking buses" in which children make their way to school together on foot clad in high-visibility gear. UK workwear specialists Red Oak Direct say sales of its high-visibility gear rose 22% in 2008/9 and 26% in 2009/10.
To critics, it symbolises everything that is wrong about mollycoddled, risk-averse, health-and-safety-obsessed modern Britain.
But enthusiasts point to its success in reducing traffic accidents and making the jobs of thousands of workers much safer.
What is perhaps most significant, however, is the manner in which this mass-produced garment, available from pound shops the length and breadth of the country, has come to lend its wearers the mantle of officialdom, licensed to give orders by virtue of their outerwear.
The unquestioning deference offered by it is satirised by that ever-reliable source of social commentary, Birkenhead-based indie band Half Man Half Biscuit, in the song King of High Vis.
Its lyric tells the story of a man who blags his way into music festivals and sporting events without a ticket by donning a fluorescent tunic: "Hard hat, tabard, torch and cocky toolbag / I'm Dave the Spark, or I could be Mike / Paramedics, police, authorised and holy / Be safe, be seen, be anyone you like."
For this reason, high-visibility wear is loathed by Sunday Times columnist Rod Liddle, who found that passers-by obeyed orders barked by him after he donned a fluorescent waistcoat for a feature.
"It has become this symbol of spurious authority," he says.
"I find it totally bizarre and depressing that people will do what you tell them as long as you're wearing high-vis. Like CCTV, it sums up how compliant we've become."
Nonetheless, the UK's attachment to the fabric is mild compared to that of France and Italy, where motorists are compelled to carry high-visibility clothing in their vehicles in case of a breakdown. In France, cyclists are compelled to wear such attire at night.
It was invented by an American, Bob Switzer, whose ambitions of becoming a doctor ended when he was injured in an industrial accident during the 1930s. While recuperating, he developed a fluorescent paint before fashioning the first item of high-visibility clothing from his wife's wedding dress.
High-vis first came to the UK in 1964 when it was trialled by railway maintenance workers in Glasgow. The 1974 Health and Safety At Work Act and 1992's Personal Protective Equipment At Work regulations - both of which required bosses to guard against potential industrial hazards - ensured its proliferation.
It was not only in the workplace that high-vis took off. An influential 1981 US study found that two-thirds of crashes between motorcycles and cars took place when the car driver failed to see the approaching bike, and safety campaigners have long urged pedestrians, cyclists and all other road users to don clothing that is as bright as possible.
No-one, however, has ever argued that the look is chic. In 2008, the designer Karl Lagerfeld appeared in a French public information campaign attired in a fluorescent waistcoat above the slogan: "It's yellow, it's ugly, it doesn't go with anything, but it could save your life".
Julian Bennett, fashion expert and former presenter of the UK version of Queer Eye For The Straight Guy, concedes that fluorescent overcoats are hardly likely to ever dominate the catwalk.
But he says its effectiveness at keeping its wearers safe means it will always be popular.
"It's just not fashionable," he says. "It's a stay-safe colour.
"But in terms of reducing the accidents, we know it works. Drivers don't always look. If you ride a motorbike or a bike, you want to be seen. If you're a parent, you know it's dark in the winter at 4:30 in the evening when your kids are walking home."
Some may hate it. But for others, high-vis will always induce a warm glow.
Source: Retail Gazette
Riots across the UK from Sunday August 6th to August 9th 2011 cost an estimated £100 million through stock loss and property damage, as unprecedented violence flooded town centres throughout the country.
Many would argue that the majority of the damage caused was unstoppable due to the extraordinary circumstances, others would argue that the trouble underlined the growing need for retailers to protect their assets and goods.
North-west based security firm DW-OZ was recruited by local retail stores to postion guards in Manchester city centre on the Wednesday night after the raids, but the firm’s Head of Business Development Keith Doodson argues that like too much retail security this measure was the equivalent of closing the stable door after the horse had bolted.
He agrees that increased security would not have prevented the looting that occurred in Manchester and other towns and cities but an earlier review of security measures could have reduced losses by moving more goods away from shop windows.
Doodson said: “You are not going to stop mass theft like that. You could have put 20 guards on Bang & Olufsen on that Tuesday night and the 300 looters still would have got in, but the retailer should still have had a full security audit prior to the riots.”
The growth of companies like DW-OZ, which expects to double staff numbers in the next 12 months, shows how retailers are giving greater importance to store security and shrinkage in a post-recession world.
According to the Centre for Retail Research, £977 million was spent in the UK on loss prevention and security in 2010 however the cost of internal and external theft to the industry totalled £1.6 billion and £3.9 billion respectively during the year.
Doodson puts the increasing problem with loss down to economic factors, with tightened purse strings and rising inflation creating a fertile breeding ground for a criminal underclass.
“Even thieves are hard-pressed right now. The price of goods is going up, meaning stolen goods can generate increased revenues for criminals,” he added.
“Luxury goods in particular have become more attractive to shoplifters and to traders on the black market.”
Security systems and solutions provider ORIS Group has been running retailer-led forums on loss prevention since the middle of the last decade and the number of businesses involved has been steadily rising .
These regular meetings allow traders to work together and share advice on how to protect their stores and identify weaknesses, they also give them a unified lobbying voice on issues surrounding security.
Kerinda Ibbotson, Managing Director of ORIS, commented: “You will not find retailers collaborating on many topics due to commercial sensitivity, but through our forums we have been able to achieve this.
“Competition is left at the door; nobody is trying to be top-of-the-shops for shrinkage.”
Ibbotson says that this collective talking method is particularly helpful because the sharing of more specific information between retailers is often prohibited due to the Data Protection Act.
She admits that although some firms claim to be seeing improvements in certain areas of loss, problems persist in all areas of retail and although it appears that more is being invested in traditional security measures, there is no silver bullet to stopping goods going missing.
Many retailers now report as much loss from employee theft as from robberies, and as an employer this poses a whole other set of challenges.
Various innovations are being developed to prevent both shoplifting, through new tag systems and face recognition technology, and internal theft, with better stock control and data mining software, but there will always be the suspicion that criminals can stay one step ahead of these methods.
Author Rachel Shteir investigated store theft for her book “The Steal: A Cultural History of Shoplifting” and argues that thieves have always managed to find a way round any attempts to scupper them in the past.
Shteir argued: “Most technology designed to stop shoplifting does not have a terrific track record.
“Part of what drives shoplifting is cultural so it is difficult to stop. The more common pattern is for the crime to adapt to the technology, using foil to defeat EAS Electronic Article Surveillance tags for example.”
Although this does not mean retailers should ignore technological initiatives, it does perhaps suggest that traders should look at their culture and practices as part of the solution.
In her book, Shteir found that an alarming number of US citizens were happy to admit that they had shoplifted at some time in their lives and she argues that there is less of a taboo surrounding the activity than many would suspect.
“In general, it seems that shoplifting has become more acceptable,” Sheir continued.
“I would say there is no one explanation as to why; we do live in a confessional culture and of course at times shoplifting is seen less as a crime than a cultural joke.”
Perhaps the positive reaction by many communities to the riots and outrage expressed at the crimes committed will alter this perception somewhat in the UK but in a world where many download media for free more may need to be done to convince people why stealing is wrong.
Ibbotson says that the recent recession has also altered the typical profile for a shoplifter and suggests that the increasing number of white collar workers losing their jobs has tempted a new demographic to take a chance at stealing.
Doodson rejects that any political motive was behind the looting seen in recent riots however, and claims the shocking scenes of violence should simply act as a wake up call to UK retailers to improve the visibility of their theft deterrents.
“Armed or not, each store in America has guards and in European countries, such as Spain and France, you are increasingly seeing store guards that are trained as customer service operatives,” he said.
“It should be an accepted part of retail to have security guards but we do not seem to have got to that point in the UK yet, we tend to rely on people’s honesty and unfortunately we are constantly being proved wrong.”
Whether through technology, best practices or more men on the ground, getting security right affects one of the most important aspects of any business; its bottom line.
Whilst sales are stagnant or falling for many traders, being able to reduce loss through shrinkage could be the difference between profits and losses, and Ibbotson believes many at the very top of retail companies are now beginning to realise this.
“Security, shrinkage and stock loss are not seen as the sexy end of any the business, not in the way sales is, but companies that prioritise an investment in this area clearly profit from that decision,” she concluded.
Source: The Guardian
G4S, the security company that employs more than 600,000 people worldwide, protecting everything from airports to rock stars, is hoping it will be able to pick up more work in a post-Gaddafi Libya.
Nick Buckles, chief executive of the FTSE 100 company, said he was looking at opportunities to train Libyan police and protect the country's oil and gas assets.
Buckles, whose staff helped protect US rapper Eminem and R&B artist Rihanna at the V festival last weekend, said the company had already benefited from the unrest in north Africa and the Middle East, with particularly strong growth in Egypt, Yemen and Bahrain. It achieved growth of 9% in its "new markets" division.
"Any country going through reconstruction and increasing security [is a new growth market]," Buckles said. "We hope to play a role in helping them [the Libyan National Transitional Council] in the vital work ensuring the people are safe."
The group provides security for infrastructure, such as oil and gas pipelines, "in numerous countries, and can certainly do it in Libya", he said. If G4S wins a contract in Libya it will be the first time the company, which traces its roots back to 1901, has operated in the north African country. G4S, the biggest riser in the FTSE 100 on Tuesday , was also boosted by the extension of a contract to protect the US embassy in Afghanistan until the end of next year.
Buckles said G4S will spend more than half of its £200m war chest in developing countries this year and hopes that emerging markets will provide at least half of its turnover by 2018. "We have a strong pipeline of mergers and acquisition opportunities which should come to fruition within the next six to 12 months," Buckles said.
Brazil, India, China, Ecuador, Thailand, Malaysia and South Korea are the company's core target areas. Buckles said Brazil, which has the seventh-highest murder rate in the world, will become a very important part of its operation. "It is a very large security market, accounting for more than half of the whole Latin American market," he said. "The 2014 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio will also provide a short-term boost."
The company, which is Europe's largest private sector employee, reported flat half-year pre-tax profits of £195m on revenue of £3.76bn.
In the UK and Ireland, where G4S employs 40,000 in more than 80 offices, sales jumped by 6% to £612m. The company has won a £100m contract to train 10,000 security guards for the London Olympics and expects to benefit from the government's increased outsourcing of prisons and offender management.
Buckles said G4S, which already runs four of Britain's prisons and handles the electronic tagging of 12,000 people, is bidding on contracts to run another eight. He said the company had shown it can cut the cost of running public services by up to 20% by improving efficiency.
However, last year the company lost a £30m contract for deporting detainees after three G4S guards were arrested in connection with the death of an Angolan man.
The shares closed up 20.8p to 264.4p.
Source: Doorwatch
Door Supervisors hear about the future directly from Bill Butler, (SIA CEO) at the National Doorwatch meeting in Nottingham and presents Certificates of Recognition to those who went "Above & Beyond" the normal expectation of the duties.
It was a very good turnout for Bill Butler, and those attending got to hear how he sees the future of the sector. He made it clear that the main change will be the shifting of responsibility for licencing to Businesses, rather than individuals. Sadly there will still be a licensing fee which door supervisors will have to pay. The good news is this fee will be significantly reduced, and they are now looking at the balance of the overall contribution between the individual and the employer.
The other thing that came out in the meeting was in answer to a question from National Doorwatch Chair, Ian Fox. Firstly Fox recognised that the SIA, in its role as regulator, were unable to act as a defacto union, in terms of setting the terms and conditions of employment of door supervisors. He then asked if the move to Business Licensing would require employers to comply with any new, and existing employment legislation. Bill replied that the purpose of Business Licensing was to improve standards in the Private Security Industry, and that compliance with any relevant legislation was an integral part of the process.
The meeting also heard from Charlie Stapleton, head of the SIA Application and Appeals department. Charlie gave a very useful presentation of how the Appeals process works. Essentially, the key to a successful appeal is to read the letter carefully, remain objective, and make sure the references you provide meet the requested criteria.
Simply put, there is no point going over the unfairness of your case - you should have dealt with that at the time. Make sure your referees, state their name, address, telephone, email details. Make sure they put in their letter that they are aware of the outcome of your case. Make sure the make it clear they there is no benefit to them by giving you a positive reference. Make sure you state the remorse you feel for your actions, and what remedial training/steps you have taken to prevent it happening again.
Also present was a representative of the local City Centre team. The door supervisors asked if ther had already been any cuts to Policing. The answer was yes, and that this was going to be a continuing situation for the forseeable future. The question was then asked as to why the Police invariably went and got the public's side of the story first, before talking to the door supervisor. The point was made that as door supervisors, are licensed, have undergone a criminality check, are sober, and are supposed to considered professional - surely it's time the Police - with all the cuts - started to work with this in mind. This was accepted and a promise was made to take this on board, and communicate this to the rest of the team.
Finally it was great to have Bill Butler present seven door supervisors with Certificates of Recognition for going "Above & Beyond" the normal expectaions of their duty to protect the premises and the general public. These men had definitely demonstrated these qualities, and done it all within the law. It had required door supervisors from different companies and different venues to support each other. This is what being a door supervisor is about - this is what National Doorwatch is about - and this is why we all need to stand to together if we want to make a difference.
Source: Edinburgh News
A woman who claims to have a sex addiction that made her prone to violence has insisted she has "calmed down" after being sentenced for attacking a nightclub bouncer
Shannon Flynn hit the headlines last year after she confessed that she was prone to violence if her boyfriend did not satisfy her in the bedroom.
The 27-year-old has now appeared at the city's Sheriff Court and admitted spitting on and kicking a bouncer during a night out.
The former beautician said owning up to her battle with sex and alcohol has helped her turn her life around.
Appearing at court yesterday, she admitted attacking door steward Bulen Aksoy, by spitting on his face and kicking him on the body.
Her victim was injured as a result of the attack on October 28, outside Garibaldi's in Edinburgh.
Fiscal depute Robert Freeland said the assault happened just after midnight. The bouncer declined medical attention, he added. Defence agent James Stewart said Flynn was currently living with her mother. "Alcohol was involved" in provoking the attack, he said.
Sheriff Isabella McColl called for background reports and deferred sentence until next month.
Speaking outside court, Flynn said the attack on the bouncer was not related to her sex addiction, but her problems with alcohol. She added: "I had a sex addiction. It's related to alchohol. The sex addiction only came out when I was drunk. But I've calmed down now."
Flynn said she was now takes tablets three times a week which make her sick when she has a drink
Source: Plymouth Herald
An off-duty doorman punched a sailor unconscious, breaking his jaw, to protect a 6ft 10in fellow bouncer, a court heard.
John Barnaby admitted throwing the punch, which he described as a warning shot, but claimed Gary Evans was in danger of being surrounded and attacked by three trouble-makers.
David Gittins, for the Crown Prosecution service, said Barnaby denied assault causing grievous bodily harm, and the only issue was whether it was in self-defence or defence of another.
The jury at Plymouth Crown Court heard that on July 27 last year, Royal Navy sailor Grant Lymer had returned to Plymouth to see his relatives and go for a night out with friends, starting in the Union Rooms in Plymouth, continuing at Jester's nightclub and moving on to the Two Trees pub at 2am next day.
In Jester's there was an altercation with another group, with claims that Mr Lymer and his friends were staring, the court heard.
There was a further argument between the same two groups in the Two Trees, with Mr Lymer and his friends being escorted out by doormen.
They then moved to a car park next to the pub's beer garden, where doorman Gary Evans asked them to leave. A gate then opened in the beer garden and four men, including a doorman and Barnaby, entered the car park, the court heard.
Barnaby stepped around the second doorman and punched Mr Lymer from behind with a round-arm 'haymaker' punch; he collapsed unconscious and hit his head on the ground, said Mr Gittins.
Mr Lymer's jaw was broken but healed without the need for surgery.
Barnaby was arrested on December 12 and interviewed the same day.
Mr Lymer testified that on the night he was attacked he had drunk 10 pints of lager and was tipsy. He said there was no unpleasantness between his group and Mr Evans and the first he knew of the assault was waking up in an ambulance.
He suffered shooting pains in his jaw and could not eat properly for weeks.
Cross-examined by defence barrister Jason Beal, he denied his group had pestered girls in Jester's or tried to provoke fights by banging into people, waving their arms around or staring.
Mr Evans said that Mr Lymer and his group were "just like normal drunk young lads - not out of control but rowdy".
He told the court he felt he had the situation under control.
Barnaby said he had worked as a licensed doorman for two years.
In Jester's, Mr Lymer and his friends were causing trouble, and later in the car park he saw Mr Evans surrounded by three men with their fists clenched.
"I just reacted to stop it," he said. "I went up to the first lad and gave him a warning shot."
The trial continues.
Source: SIA
A second SIA conference to discuss plans for the future regulation of the private security industry will be held in Sheffield on 12 October.
The Commitment to Regulation conference will consider the developing proposals for the new regulatory regime, outline progress since the last conference, and discuss the security requirements for the London Olympics and Paralympics Games 2012.
The SIA is this year hosting two conferences to ensure that there is adequate opportunity for consultation and discussion on the future regime. The Sheffield event follows the previous conference in London in March where the SIA’s Blueprint for regulation was outlined and discussed.
Places for the October conference are limited and will be allocated on a first come first served basis. Registration closes on 28 September 2011.
For further information and to download the booking form visit: www.sia.homeoffice.gov.uk/conference
Source: BBC News
Forcing a detainee to bend over while seated can lead to death, a study into restraint techniques suggests.
Researchers found that the hold massively cut lung capacity.
The technique is not used in prisons but researchers say it might be used in some mental health or care homes, or by private security contractors.
The Ministry of Justice and the UK Border Agency are reviewing restraint techniques approved for use on aircraft.
Police are currently investigating why an Angolan man, Jimmy Mubenga, died shortly after being restrained on his deportation flight last year.
The circumstances surrounding the death of Mr Mubenga, 46, remain unclear. He collapsed on a plane at Heathrow in October 2010 and post-mortem examinations proved inconclusive.
Three security guards, then employed by G4S, were arrested and have been bailed until later this year. A different company, Reliance, now holds the contract to escort deportees out of the UK.
Most studies of restraint techniques have focused on what happens to a detainee where they are forced to the ground, such as when a police officer uses brute force to hold someone still.
In this research, published in Medicine, Science and the Law, a Royal Society of Medicine journal, the Coventry University team placed 40 volunteers in chairs and then leant them forward, bringing their face close to the lap.
At the same time, researchers used arm holds and applied a small amount of force to prevent the volunteer from attempting to return to a normal sitting position.
The study found that all the volunteers said they felt they could not breathe and many felt alarmed.
One female volunteer was so distressed the team had to immediately stop the experiment. Overall, the research found volunteers with a larger waist - although not necessarily overweight - found it hardest to breathe. In the worst cases, the lungs' capacity was almost halved.
'Vicious circle'
Dr John Parkes, the lead author, said that the research found that the position, rather than the restraint by itself, caused the restrictions in the lungs.
"When we were doing it, we were not applying pressure to people's backs," said Dr Parkes. "If someone was being restrained with considerable force in the back, that might be a different matter."
The team had initially considered applying up to 25kg of force to the back of volunteers, to simulate a strong security guard forcing someone down. They abandoned the plan when their early experiments on each other, using a sandbag, showed it was dangerous.
Dr Parkes said the danger lay in security staff misinterpreting the response from a detainee who is struggling to get air into the lungs.
"Imagine that from the perspective of the staff. They feel you struggle and they will feel that you are getting angry. They will apply more force to manage your resistance. It becomes a vicious circle.
"The people who would die are those who resist for a prolonged period of time. It is entirely possible that people will die where someone is using a level of force that a lay person may not consider to be excessive."
Source: BSIA
The British Security Industry Association (BSIA) has welcomed the publication of a study into employee motivation in the security guarding sector, which has informed a useful new guide for security managers and supervisors.
Entitled ‘Motivation within the Security Sector’, the guide provides practical advice on methods of assessing motivation within the guard force, including a short validated questionnaire, and useful guidance on how to address any issues identified.
Commissioned by the Centre for the Protection of National Infrastructure, the guidance was developed by Booz & Company, whose interviews and consultation with security officers, supervisors and senior management at over fifteen CNI sites across the UK were supported and assisted by the BSIA and its members.
BSIA Director, David Evans, comments: “Motivation plays an important role in an industry where employees provide essential protection to buildings, valuable equipment and members of the public. Although developed initially as an aid to improve effectiveness in securing the national infrastructure its guidance is equally applicable to all sectors protected by the guarding industry. The insight it provides will prove indispensable to all organisations across the national infrastructure, whose essential role in ensuring the country’s resilience will benefit hugely from a motivated, observant workforce. As such, this is a very important study and one which BSIA members have welcomed wholeheartedly.”
Bill Muskin, whose BSIA member company had an input into the study, added: "The UK terror threat continues to be a reality, so it is important to ensure cohesion and maximum efficiency of all areas involved in the security of our country, to guarantee the best possible level of protection of the population and our critical national infrastructure.
"Security officers in particular are an essential tool for the safeguard of our nation, so getting the best out of these members of staff is paramount to any security strategy. For this reason, officers must not only be adequately selected and trained, but also consistently valued for the vital contribution they make. We therefore welcome this CPNI document, which provides security managers and those with responsibility for the management of security personnel with invaluable guidance on how to motivate their staff, to ensure consistent effectiveness and efficiency of the security services provided."
The guidance has officially been launched online and is accompanied by a series of briefing sessions, run by CPNI and Booz & Co to help end users understand the background to the guidance and how it can be utilised in the field.
The guide can be accessed here
Source: BBC News
Police failed to respond to reports of threats made at a Liverpool pub an hour before two doormen were shot, an IPCC investigation has found.
The men were shot in the legs while working at the West Derby Hotel on 15 August 2010.
Staff reported being threatened by men on four other occasions in the nine days leading up to the shooting.
An investigation has found police did not handle the calls properly, missing opportunities to prevent the attack.
Staff reported several incidents of threatening behaviour starting on 6 August, including two days before the attack when men who were refused entry threatened to return and shoot them.
'Busy workload'
The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) found these reports were not handled correctly, with the Intelligence Office and key management figures not being made aware of the increasing threat.
The most serious mishandling of information took place on the night of the shooting, the IPCC found.
The pub manager called police at 2100 BST over a new threat to "cause trouble" in the pub, and recounted details of the previous shooting threat.
As this was interpreted as a new shooting threat, the force incident manager gave instructions to the control room at 2121 BST for officers to investigate.
The manager also ordered a police patrol be sent to the pub to deter any violence.
These instructions were not carried out and, at at 2214 BST, police received a call stating that the two doormen had been shot.
The supervisor who failed to implement the manager's instructions blamed a busy workload.
Naseem Malik, IPCC Commissioner, said: "These instructions were designed to put tactics in place that may have disrupted the criminals' plans and may have stopped the shooting taking place.
"These emergency calls clearly indicated an increasing threat towards the door staff at the West Derby public house.
"I appreciate that threats from drunken patrons who may be disgruntled with door staff may be a regular occurrence and that the police, at an immediate operational response level, have a difficult task in assessing and responding appropriately to such threats.
"However, in this case, it is evident that there was a pattern of sinister and threatening behaviour developing."
The IPCC has recommended Merseyside Police conduct a full review of its Threat to Life Policy.
Source: Worcester News
An ex-soldier and his nephew injured doorstaff during an attack outside a Worcestershire nightclub.
The fight outside Marilyns night club in Evesham began when two men were ejected from the club by a side door.
Ex-serviceman Jason Smith, aged 26, and his nephew, farm labourer Dominic Russell, aged 19, near Broadway, both admitted identical charges of affray (threats of unlawful violence) and assault by beating when they appeared before magistrates in Worcester.
The attack on Friday, May 13, was recorded on CCTV and it showed Smith being ejected from the club followed by Russell as blows were thrown at staff.
The violence then continued at the side and front of the club.
Liam Finch, prosecuting, drew a distinction between the actions of Smith and Russell, who took more of a “back seat” in the assault.
However, when the incident moved to the front of the club Russell could be seen throwing punches at Richard Ashmead, who suffered reddening to his left cheek and a small abrasion to his bottom lip.
Mr Finch said Richard Ding, a doorman attacked by Smith, was punched and kicked and had “various lumps and bruises on his head and blood in his mouth”.
The fight came to an end when staff closed the front door of the nightclub, although Smith could be seen on CCTV trying to drag the door open.
Mr Finch said Smith, who has no previous convictions, was “disarmingly frank” when being interviewed by police and told officers he had drunk a considerable amount of alcohol and that his behaviour was “out of character”.
Jason Patel, defending Smith, who had been in the Army for a year two years ago but was declared not fit to serve because of knee problems, had split up with his partner that day.
Mr Patel said: “Having seen the CCTV he’s deeply ashamed of his actions and shows genuine regret and remorse for what happened that evening.”
Mark Lister, defending Russell, said: “It was clearly a disgraceful incident. He accepts that. His part in the incident as a whole was less than Smith’s.”
Both men were sentenced to 12-month community orders.
Smith was ordered to complete 100 hours unpaid work and Russell 80 hours.
Smith was placed on an electronically tagged daily curfew between 8pm and 6am.
Both were ordered to pay £150 compensation each – Smith to Mr Ding and Russell to Mr Ashmead.
Smith was ordered to make a £50 contribution to costs and Russell a £35 contribution.
Source: BBC News
Police failed to respond to reports of threats made at a Liverpool pub an hour before two doormen were shot, an IPCC investigation has found.
The men were shot in the legs while working at the West Derby Hotel on 15 August 2010.
Staff reported being threatened by men on four other occasions in the nine days leading up to the shooting.
An investigation has found police did not handle the calls properly, missing opportunities to prevent the attack.
Staff reported several incidents of threatening behaviour starting on 6 August, including two days before the attack when men who were refused entry threatened to return and shoot them.
'Busy workload'
The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) found these reports were not handled correctly, with the Intelligence Office and key management figures not being made aware of the increasing threat.
The most serious mishandling of information took place on the night of the shooting, the IPCC found.
The pub manager called police at 2100 BST over a new threat to "cause trouble" in the pub, and recounted details of the previous shooting threat.
As this was interpreted as a new shooting threat, the force incident manager gave instructions to the control room at 2121 BST for officers to investigate.
The manager also ordered a police patrol be sent to the pub to deter any violence.
These instructions were not carried out and, at at 2214 BST, police received a call stating that the two doormen had been shot.
The supervisor who failed to implement the manager's instructions blamed a busy workload.
Naseem Malik, IPCC Commissioner, said: "These instructions were designed to put tactics in place that may have disrupted the criminals' plans and may have stopped the shooting taking place.
"These emergency calls clearly indicated an increasing threat towards the door staff at the West Derby public house.
"I appreciate that threats from drunken patrons who may be disgruntled with door staff may be a regular occurrence and that the police, at an immediate operational response level, have a difficult task in assessing and responding appropriately to such threats.
"However, in this case, it is evident that there was a pattern of sinister and threatening behaviour developing."
The IPCC has recommended Merseyside Police conduct a full review of its Threat to Life Policy.
Source: Worcester News
An ex-soldier and his nephew injured doorstaff during an attack outside a Worcestershire nightclub.
The fight outside Marilyns night club in Evesham began when two men were ejected from the club by a side door.
Ex-serviceman Jason Smith, aged 26, and his nephew, farm labourer Dominic Russell, aged 19, near Broadway, both admitted identical charges of affray (threats of unlawful violence) and assault by beating when they appeared before magistrates in Worcester.
The attack on Friday, May 13, was recorded on CCTV and it showed Smith being ejected from the club followed by Russell as blows were thrown at staff.
The violence then continued at the side and front of the club.
Liam Finch, prosecuting, drew a distinction between the actions of Smith and Russell, who took more of a “back seat” in the assault.
However, when the incident moved to the front of the club Russell could be seen throwing punches at Richard Ashmead, who suffered reddening to his left cheek and a small abrasion to his bottom lip.
Mr Finch said Richard Ding, a doorman attacked by Smith, was punched and kicked and had “various lumps and bruises on his head and blood in his mouth”.
The fight came to an end when staff closed the front door of the nightclub, although Smith could be seen on CCTV trying to drag the door open.
Mr Finch said Smith, who has no previous convictions, was “disarmingly frank” when being interviewed by police and told officers he had drunk a considerable amount of alcohol and that his behaviour was “out of character”.
Jason Patel, defending Smith, who had been in the Army for a year two years ago but was declared not fit to serve because of knee problems, had split up with his partner that day.
Mr Patel said: “Having seen the CCTV he’s deeply ashamed of his actions and shows genuine regret and remorse for what happened that evening.”
Mark Lister, defending Russell, said: “It was clearly a disgraceful incident. He accepts that. His part in the incident as a whole was less than Smith’s.”
Both men were sentenced to 12-month community orders.
Smith was ordered to complete 100 hours unpaid work and Russell 80 hours.
Smith was placed on an electronically tagged daily curfew between 8pm and 6am.
Both were ordered to pay £150 compensation each – Smith to Mr Ding and Russell to Mr Ashmead.
Smith was ordered to make a £50 contribution to costs and Russell a £35 contribution.
Source: Belfast Telegraph
With her chic black hat and monochrome dress, most people probably assumed the well-dressed woman in the front passenger seat of the Rolls Royce at the recent royal wedding was the bride's designer.
Far from being there to protect Kate Middleton's crisp white frock from creases and spillages, though, elegant Emma Probert was there to protect her life.
The Duchess of Cambridge is just the latest A-lister to put her life in the hands of a lady -- close protection officer 39-year-old Sergeant Probert.
Other celebs to favour a female bodyguard in the past include her husband Prince William, Nicole Kidman, Katie Price and Justin Bieber.
And Colonel Gaddafi is flanked by 40 female bodyguards, known as The Revolutionary Nuns.
With a remake of 1992 blockbuster The Bodyguard in the works, Hollywood may have to rethink its stereotype of the bullet-dodging bloke in a black suit, shades and earpiece.
Less conspicuous but just as capable as their male counterparts, girl bodyguards are on the rise, says Ireland's most in-demand one.
"Kevin Costner has a lot to answer for," laughs bodyguard Lisa Baldwin (27) from Clontarf.
"The reality is nothing like the movie -- it's not all about jumping in front of bullets and falling in love with your client."
At 5ft 6, size 10 and blonde, former professional swimmer Lisa certainly has little in common with big-screen bodyguards such as Costner, Clint Eastwood (In the Line of Fire) and Denzel Washington (Man on Fire).
"When I started out eight years ago, I was the only woman on my training course," says Lisa, who travels the world guarding Middle Eastern royals on holidays. "But now it's becoming more popular."
Clients are starting to realise that women are often a better choice to protect their families. "As a woman, I blend in more easily -- people just assume I'm a nanny or personal assistant," she adds.
With training in firearms, protective driving, counter-surveillance and bomb search, however, Mary Poppins she ain't.
"It's about being able to read a situation, identify threats -- whether it's the paparazzi, a kidnapper or assassin -- and get your client to safety," explains Lisa, who quit university to become a bodyguard after a chance meeting with a bodyguard friend of her father.
"If it comes down to conflict, I've failed my client and myself. I'm dealing with regular people, so more often than not just speaking to someone can solve things.
"As a female bodyguard, you have to have a very thick skin," she admits. "I've had male colleagues tell me to go make the tea or deliberately try to show me up on a job -- but I fought back to get the respect I deserve.
"Unlike a lot of male bodyguards, I have a clean track record -- and intend to keep it that way."
Ironically, in one of the most female-unfriendly professions imaginable, there are times when only a woman is man enough for the job.
"Toilets," explains veteran British bodyguard Jacquieline Davis (50). "We can go in toilets and don't stand out in the lingerie department.
"Royals I've looked after like it that I can sympathise when it's the wrong time of the month or they've had a row with their husband.
"[While] if we are looking after males, quite often people think that we are the wife, the secretary or the mistress -- it gives us a huge element of surprise."
During her 30 years on 'the circuit', as the bodyguarding world calls itself, the former London cop has been stabbed in the leg, thrown through a shop window and shot at by snipers. But she says her scariest moment was fending off a 400-strong gaggle of horny women while bodyguarding at a male strip show.
"I am shocked that I'm still alive," jokes Davis, who's also babysat celebs such as Liza Minnelli, Diana Ross and JK Rowling.
"Ultimately, you have to be prepared to take a bullet, especially [in countries] where you're not allowed to carry a hand gun. But the biggest thing about our job is being a diplomat. I have bullshitted my way into, out of and around so many situations."
Negotiation skills and discretion aside, there's another reason why rich Arab businessmen, A-listers and royals may prefer not to hire a buff, young bloke to mind their missus.
In 1980, Detective Sergeant Peter Cross was relieved of his duties amid speculation he had become "too close" to Princess Anne. Two years later, Princess Diana's bodyguard Barry Mannakee was also accused of getting too cosy with his principal.
Although both royals denied an affair, others like Princess Stephanie of Monaco and Britney Spears have 'done a Whitney' by getting involved with their bodyguard.
"Kevin Costner would have been sacked long ago," jokes Jim Shortt of the International Bodyguard Association, which has its Irish headquarters in Co Louth.
"As a bodyguard, often you're dealing with vulnerable women and you don't take advantage of that. That said, what ageing millionaire would want his wife looked after by a fit, handsome young man?"
Wannabe girl bodyguards here can undertake a three-week training course with the organisation for around €2,495 -- a sum that even a rookie could earn back in three weeks, as basic bodyguarding rates start at around €800 per week up to that amount per day for more high-risk jobs.
"In many ways, women can make better bodyguards because they don't have the Men in Black attitude of some male bodyguards," says Shortt.
"People are often surprised when they see me," agrees Lisa Baldwin, who runs the IBA Women's Bureau.
"They expect you to be big and butch -- but when I'm not bodyguarding, I'm just a regular girl who likes to keep fit and go to the movies."
Girls with guns: The world's most famous female bodyguards
Anna Loginova
Glamorous Russian bodyguard Loginova was killed after attempting to prevent her own Porsche from being carjacked in 2008.
The 29-year-old model ran an agency for female bodyguards to protect Moscow's billionaires. Stripping down for a men's mag, she said: "I do think that a girl should be a girl, not a Terminator."
Lady Bardales
Bodyguard to Alejandro Toledo while he was President of Peru, former police lieutenant Bardales' career ended in controversy when she was accused of having an affair with her principal in 2005.
Dubbed 'Lady Bi', the 28-year-old was then indicted for illegal enrichment over her lavish lifestyle -- though the charges were later dropped.
The Revolutionary Nuns
Formed in the 1980s, 40 green-uniformed female bodyguards known as 'The Revolutionary Nuns' protect Muammar Gaddafi.
The Libyan leader is thought to surround himself by young women in order to deter Arab gunmen.
Source: Lincolnshire Echo
A group of men who acted "like a pack of dogs" during an attack on two off-duty doormen have been locked up by a judge.
The trio had earlier been ejected from Ritzys nightclub as a result of a conversation between the victims and staff on duty at the club.
Steven Veitch, prosecuting, told Lincoln Crown Court that 20 minutes later the two groups met up again outside The Works store.
CCTV evidence showed Stephen Murphy punching one of the off-duty doormen.
The man was knocked to the ground and then kicked before being left dazed on the ground as Murphy and his friends, Elton Medina and Joseph Orrell, turned their attentions to the second man.
The victim was chased across Silver Street and then attacked close to the Stonebow.
He was also forced to the ground and kicked before the three attackers left the scene. They attempted to hide with one jumping in the river before they were eventually detained.
Murphy, 25, of Boston; Medina, 24, of Wyberton and Orrell, 20, of Fishtoft, each admitted affray as a result of the incident in the early hours of May 23.
They were each jailed for 20 months.
Recorder Nigel Daly told them: "This was yet again serious, night-time, drunken street violence.
"Towards the end it was like watching an animal being attacked by a pack of dogs."
Source: Northern Echo
Two men have been charged with manslaughter following the death of North-East doorman.
Father-of-three Peter Jopling, 40, from Shotley Bridge, County Durham, worked at Decades nightclub in Consett.
Paramedics were called at about 3.30am after reports a member of staff had collapsed inside the premises.
When they arrived, Mr Jopling was in pain, but conscious and able to talk.
He was taken by ambulance to the University Hospital of North Durham, Durham City, to be assessed, but his condition quickly deteriorated.
Mr Jopling, who had worked for Kelco Security, in the Front Street nightspot, for more than six years, died shortly before 5am.
On Thursday, police charged two men aged 35 and 36, of Durham Road, Blackhill, Consett, with manslaughter and affray.
An inquest has been opened and will be completed after the criminal proceedings have been carried out.
The suspects have been granted bail and are due to appear at Consett Magistrates Court on June 30.
Source: Worcester News
A transexual who breached a criminal anti-social behaviour order by swearing and spitting at bouncers has been given an electronic curfew tag.
Kim Eaton-Goode, aged 47, of Worcester, admitted breaching her Crasbo when she appeared before magistrates.
Matt Dodson, prosecuting, said Goode was out with friends in the city on June 10. At about 11pm she was refused entry to Bar 12, in the Cornmarket.
Mr Dodson said Goode abused bouncers and made obscene suggestions about their sexual preferences.
“There were people walking past and customers in the bar at the time,” Mr Dodson said.
“She then spat in the direction of the door staff and left the scene.”
Goode was monitored by CCTV cameras and arrested near to her home.
In interviews she admitted swearing at the staff.
The court was told Goode was subjected to a two-year Crasbo on March 25 which prohibits her from behaving in a way which causes harassment, alarm or distress.
Mark Lister, defending, said his client was well known in Worcester and was an easy target.
He said: “Following the verbal argument she didn’t stay and make the situation worse. She realised this was something she shouldn’t be doing and walked away. In the past it may well have escalated.
“She is a transsexual, she sticks out like a sore thumb in this community and is somewhat of an easy target.
“I’m not saying door staff should be subjected to this sort of behaviour but it is part of their job. If everyone who swore at a doorman was brought before the court there would be a queue going down the street.”
Mr Lister said Goode was complying with a supervison order and making good progress.
Goode was given a 12-week curfew from 6pm to 6am and ordered to pay £85 costs. Her Crasbo and community order will continue.
Chairman of the bench Heather Osbourne said: “We have heard you are making good progress on your community order and walked away from the situation but this was a particularly unpleasant offence, witnessed by members of the public.”
Source: BBC News
A seventh man has been arrested in connection with the murder of the head doorman of the Mayfair Club.
Bogdan Paduret, 29, who was also known as Tony, was shot in the head as he sat in his car outside his home in Finchley, north London, last November.
Police said a motorcyclist pulled up to the car and the pillion passenger fired four shots into it.
The latest arrest was made by officers from the Metropolitan Police at Ipswich railway station.
Earlier on Wednesday, officers raided eight addresses across London, arresting six people.
Det Ch Insp Jacqueline Sebire said: "This was a cold-blooded and planned murder.
"Mr Paduret was without doubt targeted."
The raids took place at addresses and businesses in Limehouse, Ilford and Whitechapel, all in east London; Hounslow in the west of the capital and Friern Barnet to the north of the city.
Source: South Wales Argus
An Abergavenny man told a bouncer he had a grievance with “I will gut you like a fish,” a court heard.
Newport Crown Court heard Craig Osborne, 38, had previously admitted assaulting Mark Walters, a doorman at Abergavenny bar Auberge, in 2009.
Prosecutor James Evans said “things took a more serious turn” on May 29 last year when Osborne was walking past the bar while Mr Walters was working.
The court heard Osborne, of Frogmore Street, walked up to Mr Walters and lifted his T-shirt, showing him an object which he thought was a knife and said: “I’m going to gut you like a fish.”
The police were called and Osborne was spoken to, but the following weekend, he approached Mr Walters again and said he was too clever for the police.
In a separate incident, Osborne was stopped in Commercial Street, Newport, and was found to be carrying 0.13 grammes of heroin.
Osborne pleaded guilty to threatening to take revenge and was convicted of possession of Class A drugs.
Defending, Harry Baker said Osborne was hopefully due to start work doing roofing and, since being given a community order for a separate offence in March, has been doing rather well.
Judge Rhys Rowlands said: “Threatening to take revenge on a witness is a serious matter. Over the years you’ve got a very bad record of offences of dishonesty, disorder, drugs and some violence.”
Osborne was given eight months for the threats and two months for drug possession.
The sentences will run concurrently and were suspended for two years.
He was also ordered to do 200 hours unpaid work, given a 12-month supervision order, and a five-year restraining order was issued, banning him from entering Mr Walters’ place of work or approaching or contacting him in any way.
Source: Northampton Chronicle
A man has been sent to prison for assaulting a doorman after he was refused entry into a town centre nightclub.
Trevor Brown, aged 48, of The Dangs, Briar Hill, Northampton, appeared at Northampton Crown Court yesterday.
Brown pleaded guilty to affray but not guilty to the possession of a Stanley knife found near the scene of the incident.
Jenna Latchford, prosecuting, said Brown tried to go into Panache nightclub in Bridge Street, Northampton, on October 15 at around 1.30am but was refused entry by a doorman as his clothes did not meet the dress code.
She said Brown became verbally abusive and offensive towards the doorman and shouted racial abuse.
The court heard that two off-duty doormen also made their way over but Brown continued with the abuse.
CCTV footage played in court showed Brown walk away from the bar towards an alleyway in Bridge Street, where he was followed by one of the doormen.
The doorman punched Brown in the face before they both walked off in separate directions, before meeting again near the club where Brown attacked the doorman with a sharp weapon.
Ms Latchford said Brown suffered a chipped and wobbly tooth and the doorman suffered two cuts to his face and one to his chest.
She added: “It is perhaps not entirely appropriate to describe the doorman as a victim in this incident.”
The court heard that a Stanley knife was found close to the scene but Brown denied possession of this.
Richard Holloway, defending, said that Brown remembers very little of the incident due to the amount of alcohol he had consumed but was certain that the Stanley knife was not his.
He added: “The CCTV speaks volumes. One must consider that in different circumstances Mr Brown could have been the victim in this. He didn’t have the Stanley knife but the injuries were caused by something sharp. You can’t see the Stanley knife in Mr Brown’s hand on CCTV but he caused the injuries.”
Judge Tracey Lloyd-Nesling, said she had taken his previous convictions into consideration but sentenced Brown to 16 months in prison.
Source: Birmingham Mail
Police have seized more than 150 driving licences and passports that have been doctored to help teenagers trick their way into pubs and clubs in Birmingham.
In one case, stunned bobbies discovered a dad had helped alter the birthdate on his son’s passport so he could go out drinking in Sutton Coldfield. The pair could have faced fraud charges.
Another young man had to cancel his holiday after his passport was seized after he forged the details in order to get into a club just days before the trip.
The documents were seized by police and door staff over the past six weeks in a crackdown on underage drinking and booze-fuelled trouble.
Licencing officers warned that it was a criminal offence to alter, be in possession of or to use a false or another person’s identification.
More than 140 driving licences and ten passports have been seized from club-goers after the documents were found to be either fake, altered, or did not belong to the person trying to use it.
Licensing Officer PC Deano Walker said pubs and clubs in the town would ask people who looked under 25 for identification to prevent underage drinking.
“Underage drinking not only has a detrimental affect on the health of the individual but it can also lead to an increase in crime and anti-social behaviour.
“Our local pubs and clubs will accept passports and driving licenses as a proof of age, and all know the tell-tale signs of a fake identification, or one that has been altered or belongs to a friend or family member you may look a little bit like. “If you are fortunate to look younger than you are please don’t be offended if door staff challenge you for identification – they are doing it to make sure that people who are old enough have a safer and more enjoyable night.”
All seized passports have to be returned to the Passport Office and driving licenses are sent off to the DVLA.
Offenders will have to pay for a replacement and could face further questioning from the two agencies of the use of doctored documents.
Source: WtD
A new security union for the industry is launching on Friday 3rd June.
The National Security Workers Union is set up by experienced security professionals for workers in all areas of the security industry.
Rollo Davies of the NSWU said "It is about time the security industry had a real general trade union working for you. And the National Security Workers Union, UK, is here"
"We are security industry workers with a wealth of experience in the sector from ex Police Officer to security guards. We want to make things better and if enough of us join the union, we can! If you feel your job is worthwhile, then help be part of the solution!"
If you wish to join, click here to download your application form.
Below is an article that appeared in our May edition of our newsletter from Rollo Davies of the NSWU.
Protection. It’s the bottom line of everything we do, from the highly trained Close Protection professional; the ever watchful and ready Door Supervisor, to the Night Watchman in a factory. We are trusted with the care and safety of countless human lives and the protection of untold billions of pounds worth of property each and every day across the world.
There can not be many more righteous or rewarding jobs than this surely?
Job satisfaction and morale should be through the roof across the industry, with young entrants to the employment market clamouring to work in 'Security'.
When put in these terms, you’d think that we would have levels of respect from the public that would be right up there with Police Officers, Nurses, Firefighters….??
Sadly this is not, and as far as I can tell, never was the case. The employees in the security industry are seen as an unprofitable expense, needed, but never adding anything to the bottom line. A position occupied by cleaners, gardeners, maintenance engineers and the guy that washes the windows each week.
Does this annoy you yet? It’s made me angry to be honest.
It gets worse. Just factor in the employers that want to pay you as little as possible, cut any benefits to the bone and use security staff as scapegoats for any health and safety or loss failures within their organisations and you can fully understand the general level of discontent. It isn’t like this everywhere admittedly, but this tends to be the situation in far too many cases.
How did things get so bad? Familiarity breeding contempt is a big issue. Security is always there. When you arrive at the office in the morning and when you leave at night, there will be security in the reception. Want to know where the toilets are in the airport? Ask the security girl or guy. We’re there all the time, visible and in so many places that the security staff are almost part of the furniture. People forget why we are there. They don’t know what we have to do and how much responsibility sits on our shoulders.
The public do not see the training we undertake and just don’t know how utterly vital the person they may see every morning in their office is for their own welfare, and the safety of those around them.
They will just hear from the press that 'a businessman was attacked'…..
We’ve become ‘the grey man’. Largely ignored and never respected.
So, the situation is pretty obvious to us. We put up with it on a daily basis. It’s been this way for so long we just shrug our shoulders and get on with it as always.
I apologise if I sound a bit like I’m ranting but I’ve been giving it a lot of thought over the last few months and some things strike me as, well, just wrong!…
The SIA has over 350,000 licensed workers operating in the UK security industry, yet, I have never heard any representative of those employees speaking out on our behalf. For example, love or hate Bob Crow (Yeah... OK... I know.....), he is head of a union with 80,000 members, all highly paid and rewarded for what they do, yet barely a day goes by when he doesn’t pop up on the TV or radio campaigning on some issue or another.
I never really knew what to think about unions..... Trouble makers? Greedy rabble rousers? Or organisations actually out to fight for the best interests of their members? I looked into it, long and hard, and trade unions in this country are so well regulated and their members so well protected, that it seemed the obvious course of action. Just join a union!
I asked my colleagues a while ago, if any of them belonged to a union? Some puzzled looks ensued and I received a universal “no”. Having a look at the TUC website I did a search for the unions recognised by my employer (a top 5 UK security industry service provider)…. Unbelievably not one single union was officially recognised by my company! Since then, I discovered that 2 out of the 30+ staff working with me, were in fact members of large general unions, not specifically dedicated to the security industry, and only because they’d joined whilst with another employer!
This couldn't be right surely? Back on to the TUC and the government’s Certification Office, but despite my best efforts, the closest I could get to any dedicated security industry unions were a couple of company staff associations and a Door Supervisors union, no doubt doing an excellent job in their industry areas, but not aimed at the rest of us. I also encountered a security ‘organisation’ purporting to be a union, that was actually a private limited company. All very disheartening and alarming.
“So, what’re you going to do about it?” I asked myself...
Well I’ve been in security in many forms, since I left the Metropolitan Police Service in 1992 and, in the last few years, things have been getting noticeably worse. There reaches a point though when things are so bad that you need to ask yourself, ‘what are you going to do about it?” I considered many options. Eventually I couldn’t avoid the ‘elephant in the room’….. If we need a Trade Union, someone has to start one.
So the buck stops here. With no knowledge of trade union laws or regulations, or what a venture like this would entail, I set to work: Firstly reading and so much midnight oil was burned in front of my computer screen; so many people in related fields were bothered by endless questions; looking at the activities of other decent and well run unions; examining the legal and financial implications and working just out how, financially, it could be done and how to source the best advice and benefits for the membership….. The list went on and on. No easy thing this.
The end result will be commencing operations on Monday 13th June 2011. (With membership applications accepted from the 3rd June onwards..)
With a lot of help from some very smart and sympathetic souls, the NSWU, (The National Security Workers Union, UK) will be born.
Quite simply, set up for others like us and, to ‘support those who protect’, we aim to give the best advice and guidance from people that really understand the problems and issues. We've been there and done that.
We will also campaign to increase public awareness and appreciation for the vital role played by security workers every day. We need more respect and I feel that this should be the tipping point.
Of course if nobody feels the same and I’m a lone voice in the wilderness, then I've wasted some time, most of my savings, and annoyed my family and some associates, but.............
If you feel the same, join us!
We’ll be keeping costs to a minimum, providing some of the lowest membership fees for any trade union. The full list of benefits and services provided are growing by the day so please check out the (work in progress admittedly,) website for the most up to date info: www.theNSWU.org
I’m starting to sound too ‘Salesy…’ so I’ll leave it there. I just need to say that every member will make us stronger and our voice louder.
Rollo Davies - The National Security Workers Union
Source: Halifax Courier
A teenager bit a doorman’s arm as he was escorted from a Halifax nightclub, a court heard.
Saman Sabouri, 18, of Halifax, bit Nicholas Taylor’s left arm leaving him with puncture wounds and severe bruising as the bouncer tried to remove him from Liquid in Halifax town centre on November 7 last year.
Mr Taylor had been alerted to Sabouri after being told of a fight.
When he arrived at the scene, Mr Taylor found a man who had been punched.
As the punched man went to be cleaned up, Sabouri was pointed out to Mr Taylor, who told him he had to leave the club.
As Mr Taylor was escorting Sabouri to the exit, Sabouri then sunk his teeth in Mr Taylor’s arm.
Sabouri claimed Mr Taylor was twisting his arm heavily.
Mr Taylor was taken to Calderdale Royal Hospital for treatment.
Sabouri, who had been drinking, said he had been arguing with an English man in the nightclub before Mr Taylor had approached him and ask him to leave.
He admitted assault occasioning actual bodily harm.
Ken Green, defending at Bradford Crown Court, said Sabouri was working to cut back on his alcohol intake but conceded that drink had played a part in the assault.
Mr Recorder Henry Prosser told Sabouri: “This was a serious offence which is aggravated because first of all you bit someone. Mr Taylor could have suffered serious consequences as a result of that vile action.
“Secondly, Mr Taylor was in a position of responsibility and the courts have a duty to protect people carrying out this sort of work,” he added.
Sabouri was not ordered to pay compensation because he is currently on benefits, but the judge warned him that Mr Taylor could still claim against him.
Sabouri was given eight months’ detention, suspended for 18 months, ordered to complete 200 hours of unpaid work and will be under supervision for 12 months.
Source: Wales Online
A nightclub doorman on his way home from work in the early hours of the morning was assaulted by a man who was disgruntled about his friend being thrown out.
Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court heard that Rhys William James of Cwmaman, had been out with friends on Sunday, August 29 at Judges nightclub, Aberdare.
But when friend David Sullivan had been thrown out James followed moments later after confronting the doorman.
“He was escorted more forcibly from the premises,” said Matthew Cobbe, prosecuting.
The pair could be seen goading door staff before being ushered into the street and it was then James was met by 26-year-old Ryan Mark Christopher, of Elm Grove, Gadlys.
Unhappy at the way his friend had been treated and the fact he was covered in blood, Christopher confronted door staff Kevin Edwards and Paul Morgan as they left the club at 2am.
He was followed by James who picked up a bottle as he walked to the scene, before rethinking his actions and putting it back down.
Mr Morgan hadn’t even been involved in the earlier incident but Christopher, who also had not been there, started throwing punches.
Eyes were gouged as Mr Morgan battled to restrain Christopher.
Steven Donoghue, defending Christopher, who has a record of violence including breaking his ex-partner’s nose after he climbed into her home to assault her, said his life had stabilised since August.
He had a job and provided financially for his ex-partner and their two children.
“There was a certain element of rough justice meted out to the defendant because he suffered for what he did,” said Mr Donoghue.
“He now has to wear glasses as his eyes were gouged.”
Jonathan Rees, defending James, who admitted common assault, possessing cocaine and possessing an offensive weapon, said although he had armed himself with a weapon he had come to his senses very quickly and put it down.
Judge Richard Twomlow sentenced James to a 12-month community order and ordered him to do 150 hours’ unpaid work.
Christopher was jailed for 34 weeks, suspended for 18 months, and ordered to carry out 200 hours’ unpaid work.
He was also banned from going into licensed premises for six months.
Source: Bolton News
A father punched a pub doorman so hard that he fractured his eye socket, a court heard.
Steve Berry took exception to his son, Christopher Berry, being confronted by the doorman about suspected drug misuse and another son being asked to leave the Dog and Partridge pub in Bolton.
Yesterday, at Bolton Crown Court, he hugged his sons in the dock before he was led away to start a 16-month jail sentence.
Steve Berry, aged 56, of Eskdale Drive, Middleton, had pleaded guilty to wounding doorman Franklin Wadji. He had also pleaded guilty to assaulting a second doorman, Richard Sherwin, the same charge admitted by his sons Christopher Berry, aged 35, and Ian Berry, aged 30, both of Hollinwood Avenue, New Moston.
Lisa Bakker, prosecuting, told the court how Mr Sherwin and Mr Wadji were working at the pub in Manor Street when the Berry family arrived in the early hours of May 22 last year. The pub has a strict no drugs policy and Mr Wadji confronted Christopher Berry near the toilets, although no drugs were subsequently found on him.
His father and brother took exception to this and Steve Berry punched Mr Wadji in the face then punched Mr Sherwin, as well as accidentally catching him on the forehead with his foot.
Ian and Christopher Berry also punched Mr Sherwin. Police were called and the three were arrested.
Both doormen were treated at hospital.
When his vision deteriorated two days later, Mr Wadji returned to hospital where he was found to have suffered a fractured eye socket and needed surgery to relieve pressure behind the eye. Nina Graham, defending Steve Berry, said the situation in the pub had quickly escalated due to his “somewhat overprotective attitude towards his sons” which had caused him to lose his temper.
Christopher Berry was sentenced to a 12-month community order and ordered to do 150 hours unpaid work and attend the New Directions Activity programme.
He was also ordered to pay £300 compensation and £500 towards prosecution costs.
Ian Berry was given a six-month community order with instructions to attend the New Directions Activity programme. He was ordered to pay £200 compensation and £300 towards prosecution costs.
Source: Dorset Echo
A man who was refused entry to a Weymouth nightclub came back an hour later with a kitchen knife in his trousers, a court was told.
Patrick Robert John Moran was jailed for 36 weeks after admitting offences of possessing a bladed article and assaulting a police officer.
The assault charge related to Moran kicking out at custody sergeant Andrew Marsh following his arrest outside the Dorothy Inn on the Esplanade in the early hours of Saturday March 26.
Prosecutor Clifford Grier told Dorchester Crown Court that Moran, aged 40, of Ranelagh Road, Weymouth, became agitated after being refused entry to the premises and police had to attend at around 4.30am.
Moran left the scene but returned less than an hour later riding a bicycle.
Mr Grier added: “He had acquired a knife, which he had put in the waistband of his trousers.”
He said the defendant did not use or brandish the knife, which was a kitchen knife with an eight-inch blade, but at one stage lifted up his jumper to expose the knife to the door staff.
Soon after he was seen on CCTV, which was played to the court, concealing the knife by some steps further along the Esplanade.
The CCTV also showed Dorothy Inn landlord Steve Parker later being directed by the CCTV surveillance team to where the knife was hidden while Moran remained in the area.
Police arrived and arrested Moran, who kicked out at Sergeant Marsh during the booking in process at the Weymouth custody suite.
Mr Grier said Moran, who was originally from Limerick in Ireland, had 12 previous convictions for 15 offences, including a 44-week prison term imposed last March for an offence of assault occasioning actual bodily harm.
Tom Hoarder, representing Moran, said: “He’s the first to admit how stupid he was on that night in question to go back and take this knife.
“He wants to express how sorry he is for any distress caused.”
He added: “I hope the court can accept that it was a stupid and pathetic attempt to intimidate the door staff.”
Mr Hoarder said much of his previous offending stemmed from eight years as a heroin addict but, although he was off class A drugs, he now had a problem with binge drinking.
He said: “His problem has been with the loss of one addiction, it has given rise to another, because the problem with heroin has gone and in its place there is a problem with alcohol.”
Judge Roger Jarvis sentenced Moran to 32 weeks in prison for the offence of possessing a bladed article and four weeks for assaulting a police officer, with the sentences to be served concurrently.
He said: “It is the duty of the court, in my view, to send out a clear message that anybody who is caught with a knife will go straight into custody.”
Source: Doorwatch
National Doorwatch is conducting a survey into the general safety of those working in the Events and Leisure Security Sector. We want to use this information to develop National Minimum Standards (NMS) and a Best Practice Model (BPM) for those who work in the sector.
It is difficult to put into words how much this will help our cause in helping door supervisors make the case as to why they are worth more than the minimum wage.
This survey is a real opportunity to do something positive and will only take between 10 -20mins of your time at most.
Please make sure you complete the survey in full and most importantly make sure you get you colleagues to take part by passing it on.
Rest assured you will be making a difference and once again pass it on.
To take part in this survey click here
Source: SIA
The next Door Supervision Network meeting will be held on Wednesday 8 June in London.
The meeting is being organised and facilitated by UK Security Facilities supported by the SIA.
Delegates working within the door supervision sector will have the opportunity to discuss and explore issues about the industry and regulation with others from the industry and with SIA representatives.
If you would like to attend the meeting, please visit http://www.sia.homeoffice.gov.uk/ds-network to register your interest by 6 June 2011.
Registering your interest to attend does not guarantee a place at the meeting.
Places will be confirmed by 6 June 2011.
Source: Daily Mail
A soldier who works guarding The Queen has spoken of his 'disgust' after he was refused entry to a bar because he was a member of the armed forces.
Trooper Jack Little, 19, of the Household Cavalry Blues and Royals, protects the royal family, politicians and foreign leaders at Horse Guards Parade, London.
He also proudly serves in the same regiment as Prince Harry and is currently in combat training for deployment to fight in Afghanistan.
But Jack was left 'shocked' after he queued for one-and-a-half hours to enter Vodka Revolution in Cambridge and was refused entry when bouncers spotted his Army ID.
Over-zealous doorstaff told Jack the pub chain has a policy of refusing entry to members of the armed services because they cause too much 'trouble'.
The teenager, from Saffron Waldon, Essex, said that in the Army has been his life-long ambition, and described his treatment as 'outrageous'.
He said: 'I was on leave with some friends from school and we queued for an hour and half to get in. It wasn't like I was out with a bunch of squaddies.
'The bouncer saw my Army ID card in my wallet and and told me it was their policy not to let me in because I was with the Armed Forces.
'I argued and spoke to the manager who agreed that I wouldn't cause trouble, but the bouncer said it was company policy.
'They said they had had trouble with people from the forces before. I think its outrageous that they treated me like this and I will not be going back there.
'I was shocked they wouldn't let me in and so were my friends. It was the first place we had been to.
'I've always wanted to be in the Army and a lot of my family have served in the forces. I am very proud of what I do and never encountered this before.'
Jack was refused entry to the bar at 10.30pm on Thursday April 28 as he went on a night out with school friends just one day before the Royal Wedding.
Two of his pals who paid £5 entry rejoined him on the pavement outside without getting a refund and the group moved on to other pubs in the city.
Jack joined the army two years ago when he left school and was proudly accepted by the Household Cavalry - the oldest regiment in Britain.
He has been performing ceremonial duties at Horse Guards Parade including Trooping the Colour and the visit of French President Nicolas Sarkozy.
Six months ago he began training and combat duty in Windsor ahead of his regiment's planned deployment in Afghanistan in 2013.
Ian Collins, regional manager of Vodka Revolution, has denied the nationwide chain has a policy of refusing entry to serviceman and women.
He said: 'I cannot comment on this specific case but I can confirm that Vodka Revolution does not have any policy to refuse entry to members of the Armed Forces.'
Jack's friend Tom Parkin said: 'I find it disgraceful that they are generalising and discriminating against hundreds of thousands of people.
'They would not be allowed to do this with people of certain races or religion so why can they do it because of their job.'
Source: Sky News
Britain's most senior police officer has warned that a terror attack on the UK is highly likely and could occur at any time.
Sir Paul Stephenson said communities must remain "vigilant" and urged members of the public to "trust their instincts".
The Metropolitan Police commissioner said the "severe" threat from international terrorism was "not a bureaucratic description, but rather a factual assessment of the reality of the threat we face".
"To be blunt it means that an attack is highly likely and could occur without warning at any time," he added.
"As Government, the police and the security service assess the impact and consequences of the death of Osama bin Laden, it is clear that there can be no let up in our vigilance."
Speaking during a lecture at the Policy Exchange think-tank in central London, Sir Paul said: "One man's death does not mark the end of an ideology."
But he emphasised the police and security services would continue to do everything possible to counter the threat of terrorism.
Sir Paul also warned about the dangers of transferring counter-terrorism (CT) responsibilities from Scotland Yard to a new National Crime Agency.
"The CT infrastructure, integrated within local policing and communities, has enjoyed real success, is highly regarded worldwide and we should be careful only to dismantle it with good cause."
Sir Paul returned to work in time for last month's royal wedding after undergoing an emergency operation in January.
Source: BBC News
Underage drinkers caught using fake IDs in Romford will be banned from the town's pubs and clubs until the age of 19.
Havering Council said the scheme would run alongside a plan to issue 'yellow cards' to drunk troublemakers, barring them from the town centre for 48 hours.
The campaign coincides with a series of talks in schools and colleges to deter youngsters from using fake IDs.
Door staff at 16 venues have been specially trained to spot fake IDs.
Staff will notify the police who will in turn inform the teenager's family and the fake identity documentation will be seized.
'Tough message'
The 'yellow cards', which target people aged 16 and over, are aimed at controlling rowdy, intimidating or antisocial behaviour in public.
Those banned for 48 hours will be photographed and CCTV used to ensure compliance. Both schemes were put in place over the past week, the council said.
Councillor Michael White, leader of the council, said: "Our message to young people is if you are caught out, you'll be kept out of Romford until you are 19. We want young people to enjoy nights out in Romford once they are 18."
Metropolitan Police Borough Commander Mick Smith said: "It's a tough message but a clear one.
"We are rolling out an education campaign into schools and colleges over the next few weeks highlighting the consequence of using fake identification."
Source: BBC News
Two men who attacked a doorman when they were refused entry to a Doncaster lap dancing club have been jailed.
When police arrested the pair they discovered one of them had sent a sickening text to his mate saying ‘Ha ha, I gave him a right booting in the face’, Doncaster Crown Court heard.
Andrew Chisholm, who launched the kick to the doorman’s head, was jailed for 12 months. His friend, 23-year-old Glen Stewart Robinson was sentenced to 10 months. They both pleaded guilty to assault causing actual bodily harm to Gregory Duggan, doorman at the Players club in Cleveland Street, Doncaster, last July.
Prosecutor Beverley Tait said the incident started when Robinson wanted to get into Players without paying the admission charge and then ‘launched himself forward and head-butted Mr Duggan to the left temple when he was totally off guard’.
Robinson was restrained and pinned to the ground by the doorman but Chisholm took advantage of his position to kick him in the head from behind, connecting with his ear.
Because of his facial injuries - a swollen ear and bruised cheekbone - Mr Duggan had to take two weeks off work and lost wages for that period.
After the defendants were arrested, police found the gloating text message sent by Chisholm to Robinson’s phone.
Robinson’s record showed a previous suspended sentence for affray and a separate assault conviction.
Michael Cane-Soothill, defending, said Robinson did not have a very good recollection of what happened because he had drunk a lot of alcohol.
“He has a problem with alcohol because he knows he over-reacted that night. He has also stopped taking cannabis on a social basis.”
Mr Cane-Soothill said Chisholm thought his friend was being assaulted by the club doormen and acted impulsively.
“He too had had a drink and that disinhibited him because this is out of character. He is ashamed of what happened and what was in the text message.”
The judge, Recorder Richard Woolfall, told the defendants: “I accept neither of you were intent on violence when you went out that night. You, Chisholm, should have kept out of it and the text you sent shows how you felt about it. Both of you must serve a custodial sentence.”
Source: York Press
A doorman in York city centre said his colleagues and the public are being put in danger by a shortage of CCTV operators.
His concerns came after it emerged that on a number of occasions last week, including Friday and Saturday evening, the CCTV control room was not staffed.
The doorman, who asked not to be identified, contacted The Press to say he had been informed by police officers that the cameras were also unmanned all day on Thursday.
He said: “We just feel a bit vulnerable out there.
“It’s something we rely on to be able to know what pubs people are going to.
“If we have an incident in a pub we put a description of the people on to the CCTV controllers. Or if we are in the middle of an incident we need the cameras on us because we might be bringing someone out.
“It’s not only for the safety of the door staff, but the safety of the public too.”
He said without the back-up from cameras on busy Friday and Saturday nights, door staff had to alert police themselves when trouble erupted in bars or clubs.
“If we shout up they (the camera operators) are straight on to things for us; they have been more than invaluable to us.”
The CCTV cameras are operated by City of York Council.
Yesterday a spokesman said: “The council’s CCTV cameras record on a constant 24-hour basis irrespective of whether or not the control room is staffed.
“Due to unforeseen circumstances, the CCTV control room was unmanned for a period of time last week.
“The council is committed to working with the police to protect the safety of residents and visitors and round the clock monitoring of the CCTV cameras forms a major part of that work.”
Source: BBC News
The close protection industry is flourishing, but is the life of a bodyguard really anything like the movies, asks Yasmeen Khan.
"Give me your money now! Now!" The man shouting doesn't seem able to intimidate the woman on the receiving end.
Calmly and confidently she puts one hand over the barrel of her assailant's gun and the other hand on his wrist before pulling him towards her in a move that totally disables any movement on his part and gives her control of the gun.
This is not an attempted mugging, but a simulated one on a training course for bodyguards - or to give them their proper name, close protection officers.
Once seen as the preserve of royalty or celebrities, private close protection officers are now in demand for an increasing range of clients.
The growth in the number of high net worth individuals over the last 20 years has certainly fuelled demand; in recent years when the size of their bonuses became public, City bankers attracted the wrong kind of attention and many were reported to have employed protection for themselves and their families.
Mega-rich clients face the threat of kidnapping or the kidnapping of their children, so some protection officers are employed to do the school run. There is also the risk of attempted assassination if they are dignitaries. For some, it may be more about a perceived threat than an actual one.
Jamie, ex-marine, experienced close protection officer and chief instructor with training provider Task International, believes many potential trainees don't understand what close protection involves.
"People enquire about the training course thinking that they're going to be wearing dark suits and dark glasses and be doing handbrake turns as they chase the baddies away from their boss.
"In reality, the job requires you to have a multitude of skills covering everything from being organised and doing surveillance to even being a bit like a PA for your principal. As for guns, well any private protection officer has to do their job by the laws of the land - which obviously means that in the UK you can't carry firearms."
Perceptions of the close protection industry are shaped by films and television. On one hand there's the suave, sophisticated security operative in a suit, like Kevin Costner in The Bodyguard. At the other end of the scale there is the "bit of muscle" looking after his boss who deals in less than legal activities, as per Dennis Waterman's role in Minder.
According to those in the profession - which in the UK requires you to have taken approved training and to have been granted a licence from industry regulator the Security Industry Authority (SIA) - popular though these two on-screen depictions are, neither is realistic. Jamie acknowledges, however, that there is demand for different types of protection officers.
"For those in the limelight, it's sometimes about having someone who looks intimidating; someone who can keep an over-eager fan, paparazzi or even a potential stalker at bay. But it's also sometimes about show - the more famous you are, the bigger and more obvious your protection often is; Simon Cowell was often pictured on X Factor with his very noticeable minder.
"In reality you don't need someone huge or visible to protect you, in fact it's often about being someone who can just blend into the background, someone who just looks like the rest of the group."
The need to blend in is most apparent in the corporate world, and this, according to security expert Will Geddes, is one of the biggest growth sectors in the close protection industry.
"The corporate need has always been there, but as companies develop into emerging markets or volatile parts of the world in which there is potential civil or political instability, they have an increasing duty of care towards their employees. If they're sending them to these potentially high risk environments they need to give them protection so they can do their job."
In the current climate of political unrest and civil uprisings, the role of the close protection officer is key. Jamie was sent out to Egypt at the height of the recent uprising to help evacuate ex-expatriate staff working for a multinational company.
"When it's situations like Egypt, we will go to get staff to safety, to get cash and medicines to them, to get them out of the country and to make premises secure. The job may seem exciting and the money can be very good, but going to Egypt was an example of having just a few hours notice that I'd be needed. As soon as the call comes, you have to drop everything. You pack your bag and off you go, sometimes without knowing when you'll be back.
"The flipside of the work is when you're standing protecting someone who is having a good time. They could be in a nightclub enjoying themselves with a group of friends but for the protection officer it can means long, boring hours standing around keeping watch."
One of Jamie's longest contracts was the protection of an Arab princess, for whom he used a team of six including two women. If an Arab princess needs to go shopping for lingerie, for example, then having a burly man in tow is not going to be discreet.
The need for female protection officers is a key growth area. Sophie was the only female participant on the training course she was taking, but with a military background she is typical of those who go into close protection.
"After spending several years in the military, I couldn't imagine myself doing a regular nine-to-five job. I want to be able to use my military training in a new career and also set a good example to encourage other women into the industry."
According to the SIA, there is a small but growing number of women doing the training and applying for licences. Certain cultural groups, for example some Muslim families, will insist on having female close protection officers for female principals.
It's when male officers have female clients that the issue of getting too close often arises.
"Sometimes when a female principal is being protected by a male, the cliché of the knight in shining armour prevails and we have seen a couple of notable cases where relationships have commenced. To me, that is the cardinal sin of our profession; we're often protecting people who are at their most vulnerable and to cross that line of trust is wrong," says Will Geddes.
What about the ultimate sacrifice - is it your duty to take a bullet for your client? Every protection officer asked answered an unequivocal yes but also cautioned that the job is actually all about good planning to ensure that the situation never arises.
"In the event that the planning has failed and an armed assailant does come into the equation, close protection officers are taught to use their body to protect their principal," explained Jamie.
"But whether it would be a conscious decision to leap in front of a bullet like you see in the movies - well how you would really react in a situation like that is something we can't teach."
Source: Norwich Evening News
Saturday nights are busy nights in the city no matter what time of the year. But with the weather having just taken a turn for the better, it being the first weekend since pay day for many and Norwich just having thrashed Scunthorpe 6-0, last Saturday was set to be busier than most.
And it was with that thought at the forefront of my mind I joined volunteers on the SOS Bus for the 9pm to 3am shift last Saturday night.
Volunteers reporting for duty on the SOS Bus on Friday or Saturday nights normally arrive at about 8.45pm in preparation for the briefing ahead of the shift.
I joined the team – which comprised a shift leader, two shift support workers, two first aiders, a mini-bus driver, two SOS responders, a security guard and an emergency care practitioner – for the on-the-bus briefing.
The briefing, which was taken by shift leader Lynsey Eagle, had barely finished before a door supervisor from a near-by pub or club was boarding the bus asking for help.
He said: “Can you get an ambulance – someone has jumped in the river.”
And with that almost every volunteer on the bus began to sprint from the bus, parked outside the NatWest bank on Prince of Wales Road, to the scene of the incident at the Foundry Bridge, next to the Compleat Angler pub.
In fact so keen were the team to get to the incident that Miss Eagle had to curb their enthusiasm by stopping some from going so as not to leave the bus without any volunteers. In the end five of the team – a nurse practitioner, two responders, a first aider and a support worker – went to the bridge incident.
Miss Eagle said: “It’s really difficult because the whole team wants to go down.
“They would want to all go down if they could but I have to hold them back.”
Confusion reigned for a while as a swarm of revellers and emergency services raced to the scene to try and establish what exactly had happened and how the casualty was.
But as police and ambulance crews moved in to deal with the man – who it later transpired had not actually fallen or jumped in the river but had been hit with a glass causing him to fall down the embankment – the volunteers returned to the bus to be ready for their next job.
While the SOS Bus was set up as a safe haven for drunk and vulnerable people, it does not deal exclusively with alcohol or drug-related problems suffered by young revellers.
Of course it can and does deal with those type of issues – as the night was to later demonstrate – but it also deals with other issues.
During the course of the shift several people stopped to ask volunteers on the bus for directions to the train station, the time of the last bus to places like Great Yarmouth or the location of the nearest toilet.
Thousands of people passed the SOS Bus during the course of that night – as they do every weekend – and almost all had something to say about the bus – whether they stopped to give donations in the buckets, have a picture taken in front of the bus or even inquire about becoming a volunteer themselves,
Donnie Pegg, 38, from Norwich, is a security guard with EventGuard who has been part of the project since October last year. Mr Pegg, a driving instructor by day whose primary role is to protect the medical bus which carries drugs as well as staff, said he rarely has any problems such is the regard people have for the bus.
He said: “We have a few drunk people try and get on but I think our presence is enough in most cases. We have a lot of positive feedback – they come back after they’ve been treated the next week or the next month and say thanks and put some money in the bucket.”
The shift might have started with a bang, but despite the city being extremely busy the volunteers themselves were kept waiting for the next call.
Miss Eagle said there was no such thing as a typical shift.
She said: “Some weeks we get here and there are clients waiting for us, other times we don’t get any calls until the early hours and then we get a call at 2.45am which keeps us here until 4am when you were expecting to finish at 3am.
“We always say we want to be busy – when you’re volunteering you don‘t want to be standing here. But that means there are people in need of help and you wouldn’t wish that on anyone.”
The team does get a shout over the radio at just after 10.10pm to a woman with a head injury at the Marsh Harrier pub on Ipswich Road. The team’s two SOS responders decide that they will try to get to the job and help in any way they can before the ambulance arrives.
Miss Eagle said in that situation it is completely their call whether to go or not.
She said the responders, who have to travel at normal road speeds, are told how far away the ambulance is and will take the decision whether to go or not.
When volunteers get a job, depending upon where it is in the city, a mini-bus driver will go and collect the casualty and bring them back to either the SOS Bus – where they can receive help for minor problems – or the medical bus which is equipped with oxygen, a defibrillator and other equipment you might expext to see in an A&E department.
Petra Dixon, nurse practitioner on the medical bus, said the patients she has seen have varied tremendously in the time she has been working with the project.
She said: “It varies, it really does. Some really different wounds – glassings, stabbings, people being bitten or punched, bone injuries, injuries to hands and dislocated fingers – and a lot of the wounds we can deal with here.”
Mrs Dixon, who has even had to treat a patient who fractured his humerus bone after arm wrestling, was called on later in the evening when a takeaway worker hobbled in with a swollen knee.
While the night might not have been as busy as everyone had anticipated it did demonstrate the variety of work the volunteers do – and the importance of the project. A drunk young woman who had lost her friends as well as her bearings spent some time with volunteers on the bus, only leaving after being told where the train station was.
Another woman whose heels had taken their toll on her feet hopped on to the bus and made a donation to get a pair of flip flops which allowed her to walk more comfortably.
A young man who was looking rather the worse for wear at the bus stop at NatWest was taken on to the bus where he was provided with a bucket to be sick into and given the chance to try and sober up with first aiders and volunteers who organised a taxi to take him and his friends home.
The bus was also a source of salvation for a young girl, who suffers from asthma, and who had started to experience breathing difficulties. Both she and her boyfriend remained on the bus in the warm with help at hand until she felt well enough to leave.
My experience on the bus and of the bus was summed up by one reveller who put some money in the collection bucket and said: “My children might need you one day.” And that is precisely the reason why it is vital the SOS Bus remains on the streets for another decade and beyond.
To find out more about the SOS Bus project or how you can donate or volunteer, call 01603 763111 or log onto www.sosbus.co.uk
To contact the SOS Bus’s emergency number call 07833 505505.
Source: Chronicle Live
A club doorman has told how he dramatically plucked two men from a car crash seconds before it was engulfed in flames.
Bouncer Shane Williams, 38, was on duty outside a club with pal Robin Snaith when they heard a car screech out of control on Newcastle’s St James’ Boulevard.
The pair turned in time to see the Vauxhall Astra slam into the side of a bus before its engine burst into flames.
As Shane ran over he spotted a gas canister in the back which he feared could explode.
He pulled the driver free and put him in the recovery position until medics arrived.
Dad-of-two Shane, who lives in Birtley, Gateshead, said: “We just heard a big crash and thought, what’s that?
“We heard the car’s brakes slam on, then it skidded into the side of the bus.
“It all happened so fast, but as soon as we saw it we knew it was serious.
“Robin rang the police and I started running towards the car which is when I saw the flames and smoke from the engine.
“There was some sort of gas canister in the back of the car and I knew we couldn’t let the flames reach it so I reached in and grabbed the driver and pulled him out.
“You could see they were both hurt. Then Robin arrived with a fire extinguisher.”
As previously reported in the Chronicle, the incident happened at around 10.30pm on Friday, at the junction of St James’ Boulevard and Westmorland Road, close to Powerhouse.
The crash caused the fuel tank of the bus to rupture and diesel spilled on the road. The 25-year-old passenger pulled from the car is in a critical condition today, while the 35-year-old driver is stable.
Two nurses passing the shocking scene ran across to attend to the two injured men, who are both believed to be from Gateshead.
Following the rescue, Powerhouse manager Chris Elwick praised the doormen who ran to help the injured strangers.
He said: “Our door staff responded quickly. They were on the ball and I’m pleased they did what they did. We are proud of them.”
Shane, a doorman of 20 years, said: “You just don’t think about it when you’re in those situations, you just do what you can.
“I think we were both on autopilot. We knew the driver and passenger were both hurt so we just wanted to do whatever we could to help them.”
Shane agreed to speak to the Chronicle in return for the opportunity to promote Tiny Lives, a charity dedicated to helping sick and premature babies. He said: “It is a cause which is extremely dear to the hearts of our family and I would urge everyone to do what they can.” To donate, call 0191 222 0945.
Source: Worcester News
The doorman of a Worcester pub was threatened with being doused in petrol and set alight by a man who was refused entry.
Steven Henderson also told John Duff he would cut his knees off with an axe.
He then produced a knife from his jacket pocket, extended the blade and approached Mr Duff but made no contact, said prosecutor Alex Warren.
Henderson was pursued by a British Transport policeman as he made off from the Slug and Lettuce in High Street and was overpowered in an alley by the use of a CS spray.
At the time, Henderson, aged 37, of Worcester, was suffering from a mental illness but was on the wrong dose of medication, said Barry Newton, defending.
Recorder Geoffrey Kelly said in ordinary circumstances those who carry knives in public are jailed immediately.
But he accepted the anti-psychotic medicine had been wrongly reduced, despite the attempts by Henderson's mother to get it corrected.
He said the defendant’s “mental equilibrium” had been disturbed by the error and gave him a two-year community order with 200 hours’ unpaid work.
Henderson must also comply with a mental health requirement and was banned under a restraining order from having contact with Mr Duff or going within 20 metres of the Slug and Lettuce, Worcester Crown Court was told.
On September 4 last year, Henderson began making verbal threats while drunk after being refused entry to the pub the night before, said Mr Warren.
He then sat down on the pub steps before Mr Duff picked him up and pushed him away.
He was caught on CCTV arming himself and made threats against the officer who arrested him.
Mr Warren said the threats to both men constituted two counts of common assault, although there was no physical contact.
Henderson also pleaded guilty to possession of a weapon in a public place.
The knife was found abandoned on a window ledge in the alley. Henderson told police he always carried it despite being warned by friends it was illegal.
He had a record for criminal damage and obtaining a pecuniary advantage by deception.
Mr Newton said he was discharged from hospital but prescribed only a third of the medication he should have been taking.
Once the dose had been changed he had make remarkable progress due to his mother and now spent most of his time living quietly at home.
Source: The Publican
Primary legislation will be used to phase out SIA and bring in new self-regulating regime
The replacement body for the Security Industry Authority (SIA), which regulates pub doorstaff, will have “statutory teeth” to deal with problems in the industry, a Home Office official has said.
Speaking to the SIA annual conference in London today, Tyson Hepple, director of civil liberties and public protection, said the new regulatory regime would be “owned by the industry” but have legal powers, thanks to new primary legislation due to be introduced.
“Primary legislation will be required to wind down the SIA and put in place a new regulatory regime,” he said. "It give us an opportunity to create a regulatory regime that works."
Last October the government announced the SIA would be abolished and a new regime would be phased in as part of a “bonfire of the quangos”. It has since emerged the government is aiming to have this in place by the end of 2013.
Fears were raised in the pub industry that the removal of the SIA would lead to "crooks and cowboys" becoming doorstaff.
Hepple said the reason for scrapping the SIA in its current form was because the industry had “matured sufficiently and the time was right for a phased transition to a regulatory regime”. It was part of wider plans to “reduce the role of the state,” he added.
But he reiterated there would be no major changes to the SIA regime before next year’s Olympics.
Baroness Ruth Henig, the SIA’s chair, admitted there had been “no consultation and no warning” about the SIA being scrapped.
But she added: “It united the industry as never before. We had a chance to spell out to the government what we had achieved.”
She said she supported a regulatory regime which allows for “greater involvement and responsibility”.
Henig pointed out the SIA had removed 50,000 from the industry and 8,000 people have had their licences revoked.
She added: “We have two crucial years as we work with the government. We will aim to be as transparent as possible.”
Source: Scunthorpe Telegraph
A drunken nightclubber set fire to cars owned by doormen in revenge for being thrown out of a nightspot – forcing staff to evacuate the premises.
Fifty people had to be evacuated from the club and lives could have been put at risk if the blaze had spread to other buildings, a court heard.
Sean Keaveney-Dunn, 28, of Scunthorpe, has been jailed for almost two years after he admitted three offences of arson on July 12.
Jeremy Evans, prosecuting, told Grimsby Crown Court that Keaveney-Dunn and another man were at the Showboat nightclub in High Street, Scunthorpe. They were asked by doormen to put their tops back on as they were dancing bare-chested.
On a second occasion, they were asked to leave. But within a couple of minutes, the doormen were told that there was smoke at the rear of the premises. Rubbish had been set alight. One of the doormen stamped it out.
Another doorman spotted two men down an alleyway. The men shouted abuse.
The doormen later discovered that a fire had been started outside and that two cars were on fire. The court heard that the driver's door and rear windows had been smashed on one of the cars, causing damage estimated at £1,500.
One of the doormen used a fire extinguisher to put out the blaze, the court was told.
"The fire could easily have spread to the buildings nearby," said Mr Evans.
One of the doormen later said: "I feel sick that somebody has targeted my car."
Andrew Bailey, mitigating, said it was a serious incident because of the damage and disruption caused.
He said: "What could have happened if this fire had spread makes any offence of this type serious."
Keaveney-Dunn had a previous arson conviction in July 2005 but, although he had convictions for robbery, burglary, dishonesty, drink-driving and criminal damage, had been out of trouble for nine months, the court was told.
"He was so drunk that he remembers little of what occurred," said Mr Bailey.
Judge David Tremberg told Keaveney-Dunn: "The door staff were merely doing their job in seeking to ensure the safety and comfort of their patrons.
"You, in an intoxicated, vindictive and petulant act, which you say you can't remember, decided to get your own back and started three fires. You set fires on cars owned by staff and one to a bag of rubbish adjacent to the exit to the club.
"That's a very troubling way of getting your own back. It's totally, totally unacceptable.
"However drunk you get, however angry you get, if you decide to sort out your problems like this, you are going to get locked up and locked up for a long time."
Keaveney-Dunn, a window cleaner, was jailed for 22 months.
The sentence included a consecutive month after he admitted breaching a one-year conditional discharge imposed by North Lincolnshire magistrates for damaging a shop door.
Source: Info4Security
Late last night, the House of Lords passed an amendment to the Public Bodies Bill which removes the SIA from the current schedule of quangos to be abolished. Brian Sims reports on behalf of SMT Online and Infologue.com
The Government has decided to accept a proposed amendment to the Public Bodies Bill and thereby withdraw the Security Industry Authority from the list of organisations that can be abolished by way of secondary legislation.
However, the Government’s willingness to support the amendment does not represent any fundamental change of policy.
According to the security minister, Baroness Pauline Neville-Jones, it remains the coalition Government’s intention “to abolish the Security Industry Authority in its present form.”
The coalition has now decided, though, that this stated move will be best achieved through a different piece of primary legislation.
Amendment 19: Schedule 1, page 16, line 20… leave out ‘Security Industry Authority’ was put forward by Lord Kennedy of Southwark.
What has happened so far?
On October 14 last year, it was announced as part of the extensive public bodies review that the Security Industry Authority would no longer be a Non-Departmental Public Body (NDPB), and that the Government would pursue “a phased transition to a new regulatory regime”.
The reasons for that particular stance were outlined during the extensive Committee debate held in the House of Lords on 28 February.
Home Office ministers then asked the security sector’s Regulator to consult key Stakeholders and duly produce a detailed plan of how that phased transition could be achieved.
Baroness Ruth Henig – the Regulator’s chairman – and the organisation’s chief executive, Bill Butler, then presented their plan to the Home Office on 16 February. A subsequent meeting with Home Secretary Theresa May occurred on 14 March.
In last night’s debate, Baroness Neville-Jones stated: “The key points that emerge from the proposals are that regulation will shift from licensing individuals to registering businesses, which will have to meet a comprehensive set of conditions set by the new Regulator.”
The Baroness continued: “The regulation of individuals will become the responsibility of registered businesses, which is an important point. The new Regulator will have the power to impose sanctions, including removing the right to trade in the private security industry on the part of businesses that fail to comply with the conditions that it sets for registration.”
Timescale for the transition
Some timescales have now become clear, too. The Government’s aim is for the new regulatory regime to be in place by the end of 2013, using “a phased approach to ensure a smooth transition”.
Baroness Neville-Jones went on to state: “We have decided to support the amendment to remove the SIA from the Public Bodies Bill because Clause 1 includes only powers to abolish bodies and transfer functions via secondary legislation. It does not include powers to set up new regulatory bodies, and it has become clear that primary legislation will be required to establish a successor self-regulatory body that will have the power to impose sanctions on businesses that do not comply with set standards.”
Lord Kennedy of Southwark was “very interested” to hear from Baroness Neville-Jones-why the Government had decided to join the opposition on this amendment.
Both at Second Reading and in Committee, he had raised concerns that there are “real risks of allowing criminality to return to an industry that has cleaned up its act dramatically in recent years”.
Lord Kennedy commented: “I have always felt it to be reassuring when you go into a venue and meet security personnel with credentials on display that show that the individual has reached a certain standard, had a Criminal Records Bureau check and is deemed to be a fit and proper person to undertake this kind of work.”
Crucially, he added: “It’s important to ensure that we take the industry with us. The industry does not want to see criminals return. Security checks on individuals who want to join the industry remain. A common approach to a problem that has largely been solved, but may need to be reviewed and updated as things change, could command support across the House if handled properly and built on what has been achieved in recent years.”
Regulator with ‘teeth’
In response, Baroness Neville-Jones said: “If I understood the noble Lord’s point, he attaches importance to the idea that the regulatory body should have ‘teeth’. The Government agrees. In other words, it must have powers that will enable it to enforce sanctions against companies that breach standards.”
Following a Home Office and Government review, that’s why it has now been decided that references to the Security Industry Authority should be removed from the Public Bodies Bill.
“The same primary legislative vehicle that will establish the successor regulatory body will also be used to abolish the Security Industry Authority, so we will put it all in another Bill,” explained the Baroness.
Appropriate legislation will now be brought forward when Parliamentary time allows.
Situation in Scotland and Northern Ireland
It also emerged from this latest Lords debate that the Home Secretary has personally written to ministers in the Scottish Government and in the Department of Justice in Northern Ireland to advise them of this amendment.
Of course, regulation of the private security industry in both countries is a policy decision for the devolved administrations to make. Baroness Neville-Jones said: “We are working with them to ensure that transitional and subsequent arrangements meet the needs of all UK administrations.”
Baroness Royall of Blaisdon also joined the debate. “Let me be clear that we don’t agree with the Government about the future of the Security Industry Authority because we believe that it’s essentially doing a good job as it is. As we understand it, the industry itself is content with the present situation and willing to pay for the present system.”
When the primary legislation was brought forward, one of the main bodies in favour of this being introduced was the police service. Many senior police officers have felt that the security industry, when unregulated, was rather a ‘dangerous’ industry, not just for the people working in the industry themselves but also for the wider society.
“It was as a means of protecting wider society that the legislation was introduced,” explained Baroness Royall.
The Baroness Royall asked of the security minister whether or not a consultation with the police and other concerned bodies will take place before a Bill is introduced, and when that Bill is likely to be brought forward.
Baroness Royall also said: “Will the Government consult with the Ministry of Justice and everybody else who has anything to do with the movement of prisoners and the wider care of prisoners? As I understand it, people who work within the security industry are sometimes employed within private prisons. It does not seem a sensible move or good idea to reintroduce some form of self-regulation rather than to have proper regulation for an industry that is extremely important for the well-being of our society.”
Baroness Neville-Jones responded: “On the question of the attitude of the police, we are consulting ACPO which supports the approach. The police attach importance to effective regulation.”
The security minister stated: “This body will have power to impose sanctions on businesses that do not comply with set standards. There will be set standards in a number of areas. Certainly, the whole question of custody will be one of those areas of set standards. I have to say that the differences are more synthetic than real. I hope that, in due course, when we introduce and come to debate the legislation there will be cross-party agreement.”
Fit and proper persons
Lord Kennedy of Southwark outlined: “As I have said on several occasions, whatever happens we need to ensure that criminality does not return to the industry and that the public are able to remain confident that the people employed in the industry are fit and proper.”
He concluded: “The overwhelming majority of the industry acts responsibly and supports retention of the Security Industry Authority. If the Government brings forward a Bill for consideration, it will be important to give it detailed line-by-line scrutiny.”
To summarise, then, the Government’s acceptance of the amendment does not constitute a fundamental change in policy.
Rather, it’s a change to the vehicle that the Government will use to deliver that policy.
Source: Doorwatch
National Doorwatch explains why this is good for Door Supervisors, good for business, great for customer safety, and why they’re willing to back this up in Court.
National Doorwatch defines a one-man door, as a licensed venue where an individual door supervisor is required to enforce house rules, and primary legislation, without any realistic expectation of support, from the management or staff. This practice is contrary to all guidance and legislation regarding lone-workers. This is especially true for lone-workers whose role is especially likely to put them at risk. The level of risk faced by door supervisors (DS) is higher than that of almost any other profession in the security industry. In the worst case scenario, it could leave the business, and its officers open to charges of Corporate Manslaughter. Therefore this practice places everyone in these venues at risk, door supervisor, staff, management, and most importantly customers.
The safety of customers in licensed premises, was the subject of a recent ruling in the matter of “Everett and Another v Comojo (UK) T/A “The Metropolitan” and others.” The Court of Appeal stated Comojo Ltd were successful due mainly to the fact it was a Private Members club. As such it had a greater knowledge, and record of its clientele, than is present in venues who are open to passing trade. In essence they had a credible audit trail, which enabled them to prove the incident was unforeseeable. Essentially this means it is the responsibility of the venue to demonstrate they have done all they can to protect their customers from third party actions. Given all this the question is, does running a one-man door help or hinder your defence in such a case.
The view of National Doorwatch is the presence of a door supervisor indicates a need for dedicated security has been identified. It is unrealistic to expect one person to be able to effectively maintain control, in alcohol fuelled environments without dedicated support. Therefore, the minimum basic requirement is two people dedicated to providing that service, at any entrance to a licensed venue. The door supervision licences held by any member of the management or staff, must be seen as ancillary to requirements, as they have their own key functions to deliver during their shift. Indeed using a door supervision licence with the intent of minimising costs at the expense of safety should be seen by courts as an aggravating factor in any litigation.
National Doorwatch believe the numbers of DS required by a venue must be based on a full “Work-place Related Violence Risk Assessment (WRVRA). The practice of determining the numbers of DS required based on capacity is out-dated and puts everyone at risk. The WRVRA needs to incorporate factors, such as layout, entertainment, event type, audience, etc? The assessment also needs to include checks that DS have the knowledge to carry out their duties effectively. The SIA have already revoked the licences of several hundred individuals, who obtained their licence through irregular means. In the end it will be the actions of the DS which will have the most potential impact on your business. Therefore can you show that your venue does more than tick boxes?
Research has also shown that good DS are good for your business. Good DS add value to a venues image and revenue, by reflecting your core identity. They are the first people the customers see as they walk down a street. They are the last person the customers see as they leave. They are your key front of house representatives, and they need to represent you properly. Remember you are paying their wages. You should demand the same standards you expect of all your other highly trained employees. You must also remember good people, professional people, do cost money and they’re worth every penny.
In conclusion the Events and Leisure Sector (ELS) of the security industry is all about the “People Factor”. The ability to deal effectively with extremely challenging behaviour is difficult in any situation, and is never without risk. Nowhere else is this more apparent than the practice of one-man doors. National Doorwatch want this practice ended. National Doorwatch are willing to assist, by acting as expert witnesses in any appropriate case where a door supervisor, member of staff, or customer has been injured in a venue operating a one man-door.
Source: WtD
WtD have organised a network meeting for our security community in the North of England on the 11th of May.
This will be an informal meeting for members of the security industry to meet up, swap contacts, chat and make new friends in the industry.
Date:
11th May 2011
Time:
7:00pm
Venue:
The Windmill
14-16 Blossom St,
York,
YO24 1AJ
If you can attend the meet please leave a reply on this topic or click attend on our facebook event page.
Purchase one of our WtD Badges to identify yourself at the meet.
We will also be organising more events around the UK in the future. If you can provide a venue or help organise an event in your area, get in touch. admin@workingthedoors.co.uk
Source: The Guardian
Scotland Yard is considering bringing a corporate manslaughter charge against the world's largest private security firm over the death of an Angolan deportee.
Detectives investigating the death of Jimmy Mubenga, who collapsed while being deported on a commercial flight from Heathrow, have interviewed whistleblowers from G4S, the company hired by the government to deport foreign nationals.
They are considering whether the company could be held responsible for his death under rarely used legislation that came into force three years ago.
Passengers on British Airways flight 77 told police they saw three G4S guards heavily restraining Mubenga, who they said had been complaining of breathing difficulties before he collapsed. The guards were later arrested in connection with the death and, following interviews this week, were bailed until 4 May. They could face manslaughter charges.
However, sources with knowledge of the case have said police are also considering passing a file to the Crown Prosecution Service recommending a corporate manslaughter charge against G4S. The first and only company to be convicted under the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007 was found guilty last month. Cotswold Geotechnical Holdings was fined £385,000 for the death of Alexander Wright, 27, a geologist who suffocated when he became trapped in a collapsed trench.
Under the legislation, prosecutors need to prove a person's death was caused by a gross breach of duty of care by a company. They also need to convince a jury that the actions of a company's "senior management" were a substantial element in that breach.
A prosecution of this kind against G4S, which receives more than £600m from the government for services including the running of four prisons, three immigration removal centres and 675 court and police cells, would be highly damaging to the Home Office. G4S is the second-largest private employer in the world and boasts a £7bn turnover.
Police have recently interviewed three G4S whistleblowers, who last month told parliament that the company repeatedly ignored warnings from staff that potentially lethal force was being used against deportees. They said executives were warned about one technique nicknamed "carpet karaoke'', which involved bending deportees over in aircraft seats to silence them. The whistleblowers, who include a G4S charter operations manager who said he warned seniors they risked "playing Russian roulette with detainees' lives", are known to be cooperating with police and providing detailed paperwork they say corrobarates their claims.
Detectives are also seeking to track down other individuals from G4S known to have concerns about safety standards and training at the company.
Heathrow CID opened the inquiry into the death of Mubenga, 46, hours after he collapsed on the aircraft as it prepared for departure to Luanda on 12 October. The flight was delayed for 24 hours and passengers were transferred to a nearby hotel overnight. The following day, the passengers were interviewed by police but, owing to their imminent departure, only spent around 40 minutes each speaking to detectives.
Days later, the Metropolitan police's homicide unit took over the case after the Guardian independently tracked down passengers who said Mubenga had complained he was unable to breathe for several minutes before his collapse. The unit arrested three guards, aged 35, 48 and 49, and questioned them under caution.
Police have tried to trace other passengers for more in-depth interviews.
Four G4S whistleblowers last month submitted evidence to the Commons home affairs select committee. The evidence, obtained by the Guardian, alleged serious failings by G4S. It also contradicted some of what senior G4S officials told MPs at a hearing after Mubenga's death.
Keith Vaz, who Labour MP who chairs the committee, said the possibility that whistleblower evidence could assist the police investigation represented "progress". His committee has yet to decide whether to recall the G4S officials or hold further evidence sessions.
"I am not surprised that the police have decided to take the matter forward given the circumstances surrounding this case," he said. "I am sure the members of the home affairs committee will want to look further into this case during their inquiry into the deportation of detainees."
Committee member Julian Huppert, a Lib Dem MP, said police interest in the parliamentary testimony showed "how strong the committee process is". "I am glad the home affair select committee hearing has led to this outcome," he said.
G4S said in a statement: "As this is the subject of an on-going investigation, we are unable to comment as this time. We can confirm that G4S has received no approach at this time from the authorities in relation to the company's position and potential liabilities."
Source: The Star
A doorman suffered a sickening leg injury which has needed three operations to repair after he was attacked by a drunken customer, a court heard.
Mexborough doorman Alan Baxter had to take seven months off work for surgery on his left ankle after it snapped during the incident at The Boy and Barrel pub in High Street almost a year ago.
His assailant, 27-year-old John Richard Corrie, was jailed for nine months by Doncaster Crown Court for a “quite appalling” injury.
Jobless Corrie, of Mexborough, who pleaded guilty to inflicting grievous bodily harm on Mr Baxter, was said have drunk eight pints of beer before the incident.
Prosecutor Michael Upson said Mr Baxter had been asked to work an extra shift on April 5 and witnessed an argument between Corrie and an older woman. The woman, the mother of Corrie’s girlfriend, was telling him: “Don’t hit my daughter again.”
A few minutes later the doorman saw Corrie heading to the ladies’ toilets so told him he ought to leave the premises.
Corrie said he had done nothing wrong and began swinging punches, one of which hit Mr Baxter who fell with the defendant falling on top of him.
Corrie continued to punch his victim, was pulled off and walked away saying, “I’ll kill all of you.”
Mr Upson said Mr Baxter’s ankle had snapped and the bone was visible through broken skin.
He needed surgery for internal fixation and was still under orthopaedic care several months later, after three operations.
After his arrest Corrie said he feared he was going to be thrown downstairs at the pub and felt his ejection was unfair, but agreed he was responsible for the leg injury.
Defence solicitor Karen Tunnicliffe said Corrie had been in a difficult situation with his girlfriend’s mother and he felt he was the one being victimised.
“He was not aware how severely injured the doorman was until he was arrested. He very much regrets his behaviour and did not intend to cause any injury.”
Corrie has a previous conviction for assault.
Source: North East Chronicle
Fugitive gunman Stephen Brown is today back behind bars after a police raid on a cannabis farm more than 150 miles from his home town.
The 40-year-old County Durham man, who shot a bouncer in a terrifying revenge attack, was named as one of Britain’s Most Wanted crooks after he went on the run.
But he has now been returned to his cell after a random check on his car by police in Derbyshire led officers to a huge cannabis farm in a remote Peak District hamlet.
Brown was jailed in 1999 after he blasted doorman John Armstrong with a shotgun following a nightclub row.
But the 40-year-old served less than three years behind bars before being released on licence for life.
Yet tattooed Brown, originally from Catchgate, near, Stanley, went on the run after being told he would be recalled to prison following his arrest for flinging a wheel brace through a pub window.
And the prolific crook was named as one of the country’s most wanted fugitives by the independent charity Crimestoppers.
Police in Consett initially believed Brown could be hiding out at travellers’ camps elsewhere in County Durham or possibly in the Bishop Auckland area.
There were also possible sightings of him at this year’s Appleby Horse Fair.
But he was arrested after his car was randomly stopped in Buxton, Derbyshire.
Officers searched his car after discovering he had given them false details when he was pulled over.
And after finding a small amount of cannabis in the vehicle, police raided a farm in the rural hamlet of Flagg, where they found 400 cannabis plants.
A spokeswoman for Derbyshire Police said: “We arrested a man in Buxton on Monday. We stopped him in a car, searched the car and found a small amount of cannabis in the boot.
“He was arrested on suspicion of drugs possession, and a warrant was carried out at a farm in Flagg where around 400 cannabis plants were found.”
Brown was given an automatic life sentence, under public protection legislation, in 1999 after he admitted unlawful wounding and possessing a firearm, in connection with the shooting, in a Stanley alleyway, earlier that year.
He warned bouncer John Armstrong he was going to shoot him and his family after a clash at the Central Club in Stanley, on a Friday night in January 1999.
And after another row at the nearby Buzz nightclub, Brown armed himself with a loaded shotgun, returned and pulled the trigger.
Brown was arrested again following an altercation outside a pub in Stanley, on March 14. He was charged with criminal damage and a public order offence after a car wheel brace was thrown through the window of The Crown and Thistle, on North Road, but he failed to appear in court on July 14.
Because he was on licence, Brown was returned straight to prison. He has been questioned on suspicion of drugs offences and inquiries are continuing.
Source: SIA
Working with the industry and other stakeholders, we have developed an agreed framework setting out how we propose the planned transition to a new regulatory regime should take place. SIA chairman Ruth Henig and I met with Home Office minister, Lynne Featherstone, on 16 February to discuss these proposals. The Government has now had the opportunity to consider the plan and, on 28 February, Baroness Neville-Jones, Home Office Minister of State, spoke on the arrangements for future regulation of the private security industry during the Committee Stage of the Public Bodies Bill in the House of Lords.
She commended the contribution made by the industry and made it clear that ministers have received and agreed the SIA's proposed approach, and that the SIA has been tasked with developing a detailed plan and taking forward the new arrangements.
Baroness Neville-Jones gave a firm reassurance that the new regulatory regime would not result in a lowering of current standards. She said:
"We believe that it is now the right time to move over to a new regulatory regime. I stress that it will be a regulatory regime. The private security industry has matured under the aegis of the SIA since SIA regulation began, and there is evidence of increased standards in the industry. We believe that employers should now be given more responsibility for making safe and legal recruitment decisions."
The details of the plan have yet to be decided and will be subject to Parliamentary approval, but the key elements are likely to include:
While the final decisions on future regulation in Scotland and Northern Ireland are the responsibility of the devolved administrations, it is expected that the new regime should be capable of working across the United Kingdom.
Baroness Neville-Jones confirmed that the change would not be rushed and that nothing significant would happen until after the Olympics in 2012. She said:
"We have now considered and agreed that this will form the basis for moving forward on phased transition... this process is being done in careful consultation with the SIA and the industry on the basis of trying to ensure that we come out with a regime that offers the same degree of assurance of high standards that has already been established. Primary legislation will then be needed to set up the new regulatory body that will succeed the SIA. We will ensure that provision is included in a future Home Office Bill. Full transition to the new regime should, we hope, be completed by the end of 2013."
Baroness Neville-Jones added:
"I thank the SIA for the help that they are giving in moving the industry along to the new regime. We have also asked the SIA if they will take forward the work necessary to ensure the full delivery."
The SIA will continue to work closely with the Security Alliance and other stakeholders in developing plans for the transition to a new regulatory regime.
Source: Morning Advertiser
A Surrey town could incorporate facial recognition into its CCTV system to help keep troublemakers out of pubs.
The suggestion came up during a meeting between Kingston Pubwatch, the police, council and others.
Existing CCTV in the town centre would need to be updated to recognise faces.
Council staff would radio pubs and bars and give them descriptions of the troublemakers in the area.
“It’s a really good idea,” said pubwatch chairman Mark Byford, who also runs McCluskys club in Kingston.
“Instead of doorstaff going through 40 to 50 photos of banned people every night to refresh their memories, they would just be told who was around.”
Forty to 50 people are currently banned from Kingston’s pubs and clubs. Byford said pubwatch licensees, police and the council were behind the idea, despite Kingston having a “very low” crime rate.
Support
National Pubwatch chairman Steve Baker said he could see the benefits.
“We are aware many town centres make use of CCTV operatives to identify known troublemakers. We watch developments with interest.”
But a spokesman for civil liberties group Big Brother Watch said: “This proposal goes too far. People should be able to go out without being expected to hand personal information to doorstaff.
“Facial recognition software and fingerprint scanners should only be used by trained security professionals, not licensees.”
Meanwhile, the Home Office has released details of a proposed code of practice for maintaining CCTV. It includes urging businesses to establish a kitemark-style accreditation system for cameras, and to agree data protection procedures.
Source: Express & Echo
Door staff warn there could be more late-night street violence in Exeter if proposed police cuts go ahead.
Marcel Choules, who has been a victim of violence while on the doors, says his colleagues and pubgoers could be put at risk.
Devon and Cornwall Police is set to lose up to 700 police officers and up to 500 civilian staff from the force over the next four years, as part of budget savings of almost £50 million.
"We're not knocking the police – we're relying on them," said Mr Choules. "We need a visible police presence, especially at weekends. We have a good working relationship with them and we don't want them taken away."
He warned door staff could be at greater risk of violence from drunken pubgoers and problems could escalate if there were less police to arrive quickly at the scene.
Mr Choules, who is Exeter's Lord Mayor, said: "Door staff in Exeter have a very good working relationship with police. With these resources being pulled back, are we still going to get this back-up? I've heard there are only going to be a few police officers on duty in the city centre at night."
He said door staff shared information with police, to prevent street fights and other crimes happening, while officers came to their assistance when needed.
"When we are being assaulted, or people become aggressive through drunken mis-behaviour, we can call the CCTV operators for a police unit and the response is immediate," he said. "With these cuts, we are either going to have to wait longer for police or will be unable to report situations that are potentially dangerous."
Mr Choules said he feared there would also be fewer officers available to deal with other crimes and street violence around the city if a major incident broke out.
"You are only given so much time legally to be able to do a citizen's arrest and the situation could also escalate."
He said pubgoers also suffer, with around a quarter of all facial injuries treated in hospital resulting from assault.
"You shouldn't pay with your life to keep other people safe," he said. "We are licensed door staff. We owe a duty of care to members of staff at licensed premises and the public but are going to find our jobs very, very difficult with these cuts.
"It will be the weakest being affected, such as people going home who are attacked by drunken yobs," he said. "I don't want to put a fear factor into members of the public but there's always a risk."
Mr Choules said he hoped the police force would reconsider his previous calls for a liaison officer, who could work with door staff.
He also called for 'beat bobbies' to remain a visible presence in the city centre.
Another suggestion was for Royal Marine police to provide patrols to look after their recruits in the city centre at weekends.
Mr Choules added that pubgoers needed to take responsibility for their own behaviour.
"Violence in the night-time economy predominantly involves young males, as victims and offenders," he said.
"Not all young people are heavy drinkers and most don't cause trouble, they go out to socialise. They are a credit to our city.
"But I would recommend that people think a bit about how much they have to drink and their behaviour. If they are refused entry to pubs, they must accept that and it makes life easier for everyone."
Source: WtD
Schemes to crackdown on underage drinking such as Challenge 21 and 25 have made it more difficult for people to use fake ID to buy alcohol or get into pubs and bars, but the use of counterfeit ID bought over the internet or borrowed ID from older siblings or friends by some young people can still cause problems.
Examples of the kinds of fake ID used include the international driving permit and the provisional motorcycle licence, which don't even exist as real documents.
The new guidance will make it easier for those selling alcohol to understand the law, what ID is acceptable, how to spot fake ID documents and what to do when documents are confiscated, as well as providing practical examples of best practice from around the country. New posters aimed at raising awareness of the consequences involved in using false ID are also available to download from www.homeoffice.gov.uk/drugs/alcohol/
Home Office Minister for Crime Prevention James Brokenshire said:
"Selling alcohol to underage people can have serious consequences for them and for businesses and can lead to premises being shut down. We know the majority of premises are very responsible but many have told us that they are often unsure of how to deal with the use of fake or borrowed ID.
"The government recently introduced new measures to tackle premises that persistently sell alcohol to children in the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Bill, but we also recognise that the misuse of ID can be problematic for businesses.
"We have worked together with the National Union of Students, Proof of Age Standards Scheme, the police and the alcohol industry to develop this new guidance which will help to send a clear message that underage drinking will not be tolerated."
Robert Humphreys, Chairman of Proof of Age Standards Scheme, said:
"This new guidance gives most welcome clarification on the law and best practice where there has been much confusion. Local practice and local official guidance have varied widely across the country, making the elimination of false ID more difficult.
"There should no longer be any doubt about the correct steps to take when such documents are presented, thereby greatly helping police, trading standards officers and staff on the door or selling alcohol to ensure that those entitled to enjoy a drink can do so easily, and those who are not are dealt with appropriately."
Bill Butler, Chief Executive of the Security Industry Authority, said:
"Professional SIA-licensed door supervisors play an important role in creating a safe environment for young adults visiting pubs and clubs, and can help to reduce under-age drinking. This guidance will help door staff to know what ID is acceptable, and to recognise and deal with fake ID."
The false identity guidance can be found here
Source: Morning Advertiser
The Home Office is to issue guidance on how pub and door staff can legally seize ID by the end of February.
Deirdre Dent, head of alcohol policy implementation at the Home Office, told the National Pubwatch Conference that it came about after “several” police forces had expressed concern about the legal situation.
“It is quite confusing and a lot of [police] forces have different legal interpretations, so therefore people were coming up with problems and there was no consistency.
“At the same time we had National Pubwatch approach us to say there’s an issue of doorstaff and premises not knowing whether or not they had the power to confiscate.”
The guidance will include sections for venues, doorstaff, and police.
Pubs will be given advice on storage, with suggestions they can keep IDs for up to 72 hours. They will also be advised on “audit” trails, including issuing receipts and the importance of incident books.
For doorstaff, there’s extra advice on how to tell whether the documents are genuine; for example, by asking the holder to state their star sign.
Dent said the guidance is awaiting approval from ministers and should be available on-line by the end of this month.
Nick Harmston, group operations director of Hertfordshire-based Stort Leisure, campaigned for greater clarity on powers to seize IDs when was a bar manager in Essex in 2009.
He welcomed news of the new guidance. “We need consistency among all licensees and doorstaff so we are all singing from the same hymn sheet.”
Harmston said on average between four and six IDs are seized on Fridays and Saturdays at the company’s Scorch nightclub in Bishop’s Stortford. However, police recently said they no longer have the resources to deal with the documents.
Military ID
Military ID could soon be added to the list of documents deemed “acceptable” as ID in pubs.
The upcoming guidance will spell out which IDs should be accepted in pubs and how to identify them. This includes passports, driving licences and PASS-accredited cards.
Mark Halton, of the drug and alcohol unit at the Home Office, said: “I think it’s highly likely that we may get a positive on military IDs.
“We are still awaiting comeback from the MoD [Ministry of Defence].”
Halton raised the problem of venues wishing to seize military ID that they think is being used fraudulently to buy alcohol. “It’s a huge no, no,” he stressed.
Source: The Bolton News
Quick-thinking doormen at a nightclub helped save a man’s life after he was stabbed in Bolton town centre.
The 20-year-old was stabbed in the neck after he was attacked in St George’s Road at the end of a Saturday night out on the town.
He staggered towards the nearby Ikon nightclub, where doormen gave him first aid before an ambulance arrived.
The man, who was bleeding heavily from the wound in his neck, managed to cross the road and walk several hundred yards down the street before asking the doormen if they could help.
The attack happened after a fight in the street which was unrelated to the club.
The man was taken to the Royal Bolton Hospital for treatment and he is expected to make a full recovery.
Another man was also injured in the incident, which happened just before 3am on Sunday morning.
Ikon manager Ellis Adams said: “The venue gave first aid to the man who had been attacked. As a result of the actions of the venue staff, we saved the man’s life.
“We pulled him off the street and gave him first aid, and both the ambulance service and the police said that we might have helped to save his life. It’s a bad situation, but I’m pleased with the way the staff at the venue reacted.”
A police spokesman said inquiries were continuing. Anyone with information can call police on 0161 872 5050, or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555111.
Source: The Guardian
View Training Video here
The multinational security company hired by the government to deport refused asylum seekers was warned repeatedly by its own staff that potentially lethal force was being used against deportees, an investigation by the Guardian can reveal.
Details of how some G4S guards developed a dangerous technique for restraining deportees by bending them in aircraft seats is disclosed in official testimony drawn up by four whistle-blowers from the company.
Their evidence was secretly submitted to the home affairs select committee in the aftermath of the death of Jimmy Mubenga, an Angolan man who died while being forcibly restrained on a flight from Heathrow in October.
The previously unseen testimony reveals that G4S managers were repeatedly alerted that refused asylum seekers who became disruptive on flights were being "forced into submission" with their heads placed between their legs.
The technique, which is strictly prohibited because it could result in a form of suffocation known as positional asphyxia, was nicknamed "carpet karaoke" by G4S guards.
The whistle-blowers also allege that staff were not trained properly, criticised for showing compassion to refused asylum seekers, particularly children, and ostracised if they ever voiced concerns. They state that some guards went years without receiving official Home Office accreditation.
Their evidence contradicts testimony given to parliament by senior G4S executives who were summoned to appear before the home affairs select committee following Mubenga's death. One senior G4S official told MPs during a the hearing in November that he was "not aware" that his staff had ever raised concerns about any aspect of the removals process.
The chair of the committee, Keith Vaz, said he was "extremely concerned" about the allegations, which the committee would review before deciding what action to take. "Where services as important as this are contracted out and where there could be a danger to lives, it is vital that the practices of the company are fully scrutinised."
"If any warnings were given about restraint techniques being used, I would have expected these to have been taken heed of in the first instance."
The evidence submitted by the whistle-blowers, who include three former employees as well as the company's existing charter operations manager, provides a detailed record of written and verbal complaints to the company since mid-2004. According to their testimony, G4S received repeated warnings from staff, whose complaints included that training had to change "before there was a serious positional asphyxiation incident resulting in a detainee's death".
One letter, expressing frustration that G4S was failing to take action and allowing inappropriate force to be used against refused asylum seekers, stated: "I urge you meet this problem head on before the worst happens." It warned that bosses of the company were "playing Russian roulette with detainees' lives".
In his evidence to parliament, the letter's author, currently on sick leave from his job as G4S charter operations manager, said: "I am greatly saddened to say that despite my protestations these illegal and extremely dangerous techniques continued to be used by some who cared little for the welfare and lives of those they had in their custody." He added the dangerous restraint techniques were used for a period "with the tacit approval of senior managers who catastrophically failed to halt its use and spread".
G4S discovered after Mubenga's death it had lost its Home Office contract – thought to be worth more than £100m – to conduct overseas removals, but said the decision was unrelated to the asylum seeker's death. The three G4S guards arrested in connection with Mubenga's death have been bailed to reappear next month.
The contract will be taken over in May by a rival security firm, Reliance. Under European employment regulations, Reliance has been compelled to offer employment to all G4S staff involved in removals.
Meanwhile G4S continues to hold contracts with several government departments estimated to be worth £600m. It manages four prisons, three immigration removal centres and escorts around half of all prisoners to and from court.
G4S said in a statement it was aware that allegations had been submitted to parliament, but added that, despite requesting the details, it had not yet received the information and was therefore unable to respond. "We would obviously be keen to investigate these allegations but will not be able to conduct a review or take any action without seeing the evidence."
The company added that appropriate action including disciplinary action is taken when staff conduct is found to have been inappropriate. "The welfare of detainees in our custody is our top priority and we take any allegations of mistreatment extremely seriously."
Source: Plymouth Herald
A Mutley man has been sent to prison for two years after he threw a glass in a woman's face leaving her with "devastating consequences".
Casper White, above, appeared at Plymouth Crown Court yesterday after pleading guilty to wounding without intent as well as an attempted robbery he committed while on bail.
The court heard that the 21-year-old left a female bouncer with permanent eye damage so severe that she now has to wear sunglasses to watch television.
White had been to Jumpin Jacks night club in June last year when he joined in an assault his friend had become involved in, the court heard.
A female bouncer came to see what the fracas was about before White threw a glass in her face.
The court heard a statement from a witness who said: "I clearly saw White pick up a glass, pull his arm back and throw it at the staff member. He threw it very hard."
The Crown Prosecution Service said that the woman had suffered "devastating consequences" and had to wear sunglasses when she went outside.
She had shards of glass left in her skin and eye and had been permanently disfigured with scars around her mouth and eye and the court heard that she could no longer blow her nose properly.
She suffered head aches so severe since the incident they made her throw up, with pain peaking at nighttime.
The victim had suffered so badly that she had been signed off work and was scared to go out or even look in the mirror, the court heard.
She had ended up on anti-depressants and got behind on mortgage payments to the point that she risked her house being repossessed, the court heard.
In mitigation, the court heard that White had committed a "stupid and reckless act" that had resulted from drinking.
The court heard that he had "hit the bottom and behaved disgracefully" and had learned his lesson, having not touched drink since.
The judge, Recorder Nicolas Gerasimidis, said that the fact that White had carried out an attempted street robbery on an older man while he was on bail was an aggravating factor.
Recorder Gerasimidis said: "I take the view that only an immediate custodial sentence is appropriate."
White was sentenced to 16 months for the wounding and eight months for robbery to run consecutively, minus 63 days spent on remand.
Source: BSIA
The Security Alliance has outlined its official position on the future of regulation in the security industry, citing reduced regulatory costs and administrative burdens among the key objectives for the new regulatory regime.
In a letter to Lynne Featherstone MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State with responsibility for the Security Industry Authority (SIA), Chairman of the Security Alliance, James Kelly, reinforced the importance of ongoing consultation between Government and industry in order to establish a consensual vision on the way forward for the regulated security industry.
Key elements of the Alliance's position paper include the introduction of compulsory business registration, a concept that will significantly reduce regulatory costs for businesses and licence holders, allowing quality businesses the opportunity to have more responsibility for their own regulation while maintaining and improving standards across the industry. Emphasis was also placed upon achieving a consistent regulatory regime that meets the approval of the devolved governments in Scotland and Northern Ireland.
In addition to this, the Alliance has outlined a set of overarching principles that its members collectively agree will need to be central to any new regulatory process. These principles include:
• Regulation – The regulatory function should continue to encompass the licensing of individuals, compliance and enforcement, and should be expanded to include business registration. Enforcement should be robust, targeted and intelligence led. A single system of regulation for the whole of the UK should be retained.
• Compliance – Existing external auditory systems (UKAS Accredited) which are industry specific should be part of compliance system. A single individual training qualification should be the compliance indicator.
• Governance - The security industry should be represented on the board of the regulator.
• Simplicity – Licensed categories should be reduced in number and simplified.
• Skills and Standards – Standards should be based upon nationally recognised competency standards and should embrace existing British Standards. Development of skills and standards is the role of industry.
• Competition – Regulation should not discourage competition or new entrants.
• Value for Money – All costs should be transparent, proportionate and lower than the current system. Alternative methods, including devolved licensing should be examined.
James Kelly, Chairman of the Security Alliance, comments: "Our partnership represents over 80% of the regulated industry with a shared aim of ensuring that a new 'smarter' regulatory framework is established based on our agreed principles. We strongly believe that by working together we can provide the most efficient and practical approach to help inform and support both the SIA and the Government as the new regime is developed."
Source: Evening Telegraph
Club doormen told a jury in a manslaughter trial how they came to the aid of a man knocked unconscious by a single punch.
Workers at Bar Life in Wellingborough brought Stuart Martin in from the street to attempt to save his life.
He had been hit in the head by Kevin Strong on June 19, Nottingham Crown Court heard yesterday.
The court heard Mr Martin had punched Strong’s friend, Steven Drage, before receiving a fatal blow from Strong.
Door supervisor George Garrett, who was working at the bar on his first shift, said he refused entry to Mr Drage after he witnessed him jumping over a barrier earlier. Mr Martin had also been ejected.
Mr Garrett said he heard a sound which attracted his attention. He said: “(It was) the sound of what came across to me as a punch, the crunch of bone on bone. It was a very loud sounding thud.
“I saw Mr Martin fall backwards and collapse to the floor. There was a very loud sound as his head hit the floor, very much like a dead weight, like something not in control of itself collapsing.
“My immediate reaction was to go to Mr Martin’s aid.”
When asked by Mike Magee prosecuting whether he had been unable to rouse him, he replied: “I was, I am afraid.”
Defending, John Lloyd-Jones asked Garrett: “In your view that wasn’t an argument that was going to erupt into actual violence?” Garrett agreed.
While first aid-trained Garrett treated Mr Martin in the club’s medical room, another bouncer Ben Hughes, who saw the altercation, called an ambulance.
Clubgoer Benjamin Pennell, who had been drinking with friends, told the court he had been approached by Strong who had witnessed Mr Martin play- kicking a clubgoer’s leg. He said: “He sort of said I am going to beat this lad up in a minute.”
He said Strong approached him later. “He came over to me and said ‘I’ve just beaten a boy up for Ginge and blood was coming out of his head.”
Dr Amanda Jeffery, a pathologist who carried out Mr Martin’s post mortem examination, said he had a cardiac arrest. She said in a statement: “Mr Martin received a blow to the right side of his upper neck. This caused excessive movement to the head and neck and resulted in tearing of a vessel close to the base of the skull.”
Strong pleaded not guilty on the grounds that he used necessary and reasonable force to protect his friend.
Source: Info4Security
Joint Security Industry Council chairman Patrick Somerville calls for a lone representative body representing all sectors of the security industry to Government.
The leak in September 2010 of an imminent Government announcement that the Security Industry Authority (SIA) would be axed in the current round of planned expenditure cuts caused the security industry’s guarding interests to reel in shock.
The demise of a number of quangos and other non-departmental public bodies was threatened and, in many cases, subsequently confirmed.
Immediately, the International Professional Security Association (IPSA) led the way with a determined lobbying of all MPs and selected members of the House of Lords, urging that the SIA and its regulatory regime should not be disbanded.
Rather, the industry having benefited from regulation should work with Government to achieve some of its policy objectives, improve the regulatory regime and reduce the costs and administrative burden that regulation had imposed on the industry in difficult economic times.
Robust and timely response
The collective industry response that followed was sufficiently robust and timely to modify the stance of the Government on the issue of disbandment, and move it towards a revision of the regulatory regime after due consultation with the industry.
The process of consultation led by the SIA has started. It’s expressly intended to take cognisance of the view of all parts of the licensable operations sectors as represented by Stakeholders and industry bodies.
It is commendable that this enlightened inclusive approach has been taken, learning from the earlier experience of SIA-led consultation where certain vested interests dominated the process leading to much criticism and dissatisfaction in several sectors.
It remains to be seen if these expectations are realised.
Emergence of The Security Alliance
The Security Alliance has now emerged, apparently initiated prior to the leak of Government intentions by the British Security Industry Association (BSIA) and a few other parties, with the objective of representing the industry.
The SIA has welcomed that initiative and supports its activities, but requires it to be wholly representative of the licensable sectors without permitting over representation by a few leading players.
There remains some imbalance in the representation that should be addressed to avoid further criticism.
Additionally, another group of Stakeholders has been called together for consultation by the SIA’s chairman Baroness Ruth Henig which seems to undermine the intended and apparently endorsed role of the Alliance as the industry representative body in these matters.
Creation of a single representative body
The Security Alliance is one of a series of efforts made by the BSIA and others in recent years to create a single representative body for the security industry, but always underlined by the BSIA exercising a significant controlling influence.
It’s understood that the Alliance may formalise itself by adopting a constitution and laying down Terms and Conditions for membership, etc.
Other Stakeholders have concerns about the emergence of the Security Alliance and where it goes from here. Clearly, the immediate focus of attention is changes to the regulatory and licensing regime and how the industry may become involved in delivering some of the services hitherto undertaken by the Regulator.
This range of interests is limited to the security guarding and facilities management sectors, and does not embrace the wider requirements of both Government and the industry to have a means of co-ordinated representation across all sectors that can deal effectively with central Government.
Founding of the Joint Security Industry Council
Industry representatives who served on the former Security Industry Lead Body (ILB) – which, with others, was disbanded by Government in the mid-1990s – at that time determined to continue the work of the ILB and went on to found the Joint Security Industry Council (JSIC) in 1995.
The original intention was that it would represent all sectors of the security industry and be the single independent consultation vehicle for contact with Government and its departments.
Sector representatives formed the central council and met the Government’s desire to speak to one single representative body for the industry.
JSIC functioned successfully for several years, not least with the Way Forward Group and the considerable volume of recommendations made by it to the Home Office in connection with the implementation of the Private Security Industry Act 2001.
However, the BSIA declined to participate and has held to that position ever since [a summary of the history of JSIC and other attempts to set up an alternative to JSIC appears at the end of this statement]
JSIC model remains "fit for purpose"
It is the expressed view of the current group of concerned Stakeholders that the JSIC model remains fit for purpose and should be the foundation of any independent all-sector representative body for the industry.
It is in support of that view and to elicit further comment and support that this paper has been prepared.
The coalition Government has declared the need for increased consultation with the whole industry.
In a Keynote address given on 22 July last year, security minister Baroness Pauline Neville-Jones emphasised the need for the security industry not to be treated as an “afterthought of the defence industry”.
Calling for a major uplift in the performance of the private security industry, supported by Government through UKTI and other agencies, the minister stated that the aim should be to ensure UK expertise and innovative security solutions are marketed more effectively both at home and overseas.
The minister went on to emphasise the need for closer working relationships between Government and the industry. Noting that the security industry, unlike the defence industry, is characterised by a lack of company scale and that Government aims to support SMEs, Baroness Neville-Jones stated that ways needed to be found to integrate SMEs into larger consortia without losing their innovative capability which can result from over consolidation.
The minister concluded by saying that it was important to maintain an open, honest and effective dialogue between Government and industry.
Capacity to be a world leader
The British security industry has the capacity to be a world leader (a view with which we concur), and it should be our common endeavour to make that happen.
Industry representatives now involved in determining the future of a regulated security guarding sector – and those with a broader understanding and commitment to develop the future capacity and effectiveness of all sectors of the private security industry – need look no further for a solution than the Memorandum and Articles of the incorporated Joint Security Industry Council (JSIC), it’s supporting by-laws and administrative provisions.
JSIC is a single representative body that can speak for the industry with Government. The Robbins Report 2006 confirmed the need and desire for such a body by the industry, yet it is at present dormant through lack of commitment to these objectives and the preference for some influential bodies such as the BSIA to exclude themselves (and those they purport to represent) from its deliberations and recommendations.
It’s surely time to wake up and change that position, adopt that model, adapt it if necessary, and work together constructively and effectively with each other and with Government for the benefit of the industry.
It is both a challenge and an opportunity to enhance the industry’s capacity for growth and economic prosperity at both the national and global level if the required support and commitment is forthcoming.
Patrick J Somerville QPM is chairman of the Joint Security Industry Council and vice-president of IPSA
Source: NEBusiness
A growing security business has invested £500,000 which it expects to revolutionise the way the region’s building sites carry out their surveillance – and help to increase its turnover by £1m.
Phoenix Eye, which is based in Killingworth, North Tyneside, has doubled its investments in V-Ceptor mobile camera units in a bid to offer its construction clients the best possible site protection and theft deterrent.
Although the equipment represents an initial outlay for clients, the security firm believes that the service will save them money in the long run by not having to employ security guards at sites.
With the construction industry continuing to struggle amid the difficult economic conditions, the firm believes it is the ideal time to invest in the technology, which it expects will increase its turnover from £8m to £9m by May 2012.
With an installation time of under an hour, the V-Ceptor mobile camera units are primarily designed to work in areas without fixed-wire communications or permanent power.
The technology provides live communications between the site and Phoenix Eye’s 24-hour control base, and also includes a back-up battery that will work for several hours in the event of power failure
Phoenix Eye director Neill Winch said: “It is more imperative than ever that construction firms think seriously about looking after their own site security.
“By making this investment we are able to offer our construction clients an assurance that their equipment and resources are being watched over by the most cutting-edge surveillance technology, which also doubles as a big visual deterrent for would-be intruders.
“We are using this technology on around 30 construction sites across the North of England, ranging from new homes developments to smaller- scale renovation sites, and the feedback we have been given so far is that the mobile camera units are offering incredible versatility, security and cost-effectiveness against other, out- dated systems.”
The firm, which provides servicing such as CCTV installation and intruder alarms, also includes a manned guarding business – Phoenix Security – which employs 1,300 doormen across the country.
Last year saw the company introduce headcams for its doormen in an attempt to capture images of any problems caused by the revellers, which can then be used in prosecutions.
Phoenix Eye employs around 40 staff at its Newcastle base and is owned by Newcastle-based Danieli Holdings.
Director Steve Howe said: “The ever-changing environment of construction sites make them historically difficult to guard, however, the adaptability of these units means we are able to increase the security visibility of these sites, which often lie vulnerable to intruders.”
Source: Manchester Evening News
A young mum who smashed a wine glass into the face of a bouncer, scarring him for life, has been jailed.
Hairdresser Tara Lydiate, 22, hit doorman Andrzej Levochowski so hard he had to have glass surgically removed from his cheek.
Lydiate – who has a toddler – was jailed for 15 months after admitting a charge of wounding over the drunken attack in a Salford pub. She burst into tears in the dock and said: “I can’t. I can’t do it.”
Her partner Elliot Wilson - the toddler’s father - was also locked up over attack. Manchester Minshull Street crown court heard how Wilson, and pal Karl Hughes had joined in the attack at The Hope pub on Eccles Old Road last June.
Wilson, 26, and Lydiate, who live together with their young child in Vestris Drive, Salford, had been out drinking with Hughes, 23, and his former partner Shauna Fitzgerald.
A row broke out between the group and Mr Levochowski – who was working on the door – asked the men to leave.
Wilson began arguing with him and became aggressive before Lydiate ran towards them and smashed a glass into the bouncer’s face.
Barry Darby, prosecuting, said: “The victim felt the glass shatter. He felt someone jump on his back and he was aware of the males trying to punch and kick him. He became aware of bottles being thrown. Blows were struck in the general melee.”
Wilson admitted assault occasioning actual bodily harm at an earlier hearing. He was jailed for 12 months.
Hughes - of Agnes Street, Salford - was jailed for 15 months after pleading guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm.
Fitzgerald, who threw a bottle towards the victim, was given a suspended sentence after admitting affray at an earlier hearing.
Daniel Travers, defending Lydiate, said: “They were drinking in the area and she had a glass in her hand.
“She was upset seeing what happened between the doorman and others. In drink, and in a split-second decision, she struck out.”
Judge Jonathan Foster QC told the defendants: “These were offences of serious violence involving significant injury, in public, under the influence of alcohol and against a person in authority.
Judge Foster told Lydiate: “Your actions were instinctive and you struck him with a glass in you hand.
“It caused him serious injury which will leave him permanently scarred.”
Source: SIA
An event to discuss future regulation of the private security industry is being held by the Security Industry Authority.
The SIA conference - Phased Transition to a New Regulatory Regime - will take place in central London on Wednesday 30 March. It will provide the opportunity to discuss the phased transition, as announced by the Cabinet Office in October, and for the SIA to both inform and consult with stakeholders.
The purpose of the conference is to consider plans and timelines for the transition, the future of regulation in the private security industry and security requirements for the London Olympics and Paralympics 2012. As well as keynote speakers there will be breakout sessions to discuss specific topics in greater detail.
This year, the SIA will host two conferences instead of the usual annual event. This is to ensure that there is adequate opportunity for consultation and discussion as plans for the new regulatory regime are developed. The second event will be held later in the year.
Places for the March conference are limited and will be allocated on a first come first served basis. For further information and to download the booking form visit: http://www.sia.homeoffice.gov.uk/conference
Source: Northern Echo
The former professional boxer behind a security firm once labelled a “private police force” believes cuts to policing budgets could see demand soar – and has revealed that his guards are on a bonus if they catch a burglar.
Francis Jones, of Darlington, said he expected burglary rates to increase as frontline policing is hit by enforced spending cuts.
Mr Jones, who runs Sparta Security in his home town, rose to national attention last year when he launched patrols of Darlington estates in an effort to cut crime and antisocial behaviour.
Residents were offered subscriptions of £3.50 a week to have the firm patrol their premises.
Mr Jones said that while he would continue to offer that service and continue his patrols of residential areas, patrols of businesses were proving to be more in demand and a better use of resources.
He has enlisted the help of two Alsatian guard dogs, Mack and Jazz, which Sparta Security staff take on patrol.
He said that his staff were excited about catching burglars.
“The guards turn up, you can’t hear them – they don’t come in a big wagon screeching up,” he said.
“We want to catch burglars – the guards are on a bonus if they do. That’s their incentive.”
But Mr Jones said his business was about working with the police, not replacing them.
“We are the eyes and ears of the police, nothing else,” he added.
“But I think burglaries will increase if budgets are cut. I know there is demand – we get people on the phone and email all the time.
“Within six months, I want guards all over Darlington, on foot and in vehicles, patrolling houses, businesses and whole neighbourhoods.”
Mr Jones said he had about a dozen premises signed up to his Business Safe patrols, but said he expected that to increase dramatically.
A spokeswoman for Durham Police said every effort was being made to mitigate the effects of budget cuts.
She said: “We are about to embark on a major restructure, which will ensure frontline services are maintained and that we make better use of resources now and in the future, as well as improving the force’s performance.”
Source: The Enquirer
A Leigh man who attacked bouncers with a machete outside a Southend bar has been jailed for 10 years.
Ronnie Olliffe, 31, Highlands Boulevard, was found guilty of causing grievous bodily harm at Basildon Crown Court on Tuesday, 11 January, and sentenced on Wednesday.
The offence relates to an incident that happened at The Sun Rooms in Market Place, Southend, on 26 March last year.
Olliffe returned to the nightspot after being ejected at 1.30am armed with a machete. He attacked door staff leaving one man with life changing hand injuries.
Dc Glen Crosby said: "Olliffe is a nasty, vicious man who armed himself with a machete and attacked door staff after he was thrown out of a club in Southend last March. He has received a lengthy sentence which reflects the severity of his crime."