G4S International Magazine March 2008

G 4 S I n t e r n at I o n a l
m a rc h 0 8
march 2008
PErFEcT
PArTnErS
in a world of
SEcu r IT y
solutions
With an unrivalled geographical footprint and first
hand experience of the key security issues facing
businesses and individuals in a broad range of
markets, G4S is the preferred security provider for
organisations across the globe.
G4S has entered into an exciting partnership with the
British Judo Association as part of the FTSE-British
Olympic Association Partnership Initiative, which
to improve performance. Through the partnership,
cctV
G4S is able to contribute to sports development in
surveillance and acceptance
sees FTSE companies and sport working together
its home market.
Why cash is so popular
Let security help when disaster strikes
For more information on our various sports partnerships,
please visit www.g4ssport.com
CONTRIBUTORS
Keith
Blogg
Security together with
law and order have been
his specialist subjects in
a journalistic career that
extends from london
evening newspapers
to a major TV station.
Keith’s Metropolitan
Police contacts led to
him editing “The Job”,
the fortnightly staff
magazine of the capital’s
police force, for four
years. He is now a
freelance feature writer.
martin
Gosling
A former Army officer,
policeman and senior
probation officer who
worked on secondment
in prisons, Gosling
has wide experience
of the uK criminal
justice system. He
is now a writer and
has contributed
to the “criminal
lawyer”, “International
Police review” and
other journals.
martin
Sayers
A uK-based freelance
writer of ten years
experience. He has been
widely published and
specialises in feature
articles about business,
technology and history.
roy
Stemman
Editor of G4S
International Magazine.
roy has been writing
on security issues and
reporting on the Group’s
activities for more than
30 years, during which
time he has visited many
of the countries in which
the Group operates.
The opinions expressed in these pages are those of the contributors and do not necessarily reflect the views of G4S.
Published by G4S, The Manor, Manor Royal,
Crawley, West Sussex RH10 9UN, UK
Tel: +44 (0)20 8770 7000
Fax: +44 (0)1293 554406
Website: www.g4s.com
e-mail: magazine@g4s.com
Produced by Oxford Editorial Services, Suite 8, 94 London Road,
Headington, Oxford, 0X3 9FN
Editor: Roy Stemman. Tel: (44) (0) 1865 247221
email: roy@oxford-editorial.com
Design: Cox Design Partnership, Oxon
Printed in Germany
The paper this is printed on is produced in line with the standards
of the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification
Schemes and is sourced from sustainable forests.
Middle East
Africa
Central/South America
Bahrain ● Egypt ● Israel ● Jordan ● Kuwait ●
lebanon ● Oman ● Qatar ● Saudi Arabia ●
Syria ● united Arab Emirates ● yemen
Botswana ● cameroon ● central African
republic ● Democratic republic of congo
● Gambia ● Ghana ● Ivory coast ● Kenya ●
lesotho ● Madagascar ● Malawi ● Mauritania ●
Morocco ● Mozambique ● namibia ● nigeria
● Sierra leone ● South Africa ● Tanzania ●
uganda ● Zambia
Argentina ● Barbados ● Bolivia ● chile ●
colombia ● costa rica ● Dominican republic
● Ecuador ● El Salvador ● Guatemala ●
Honduras ● Jamaica ● Mexico ● nicaragua ●
Panama ● Paraguay ● Peru ● Puerto rico ●
Trinidad & Tobago ● uruguay
Asia/Pacific
Australia ● Azerbaijan ● Bangladesh ● Bhutan
Brunei ● china ● Guam ● Hong Kong ● India
● Indonesia ● Kazakhstan ● Korea ● Macau
● Malaysia ● nepal ● Pakistan ● Philippines ●
Sri lanka ● Singapore ● Taiwan ● Thailand ●
uzbekistan
●
G4S InTErnATIOnAl
march 08
51
History
revisited
Where in
the world
how
technology has
changed the
role of mobile
patrols
is this beautiful
but troubled
land?
12
15
30
38
a world
of security
solutions
surveillance
and
acceptance
Combined
action
Why cash is
so popular
Nick Buckles,
G4S cEO
advancing
faster than
society will
tolerate?
Private
security and
commerce join
forces against
crime
Everybody
wants banknotes
– even Santa
claus!
4
9
17
24
sports
Partnership
22
G4S security
team rescue
three from
private jet in
almaty
5
20
march 08
44
Grazing is the
new form of
shoplifting
Supporting
children’s
health and
education
in Jamaica
Setting sail for
the Olympics
... with G4S’s
support
29
36
41
Dealing
with
disaster
Should security
industry
play a more
responsive
role?
33
RegulaRs
OPINIONs
skandia
team GBr
Contents
I n t e r n at I o n a l
news
Follow-ups
to topics
discussed in
previous issues
Community
project
air crash
heroes
G4S’s solution
to dishonesty
and theft
Updates
china’s Special
administrative
region has big
plans for its
future
eating
into your
profits
G4S 4teen
member from
Kenya wins in
Italy
out of
reach with
CasH360
exciting
Cities –
Hong Kong
FeaTuRes
G4s
announces
Gsl
acquisition
to provide
additional
expertise in
key markets
43
eXPeRTIse
o pI nI on
a world
of security
solutions
W
elcome to the
March issue of G4S
International, our
customer-focused magazine
which aims to give you our
perspective, as a leading provider
of security solutions, on the
key security challenges that are
facing global businesses today.
among the topics featured in
this edition, our cover story looks
at CCtV and discusses whether
technological advances in the
field of video surveillance are
happening at a faster rate than
society is prepared to tolerate.
For many, being recorded
without permission raises
important issues of privacy.
Data protection laws and other
regulations that govern the design,
installation and use of video
surveillance need to be taken
into consideration – not an easy
task, especially since these laws
vary from country to country.
also in this issue, Keith Blogg
4
g4s InternatIonal
march 08
looks at recent statistics and finds
a marked contrast between those
who prefer to use cash and those
who are credit card borrowers with
mountains of debt. the credit and
debit card industry is predicting
the end of payments in cash, yet
the amount of cash in circulation
continues to soar. In this G4S
International we take a look at the
reasons for the popularity of cash.
Martin gosling examines two
european projects in which g4s
and commercial enterprises have
joined forces in the fight against
crime. the escalation of serious
offending has meant that police
resources often have to be
diverted away from street crime.
In response, businesses have joined
forces with private security and,
by achieving collaboration with the
police in each area, have formed
an effective alliance against crime.
as part of g4s’s “giving back
to community” philosophy, we
discuss how g4s is giving hands-
on help to projects supporting
children’s health and education
in several countries. this issue
focuses on g4s Jamaica which has
established a charity programme
called santa through which it
has already supported various
schools and children’s homes,
helping to put them on the
road to a brighter future.
I do hope that you find this issue
of G4S International an interesting
and enjoyable read. If you would
like to make a comment about
it, or suggest a topic that you
believe we should cover in the
future, please contact the editorial
team at magazine@g4s.com.
Nick Buckles
Chief executive
g4s plc
e xp e r t I S e
roy Stemman reviews the global scale of
retail losses, then examines a G4S solution that
removes opportunities for dishonesty and theft
Out of reach with caSh360
g4S InternatIonal
March 08
5
e x pe r t I Se
M
Darren Taylor, G4S
Cash Services’ divisional
retail director, gives
visitors to the new
demo suite an overview
of the product range.
6
any retailers must feel that
they are fighting their own
private war against crime.
From the moment they open in the
morning until the last shopper leaves
their premises at the end of the day,
they need to be constantly aware of
the potential losses that can occur.
Shoplifters – particularly organised
gangs – are a major worry, with
dishonest staff coming a close
second. losses are also incurred
through shoppers “grazing” or failing
to declare all the items at selfcheckout systems (See “eating Your
profits”, page 29). Between them,
these thieves can rob a retail outlet
of many thousands of pounds’
worth of stock each year.
In the US, the national retail
Federation’s third annual survey,
released in May last year, showed
that 71 per cent of retailers
reported an increase in organised
g4S InternatIonal
March 08
retail crime – up sharply from 48
per cent in 2006. Shop thefts cost
the US retail industry an estimated
$30 billion a year.
according to the UK-based
Centre for retail research, the US
accounts for one-third of global
“shrinkage” – the term used to
describe stock losses – which its
global retail theft Barometer puts
at a collosal £49,808 million (US$
98,630m).
electronic tags, CCtV and
security personnel – depending on
the size of the store – are among
the measures available to help
keep such theft under control (see
Case Study on antwerp’s Meir
District, page 19). But they may be
addressing only part of the problem.
the theft Barometer responses
showed that in the US, Canada
and australia retailers perceived
employee theft to be larger than
shoplifting. For example, nearly
half of australian theft, which is
estimated to cost retailers $a2.26
billion (£1 bn) a year, is believed
to take place at cash desks and
checkouts.
and it concludes that across
the 32 countries surveyed, disloyal
employees accounted for 35.2 per
cent of shrinkage (£17.46 billion).
Internal errors and administrative
failures, such as pricing or
accounting mistakes, represented
16.5 per cent of losses (£8.18
billion) globally. Supplier or vendor
theft and fraud was put at 6.3 per
cent of shrinkage (£3.13 billion).
the remaining 42 per cent was
attributable to shoplifting.
Behind these statistics are some
cases of employee dishonesty
that can best be described as
unbelievable. take for example the
audit of an english district council in
2005 which revealed theft at council
offices in lincolnshire. the finger of
suspicion pointed to an employee of
30 years standing.
Her job was to count coins from
the cashboxes at eight car parks and
for almost 10 years she had been
keeping “loose change”.
It was estimated that between
January 1966 and July 2005
she stole coins amounting to a
staggering £557,327 – a crime for
which she received three years
imprisonment. the money had been
used to fund her obsession with
elvis presley memorabilia.
the exciting news for retailers and
others who handle cash worldwide
is that a secure logistics solution to
theft or fraud at checkouts, tills or
in cash offices has been developed
by g4S Cash Services. It promises
to be 100 per cent effective in
combating such losses, as well as
preventing armed hold-ups.
Called CaSH360, it was
announced at the end of 2007 (see
g4S International, September 07).
now, with the opening of a
new g4S global demonstration
suite in the netherlands, close to
amsterdam’s Schiphol airport,
senior management teams from
leading retailers in europe, north
and South america, africa and asia
have been able to see the system
in action, try it for themselves and
discuss their specific needs in an
interactive setting.
pilot schemes are already being
trialled in supermarket chains,
petrol stations and entertainment
stores in the UK, the netherlands
and Scandinavia. others are due to
go live shortly.
What all these businesses are
concerned about is the numbe of
times cash changes hands in their
outlets before it is finally carried
out through the door by security
personnel.
“each day, the cash handed over
by customers can be handled
and counted more than 10
times – up to 16 times in some
cases – depending on the size and
practices of each store,” explains
Darren taylor, g4S Cash Services’
divisional retail director.
Most tills are cleared of their
takings at night. next morning,
they are replenished with a
“float” that provides change for
the cashiers’ first customers. as
the day goes on and the contents
reach a certain level – say £500 –
the money is “skimmed” and taken
to the cash office. this operation is
repeated for each of the tills.
at each stage, the cash needs
to be counted and verified, as
it does for the final time when
g4S InternatIonal
March 08
7
trading comes to an end and the
banknotes and coins are sorted
into different denominations, ready
for g4S to collect and bank it.
“each time it is handled,” Darren
taylor points out, “as well as costing
the retailer money, it is vulnerable
to internal or external theft.”
What CaSH360 does is to
remove the opportunities for theft
or error. a key element is the use
of automated till-based equipment
into which the customers’ cash is
deposited and which will dispense
the change. Connected to the
retailer’s existing electronic point
of sale, it counts and verifies the
amount paid and issues the correct
change in banknotes or coins for the
cashier to hand to the customer.
It can even spot – and reject –
counterfeit notes. In this way, every
banknote or coin that passes into
or out of the machine is counted
and accounted for.
g4S is also breaking new ground
by using self-sealing and tamperevident solutions for storage of the
money deposited.
CaSH360 comes in various
8
g4S InternatIonal
March 08
combinations, targeted at specific
sectors, starting with smaller format
stores such as those in the fuel, fast
food and convenience sectors which
operate extended trading hours,
are located in risk areas and do not
have cash office staff.
another offering provides full
automation of all cash office
processes for larger stores with
dedicated cash offices. the time­
saving element is impressive: it
takes around two minutes per till
or cashier to achieve complete
reconciliation to the penny each day.
CaSH360 also provides a range
of note management solutions
for the very largest retail outlets
by providing full automation of all
banknote processes, resulting in a
significant reduction in labour.
these are not rigid solutions:
thanks to the CaSH360 software
g4S has developed, the services
provided can be tailor-made to suit
each retailer’s individual needs.
But in-store cash processing is
only part of the story. the cash has
to be removed from the machines
and transported securely to a vault
or the bank, and g4S Cash Services
does that operation as well. only
its couriers have security controlled
access to the intelligent machines to
remove the bar-coded deposits.
What g4S is offering, then,
is a complete end-to-end cash
solution whose benefits are selfevident to retailers trading in a very
competitive market. It reduces total
costs; it eliminates losses; and it
improves security.
Best of all, because g4S Cash
Services is involved in the total
verified process, from beginning to
end – all recorded in real time via
broadband links – CaSH360 can
offer unique benefits such as value
dating enhancements.
Since the automated till-based
equipment cannot be accessed by
anyone without security controlled
authorisation, its valuable contents
are therefore out of reach of
dishonest employees or violent
thugs.
and that will give retailers more
time and money to tackle the
other major area of retail loss –
shoplifting. n.
Interactive screens
allow the presenter
and visitors to discuss
and design various
CaSh360 solutions.
opInIon
Surveillance and acceptance
roy Stemman asks if technological advances in CCTV are taking place
at a faster rate than society is prepared to tolerate
g4S InternatIonal
March 08
9
V
ideo surveillance is seldom
out of the news for very
long, as high profile cases
are publicised and interested parties,
either for or against, make their
points strenuously to the media.
For many, being recorded
without permission raises important
issues of privacy. they object
to being watched and recorded
constantly by closed circuit
television – or CCtV as video
surveillance is universally known.
others, however, are delighted
that CCtV is there, keeping
a watchful and protective
eye over their lives as they
walk in city centres, shop and
travel on public transport.
the debate is likely to continue
for many years, but the indications
are that video surveillance is here
to stay, even if its use remains
restricted in some countries.
Meanwhile, technological
advances are making it a far more
powerful tool in the war against
crime and terrorism. But is the
technology progressing faster than
social acceptance will allow?
one early criticism of CCtV
was the poor image quality, often
too blurred or indistinct to lead
to a positive identification of the
offender. But the digital revolution,
with its megapixels and high
resolutions, has changed that.
a fascinating insight into how
some people’s thinking on CCtV
is also changing comes from an
npr (national public radio)
broadcast on 5 July 2007, reporting
on the growing demand in the US
for UK-style security cameras.
Interviewed by Dina temple­
raston, Miami police chief John
timoney said that six years
earlier, when he was police
commissioner in philadelphia,
he did not agree that a CCtV
system like the UK’s was needed.
10
g4SS Internat
g4
InternatIIonal
March 08
He regarded it as “too intrusive”
and he opposed the proposal.
“I have changed my
mind,” he said.
the turning point for timoney
was the Underground bombings
in london, in July 2005. He told a
Miami colleague that if the subway
bombers showed up on CCtV he
would be a convert to the system.
“and sure enough,” he told
npr listeners, “all four came
up. and not only did they
come up on CCtV, but
they were able to track
their movements
from leeds in the
north of england
on down into
london, and
it was very
valuable in the
investigation.”
Many other
US police
chiefs now
support the
greater use
of CCtV in
their cities.
But it does still
have its critics,
even in the UK
where close on five
million cameras have
been installed in the
past four years at a cost
of around £200 million.
no one doubts that good
CCtV images can provide
powerful evidence of a crime if
the culprits are caught on camera.
But the public also expect the
presence of CCtV systems to
act as a deterrent and in that
respect some find it wanting.
For example, graeme gerrard,
head of CCtV at the association
of Chief police officers, told a UK
parliamentary committee in January
this year that cameras usually fail to
act as a deterrent for drunken yobs.
Mr gerrard, who is also deputy
chief constable of the Cheshire
constabulary, explained that
CCtV was very effective in places
like car parks, where potential
offenders thought rationally about
the consequences. “In terms of
town centres, where a lot of the
behaviour is violent, often fuelled
by alcohol, people aren’t thinking
rationally,” he explained. “they get angry and the CCtV is the last thing they are thinking about.”
one way of
reminding them
that they are being
watched would
be to have
microphones
and speakers
alongside
CCtV
cameras
so that
individuals
behaving
badly or
causing
damage could be warned by security personnel monitoring
the images. the
controllers would
also be able to hear
their responses.
In May 2007, the UK’s
information commissioner,
richard thomas, told Mps that
mini-cameras and microphones that
could eavesdrop on conversations
in the street up to 100 yards away
were the next step in the march
towards a “Big Brother” society,
in a country which was already
under more surveillance than any
other in the democratic world.
He told the House of Commons
home affairs committee that
he would be hostile to the use
of unobtrusive cameras and
microphones hidden, for example,
in lampposts. even the concept of
“talking CCtV” which has been
trialled in 20 areas of the UK,
might be going too far, he added.
Sure enough, on 28 January
this year, the Information
Commissioner’s office announced
a new CCtV code of practice for
the UK which rules out the use
of sound recording. this, it says,
can be justified only in “highly
exceptional circumstances”.
It is the arrival of VoIp – voice
over Internet protocol – in
audio and video intercoms that
has made remote video-based
servicing very attractive, explains
Mik emmerechts, business
development manager for both
the security services and security
systems divisions of g4S Belgium.
It is just one of the technological
trends in CCtV which are having
an impact, globally, as well as
changing perceptions about how
video surveillance is not only
beneficial for security purposes but
also for operational assistance.
“now that we have economically
viable megapixel Ip cameras that
produce very sharp images, a
lot more digital CCtV will be
deployed,” emmerechts believes.
“that will certainly be true in
continental europe where I expect
to see massive deployment of
CCtV in the years ahead.”
the UK’s readiness to embrace
CCtV on a scale not seen in other
countries is linked to the attacks it
faced from Irish terrorists. though
it probably has ten times more
video surveillance equipment
than others, much of it depends
on analogue images rather than
the superior digital pictures
produced by modern systems.
those countries looking to make
greater use of CCtV, such as
France where president Sarkozy
is committed to an expansion of
video surveillance, will be able
to equip themselves immediately
with the most advanced systems.
they will also be able to take
advantage of one of the most useful
recent developments of Ip systems,
as Mik emmerechts explains:
“Internet-based systems now
enable many people to view
the images captured by CCtV
cameras in a number of ways.
this is because the latest cameras
can produce two streams of
information about what they are
seeing. High definition images
transmitted at 25 images per
second can be fed to large screens
in a security control room, where
quality is essential, whereas a low
resolution stream offering just
five images a second, is ideal for
transmitting to handheld devices,
like pDas, or even to the Internet.
It’s a major breakthrough.”
It means, also, that the enhanced
CCtV is breaking out of its
security role and finding other
applications, such as the monitoring
of production processes. and
the new systems’ dependence
on Internet communications
means that security managers
may find themselves needing to
report to the information and
communications department,
rather than, say, maintenance.
It’s an exciting time for CCtV,
but those who design, install
and use video surveillance
systems need to be mindful of
data protection laws and other
restrictions that govern what they
do. and that varies enormously
from country to country.
the technology is there and it’s
getting better all the time. all that’s
missing, it seems, is a consensus
on how best to use it. n
g4S InternatIonal
March 08
11
re gu lar
hiStory reviSited
Watching over the watchers
There was a time when a mobile patrolman
had only a torch and a key clock for company.
Now, reports Martin Sayers, they have
advanced technology on their side
Photos courtesy of G4S Belgium
employee Bernard van Hauwaert, showing
items from his security collection.
12
g4s InternatIonal
March 08
F
or anyone who has spent
his or her working life in the
security industry, the most
significant change over the past five
decades is likely to be the rapid
advance of technology.
although technology has had an
impact on most other industries,
too, the reality is that a security
officer on patrol 50 years ago
probably thought it would be
difficult to improve on the
sophisticated piece of equipment
he carried on his rounds.
the key clock or watch clock
didn’t help him catch intruders or
prevent break-ins, but it played
an important role in protecting
the premises. until its invention, a
security guard had to be trusted to
do his job well. If he slept on duty,
however, no one knew.
the ingenious key clock was an
ally for both the security officer
who did his job according to
requirements, and for the company
which employed him … and
ultimately the customer whose
premises and assets they were
both protecting.
the device hung on a strap
around his neck and he would
insert different keys into it, which
were chained to various vantage
points on the premises, as he
patrolled the building. a paper
disc inside the device registered
the keys and the time they were
inserted.
at the end of a shift the security
guard would hand the instrument
to a superior who could check
that the correct imprints had been
obtained, showing that the guard
had patrolled the designated area
the agreed number of times.
In the event there was any
suggestion that the security officer
nearest telephone.
radio communications and
then mobile phones have solved
that problem, of course, and now
even newer technology is giving
greater support to those working
in security, changing their role
considerably in the process.
the use of global positioning
satellites (gPs), for example,
is making the security officer’s
role safer, more efficient and
increasingly cost effective.
a gPs tracker can determine
the precise location of a vehicle,
person or other asset to which it
is attached and record the position
at regular intervals. gPs tracking of
a security officer, therefore, is an
updated version of the old turnkey
system – a method of monitoring
employees’ every move.
By using gPs, a central controller
can track the movement of
individual security officers and
ensure that an area is being
covered effectively. He can also
quickly ascertain who is nearest to
any incident that may occur and
direct them there; dramatically
CASE STUDY
had failed to do his job properly,
his company’s management
could produce tangible evidence
that the officer concerned had
correctly performed the required
inspections. It could, of course, also
be used against those employees
who failed to perform their duties
as required.
so successful was this technical
solution that variations on the
“turnkey” system were in almost
universal use throughout most
of the 20th century and some
are still used today. However,
by the 1980s technology had
provided an electronic version
of the old system using scanning
methods such as radio-frequency
identification – rFID – and
barcodes. the principle, however,
remained the same.
But the old turnkey system and
its modern equivalents served
to expose one limitation of the
mobile security officer’s role. He
was often isolated from any help
and in the event of an incident
could raise the alarm only when he
made it back to base or got to the
versatile Pdas for
G4S Wackenhut in US
In north america, g4s Wackenhut is using
new technology to push back the boundaries
of efficiency and customer service.
the securetrax mobile reporting service
equips officers with a specially programmed
PDa that has both telephone and email
capabilities. When necessary, this allows g4s
Wackenhut officers to e-mail an incident
report synopsis to predetermined customer
representatives as well as g4s Wackenhut field
supervisors. the report can then be retained
for future viewing in Wackenhut Incident
reporting software.
not only does this new system allow
multiple individuals to be notified instantly, but
it also allows the customer to contact the g4s
Wackenhut officer at the scene directly, to
receive a more detailed report and conduct
real-time incident management.
robert Burns, g4s Wackenhut’s senior
vice president, sales and operations, says
he has been delighted with the progress
of securetrax: “the service is allowing our
corporate security managers to bring more
value to their organisations,” he explains. “Many
of our customers’ security managers are being
recognised by their organisations for the
productivity gains and process improvements
associated with securetrax mobile reporting.”
g4s InternatIonal
March 08
13
The last key clock used
by G4S Belgium.
PDas are being used by g4s security services
(Belgium) in a novel way to cut down on the
number of keys that need to be taken to any
particular site. Customers have now been
supplied with a special on-site key vault that
can only be opened by an electronic “eKey”.
these eKeys are carried by all security staff but
can only be activated by a special code, sent to
their PDa by management. this activates the
eKey for a brief period – just enough time to
open the vault.
the new system allows for much greater
flexibility but also greater security. a security
officer has access to the key vault only when
he is on site and asks for his eKey to be
activated. He is in contact with management
through his PDa and once an incident has
been dealt with the eKey is deactivated.
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g4s Internat
InternatIIonal
March 08
CASE STUDY
eKeys for G4S in Belgium
cutting the time it takes for an
incident to be dealt with.
the same principle applies to
monitoring vehicle patrols. a
manager can map the current
location, direction and even speed
of each vehicle from one central
point. this makes it far easier to
identify areas that need attention
and direct patrols to them quickly
and efficiently. as well as providing
a speedy response, this also
reduces fuel and maintenance
costs by eliminating unnecessary
journeys, increasing efficiency and
providing additional safety and
security for staff.
technology has also come to
the fore in the shape of Personal
Digital assistants (PDas). these
are effectively small computers and
allow for an unprecedented degree
of interaction between security
officers, managers and customers.
they allow officers to prepare realtime reports as soon as they come
across an incident and enable them
to report it by telephone or email.
as our case studies show, we’ve
come a long way in the past 50
years. today’s security officers are
computer literate, well-equipped,
high tech protectors of people,
property and assets. and as they
go about their duties, watching
over others, they can be reassured
that modern technology is enabling
others to watch over them. n
regular
Where in the world is…?
I
t is tempting to focus our
attention on the undeniable
beauty of this country, which
has the world’s second largest
rainforest.
Its main river, whose name
means “hunter”, and its multiple
tributaries provide a river basin
that extends over a million square
kilometres, which is most of the
country. not surprisingly, it forms
the backbone of the nation’s
economics and transportation.
But this natural beauty is
overshadowed by human conflict
on a scale that has not been seen
since World War II.
Since it gained independence in
1960, this country has been torn
apart by war, with an estimated 5.4
million people having lost their lives
as a result of the violence in the
past 10 years.
a recent survey shows that the
conflict continues to rob 45,000
people of their lives every month.
It is a country rich in natural
resources, including diamonds,
gold and copper, as well as half
the world’s supply of coltan, a
mineral used in mobile phones and
computer chips which sometimes
fetches as much as gold.
Ironically, this wealth is seen by
some observers as the root of
the problem. they suggest greed,
rather than ideology, is the prime
cause of the multi-sided wars that
have ravaged the country for 45
years. the evidence they cite is
that the worst of the fighting shifts
location with the rise and fall of
commodity prices.
So where in the world is this
troubled country?
g4S InternatIonal
march 08
15
Where in the world is … ?
Democratic republic of congo
T
here were probably more
than enough clues on the
previous page for you to
identify the Democratic republic
of Congo (DrC) – formerly
known as Zaire – as our “mystery”
country.
the third largest nation in
Central africa, with a population
of 60 million, it achieved
independence from Belgium on 30
June 1960. Sitting on the equator,
it is home to 250 ethnic groups
and has 242 local languages, though
French is the official language.
the good news is that after
decades of strife there appears to
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g4S InternatIonal
be cause for cautious optimism
about the future, following the first
democratic elections in 2006. In
January 2008, an agreement was
reached between the Congolese
government and rebel groups in
the eastern parts of the country,
where there had been intense
fighting, leading to the displacement
of 800,000 people.
In an “act of engagement”,
both sides agreed to stop fighting
immediately and not rearm.
g4S (DrC) has had a presence
in Congo since 2002 and offers
security services, escorting of
valuable consignments, installations
march 08
of systems technology and
alarm monitoring and response.
It has ambitious plans for the
introduction of other services in
the near future.
among its present customers
are Vodacom, the uS embassy, the
european union, British american
tobacco, anvil Mining and First
Quantum Mining.
the world is watching and hoping
that the talks between the warring
sides will result in an end to the
bloodshed and a lasting peace for
Congo, together with the return of
security and stability in the lives of
its people. n
opInIon
combined action
Martin Gosling examines two European projects in which
G4S Security Services and commercial enterprises have
joined forces in the fight against crime
T
here are two principal
strategies available for
dealing with crime:
forestall it, or deal with the
consequences when it happens.
although the first option is
obviously preferable, modern
law enforcement methods across
many countries and communities
appear to favour, instead, a policy
of reacting after the event.
as a function of traditional
policing, the “beat” system
evolved as the most effective way
of deterring potential offenders.
When each designated area of
urban streets is patrolled around
the clock by officers on foot, anti­
social behaviour of every sort is
discouraged from its inception
by the certain knowledge that
a policeman is close by and
can be summoned quickly.
this method of policing was
successful even before the advent of
personal radios, and both property
owners and members of the
public were reassured by the close
proximity of an officer who could
call on swift, additional assistance
from a nearby beat when necessary.
In recent years, the escalation of
serious offending – predominantly
terrorism and computer fraud – has
meant that police resources are
often diverted away from street
g4S InternatIonal
March 08
17
Providing security
for 40 retail outlets
in Antwerp’s famous
Meir shopping district
involves a combination
of uniformed and plainclothed G4S personnel
as well as CCTV
surveillance.
crime and what is erroneously
termed low-level deviance.
this includes shoplifting, street
mugging, pavement drug dealing
and alcohol-fuelled thuggery.
that is not to say that such
offences are ignored – simply that
by dealing with them in a reactive
fashion and measuring success
against response time targets, some
police forces may be seen to have
lost touch with the original purpose
of their existence (see “prevention,
not punishment”, opposite).
Understandably, businesses
are looking to provide
their own responses.
co-operative security
the scale of theft from commercial
premises is enormous. In 2006,
european retailers lost €29 billion
worth of stock, according to the
european retail theft Barometer,
and it is against this background that
several successful initiatives have
taken shape.
Business enterprises have
united with private security
organisations and, by achieving
collaboration with the statutory
police in each area, have formed
an effective alliance against crime.
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g4SS Internat
g4
InternatIIonal
March 08
March
one of the most vibrant
responses to escalating crime has
evolved in almere, the youngest
city in the netherlands. the
first house in almere was built in
1976 but the population is now
180,000 and is expected to reach
350,000 by the year 2030.
Such rapid expansion has sucked
in large scale commercial enterprise
and an associated growth of
industrial activity. Inevitably, this
brought with it a surge in crime
of many sorts. Commercial
loss and damage to property
became out of hand and a search
for radical solutions began.
Former government Minister
annemarie Jorritsma-lebbink has
been the Mayor of almere since
2003 and is the driving force behind
the foundation of the SBBa – the
Foundation for the Security of
Industrial premises in almere.
this collective enterprise
embraces the broad range of
commercial activity: wholesale,
retail, construction and warehousing.
together they have devised an
overall strategy that involves
close co-operation with both
the private security sector – g4S
Security Services (netherlands)
– and the local police, aimed at
tackling the problem head-on.
over 700 companies, large
and small, have bought into this
collective approach in almere, but
the rate at which each should pay
towards the cost of the scheme can
raise problems – compounded by
some enterprises benefiting from
the drop in crime while making
no financial contribution at all.
annemarie Jorritsma says, “the
SBBa was actually born out of
misery. When we started in 1995,
the rate of crime against industry
had reached an absolute limit.” She
adds that although they have now
achieved an astonishing drop in
criminality, they recognise that the
system needs constant refinement
if it is to stay ahead of the game.
the main component of
this success seems to be the
way in which all the players
function well together.
the private security foot
patrols are co-ordinated with the
routines of individual company
staff while increased use of
CCtV and sophisticated alarm
systems has proved especially
effective. Crucially, the local
police have become closely
involved in the initiative and
regular meetings of all parties
ensure that specific problems
are analysed and preventative
strategies refined in the light of
new intelligence and the scheduled
movement of valuable goods.
The antwerp Meir
the collective security initiative
run in the antwerp Meir shopping
district is probably the longest
established and most efficient
scheme of its kind. Begun more
than 15 years ago, this collaborative
effort represents a beacon for
others to follow.
one of Belgium’s premier retail
precincts, the Meir is on a par
with london’s oxford Street and
Madison avenue in new York. But
because the Meir is free of traffic,
enormous numbers of people
flow through the area in the high
season and the potential for crime
at every level is considerable.
although international chain stores
such as H&M are predominant,
around 40 shopping outlets on
the Meir, including independents,
take part in the enterprise.
again, the success of the
arrangements have depended on
close collaboration between the
retail consortium, the regular police
and a private security company.
the overall picture is one of
flexibility and the deployment
of a mixture of resources aimed
at achieving maximum effect.
the input of g4S Security
Services (Belgium) personnel is
tailored to the requirements of
individual stores, and specific levels
of security response are offered
according to the budget of each
participating member. the strategy
is underpinned by foot patrols
deployed at staggered start times
and which are able to respond to
alarm calls from clients and to seek
reinforcement from colleagues
should a serious incident develop.
If, following the customer’s
instructions, police are called, the
level of cooperation is such that
they invariably attend promptly.
Should g4S staff deal with an
incident and later attend court,
then extra costs are incurred by
the retail organisation concerned.
Business Unit manager for g4S,
robby Van Mele, points out that
whereas in other cities large
stores deploy only static guards,
the flexibility of the Meir system
Prevention, not punishment
“the primary object of an efficient police is the prevention of crime and the next that of detection and punishment of offenders if crime is committed” – Sir richard Mayne, first Commissioner of london’s Metropolitan police (1829)
pays dividends with ten operatives
patrolling the Meir throughout
each day. this visible presence
creates a deterrent to crime
that benefits everyone – and a
reduction in street delinquency
of all types has been achieved.
this is clearly a dynamic answer
to retail security problems, but
further adjustments are being
sought. rather than having
a tariff system of services
offered to different stores
who buy in according to their
budgets, it is hoped to achieve
a simpler, unitary arrangement
of meeting the overall cost.
But is all this really effective?
Business managers who see their
losses being reduced certainly
think so. and perhaps those who
founded the first police forces
long ago (see panel above), would
agree that this is the right way to
set about preventing crime. n
g4S Internat
InternatIIonal
March 08
19
ere
x pe
gu
r tlar
I se
air crash heroes
G4S team nominated for Kazakhstan State awards
after dramatic rescue of three survivors
T
he quick reactions of
g4s security services
(Kazakhstan) personnel
on duty at almaty International
airport at Christmas saved
three lives. their bravery is to be
recognised by state awards.
In the early hours of 26
December 2007, a Challenger
Cl-60 business jet that had earlier
landed from germany to refuel at
almaty – Kazakhstan’s largest city –
prepared to continue its journey to
Hong Kong.
on board were three crew
members and one passenger,
young german electronics
entrepreneur lars Windhorst.
as it accelerated down the
runway, something went terribly
wrong. g4s security officer Maksat
saifullin was closest to the incident.
He saw sparks from the runway as
a wing dug into the tarmac.
20
g4s InternatIonal
March 08
then, just 200 metres from
where he was standing, he saw
the jet break through a wall and
explode. Maksat describes what
happened next:
“the plane was on fire and I
heard a lady scream for help from
underneath the fuselage. I rushed
over to help her. Her clothes were
burned and she was covered in
blood. I dragged her away and
covered her with my coat to
protect her from the flames.
“the flames were getting
stronger but I heard the sound of
groaning. I got closer and found
two men. I pulled the first one out
and he was able to walk so I told
him where to go to be safe.
“the other man was very heavy
but luckily my supervisor, senior
security officer ruslan alzhanov,
arrived at that moment and we
managed to drag him out. His legs
were broken and he had other
injuries. We thought that the plane
would explode because of the
strong smell of fuel everywhere,
but really we did not think too
much about that at the time as we
were too concerned with helping
the injured people”.
Fortunately, they succeeded
just before a second explosion
occurred in the plane. Before
assisting Maksat, ruslan had
found the rescued female crew
member, a turkish stewardess,
and dispatched driver Bagdat
Zhanysbaev to take her
immediately to the first aid centre.
exhausted, both men then
collapsed in the snow and security
supervisor samat sadykov took
control of the crash scene,
marshalling the emergency services
to the location and cordoning the
area.
Both Maksat and ruslan needed
medical treatment for inhalation of
kerosene fumes and other minor
injuries.
sadly, one of the german pilots
did not survive the crash.
richard Moore, country director,
and the rest of g4s security
services (Kazakhstan) are proud
of their colleagues’ bravery. all
four have been put forward for
state awards by the president of
Kazakhstan and have also received
commendations and rewards
from g4s for their dedication and
courage.
g4s has a 165-strong team
of security personnel at almaty
International airport where it has
been providing perimeter security,
including mobile patrols and
protection of stores and offices,
as well as emergency response
services, since november 2002. n
Air crash heroes, from left: Ruslan Alzhanov, Samat Sadykov, Bagdat Zhanysbaev and Maksat Saifullin.
g4s InternatIonal
March 08
21
f e at u r e
Out in front
G4S 4teen athlete from Kenya wins famous Italian race
P
romising long-distance
runner Pauline Korikwiang,
19, is beginning to
make a big impression against
international competition.
the g4s 4teen member from
Kenya put in the performance of
a lifetime on 3 february to be
crowned the winner of the Cinque
Mulini, Italy’s famous six kilometre
cross country race.
“It looked like an easy race but
it was not. It was very tough,”
Pauline said with pride, after taking
the title. she added: “this win
is for Kenya.” Her home town is
eldoret, one of the areas worst
affected by the country’s recent
unrest, and she had struggled
to train and maintain a safe
existence for herself and her
family in the run-up to the event.
Beating some well known
runners, Pauline took a solid
lead in the first lap, ahead
of Britain’s former european
cross country champion Hailey
Yelling. she soon dropped the
chasing group with ease, leaving
2006 european under-23 cross
country silver medallist, fionnuala
Britton – who was eventually
placed second – far behind.
Pauline crossed the finish line
Profile: Pauline Korikwiang
It was at the age of 14 that
Pauline Korikwiang says she
first started running seriously.
even so, at that age she had
already represented her country
– Kenya – for four years.
now 19, she has achieved two
gold medals in cross country
events (see main story for her
latest achievement), as well as
two silvers and a bronze on the
track. and having completed
her elementary examinations
at school in november last
year, she can now focus even
more attention on her athletic
ambitions. these include winning
an olympic gold medal and
breaking the world record in
marathon and 5,000 metre races.
among those who believe she
has the potential to do that is
g4s and, in particular, the group’s
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g4s InternatIonal
march 08
local management who are giving
Pauline their support. they
demonstrated this by celebrating
her appointment to the g4s
4teen team with an official signing
ceremony at the nyayo stadium
for g4s personnel and the media.
as well as acting as hosts to some
influential speakers from the
world of athletics, g4s Kenya’s
managers joined Pauline for a
run of one lap of the stadium.
Pauline now joins the
women’s senior category
to face the superstars of
long-distance running.
“I believe this is the time
she requires our moral
support,” says Carlos Henry,
g4s Kenya’s communications
manager. “We shall make
arrangements to visit her at
the training camp to motivate
her and show our support.”
she has expressed her gratitude
to g4s for various opportunities
that have boosted her confidence,
as well to tegia loroupe, the
former Kenyan 10,000 metre
champion whose achievements
were an early inspiration to her.
she is also enthusiastic about the
involvement of Haile gebrselassie
in the g4s 4teen sponsorship.
“to learn from one of
the greatest long distance
runners of all time is a dream
come true,” she says.
Date of birth: 1 March 1988
Personal best:
winner of the 34th Iaaf World
Cross Country Championships
Best 5,000 metre
time: 14.45:98
Best 3,000 metre
time: 8.42:38
another win for Gebrselassie
Haile gebrselassie, mentor
to the young g4s 4teen
athletes, is certainly inspiring
them to achieve their goals.
as we commented in our
last issue, when reporting
his spectacular win in the
34th Berlin Marathon, he is
breaking so many records
that it is difficult to keep up
with him (G4S International,
December 07, page 14).
now we can report another
win. on 18 January 2008,
the 34-year-old long distance
runner was first across the
line in the Dubai Marathon, in
the united arab emirates.
naturally, it made news
around the world, but
some of the headlines
told only half the story.
take for example athletics
Weekly’s, which declared:
geb scorches to second
fastest marathon in history
and the headline in The
in a very impressive time of
19:54 minutes, seven seconds
ahead of Britton. the Cinque
Mulini, which has been run for
76 years, was the Italian leg of
the International association
of athletics federations’ Cross
Country Permit series.
It was the second notable
achievement since Pauline
Korikwiang, the former world
junior cross country champion,
was named last June as a
member of g4s 4teen (see
panel). the group’s global sports
and community development
programme allows young and
talented sports stars, such
Guardian’s sports section:
gebrselassie wins Dubai
Marathon, misses record.
Both were technically
correct, but the hint of failure
that they convey is misleading.
true, it was the second fastest
marathon in history. and
true, he did miss the record.
so who has run the fastest
marathon in history and
therefore holds the record?
Haile gebrselassie!
He did so in Berlin
three months earlier, on
30 september last year,
in a blistering time of 2
hrs 4 mins 26 secs.
at 2 hrs 4 mins 53 secs, his
winning run in Dubai was just
27 seconds slower, but was
still faster than anyone else
has ever run a marathon.
and, in doing so, he won
£127,000 – the largest winner’s
prize in the marathon’s
illustrious history.
as Pauline, to benefit from
a broad range of corporate
and local g4s support.
Pauline had already made
her mark by winning the junior
women’s six kilometre race
in the world cross country
championships in fukuoka,
Japan in 2006. she beat fellow
Kenyan Veronica Wanjiru in
an exciting photo finish. Both
recorded a time of 19:27. she
was also silver medallist in the
world junior 3,000 metres and
later bronze medallist in the
5,000 metres at the all african
Junior Championships in 2007.
as well as the excitement of
such successes, Pauline also has
the added satisfaction of being
mentored – like all the other
g4s 4teen athletes – by another
long distance runner, world
champion Haile gebrselassie,
g4s’s global ambassador.
right now, her sights are set
firmly on the World Cross Country
Championships in edinburgh,
scotland, at the end of March, and
the africa Championships in addis
ababa, the ethiopian capital, in
May this year, as well as the world
junior championships in Poland
and the olympics in Beijing.
Her olympic qualifying trials take
place in July. n
g4s InternatIonal
march 08
23
o pI nI on
Why cash
is so popular
Keith Blogg looks at recent statistics and finds a
marked contrast between those who prefer cash and
credit card borrowers with mountains of debts.
24
g4s InternatIonal
march 08
C
ash or plastic? as the credit
and debit card industry
stridently predicts the end
of payment by banknotes, people
around the world are obstinately
sticking with the folding stuff.
It is a phenomenon which is as
true in China as in the United
states; as significant in the gulf
as in the european Union.
King Cash, the rustling, satisfying,
honest bankroll which is exactly
what it looks like – real money –
still reigns in our hearts and in our
wallets.
In the philippines, atM
transactions in one day nudged
the million mark for the first time
during December 2007.
the phenomenal growth of
atMs in the tiger economies
of asia underlines the fact
that preference for banknotes is
not confined to the West. For
example, in China and India, atM
percentage growth has hit double
digits for each of the past five
years. and the peak has not been
reached.
By 2010 it is predicted that
the number of atMs in the two
countries will have risen from
125,000 in 2006 to 350,000,
pumping banknotes into the eager
hands of millions more people.
such is the demand that in the
United arab emirates (Uae) the
first specially designed atMs for
people in wheelchairs have been
installed in sharjah, bringing ready
cash to a new group of users.
In europe, a recent survey by
banknote printers De la rue
found that 58 per cent of people in
the UK preferred cash as a means
of payment, particularly for smaller
items. Meanwhile, the World
payments report found a similar
preference europe-wide, with the
value of atM withdrawals rising
from an annual increase of 5.9 per
g4s InternatIonal
march 08
25
santa Claus, as we all know, relies
on a small army of helpers, as well
as a team of reindeer, to make all
his deliveries on time. and one of
his most important allies is g4s
Cash services, which keeps bank
branches and atMs topped up
with all the cash that is needed for
the annual spending spree.
But the link between santa and
g4s is not confined to the High
streets and shopping malls of
europe and those other countries
which celebrate Christmas. they
even work together in lapland, the
arctic wilderness of ice and snow
that is santa’s traditional home.
In fact, lapland has become a
dynamic growth area for tourism,
with increasing numbers of families
visiting santa Claus land – the
recently upgraded successor to
the old santa park – during the
Christmas holidays.
Young and old enjoy the unique
experience of meeting the whitebearded gentleman himself, as well
26
g4s InternatIonal
as his reindeer and husky dogs, and
taking a snowmobile ride in deep
snow. In 2006, 60,000 tourists made
the trip and this season’s figures are
expected to break all records.
the santa boom – in partnership
with lapland’s growing ski industry
– has created a demand for more
hotel space with some hoteliers
expecting a ten per cent increase
in the number of overnights next
year. Charter tourism has been
rising by 20 per cent annually and
the lapland’s regional council has
estimated that tourism will increase
by around 5.6 per cent a year until
2020. In two years’ time, overnight
visitors will number 2.6 million.
Most visitors are from Britain and
russia, although other nations, such
as India, are now showing interest.
the number of reservations
in the area of the main town,
rovaniemi, has risen eight per
cent in one year. It all adds up to
millions of euros and pounds which
must be transported securely,
often across long distances and in
atrocious conditions.
In a land where the temperature
march 08
has been as low as -51ºF and a
snow depth of 190 cm has been
recorded, the familiar g4s Cash
services (Finland) cash vehicle has
needed major adaptations.
CIt vehicles which routinely
travel hundreds of kilometres into
the arctic circle are equipped
with snow tyres, usually studded,
together with extra headlights and,
of course, snow shovels. all the
vehicles are equipped with engine
and cabin heaters.
Kalevi alaoja, area manager of
g4s Cash services in rovaniemi,
says: “Being an international
company, we have benefited from
the growth of tourism. the largest
entrepreneurs understand the
risks involved in cash processing
and transportation and realise that
having cash logistics professionals
deal with their takings is easier and
safer than handling it in house.
“the demand for tailor-made
cash operations and security
services is increasing. CIt
operations are exceptionally
demanding due to the long
distances alone.”
CASE STUDY
�
Even Santa agrees:
it’s not a job for reindeer
cent in 2000 to 7.1 per cent in
2004.
according to apaCs, the cash
card industry’s own organisation,
some 91 per cent of British
payments under £10 were made
in cash during 2006, while for
payments over £50 there were 700
million cash payments compared
with 400 million on credit cards.
Cash even came to the rescue of
plastic-oriented British shoppers
during the run-up to Christmas, the
western world’s annual spending
spree (see panel).
people who had their credit or
debit cards lost or stolen were
offered an ‘emergency cash’ service
by the royal Bank of scotland
– they were issued with a pIn
number which would produce real
money from atMs.
everybody wants banknotes. the
demand is reflected in the soaring
amount of cash in circulation.
In the Us, the $268 billion in
circulation in 1990 had risen to
$783 billion by the end of 2006.
the euro zone matched this by
more than doubling the value of
issued notes between 2003 and
2007 – from €103,613 million to
€260,000 million.
so what is it about a bundle of
“readies” (ready cash) that triumphs
in this electronic era?
• It is straightforward: you
don’t need electronic gadgets,
issuing companies, banks and
all the paraphernalia of a card
transaction. When the cash is
handed over or dispensed, the
deal is done – no invoices and,
better still, no demands for
interest.
• It is anonymous and nondiscriminatory. no one can trace
the progress of banknotes as
they pass from hand to hand,
whatever the purchase or
transaction being made.
• If you have cash, it does not
matter who you are, it has the
same value; it works without
credit checks or spending limits.
• Credit card transactions attract
a surcharge on shopkeepers and
– increasingly – on customers as
well. not only that, but cards cost
substantially more to process than
King Cash. the Federal reserve
Bank has estimated that the average
cost of a credit card payment for a
retailer and a credit card company
in the Us is $2.38, whereas the
cost to the economy of every cash
transaction is just 22 cents.
• It is secure. In 2005 the Bank of
england took 505,000 counterfeit
notes out of circulation with
a face value of £10 million. In
the same year, total UK credit
card fraud reached almost £440
million. a european survey in
2006 found that 11 per cent of
adults across eight countries had
had their cards stolen or used
without their permission. that
equates to 22.8 million people
europe-wide.
• It is magic. There is something
about the sight of a wad of notes
which attracts even the most
frugal among us. produced at the
g4s InternatIonal
march 08
27
Businesses which do not generate
enough cash to warrant the traditional
large-scale armoured vehicle collections
enjoyed by major enterprises have
become big business for g4s Cash
services (Canada). the three-year­
old express Deposit service, targeted
at smaller entrepreneurs, has proved
a runaway success as franchisees and
stand-alone businesses realise the value
of letting the experts handle their cash.
a low cost alternative to the traditional
g4s service, express Deposit uses a non­
armoured vehicle fitted with a bolted
drop safe and is crewed by a single
armed guard/driver. the safe can only be
opened on return to a g4s facility.
express Deposit was developed by
g4s Cash services to:
• Differentiate the company from its
market place competitors;
• Service the small/ medium business
market where employees were used
to take cash to the bank.
the largely untapped market is
estimated to be worth $37m (£19m)
based on Canada’s top 20 franchised
businesses which, among them, have
15,000 locations. Fast food restaurants
and petrol stations have
been quickest
28
g4s InternatIonal
march 08
to see the advantages.
Wendy’s, a large fast food chain with
377 locations in Canada, was the first to
pilot express Deposit. they began with
a few locations and are currently using
the service in 17 out of the 19 locations
which g4s serves.
Burger King, with 311 Canadian
outlets, uses express Deposit in 35 of
the 50 sites served by g4s. this is a 68
per cent increase in g4s business with
the company – and there is likely to be
further expansion this year.
tim Horton’s, a large coffee and
doughnut shop, with over 2,500
locations in Canada, was also an early
adopter of express Deposit. Miles
Mattatall, the company’s franchise
retailer, explained: “after one of our
employees had a troublesome incident
while making a bank deposit, I signed on
to have g4s Cash services provide the
express Deposit pick-up service for all
my stores.
“the peace of mind it affords
us and our employees cannot be
underestimated. I highly recommend the
service to other retailers.”
suncor gas stations were also early
express Deposit users. of the 50 sites
serviced by g4s, 35 are using the
service and the number is growing as it
is promoted to the franchise group.
take-up has been boosted by
new legislation which makes an
employer accountable for lack
of action or failure to ensure
employee or public safety.
If an employee is injured
while taking a deposit
to the bank, his or her
boss can be charged
under the Criminal
Code if a safer means
of protecting the
employee, such as
a CIt service, is
available.
CASE STUDY
�
Small change
right moment during a haggle over
price, a plump bundle of notes
can clinch the deal. It’s far more
impressive than a collection of
credit cards, since it demonstrates
that you have the money,
whereas the credit on your cards
has yet to be put to the test.
You know where you are with
cash. If you’ve got it you can
spend it; if you haven’t, you can’t.
a sinister spin-off for card users
is the credit trap which lures the
unwary or the unsophisticated into
a quagmire of high-interest debt
from which it is difficult or even
impossible to escape.
In Britain the problem is
increasingly acute. one in five card
users were still paying for Christmas
2006 as 2007’s spending got under
way – and fewer than one in three
had cleared Christmas debts when
their January bill arrived.
the Bank of england estimated
that 12 per cent of households
found their unsecured debts a
“heavy burden” while the Citizens
advice Bureau (CaB) reported
they were approached with 15
per cent more debt problems
in January 2007 than a year
previously. More than a million bills
went unpaid that month as a result
of excessive spending during the
holiday season. one estimate put
the number of insolvencies as the
result of over-spending at 10,000.
Debt is now the number one
issue for the CaB, accounting for
one in three enquiries and equating
to 6,600 new debt problems a day.
small wonder, then, that one
in four Britons resolved to avoid
credit cards over Christmas. For
them Cash was still King, bringing
with it peace of mind, solvency and
a firm grip on their own finances.
It is a lesson that many have
learned, while others have still to
learn it – the hard way. n
fe a t u r e
Eating into your profits
Shoplifting is on the increase with new types of crime
A
lmost eight per cent of
Britons admit to stealing
from supermarkets and
stores. Yet, if they were stopped
and searched, no evidence would
be found. By then, it is too late.
What they have stolen will be
on its way to their stomachs.
It’s known to the retail trade as
“grazing” and it’s on the increase.
g4S Security Services (uK)’s
4th annual retail Crime Survey
2007, published in December,
puts the annual value of food
and drink consumed in store
at around £207 million.
Douglas greenwell, sales
and marketing director of g4S
Security Services, comments:
“We are seeing an increasing
number of shopping baskets
littered with empty wrappers or
half eaten bunches of grapes.
“this ‘grazing’ is a form of theft
and costs the retail industry
millions of pounds in lost revenue
each year. We are seeking to
remind all shoppers that they
should pay for any product
that they consume on retailers’
premises otherwise it is classed as
theft, even if walking out without
paying for the item is unintentional.
Shoplifting is still wrongly
perceived as a victimless crime.”
less than two months before the
survey was published, an american
shopper found himself in trouble
for eating a handful of loose
jellybeans from a display bin. after
the man had paid for the rest of his
groceries, an off duty deputy sheriff
asked him if the candies tasted
good. He said they did and
explained he tasted them to
see if he wanted to buy them.
But his action left a bitter
taste in his mouth when the
manager of the florida store,
which has a zero tolerance
policy against shoplifters,
decided he wanted charges
brought against the customer,
who said he had shopped at the
store for 30 years. a trespass
warning was also issued.
the case has led to a lively
debate in uS newspapers and
on Internet forums, focused
on whether it is right or
wrong to taste food before
you purchase it. one wellknown columnist observed:
“I’ve never bought grapes in my
life without sampling a couple to
find out how sweet or tart they
may be…and I would be shocked
if after doing so I felt the long
arm of the law on my shoulder.”
another commentator pointed
out that legal costs and bad
publicity would cost the store
far more than the $2 estimated
value of the “lost” jellybeans.
the debate continues.
But “grazing” is only part of
the story. the same g4S survey
shows that many uK shoppers
are also taking advantage of selfservice checkouts to walk out
of a store with items they have
deliberately failed to scan.
over two million people (seven
per cent) admitted to this form
of theft, known as the “self­
scan scam”. these checkouts
are designed to speed up the
payment process but many are
being abused by unscrupulous and
dishonest shoppers because they
are inadequately supervised. twice
as many men as women have taken
an item in this way without paying.
adding to retailers’ woes is
the news from the same g4S
survey that nine per cent of
Britons admitted to shoplifting
in 2007, stealing a total of
£747 million worth of goods.
Youngsters between 16–24
were the main culprits. n
g4S InternatIonal
March 08
29
re gu lar
exciting cities
H
ong Kong has always been
an exciting city. But there
were pessimists who
thought that the British hand-over
to China in 1997 would change
that. a decade on, they have been
proved wrong.
as vibrant as ever, its
extraordinary skyline continues
to change with the addition of
new high-rise towers, providing an
impressive backdrop to the ferries
and other vessels that constantly
criss-cross Victoria Harbour.
now part of China, but with
special status, it will be playing
its part in this year’s olympic
games. referred to universally
as the Beijing games, olympic
sports events will also be hosted
at venues throughout China,
with Hong Kong welcoming
the equestrian competitors this
summer.
Hong Kong is used to receiving
visitors, having long been a favourite
destination for tourists from all
over the world, and that certainly
hasn’t changed. What is different
is the visitors’ country of origin.
since the hand-over and the easing
of travel restrictions – known as
the Individual Visit scheme – the
largest number of tourists is now
from mainland China: 53.8 per cent
of the 25 million visitors in 2006
according to government statistics.
In other words, mainland tourists
alone outnumbered Hong Kong’s
population of 6.5 million by twoto-one.
What’s more, in that same year
mainland Chinese contributed
HK$400 billion (£26 billion) to
the economy, which was one-third
of the total income gained from
Hong Kong tourism. the signs are
that these numbers will continue
to increase as various ambitious
projects receive approval or are
completed.
Most visitors fly in to Hong Kong
International airport at Chep lap
Kok, a huge development built 16
miles out to sea off lantau Island.
It opened almost a decade ago
boasting the largest passenger
terminal on earth but further
expansion will soon be necessary.
By 2010, China will have
158 airports and Hong Kong
will become an even more
important hub for the airlines
and freight operators. a series
of enhancements to Hong Kong
International airport are under
way, for which HK$4.5 billion
(nearly £300 million) has been
earmarked, with completion in two
years’ time.
the changing face of
hong Kong
A decade after the hand-over to China, the former
British colony has big plans for its future
30
g4s InternatIonal
March 08
since the airport opened, it
has been complemented by
superterminal 1, the world’s most
advanced air cargo facility, and a
second passenger terminal which
began operations a year ago. a
host of other amenities, such as
hotels, golf courses and shopping
malls, are now under construction,
designed to transform Chep lap
Kok into a skyCity.
given that Hong Kong has 200
islands, travelling by boat is a
popular option for many visitors
as well as locals. But two islands
were flattened in the reclamation
necessary to build Chep lap Kok.
and an equally ambitious scheme
is on the drawing boards. It would
see a series of bridges and tunnels
running from Zhuhai, on the
Chinese mainland, to Hong Kong’s
lantau Island and on to Macau,
the former Portuguese colony
which was handed back to China
in 1999 and which also enjoys the
special “one country, two systems”
administrative status that applies to
Hong Kong.
If the studies that are currently
being carried out give a green
light to the scheme, it will
shorten travelling distances and
journey times considerably, and
strengthen economic integration
between Hong Kong, Macau
and the Pearl river Delta
region – a major manufacturing
area in southern China.
other proposed developments
include the transformation of
Kai tak, the site of Hong Kong’s
previous airport, as a new city
with a cruiseliner terminal. the
creation of West Kowloon Cultural
District, adjacent to the Victoria
Harbour waterfront, as an arts and
entertainment area , is also planned.
The images on this and the next pages show a range of G4S Hong
Kong services, including personal protection, cash transportation
and processing, patrol and response, and ATM replenishment.
g4ss Internat
g4
InternatIIonal
March 08
31
as the market leader in security,
g4s security services (Hong Kong),
with over 4,000 employees, plays a
vital role in the region’s life. offering
gurkha and local officer services, it
was restructured in 2006 to focus
on five market sectors. these are:
aviation, Maritime and
Logistics with Hong Kong
International airport being a major
customer. g4s’s 200-strong team
provides security services to two
of the four first tier cargo handling
companies – Hong Kong air Cargo
terminals and DHl Central asia
Hub – and two out of three of the
airline catering services companies:
gate gourmet and Cathay Pacific.
It also provides x-ray screening
for DHl, Fedex and uPs courier
companies.
among the big names its
Financial services team serves
are lehmann Brothers, Morgan
stanley JP Morgan, Deutsche Bank
and uBs.
Quality products require quality
security, which is why the g4s
retail team protects the likes
of Cartier and Christian Dior, as
well as High street brands such as
H&M.
Its commercial Property
services and industrial and
Public Utilities teams also have
extensive portfolios.
With its fleet of over 100
armoured cash vehicles and a
further 50 vehicles for secure
distribution services, g4s Cash
services is a high profile operation.
It delivers and collects cash at
2,600 retail stores, including
7-eleven, Marks & spencer and
H&M branches. as a result, it
processes 45 million banknotes
a month valued at HK$10 billion
(£655 million).
g4s was also the first to
introduce new models of
atM estate management. this
32
g4s InternatIonal
culminated in May 2007 with the
award by CItIC Ka Wah Bank of a
total maintenance service contract
which has since been elevated to a
total atM end-to-end outsourcing
contract.
Following an acquisition in
December 2006, g4s security
systems has become one of the
leading players in Hong Kong and
the asia Pacific region. Its central
station currently monitors 5,000
alarms as well as vehicle tracking
services.
even when Hong Kong’s
residents and visitors are enjoying
themselves, security plays a vital
role. a good example is the
exciting Hong Kong sevens, the
word’s premier rugby tournament
which each year attracts 40,000
spectators for each game at the
Hong Kong stadium. tickets sell
out as soon as they are released,
four months in advance.
now in its 32nd year, the fast
moving 2008 tournament at the end
of March will see 24 teams playing
over three days in matches that last
just seven minutes each way.
For the past five years, g4s
has been an official partner and
supplier, providing security at the
sevens event for the Hong Kong
rugby Football union. this includes
the provision of security services
as well as consultancy and support
concerning stadium security and
crowd management, handling
disputes and providing protection
for the VIP and high risk areas.
g4s rugby sponsorship also
extends to the Hong Kong tens
and the Hong Kong rugby Football
union. It also sponsors the
provision of security services for
the Cricket sixes, JB group Classics
2008 (tennis) and the soccer
sevens.
so is Hong Kong an exciting city?
You bet. n
March 08
e xp e r t I S e
DO YOU rEMEMBEr…?
here’s a simple test to
check your memory of
some of the disasters
– most associated with
flooding – that have
occurred around the planet
in the past six years.The
answers are on the next
page.
1. Which european countries
were affected by summer
floods in 2002?
2. How many people were
evacuated from Santa Fe,
argentina, in april 2003?
3. What event exacerbated the
effects of South asia’s annual
monsoon flooding in 2004,
leaving millions homeless?
4. What were the estimated
direct economic losses
attributable to floods and
flood-induced calamaties in
south and east China in June
2005?
5. What saved germany and
the Czech republic from
more extensive damage in the
southeastern european floods
of 2006?
6. the UK floods of June and
July 2007 did an estimated £2
billion worth of damage and
took 11 lives. But at around
the same time, two other
countries were suffering from
even more devastating floods.
Which countries were they?
Dealing with disaster
Changing climate, rising seas, drought and storms are all
blamed for devastating floods. Should the security industry
play a more responsive role?
T
he media tells us about
natural disasters when they
happen. We are horrified
by the scale of damage and human
suffering. We hope everything
possible is being done to restore
normality to the victims’ lives. and
then we forget.
at least, we forget much of the
detail, unless we or people we
know were caught up in the event.
or perhaps the disaster received
such global media coverage, like the
Indian ocean tsunami or Hurricane
Katrina and the breaching of new
orleans’ levees, that the images
have stayed with us.
You can test your memory of
recent disasters by answering the
questions in the panel on this page.
of all natural threats to our
existence, it is widespread flooding
that is currently causing the
experts most concern. and their
findings are posing an important
question: should the security
industry be asked to play a more
active role when large areas of a
country are under water?
this is particularly true for
nations where flooding has not
been experienced on such a scale
previously. this is true of much of
europe, where a report published
in 2003 revealed that over one
million square miles had been
affected by floods during the five
previous years.
g4S InternatIonal
March 08
33
Since then, there have been
many more floods and the
potential for flooding in the UK is
now said to be as great a threat as
terrorism or an influenza pandemic.
that’s not the view of an
ill-informed alarmist, but the
considered opinion of Sir Michael
pitt. He was appointed by the
UK government to head an
independent review of the flooding
that devastated much of the
country in June and July last year.
In his interim report, published
in December 2007, he makes 87
recommendations and 15 urgent
proposals to help Britain cope with
future flooding which, he says, is
inevitable. the 2007 floods were
a “wake-up call”, he argues, and
“flood risk management should
be right up there” with the fight
against terrorism or preventative
measures against a pandemic.
“the changing natures of floods
means we need to improve our
flood warnings,” Sir Michael added.
“Flood risk and events of this sort
are here to stay.”
His is not a lone voice. a report
produced by the Intergovernmental
panel on Climate Change in 2007
warned that billions of people face
shortages of food and water and
increased risk of flooding.
and patrick McCully, executive
director of the International rivers
network and author of Before the
Deluge: Coping with Floods in a
Changing Climate, says that floods
are the most destructive, frequent
and costly natural disasters – and
they are getting worse. In 2007,
he points out, 14 african countries
have experienced their worst
FIND OUT
MOrE
34
g4S InternatIonal
March 08
floods in decades.
His advice is that we all must
learn to live with the increased
frequency of such events and
manage them as best we can.
But how?
In the UK, the audit Commission
report on the 2007 floods found
that, while government quickly
made additional resources
available, on the whole the
assistance was poorly targeted
and unlikely to provide value for
money. It concluded that the
government needed to provide
more certainty about funding for
future emergencies which were
inevitable nationally, but impossible
to predict geographically.
g4S in the UK is a leading voice
in the debate about increasing
the role of the private security
industry in planning and responding
to natural and man-made
emergencies.
Floods were high on the agenda
of the public Service events’ Civil
protection 07 conference, held in
london in December. government
security adviser patrick Mercer
opened the conference with
a warning to politicians and
professionals to “get real over
dealing with disaster”.
tristan Forster, managing director
of g4S gurkha Services, told the
conference he believed the private
sector also had untapped capability
that could assist in such events.
He reminded the delegates that
security officers were an integral
part of the City of london’s
project griffin – an anti-terrorism
initiative with the security industry
aimed at increasing awareness of
For further information on the topics covered in this article, log on
to www.g4s.com or e-mail magazine@g4s.com
terrorist risks and involving them in
emergency continuity planning with
the emergency services.
David taylor-Smith, Ceo of
g4S Security Services (UK &
Ireland), has already given his
views on protecting critical
national infrastructure (CnI) (G4S
International, September 07, pages
11–13).
Since Sir Michael pitt’s interim
report on the UK floods, David
taylor-Smith has been active in
discussions with key government
figures and at conferences to
discuss the role of the private
sector. Speaking at the recent
International Security national
resilience conference in london,
he observed that while the threat
posed by floods is clear, “the way
to tackle these events before,
during and after the occurrence is
less obvious”.
He added: “traditionally, the
UK has relied on its emergency
services and the armed forces to
work together to restore normal
conditions after flooding and other
large-scale events that impact CnI.
“While this has worked in the
past, last summer’s floods revealed
a new reality for the UK. With
the military heavily committed
in Iraq and afghanistan and the
emergency services stretched by
counter terrorist priorities, the
UK faced a considerable challenge
trying to cope.”
Chief of the general Staff,
general Sir richard Dannatt, spoke
of his concerns that commitments
in Iraq and afghanistan had
left too few soldiers to cope
with unexpected events at
home. Similarly, fire and rescue
crews were drawn from across
the country in the battle to
bail out flooded towns across
gloucestershire, oxfordshire and
Yorkshire.
a new approach is needed
to provide the surge of skilled
people and specialist equipment
to supplement the efforts of the
emergency and armed services,
David taylor-Smith argues, adding:
“Much of the critical national
infrastructure in the UK is owned
and operated by the private sector,
so it is only logical to involve us
in the planning and response to
emergencies.
“the private sector has much to
offer in this area and for years has
played a key role, at both an official
and unofficial or philanthropic level,
in helping communities struck by
natural and man-made disasters to
recover.
“this is certainly g4S’s
experience of working in more
than 110 countries. We contributed
to the US government efforts in
the wake of Hurricane Katrina and
evacuated indviduals from lebanon
in the 2006 Israel/lebanon border
conflict.
“g4S has also established
a business consisting mainly
of recently retired British
army personnel to assist the
British military with its training
commitments for Iraq and
afghanistan and to provide
specialist disaster management
skills to businesses and to the UK
government.
“and we run g4S police recruit
which maintains an active database
of over 10,000 individuals. this
provides every police force in the
UK with temporary to permanent
officers with specialist policing skills,
freeing up resources for front-line
FLOOD aNSWErS
1. austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech republic, France, germany,
Italy, romania, Switzerland, Slovakia, United Kingdom.
More than 600,000 people were affected and 80 died
when 11 countries were affected by widespread flooding. It
resulted in huge economic losses (at least €15 billion), and
the severe disruption of road and rail transport. there was
also extensive damage to some of these countries’ cultural
heritage when floodwater invaded cities such as prague and
Dresden.
2. after several days of heavy rainfall at the end of april 2003,
100,000 people (one-third of its inhabitants) had to be
evacuated from argentina’s fifth most populated city. 24
people died and 28,000 houses were damaged or destroyed.
3. Swollen Himalayan rivers flooded large areas in eastern
India, nepal and Bangladesh in July 2004. the worstaffected area was the tea-growing region of assam where
a hydro-power dam on tsatistu lake was breached. this
resulted in thousands of homes on Majuli Island – said to
be the world’s largest river island with 150,000 inhabitants
– being submerged. Millions of people in the region were
left homeless and many people died in the three countries
affected.
policing at periods of high demand,
such as during floods.
“In effect, this business provides
the UK with a cost efficient
national police reserve which can
be called upon when police forces
are stretched.”
the way in which the UK, the
rest of europe and many other
countries handle the need for flood
management and response will
be watched closely by the millions
of people whose homes and
livelihoods are affected by these
increasing natural disasters.
greater involvement under the
leadership and co-ordination of the
police, fire and medical services,
which will remain paramount, can
only help support their efforts.
Faced with the effects of global
warming, nations throughout the
world will need as much help as
they can get. and the sooner the
better. n
4. £803,852 million (US$ 1.6 billion). the floods had an impact
on the lives of 18.85 million people, with guangxi, Fujian
and guangdong worst affected. there were 567 deaths and
a further 165 people reported missing. Some 2.46 million
people required emergency relocation.
5. In the four years that had elapsed since the devastating
european floods of 2002 (see question 1), the german
state of Saxony and the neighbouring Czech republic had
both learned important lessons and had built a stronger
levee system along the elbe. So, although the elbe rose 13
centimetres higher than in the 2002 floods in some areas
– creating a 150-year record high – both countries largely
escaped serious damage.
other european countries were not so lucky, with Hungary,
Bulgaria, romania and Serbia all being badly affected by the
2006 floods.
6. Bangladesh and China. the Bangladesh flood began on 30
July and resulted in almost 1,000 deaths. of these, 837
were caused by drowning, 94 by snakebite, 29 of diarrohea
and 24 from respiratory diseases. over 13.3 million people
in 46 of the country’s 64 districts were affected by the
floods and over one million houses were completely
destroyed or damaged. 61,510 people required temporary
refuge during the disaster.
g4S InternatIonal
March 08
35
re
f egu
at u
lar
re
Santa gives a helping
hand all year round
In Jamaica, G4S security officers give hands-on help to
projects supporting children’s health and education
A
s far as the global business
world is concerned, the
initials g4s represent
the leading security solutions
organisation, created by the merger
of group 4 and securicor. But g4s
Jamaica came up with an imaginative
alternative when its security
personnel decided to get involved in
a much-needed community project.
g4s, it decided, could also stand
for “gifts 4 schools”.
one school in particular
36
g4s InternatIonal
March 08
benefitted from g4s Jamaica and its
employees’ community efforts. the
roosevelt avenue Basic school for
pre-kindergarten and kindergarten
children from poor families, located
in swallowfield, just half a mile from
the g4s offices, had been built by
the seventh Day adventist Church
as a donation to the community.
But the building was not
completed and so, when it opened,
it had no windows or doors, and
the walls were unrendered and
not painted.
there seemed to be no way of
improving its condition – but g4s
Jamaica had other ideas. It had just
learned, at the g4s latin america
regional conference, that the
group wanted to encourage local
community projects and was making
funding available to those companies
wishing to help specific projects.
once it received the go-ahead
from g4s corporate headquarters,
the Jamaican management lost no
time in extending a helping hand to
the roosevelt school, which became
its first community support initiative.
security personnel exchanged their
uniforms for working clothes and
set about installing windows and
doors, constructing a kitchenette
and renovating a bathroom area.
the project was a complex one,
as frank Jackson, country manager,
g4s Jamaica, explains: “It included
the procurement of supplies such as
cement, sand, wooden louvre slats
and frames, doors, locks, ply-wood
and various other supplies. It was
partly funded by the guards’ own
welfare fund to which they make
fortnightly contributions from their
wages.”
Delighted with the success
of that venture, g4s Jamaica
soon established a new charity
programme, to promote children’s
health and education, which it
calls santa. But unlike the santa
who just puts in an appearance at
Christmas, this one works around
the year. that’s because the initials
represent seeing a need, taking
action.
and through that programme,
g4s discovered Mustard seed
Communities, a charity whose
Jerusalem compound includes a
home for children under 10 who
are afflicted with HIV and have no
home or stable family from which
they can get help or treatment for
the disease.
the eight-acre Jerusalem
compound, located in Jamaica’s
depressed spanish town district,
outside the capital, Kingston, cares
for 130 children of whom a number
are physically and mentally disabled.
“the home is pioneering the
concept of independent living
accommodation for the disabled,
outside of an institutional setting.”
explains frank Jackson.
“additionally, this supports the
development of self-sufficiency and
enhanced self-esteem, speeding
up the eventual return to their
communities where feasible.”
also at Jerusalem is the little
angel learning Centre, another
Mustard seed Basic school.
attended by some 40 children,
and registered by the Ministry of
education, it receives help from
g4s security guards and is financed
by gifts 4 schools.
a similar effort to the roosevelt
avenue school was required at
little angels, where the years
had not been kind to two of the
buildings. gifts 4 schools decided
to finance a facelift for one of
this pioneering basic school’s
buildings, involving refitting lights
and installing ceiling fans, replacing
windows, tiling the floor and
repainting ceilings and walls, both
inside and out.
and once again, all the labour
was provided by g4s Jamaica’s
generous security officers.
FIND OUT
MOrE
Phase two of the little angels
project will be to give the second
building a similar upgrade. this
work has been delayed, however,
due to the ravages of Hurricane
Dean which severely damaged the
roof in august last year.
a new roof is being funded by
gifts 4 schools but will be fitted by
a professional roofing contractor.
g4s Jamaica’s santa and gifts
4 schools is very much in line
with the group’s global “giving
back to community” philosophy. It
is one of five schemes in different
countries receiving financial
suppor t for the next six years.
the first of these, designed
to create sustainable revenues
in Malawi, was featured in G4S
International, september 07,
pages 17–18.
the second is g4s security
services (russia)’s initiative to
support the work of two state
children’s home, known as
“internats”. this community project
was featured in G4S International,
December 07, pages 42–43.
the remaining two schemes will
be featured in future issues of G4S
International. n
for further information on the topics covered in this article, log on
to www.g4s.com or e-mail magazine@g4s.com
Out of uniform, the G4S
security officers carried
out much-needed building
works at both projects,
as well as making financial
contributions through
their welfare fund. In
uniform, they give the
children encouragement
with their regular visits.
g4s InternatIonal
March 08
37
on topics previously discussed in the magazine
updates
IdentItY
tHeFt
United Kingdom:
theft or loss of personal data
is on the increase, with more
cases being discovered every
month. What surprises most
commentators is that, after years
of warning citizens to protect
sensitive information, it seems that
the government itself is failing to
do so.
In november 2007, the British
government announced that it had
lost 25 million people’s records.
they included bank details and
addresses of 9.5 million parents
and the names, dates of birth and
national Insurance numbers of all
15.5 million children in the country.
the data was contained on two
compact discs that went missing
after a junior employee of HM
revenue and Customs despatched
raIl
transport
Back issues of G4S
International can
be viewed and
downloaded on
the Group website:
www.g4s.com
38
Poland:
It seems that playing with toy
trains was not exciting enough
for a 14-year-old polish boy.
described as a “model pupil” and
an electronics “genius”, he adapted
a tV remote control and used it to
change track points on the city of
lodz’s tram system causing several
g4s InternatIonal
march 08
them to another address. they
were unrecorded and unregistered
and despite an intensive police
investigation have not been found.
It has since emerged that the
treasury and other departments
had been told repeatedly of
slack practices among officials
that presented a serious risk of
confidential information falling into
the wrong hands. those issuing
the warnings included a House of
lords committee.
two months later, in January
2008, the public learned that a
laptop computer belonging to
a Ministry of defence (Mod)
recruitment officer had been
stolen after he left it in his car
in Birmingham. the computer
contained details of 600,000
potential recruits to the navy and
raF.
In response to media inquiries,
it was then revealed that 75 Mod
computers were stolen in 2007
incidents.
In one derailment 12 people
were injured, and the boy is
suspected of being involved in
several similar incidents, the police
said in early January. the police
statement also revealed that the
boy had trespassed at tram depots
to gather the information and
equipment he needed to build
the infra-red device that “hacked”
into the tram network’s computer
systems.
and that 571 had been lost or
stolen in the past 10 years.
United States:
Identity theft is also big news in the
us, where 2007 has been declared
a record year for data loss or theft.
the san diego-based Identity
theft resource Centre lists more
than 79 million records that were
reportedly compromised in the
year through to 18 december
2007 – a fourfold increase on the
20 million reported for 2006.
a similar increase was reported
by attrition.org, which monitors
identity theft in the us and
overseas. It recorded 162
million cases of compromised
data through to 21 december,
compared with 49 million in the
previous year.
see “safe as a bank”, g4s
International, december
05, pages 24–25.
police spokesman Miroslaw Micor
confirmed: “He had converted
the television control into a device
capable of controlling all the
junctions on the line …
“Four trams were derailed and
others had to make emergency
stops that left passengers hurt.”
see “Keeping security on
track”, g4s International,
June 07, pages 26–28.
eleCtronIC
MonItorIng
United States:
an 83-year-old alzheimer’s
sufferer who went missing at 3am
from his home in Monroeville,
pennsylvania, on 21 January, was
discovered by search teams four­
and-a-half hours later.
He had wandered off and fallen
but was conscious and suffering
from the cold. describing the event
as “a nightmare”, his daughter
thanked everyone involved in
helping to find her father.
He has since been fitted with an
aVIatIon
seCurItY
Netherlands:
a new contract, announced
in december, extends the
partnership relationship
between g4s aviation security
(netherlands) and amsterdam
airport schiphol, which began
in 2006, through to 2013, with a
possible two year extension.
g4s, which carries out baggage
controls and passenger searches
at europe’s fourth largest airport,
says the contract is worth e375m
electronic monitoring device so
that his family can keep track of
him if he wanders off again.
United Kingdom:
the alzheimer’s society of uK has
recommended that, if dementia
sufferers agree, they should be
issued with tracking devices.
Making the announcement in
december 2007, it said dementia
patients typically wander off by
themselves and tagging them could
be useful in tracking them down.
Many dementia sufferers
experience a compelling urge
to walk, and it is estimated that
some 40 per cent who wander off
get lost, causing distress to their
(£282m), rising to e500m
(£375m) if the two-year extension
option is picked up.
previously, as featured in our
december 07 issue, g4s and
schiphol worked on a suppliercustomer basis.
Global:
air travellers around the world
will soon be able to use their
mobile phones as boarding
passes, speeding up the often
lengthy check-in process at
airports. It follows agreement
between carriers on a new type
of technology that can be used at
departure gates across the world.
families and themselves. electronic
tagging could allow patients and
their relatives to be free of that
worry.
“there is a careful balance
to strike between empowering
people and restricting their
movement and this technology
can certainly never be used as
an alternative for high-quality
dementia care,” said neil Hunt,
chief executive of the alzheimer’s
society.
see “It all began with
spiderman”, g4s International,
december 07, pages 32–33.
It involves sending a barcode to
a mobile phone which can then be
placed under scanners at security
and departure gates. It is already
in use in some parts of the world,
including Japan.
With the development of a
new generation of scanners,
the International air transport
association is planning to roll out
the technology globally.
see “up in the air”, g4s
International, december
07, pages 17–21.
g4s InternatIonal
march 08
39
CasH raIds
United Kingdom:
a study carried out by the
university of leicester has
confirmed the effectiveness of
smartwater as a leading deterrent
against crime. smartwater, which
has its own unique forensic identity,
was our cover story in the last
issue of International, following the
decision of g4s Cash services (uK)
to equip all its cash boxes with the
tell-tale spray.
the university’s spin-out
company, perpetuity research
and Consultancy International,
announced the results of its study
in January. It found smartwater
to be more effective in deterring
experienced criminals than burglar
alarms, ink dye-tags, CCtV and
even high-visibility police patrols.
Most of the 100 criminals
interviewed in the study conceded
that simply displaying signs that
goods and premises are protected
by smartwater was sufficient to
deter them.
Meanwhile, the Crime reduction
Charter, a combined effort by the
security industry, police, banks,
retailers and the gMB trade union
against cash attacks in the uK, is
bringing results.
a conference held in January
heard that a police campaign
in greater Manchester against
criminals targeting cash-in-transit
vehicles had resulted in the armed
robbers switching their attention to
other regions.
adam Miller, g4s Cash services
(uK)’s risk director, told the
conference, held at the City of
Manchester stadium, that the city’s
robbers were “the worst without a
shadow of doubt”, adding:
“they have a greater propensity
to use violence. they are more
forensically aware. they will be
clothed in boiler suits and balaclavas
so CCtV gives us nothing. they
understand in detail the processes
that we and the banks operate.”
since december 2007, g4s Cash
services (uK) has abandoned its
policy of using surveillance vehicles
passports
border controls there will be an
increase in organised crime.
Europe:
on 21 december 2007, the
european union’s passport-free
schengen Zone experienced its
biggest ever expansion with the
inclusion of nine former communist
states.
It means that those living in 24
european countries, which are
home to 400 million people, can
move freely across each other’s
borders. Visitors from outside the
schengen zone must pass through
border checks.
But with the freer movement of
the populations of these countries
comes a fear that without internal
United States:
In contrast to what is happening
in much of europe, the united
states continues to strengthen
its border controls. From the
beginning of 2008 it has required
its citizens travelling between
the us and Canada, Mexico,
Central and south america, the
Caribbean and Bermuda – by
land or sea, including ferries
40
g4s InternatIonal
march 08
to shadow cash delivery vans in
greater Manchester because so
many were attacked. Instead they
are using armoured vehicles, but
three of those have been forced off
the roads because of attacks.
see “Clamping down on
cash raids” and “H2o makes
its mark”, g4s International,
december 07, pages 5–10.
– to present a valid us passport
or other documents specified by
the department of Homeland
security.
see “the changing face of
passports”, g4s International,
March 06, pages 20–21.
fe a t u r e
Setting sail for
the Olympics …
with G4S
support
Skandia Team GBR has its sights set
on success in Qingdao
I
n pledging its support to
Skandia team gBr, g4S has
committed to partnering
Britain’s most successful olympic
medal winning sport – sailing – at
the past two olympic games:
Sydney 2000 and athens 2004.
It’s a trend that, with g4S
support, Skandia team gBr is
seeking to maintain when the
next olympic regatta sails out of
Qingdao, China, later this year.
g4S is a silver sponsor and
exclusive security partner of
Skandia team gBr.
It consists of three squads : the
“Performance Squad” currently
made up of 44 sailors, and the
“Development” and “transitional”
squads, which are jointly made
up of 45 sailors.
g4S InternatIonal
March 08
41
In addition to supporting the
“Performance Squad” – the team
from which the sailors who will
join team gB and represent
great Britain at the olympics and
Paralympics are ultimately selected
– g4S is also committed to the
long-term development of aspiring
members of the team’s other two
squads.
Olympic classes
the athletes in the team sail in one
of the eleven olympic class boats:
finn; laser radial; laser; 470 (men
and women); 49er; Star; Yngling;
tornado; neilPryde rS:X (men’s
and women’s windsurfers) and
three Paralympic classes: the Sonar,
2.4mr and uD18.
Olympic selection
each year the team competes in
all major olympic class regattas as
well as their individual major class
championships. It is the results
they achieve from these events
that decide which squad the sailors
42
g4S InternatIonal
are in and who goes on to join
team gB.
Between September 2007 and
april 2008 a squad of 18 olympic
and six Paralympic sailors will be
selected to compete at the 2008
Beijing games. all other Skandia
team gBr members not selected
will continue to train and develop
ahead of the next four-year training
programme.
like g4S, long-term goal setting
is a fundamental characteristic of
the team and the sailors. Many of
the current team have their sights
firmly set on a medal winning
performance in five years’ time on
home waters at london 2012.
Security Services
g4S is exclusive provider of
security services to the team
and has worked closely with
Skandia team gBr since early
2006, supporting it at a number
of regattas in locations as varied
as Hyeres, South of france, Sail
for gold in Weymouth and the
March 08
olympic test event in Qingdao.
the g4S website (www.g4s.
com) provides a link directly to
our support of Skandia team gBr,
with all the latest results in the runup to the final team announcement
in the coming weeks.
among recent headlines about
Skandia team gBr competitors on
the website were:
• Sarah Ayton aiming for second
World gold (6 february)
• First round to Penny Clark in the
battle for Beijing (6 february)
• Leading Brits switch in Paralympic
qualifying tussle (1 february)
• Melbourne gold sees Ben Ainslie
on track for world crown (19
January)
• Morrison and Rhodes scoop 49er
World’s silver
Click on these or other headlines
on the website for the full story.
there are also blogs from Skandia
team gBr members and all the
latest news as excitement grows
and the Beijing olympics
approach. n
e xp e r t I S e
G4S announces
acquisition of support
services group
Global Solutions
G
4S announced in
December that it has
agreed to acquire the
entire issued share capital of global
Solutions limited – gSl – through
its holding company De Facto
1119, for a total consideration of
£355 million, payable in cash on
completion.
this comprises a payment of
about £158 million for the entire
issued share capital of De Facto
1119 and the assumption of a
maximum of £197million of net
debt and working capital.
gSl is owned by private equity
firms Cognetas and englefield
Capital and its management team,
and is an international leader in
the provision of support services
for governments, companies and
public authorities. g4S’s acquisition
of gSl is based upon a compelling
strategic rationale:
• GSL provides additional expertise
to g4S in key markets such
as the government sector and
provides g4S with opportunities
to broaden its secure outsourcing
offer to its customers.
• GSL provides additional scale to
g4S’s existing Justice Services
activities, particularly in the UK
adult and juvenile custodial, secure
escorting, immigration and police
sectors.
• GSL provides G4S with an
excellent platform for the
international development of
Justice and other government
services in South africa, australia
and Ireland.
• The combined Justice Services
business is well placed to secure
additional contract wins from the
expected medium term pipeline
as the public sector continues to
expand the breadth and depth of
its outsourced activities.
• GSL provides G4S with significant
additional outsourcing credentials
in the UK, supporting the g4S
strategy of expanding further into
the long term government and
commercial outsourcing sectors.
• GSL’s long-term contractual
relationships provide a strong
underpinning to future revenue
and profit streams.
In the financial year to 31
December 2006, gSl generated
sales of £402.4 million, reported a
loss on ordinary activities before
tax of £21.3 million and had gross
assets of £247.3 million. For the
year ending 31 December 2007,
gSl is expected to generate sales
of £423 million and adjusted eBIta
of £30 million.
Commenting on the acquisition,
nick Buckles, g4S chief executive
officer, said:
“the early phases of development
for g4S successfully focused on
integrating two organisations,
delivering synergy benefits and
spreading best practice across the
service lines. at the same time we
have continued to drive margin
improvements and growth across
the businesses.
“In november we outlined the
main elements of the next phase
of our strategy which is to build
increasing partnerships with our
customers in key sectors such as
governments, where we become
their secure outsourcing partner of
choice.
“the acquisition of gSl fits right
into the heart of our strategy and
is typical of our plans to acquire
expertise in key service lines and
sectors, enabling us to further
develop our offer to our customers.
“over time, we expect to move
towards a higher proportion of
long-term, recurring revenue
contracts with g4S taking broader
responsibility for customers’ risk
management and protection. the
addition of gSl to our organisation
is a significant step in this next phase
of development.”
the acquisition is subject to
approval from the european
Commission and the South african
Competition Commission. n
g4S InternatIonal
March 08
43
news
re gu lar
Cyprus’s Minister of
Justice and Public Order,
Sofoklis Sofokleous, cuts
the ribbon at the new
cash centre, watched
by Nick Buckles, G4S
CEO (far left), John
Arghyrou, managing
director of G4S Cyprus
(far right), and guests.
44
G4S Cyprus and Malta
introduce the euro
the european Central Bank (eCB)
has described the switchover to the
euro in Cyprus and Malta at the
beginning of the year as “smooth
and successful”. Much of the credit
for this is attributable to g4s Cash
services which played a major
role in both euro operations.
the two Mediterranean countries
adopted the single european
currency on 1 January 2008,
becoming the 14th and 15th
member states of the euro area.
the Cyprus pound and the
Maltese lira were circulating in
January together with the euro,
but as from 1 February the period
of dual circulation ended and
the euro became the sole legal
tender in the two countries.
“the cash changeover evolved
in both countries as planned and
no unforeseen circumstances
occurred,” the eCB said in a
g4s InternatIonal
march 08
statement issued in early February.
“Hence there was no need for the
changeover plans to be adjusted.”
Because of the consistent
withdrawal of the national
banknotes and extensive
frontloading of euros, around half
of the banknotes in circulation in
both countries were euros by the
end of the first day. and around
80 per cent of the previous
national currency banknotes were
withdrawn from circulation in
both countries by early February.
Behind the announcement of
the euro’s successful introduction
is a story of hard work and
careful planning by everyone
involved in the two countries.
g4s Cyprus’s response to the
country’s decision to change to the
euro was to construct and operate
a purpose-built, state-of-the-art,
category a cash-holding facility.
“With the encouragement of the
banking sector and the full backing
of the group, we had less than 10
months to locate and purchase a
commercial plot and gain planning
approvals,” explains John arghyrou,
g4s Cyprus managing director.
“We then ordered security
equipment and began constructing
a 2,000 square metre underground
holding facility that would meet
the strict security requirements
of the relevant parties, including
the banks and the police.”
During the preparations for
“euro Day”, g4s representatives
from Finland, Ireland, greece and
the group visited Cyprus to share
their expertise and experience
of changing over to the euro.
andreas Paterakis, g4s regional
president, south-east europe,
responsible for both countries,
played an active advisory role.
as the only security company
providing cash services on the
island, g4s Cyprus and its more
than 700 staff – of whom 120 were
assigned to the euro project – was
responsible for counting, packing
and delivering all euros to the
banks, which account for 90 per
cent of its CIt business. It also took
care of the withdrawal of Cypriot
pounds during the phase-in period.
to ensure this major change in
the financial sector went smoothly,
the Bank of Cyprus, Co-operative
Central Bank and national Bank
of greece all rented office or
sorting space within the new
g4s complex which, thanks to
everyone’s efforts, became a
reality on 23 october 2007.
that was the day when sofoklis
sofokleous, the Minister of Justice
and Public order, performed
the cash centre’s inauguration.
It coincided neatly with the
g4s regional conference, so 50
senior managerial staff as well
as top group executives were
able to join in the celebrations
for this momentous event.
among those present for
g4s was nick Buckles, Ceo,
grahame gibson, Coo and
divisional president, Jørgen Philip­
sørensen, honorary president,
andreas Paterakis, regional
president, and søren lundsberg,
group general counsel.
Celebrations over, g4s Cyprus
turned its attention once more to
the massive job in hand. under the
watchful eye of armed anti-terrorist
police, on duty round-the-clock, it
began preparing the first shipments
of euros to the three-quarters
of a million inhabitants of the
Mediterranean’s third largest island,
as the pound became history.
Meanwhile, g4s Malta was
responsible for over half of the
cash services involved in the move
from the Maltese lira to the euro.
What is more, it was doing so
in its existing cash centre and
depot even though, for the first
eight days of the changeover, it
experienced a ten-fold increase
in the amount of banknotes and
coins passing through its hands.
Yves de Barro, g4s Malta’s
managing director, attributes
much of the success of the euro’s
introduction to g4s’s influence
on the supply chain from the
outset. “a stakeholders’ forum was
established, consisting of members
from the central and commercial
banks and ourselves,” he explains.
“With a highly motivated euro
changeover team, led by our cash
services manager godwin spiteri,
and supported by a hands-on
management team, we were able
to run an efficient project and
deliver results in record time.”
FTSE listing for G4S
announced that g4s has made it
into the uK’s premier share index
for uK public limited companies
(PlCs). though being part of the
index does not necessarily affect
g4s’s day-to-day operations,
it is nevertheless a significant
milestone in the company’s
development since the creation
of group 4 securicor in 2004.
In December 2007, following a
quarterly meeting of the Ftse
Index Inclusion Committee, it was
g4s InternatIonal
march 08
45
news
Parking fines are
danger threat
Drivers of cash vehicles in london
often face a dilemma. should they
park close to their destination
and risk a parking fine, or obey
parking regulations and risk an
attack because of the distance
they need to cover on foot?
It was a problem highlighted by
the gMB union in December 2007
when it called for cash vehicles
to be exempted from parking
rules to reduce the risks of violent
robbery. revealing that cash attacks
were up 89 per cent in the first
half of 2007, compared with the
same period in the previous year,
it complained that 95 per cent
of parking tickets were issued by
just 10 of london’s 32 boroughs.
the total number of parking tickets
issued in 2006 to cash vehicles
trying to get as close as possible
to banks, multiple retailers or
atMs was more than 10,000.
New branch for Bristol
Fully secure and compliant with
the stringent Bank of england
requirements since october 2007,
when it began running CIt and cash
processing, the new state-of-the-art
g4s Bristol branch had to wait until
29 november for its official opening.
national as well as branch
customers were invited to join nick
Buckles, g4s Ceo, Ken niven,
divisional president, Cash services,
and Ian nisbet, Ceo Cash services
(uK & Ireland) for the celebrations.
nick Buckles presented a
plaque to neil Murphy, regional
operations director, West region,
to commemorate the occasion.
Meeting demand
in Netherlands
With the growing importance of
cash processing in the netherlands,
g4s has invested in six new
BPs 216 desktop machines.
Malta website shows
crime hotspots
a business breakfast organised
by g4s security services (Malta)
launched a new website – www.
crimemalta.com – in January.
the Times of Malta reports that,
for the first time, it shows that,
over the past decade, the areas
46
g4s InternatIonal
march 08
Nick Buckles (left) presents the
commemorative plaque to Neil Murphy
at the Bristol opening.
these will help cope with a 70
per cent increase in banknote
processing since January 2005.
the number of deposits to be
processed has jumped by 30
per cent in the same period.
the new machines have 16
stackers each and are able to
handle fitness sorting in one
run. they require corrective
maintenance just once a
month on average. this is
an important improvement
over the existing models.
where crime has been reported
most are st Julians followed by st
Paul’s Bay, sliema and Valletta.
Criminologist saviour Formosa
has spent 10 years researching
his crime-mapping analysis.
the website’s aim is to
provide easily understood
information about crime.
Dr Formosa explained that
it showed where the problems
lay. It was then up to citizens
to be proactive and tackle the
problems at their roots.
g4s Malta’s interest in and
support for Dr Formosa’s
crime-mapping study has
already been reported in these
columns (G4S International,
september 2007, Page 37).
Guidance on the threat
of ‘cyber activism’
Companies located in the City
of london have been warned
by g4s security services (uK)
to be aware of cyber activism.
It points out that the
serious organised Crime and
Police act 2005 (soCPa)
has restricted traditional
demonstrations, so activists are
making their protests online.
g4s has warned companies to
be aware of an increase in denial
of service attacks (disabling a
computer network by overloading
it with useless traffic), the
publishing of alternative annual
reports online and campaigns
of telephone disruption.
the warning over online activism
comes as figures provided by
the City of london Police, under
the Freedom of Information
act, show that the number of
traditional demonstrations, industrial
disputes, pickets and protest
marches policed by the force has
fallen from 117 in 2004, to 74
in 2005 and just 64 last year.
g4s has identified a trend for
G4S pioneers curfew
monitoring in Austria
a new scheme that allows
day-release prisoners from the
Vienna-simmering and grazJakomini Prisons to exchange
their cells for electronically
supervised house arrest has
been introduced in austria.
this sentencing option is part
of a detention discharge package
developed by austria’s Minister
of Justice, Dr Maria Berger, and
will serve as a replacement
for short-term sentences.
g4s has been selected to
a growing number of activist
demonstrations targeted at
businesses located in the City to be
organised through social websites
such as Facebook and Bebo.
However, the open nature of
these forums means they are
likely to remain the domain of the
“armchair activist” protesting on
generic issues rather than providing
a forum for hardcore activists, as
they can be infiltrated easily by
the police and security services.
some protestors are gathering
support for non-violent direct
action via Facebook. the
organisers of the “Free Burma
March”, for example, used
Facebook to attract other
supporters to their direct action
protest. Protestors using social
networking sites to organise
demonstrations may be unaware of
the tight restrictions introduced by
soCPa and may find themselves
liable for prosecution, warns g4s.
Jim Batty, director of g4s’s
security and risk consultancy, g4s
security services (uK), comments:
“With the ongoing risk from
international terrorist groups, there
is a concern that some companies
are not as fully prepared for the
current and evolving threats
now posed by uK-based activist
groups. It is important firms are
not lulled into a false sense of
security by the decrease in the
more traditional style protests of
picket lines and banner waving.
“While 99 per cent of protestors
are peaceful, there is sometimes
a more extremist element out to
cause trouble. We have seen a
number of companies and their
employees targeted directly
by activist groups as part of a
sustained and, in a number of
cases, aggressive campaign.”
senior corporate figures are
becoming more aware of the
danger of personal details being
released on the Internet and it
is believed that a record 10,447
company directors have asked
for their personal details to
be kept secret from company
documents filed with Companies
House, some in direct response
to concerns from activist groups.
g4s is urging companies to
ensure that their systems are
up-to-date to mitigate against the
risks faced from activist groups.
pioneer the electronic monitoring
(eM) of curfew for the Ministry of
Justice. It already has international
expertise managing a range of
eM schemes for governments in
the uK, us, France, netherlands,
Israel and new Zealand.
the pilot will be handled by
g4s’s eM International division
which will provide the equipment,
monitoring system, support and
training. the austrian Ministry of
Justice will manage the installation
and recovery of equipment and
response to any violations.
the criteria for prisoners to be
accepted onto the programme
was that they had day-time
employment or were attending
regular training, and that they had a
fixed address to enable installation
of the monitoring equipment.
“We are delighted to have
been awarded this prestigious
project which we believe will
provide a viable alternative to
imprisonment to the austrian
government,” says Julian Mcgovern,
g4s eM International director.
“We are looking forward to
working closely with the austrian
Ministry of Justice and playing
our part to help ensure the
pilot fulfils its full potential.”
g4s InternatIonal
march 08
47
news
Mayors praise Wackenhut
three local mayors honoured
Wackenhut services Incorporated
(WsI) as a “Business of Character”
in a ceremony at the end of
January held at the us atomic
energy Commission’s savannah
river site (srs), south Carolina.
the distinction – awarded
for “promoting good character
in business operations” – was
bestowed by Central savannah
river area mayors Fred Cavanaugh
(aiken, sC), Deke Copenhaver
(augusta, georgia) and lark
Jones (north augusta, sC).
“to all employees, I congratulate
you. You are the ones who made
this achievement possible,” said
Mayor Cavanaugh. “You are one
of the leading businesses in this
area, and this achievement will
create momentum for other
organisations in the community
to embrace character.”
adding his congratulations,
Mayor Copenhaver said: “good
character matters, and to undergo
a five-year process speaks
volumes about this company and
its commitment to character.”
those sentiments were echoed by
Mayor Jones, who told the gathering:
“It’s so important for cities and
companies to have character
programmes. I applaud Wackenhut
for its emphasis on character.”
Five years ago, WsI’s savannah
river site team joined with local
communities in south Carolina
and georgia in emphasising good
character. through the auspices
of the national Character First
Programme, a company strategy
was implemented that promoted
good character through internal
communication initiatives, employee
recognition programmes and by
hiring and promotion processes.
“With a sustained commitment
to emphasising good character,
we recently completed education
on all 49 character qualities
associated with the programme,”
said James H. “Bud” Isom, WsI’s
general manager at srs. “Character
emphasis has reinforced the
company’s core values, and has
strengthened our commitment
to providing a workplace of
respect and trustworthiness.”
and ron Bartholomew,
director of safeguards, security
and emergency services for the
us Department of energy at
srs, summed up the mood of
everyone involved when he said:
“the Department of energy
congratulates Wackenhut.
the declaration of ‘Business of
Character’ is a testament to
the commitment by both the
management and employees
of Wackenhut to create a
workplace that fosters and
demonstrates good character.”
WsI, the largest supplier of
security services to Department
of energy nuclear facilities,
has protected the savannah
river site since 1983.
provide security support services.
the contract covers security
operations at oak ridge national
laboratory, east tennessee
technology Park, the Federal office
Building and other facilities. It is the
smaller of two security contracts
held by WsI in oak ridge.
the other is for protective
services at the Y-12 nuclear
weapons plant, where more
than 500 security officers are
stationed – including a number
of special counter-terrorism
units. the national nuclear
security administration, which
oversees the nuclear weapons
programme, has not yet released
WsI’s evaluation at Y-12.
In a 31 January letter to WsI,
Doe manager gerald Boyd said
its “noteworthy accomplishments”
included a successful force-on­
force training exercise at oak
ridge national laboratory and
negotiating new collective-bargaining
agreements with guards unions.
(left to right) Jacquelyn
Kane, WSI-SRS Public
Affairs Section, Lark
Jones, Mayor, North
Augusta (SC), Pat Manuel,
WSI-SRS management
coordinator, Fred
Cavanaugh, Mayor,
Aiken (SC), and Deke
Copenhaver, Mayor,
Augusta (Georgia).
... and Oak Ridge
gets a ‘good’ rating
In the first evaluation under
its new contract with the
Department of energy’s oak
ridge office, Wackenhut services
Incorporated (WsI) received a
performance score of 94 out of
100: an overall rating of “good”.
the evaluation period was from
4 June to 30 november, 2007, and
covered the oak ridge reservation
where WsI and its 900 employees
48
g4s InternatIonal
march 08
New G4S contract
includes castle and zoo
Bronze Star Medal
for Oak Ridge hero
one of WsI’s oak ridge
employees, senior security
planner richard stooksbury, was
recently honoured for service
to his country while serving in
Iraq. He received the Bronze
star Medal with a “V” device for
valour from Major general gus
l. Hargett, adjutant general of
the tennessee national guard.
the Bronze Medal is awarded
to a soldier who has distinguished
himself or herself by heroic or
meritorious achievement or
service. the “V” device for valor
signifies that the bronze star has
been awarded for heroism.
sergeant First Class stooksbury
was a platoon sergeant with D
Company, 1st squadron, 278th
regimental Combat team,
when insurgents ambushed and
attacked his unit near Balad
ruz, Iraq, on 4 april, 2005.
stooksbury braved enemy fire
while directing a counter-attack
and assisting in the evacuation
of several wounded soldiers.
His heroic actions that day were
instrumental in saving american
lives and ultimately leading to
the defeat of the enemy forces.
“I am honored to call richard
a colleague and to have the
opportunity to work with
someone who I consider to
be a true american hero,”
said John Burleson, WsI-oak
ridge general manager.
Belfast City Council, northern
Ireland, has awarded a contract
to g4s security services (uK)
to provide a range of security
services across a number of sites
for which the council is responsible.
the contract, which took effect
on 1 october, requires g4s to
provide guarding services for
many of Belfast City Council’s sites,
ranging from offices to Belfast Zoo.
the council employs 2,700
people and is one of the biggest
in the uK. It takes an active
role in determining the strategic
development of the city and
managing day-to-day operations.
as part of the contract, g4s
will provide front of house
security, perimeter protection
and patrol and response services.
officers will be using the latest
technology and setting best
practice standards to ensure the
security of those working for, and
alongside, Belfast City Council.
Douglas greenwell, sales and
marketing director, g4s security
services (uK), comments: “We
are delighted to have secured this
Awards for G4S
personnel who tackled
US Embassy fire
When fire broke out at one of the
us embassy locations in Bangladesh
last year, the g4s security personnel
on duty were quick to respond to
the emergency by fighting the blaze.
the fire caused considerable
damage but would have been far
worse had the g4s officers not
acted promptly and professionally.
g4s and the us embassy both
praised those who played an active
role in tackling the blaze. they
were all presented with Certificates
contract. Belfast City Council has
a wide range of responsibilities
and therefore wanted to partner
with a leading security provider
with experience across a range of
security disciplines and significant
public sector expertise.
“the Council’s demanding
brief covered a diverse array
of facilities and required a
security partner that could meet
the challenge this posed.”
a spokesman for Belfast City
Council added: “the council uses
its own security at its principal
civic buildings, including the City
Hall, but we have always used
external partners to provide
security services at a range of
other council properties, including
for example Belfast Castle,
Malone House and Belfast Zoo.
“In the recent tender exercise
the bid from g4s security
services (uK) demonstrated the
best overall understanding of the
current and future requirements
of Belfast City Council. this
contract enables us to consolidate
our security services provision,
using a single provider, which will
enable us to streamline operations
and improve efficiency.”
of excellence by geeta Pasi, the
us embassy’s Charge d’affaires in
Bangladesh, when she visited the
g4s Head office in the Bangladesh
capital, Dhaka, on 10 January.
top left: WSI’s Richard
Stooksbury (centre) with
Maj Gen Gus L. Hargett
(left) and Lt Col Mark
Hart, after receiving the
Bronze Star Medal.
below: Geeta Pasi, the
US Embassy’s Charge
d’Affaires in Bangladesh,
presents an award to
one of G4S’s embassy
team, watched by
Sherif Bukhtiar Daula,
vice president of G4S
Bangladesh.
g4s InternatIonal
march 08
49
re Gu lar
G4S worldwide
Countries in which G4S operates
North America
Canada
●
united States
Europe
For more information about G4S
and its operations, visit: www.g4s.com
50
G4S InternatIonal
march 08
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● Malta ● the netherlands ● norway ● Poland ●
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Botswana ● Cameroon ● Central african
republic ● Democratic republic of Congo
● Gambia ● Ghana ● Ivory Coast ● Kenya ●
lesotho ● Madagascar ● Malawi ● Mauritania ●
Morocco ● Mozambique ● namibia ● nigeria
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uganda ● Zambia
argentina ● Barbados ● Bolivia ● Chile ●
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trinidad & tobago ● uruguay
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australia ● azerbaijan ● Bangladesh ● Bhutan
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