taking action on climate change
Transcription
taking action on climate change
Customers that see the challenge of securing their world more holistically are able to protect critical assets more efficiently, generate extra revenues, reduce costs and deliver a better experience to the people they serve. Recognise that the most secure and beneficial solutions come from understanding the whole problem and the interdependence of parts. Let us help you to see the opportunities that exist in the challenge of securing your world. Transforming security challenges into opportunities For more information on G4S visit www.g4s.com ISSUE 3: 2009 The key to releasing wider benefits for our clients is to always look at the bigger picture and consider solutions that transform performance. To do this, we deliver world class project management that brings together our expertise in logistics, technology, managing the world’s biggest force of security personnel, and the knowledge derived from providing security solutions in diverse regulatory environments in 120 countries around the world. By doing this, we offer governments and businesses secure solutions that deliver more than the sum of their parts. G 4 S I n t e r n at i o n a l Our welfare and prosperity depend on us being able to operate in a safe and secure environment. Sadly, in a world increasingly full of risk, we have to focus even more on our security challenges. When we do, however, most of us focus on the downside. At G4S, we believe that in every security challenge there is an opportunity to unlock hidden benefits that can help us to thrive and prosper. ISSUE 3 09 Taking action on climate change: Reducing our impact on the environment New focus on port security Using curfews to change behaviour Intelligent approach to global risks g4S International issue 3: 2009 51 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 British 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. The opinions expressed in these pages are those of the contributors and do not necessarily 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. reflect the views of G4S. Published by: G4S plc, The Manor, Manor Royal, 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. He also edits G4S Value Solutions. 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: Baskerville Corporate Publications, Suite 13, 27 Colmore Row, Birmingham B3 2EW Editor: Roy Stemman. Tel: (44) (0)121 233 2636 email: roy@baskervillepublications.com Design: Cox Design Limited, Oxon Printed in Germany The paper this magazine 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. Asia/Pacific Africa Central/South America Australia ● Afghanistan ● Bangladesh ● Bhutan ● Brunei ● Cambodia ● China ● Guam ● Hong Kong ● India ● Indonesia ● Iraq ● Japan ● Kazakhstan ● South Korea ● Macau ● Malaysia ● Nepal ● New Zealand ● Northern Mariana Islands ● Pakistan ● Papua New Guinea ● Philippines ● Sri Lanka ● Singapore ● Taiwan ● Thailand ● Uzbekistan Algeria ● Angola ● Botswana ● Cameroon ● Central African Republic ● Congo ● Democratic Republic of Congo ● Djibouti ● Gabon ● Gambia ● Ghana ● Guinea ● Ivory Coast ● Kenya ● Lesotho ● Madagascar ● Malawi ● Mali ● Mauritania ● Mauritius ● Morocco ● Mozambique ● Namibia ● Nigeria ● Sierra Leone ● Rwanda ● South Africa ● Sudan ● Tanzania ● Uganda ● Zambia Argentina ● Barbados ● Bolivia ● Chile ● Colombia ● Costa Rica ● Dominican Republic ● Ecuador ● El Salvador ● Guatemala ● Honduras ● Jamaica ● Mexico ● Nicaragua ● Paraguay ● Peru ● Puerto Rico ● Trinidad & Tobago ● Uruguay ● Venezuela Middle East Bahrain ● Egypt ● Israel ● Jordan ● Kuwait ● Lebanon ● Oman ● Qatar ● Saudi Arabia ● Syria ● United Arab Emirates ● Yemen International Contents issue 3: 2009 Taking action on climate change Regular Opinion Feature Expertise 4 G4S commits to reducing impact on environment An amazing card trick 7 G4S Technology’s Symmetry is an impressive integrated solution New focus on port security 10 Terrorism and piracy are reshaping maritime security Dining in the dark 14 Under the watchful infra-red eye of G4S One of the extremely useful by-products of the secure solutions that we provide around the globe is that our actions frequently save valuable resources from being wasted. When a security officer closes a window that has been left open, for example, it not only prevents an intruder from gaining easy access but also helps maintain the required temperature within the building. As a result, heating or air conditioning systems do not need to work so hard and that saves energy and money. The same is true whenever actions are taken to deal with an appliance that has been left on unnecessarily or a tap has been left running. These simple actions not only reduce the risk of fire or flooding but, when multiplied by many thousands, the annual savings are quite considerable. But we have not lost sight of the fact that, in order to provide our customers with a wide range of secure solutions, we also have an impact on the environment. G4S is now in the process of measuring that impact and examining the best ways of reducing the amount of carbon we produce as we go about our business. You’ll find full details in this issue’s very first feature. Exciting cities – Vilnius 15 Lithuania’s capital, where east meets west, is being transformed How we built a global brand 18 Nick Buckles looks back on the first five years of G4S Meet the Management 21 Monica Lingegard, managing director, G4S Secure Solutions (Sweden) From monitoring to mentoring 24 A modern system of coaching with a very long history History Revisited 27 Petrol station security a century later Fighting fraud 30 How to deter deception and prevent insurance fraud Where in the world is… 33 this island nation that has been likened to heaven on earth? Using curfews to change behaviour 35 Electronic monitoring offers new offender management opportunities Intelligent approach to global risks 38 Online subscription service monitors the latest hazards Updates 40 Follow-ups to topics discussed in previous issues Sailors reach world championship finals 43 G4S-sponsored Skandia Team GBR puts in a strong performance Young Peruvian athlete joins G4S 4teen Nick Buckles Chief Executive, G4S plc 44 Eduardo Palas brings a new sport, Greco-Roman wrestling, to the team News 45 4 g4s International issue 3: 2009 This is not a time to prevaricate. Action is needed now g4S International issue 3: 2009 5 Taking action on climate change G4S commits to a global programme that will reduce its impact on the environment Some of the scenarios being suggested for the future of our planet are truly scary. The experts making these predictions describe a future world in which extremes of weather will cause widespread devastation and rising sea levels will result in extensive flooding and the disappearance of coastal land and even cities. These events will also have a huge effect on agriculture, causing food shortages that could lead to civil unrest or even wars. The questions scientists have been asking for a decade or more are: “Why is this happening?” and “What can we do to stop it?” Most have come to the same conclusions. Global warming, caused by human activity, is changing the environment. And since the human race has caused the problem, it needs to take actions that will reduce the impact for future generations. There are sceptics who say these forecasts are nonsense and that global warming is just a cyclical phenomenon with which the Earth and its inhabitants must learn to live. The problem with that argument is that if we do nothing in the hope that they are right, and then they prove to be wrong, it will be too late to turn back the clock. This is not a time to prevaricate. Action is needed now, particularly by reducing carbon emissions, in the hope that the environment can be protected and preserved for the benefit of all species on our planet. That effort is necessary at an individual level – we can all make a difference in a variety of ways – and at a national level, with governments reaching international agreement on a programme of reduction and finding less harmful alternatives for the power we need. Corporations can also play an important role in creating change and G4S – the world’s leading provider of secure solutions with operations in over 110 countries – recognises that its business activities have a direct and indirect impact on the natural environment. That is why G4S is putting its full weight, in partnership with a leading environmental consultancy, behind a global Climate Action Programme designed not only to manage that impact in a proactive way but also to increase awareness among employees, customers and suppliers about the need to conserve the planet’s vital resources. It began with an ambitious “trailblazer” programme focusing initially on a representative sample of the Group – its cash solutions operations and the seven largest of its secure solutions businesses – and the impact they had on the environment during 2007. The trailblazers’ purpose was to test G4S’s ability to identify and accurately measure the amount of carbon emissions coming from buildings over which it has operational control, as well as from its vehicle fleet and employee business air travel. The exercise was viewed as a success and proved the business case for measuring and reducing its carbon emissions. A Climate Action Board then appointed a network of regional and national environmental coordinators to implement the Group’s strategy and broaden the scope of its programme. During 2008, G4S’s carbon footprint analysis measurement was based on businesses representing half a million employees and over 22,000 vehicles across 37 countries – about 82 per cent of the Group’s global operations. It equated to 450,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) emissions, over 70 per cent of which was generated by its vehicle fleet, including the large armoured cash vehicles which have heavy emissions. Energy usage in offices and other buildings accounts for over 20 per cent of G4S’s carbon footprint – providing another opportunity to make reductions. With G4S’s growth, that carbon footprint will expand proportionately, so an average measurement of 90 tonnes of CO2e per £1m of revenue has been established. The Group’s objective is to reduce carbon emissions 6 g4s International issue 3: 2009 and measure the carbon footprint for at least 90 per cent of the businesses which will embrace G4S Care & Justice facilities for the first time, including prisons which are high energy users. The target is an annual 4.5 per cent drop in carbon intensity between 2009 and 2012. Actions that will help achieve this target will include not only looking at alternative fuels for transportation fleets but also improvements in fuel consumption through better driving and route management techniques. Employee awareness, in particular, is being encouraged by a programme called “The Big Think”, and that covers not only energy usage and conservation but also increased recycling of materials and reducing waste. In July, G4S’s regional environmental coordinators met in London to share their experiences and discuss ways of improving their results. They learned from Richard Hawkins, Group security director (G4S Cash Solutions) and Climate Action Board chairman, and Nigel Lockwood, G4S communications manager and Group environmental manager, that although only five months had elapsed since they began measuring virtually the entire Group’s carbon footprint, G4S has already caught up with companies that have been doing so for years. As well as being beneficial for the planet, in the longterm there’s another good reason for G4S reducing its carbon footprint. Using less fuel or more economical energy sources and reducing waste will save the Group money, so the Climate Action Programme will eventually be self-funding. However, it wasn’t lost on the delegates that their very presence in London for the two-day workshop had, ironically, also contributed to the Group’s carbon footprint. Nigel Lockwood even knew the impact of their global travel: some 19 tonnes of CO2 had been expended to get them to their destination. The good news, as one would expect from a company so dedicated to reducing its impact on the environment, is that G4S has offset that impact, like many other individuals and corporations, through a scheme that invests in projects that do as much good for the environment as the harm their carbon emissions cause. So the one cancels out the other. In the future, the Group will be looking at using technology – such as video conferencing – as an alternative to air travel to enable employees in different countries to “meet” and communicate. In situations where pollution cannot be avoided and environmental damage becomes inevitable, offsetting projects can provide an opportunity to rectify it and are one option which G4S is considering. But the best option is to produce results with positive action and, fortunately, a growing number of individuals and companies, like G4S, are accepting that they have a moral responsibility to do so. ❚ g4S International issue 3: 2009 7 An amazing card trick Roy Stemman discovers why the magic of G4S Technology’s integrated one-card solution has made it a world leader in security How many cards do you need to carry around with you? “Too many” is the usual response to that question. As well as the cash you carry, credit, debit, travel, retail or even library cards probably vie for space in your wallet or purse alongside ID, driving licence, medical cards or other forms of plastic purchasing and identity verification. Your desire to dispense with some of them – at least as far as working in a secure environment is concerned – has the full support of UK-based G4S Technology. Its Symmetry Security Management System is widely used in some of the world’s most secure facilities … and it uses just a single card to control a host of activities. Because this sounds too good to be true, the company has just unveiled an impressive Technology Innovation Centre at its world headquarters in Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire. Corporate visitors can try it out for themselves and discuss how this one-card solution can integrate all of their security systems. It even offers some really useful extras, as I discovered when I accepted an invitation to tour the new demonstration suite. As well as showcasing the wonders of Symmetry in a hospitality area of its manufacturing and development centre, G4S Technology also uses it, naturally, throughout the complex. So I experienced it long before I was given a walk-through of its capabilities: when I arrived at the gated entrance. It was my first visit, so the number plate recognition system could not find me in its database and the gates remained firmly closed. Once I had announced myself on the intercom, I was able to drive in. Had I been an employee, the gates would have opened automatically and once inside the compound I would have held my Symmetry card against a reader and entered a personal identity number (PIN) number to gain access to the building. If I were arriving outside normal working hours there would be an additional level of security: a biometric device would read my fingerprint to check that it corresponded with the card data and PIN. It’s an impressive system, but there’s much more to Symmetry, as I was soon to find out from my hosts, Kevin Anderson, G4S Technology’s head of marketing, and Emma Parker, its marketing communications manager. The company has been part of G4S for more than 30 years, building an enviable reputation for quality on the strength of its market leading access control 8 g4s International issue 3: 2009 Keith Whitelock, G4S Technology’s chief executive, receives the Queen’s Award for Enterprise from the Lord Lieutenant of Gloucestershire at the company’s headquarters. systems. One only has to mention its installation at the Pentagon in Washington, DC, to confirm that reputation. It is the world’s biggest access control system with around 600,000 card holders, which control the movements of all employees, contractors and visitors. But G4S Technology is far more than an access control business, though that continues to be its prime manufacturing focus. Building on that core expertise, it has gone on to develop its open architecture Symmetry software, enabling it to integrate a vast range of other controls and capabilities with its access control products and become a world leader in the building security sector. For that reason, the first visitors to be given a tour of the hands-on Technology Innovation Centre were not visitors but their own UK employees – all 250 of them. In small groups they were each given halfhour training sessions by the marketing team so that they understood the impressive new capabilities of the products they were involved in developing and manufacturing. “The world of technology is changing,” Kevin Anderson told me as we slowly worked our way around the demo suite. “Five years ago, all phones had their own network and wiring. Now using internet protocol (IP) they all plug into the local area network (LAN). Each phone is just another address on the IP network. “Security is going the same way, with devices such as access card readers and CCTV cameras that can be plugged into the LAN without the need to run proprietary cabling. “ And that means that all these devices can “talk” to each other and, better still, interact with each other when controlled by Symmetry’s sophisticated software. What’s more, Symmetry can adapt the way it works to every customer’s needs. G4S Technology has partnered with some of the top names in security whose cameras, printers, scanners and other products can all be seen working seamlessly with the Symmetry system in the new suite. They demonstrate, for example, how a scan of a visitor’s g4S International issue 3: 2009 9 passport or driving licence can be quickly converted into data and integrated with a captured image so that Symmetry’s identity management system can produce a multi-purpose access card. Visitors can also see video analytics in action and learn how this technology, which reacts intelligently to selected target images, can be integrated with Symmetry. There’s also a huge touch screen display, replacing the usual bank of TV monitors, on which visitors can quickly learn to control the direction of cameras, zooming in and out, or test the functionality of other aspects of the Symmetry set-up. Also on display at Tewkesbury is a range of solutions that have become part of G4S Technology’s portfolio of own products, all of which integrate smoothly with Symmetry, of course. These include: ■ A range of CCTV cameras ■ The long-established GCS (Guard Control System) ■ HISEC, a European standard access control and intruder system ■ OneFacility, a facilities management system currently available only in the US but arriving in the UK next year, with an international language version available in 2011. It was an impressive demonstration not only of new technology but also of G4S Technology’s expansion. Time, my hosts said, for a drink. Would I like a coffee or maybe a cold drink? As I made my choice, I realised that the tour had not yet ended. Emma Parker was purchasing the drinks with the same card that gave us access and activated other security functions. And that’s because G4S Technology has also acquired GiroVend, a cashless payment system, and with it a secure payment processing system called PayChannel, which does the same job as a merchant bank or PayPal in validating that funds are available and deducting them as required from your bank account. The card can also be topped up with coins and notes. Like other visitors to the Tewkesbury centre, I was greatly impressed but it is just one part of G4S Technology’s success story. Last year, it won the Queen’s Award for Enterprise, which acknowledged their sustained performance in international trade. It was presented to G4S Technology’s chief executive, Keith Whitelock, by the Lord Lieutenant of Gloucestershire. Export sales have increased by 50 per cent in the last three years. In fact, over 60 per cent of its sales go overseas and over 80 countries are already benefitting from Symmetry’s wizardry. To facilitate its sales and customer support services, it has offices in Los Angeles, Boston, Paris, Buenos Aires, Dubai and Panama. Also in 2008, it became the first security sector manufacturer to receive ISO 14001 accreditation for environmental management systems from the British Standards Institute. As I sipped my cold drink, I wondered what new wonders G4S Technology’s small army of boffins were creating elsewhere on the site, behind closed doors that enjoyed maximum security, thanks to Symmetry. Now, let me test your powers of observation. Choose a card. Any card. My guess is it will be a Symmetry one-solution card. That’s not magic, it’s common sense. ❚ 10 g4s International issue 3: 2009 New focus on port security Martin Sayers discusses how the heightened risk of terrorism at ports and piracy on the high seas is shaping maritime security g4S International issue 3: 2009 11 The puzzling “disappearance” of a 4,000-ton cargo ship, Arctic Sea, became the focus of global media attention in early August. What everyone wanted to know was how, in these days of high technology, a 300ft freighter carrying a cargo of timber from Finland to Algeria could vanish without trace in the Atlantic Ocean. There were rumours and speculation, but it was not until the Russian Navy seized the vessel near Cape Verde, off the west coast of Africa, on 17 August that the truth began to emerge. There are still conflicting accounts about the events surrounding its mysterious journey, but each has serious security implications. The consensus of opinion within days of its capture suggests that eight hijackers boarded Arctic Sea on 24 July, off the Swedish coast, on the pretext of having a problem with their boat. This occurred one day after Arctic Sea had left the Finnish port of Jakobstad. 12 g4s International issue 3: 2009 They ordered the crew under duress to continue on course from the Baltic Sea to the Atlantic Ocean and not to report their presence on board. The vessel’s journey was routinely monitored by various maritime authorities until its last sighting off the coast of Portugal, by which time it was no longer transmitting signals that would pinpoint its position. The bustling port in the Norwegian city of Bergen has been an important trading link for centuries and is now a major centre for the fishing, oil and gas industries, as well as for the cruise market. This mixture of people and freight makes for a formidable security challenge – millions of tonnes of goods and hundreds of thousands of passengers pass through the port every year. G4S Secure Solutions (Norway) has been responsible for security at the port since 2004 and provides a complete security solution to ensure that all operations are conducted safely and are free from outside interference. The role of G4S involves access control at the three main gates into the terminal. The entire wharf area is under constant supervision by surveillance cameras and G4S personnel are responsible for controlling all people entering the area. G4S is also involved with the security and safe passage of the cruise ships and passengers that pass through the port during the summer months. “The challenge for us is to ensure that security goes handin-hand with a quick and effective service,” says Geir Svanberg, regional manager for G4S Secure Solutions in Bergen. “We are able to supply flexible security solutions combined with a strong record of customer service, which is exactly what the port authority requires.” CASE STUDY Case Study: Bergen Port, Norway The Maritime Security Committee has since said it knew precisely where the Arctic Sea was throughout its journey, but did not publicise this information in order to protect the crew’s lives. A £1.5 million ransom demand was made by the kidnappers during the voyage to the Russian company which insured the vessel, threatening to blow it up and kill the crew if it were not paid. Four Estonians, two Latvians and two Russians were taken off the cargo ship by Russian Naval officers from the guided missile frigate Ladny. Fortunately, this hijacking failed to achieve its objective and the crew survived. But there are some very valuable lessons to be learned by everyone involved in port and maritime security. The most important is the ease with which the hijackers were able to board the Arctic Sea. Another is that the successful hijacking of vessels off the Somali coast, with subsequent large ransom pay-outs, is clearly leading others, in different waters, to copy those techniques (see “Return of the pirates”, G4S International, Issue 2/09, pages 42–44). Even more alarming is the possibility that terrorists will see these weakenesses as opportunities to help them achieve their own aims. Protecting sea ports No one needs reminding of the terrible impact of terrorism from the air, following the US attacks of September 11, 2001. They illustrated in graphic terms the direct threat posed to the world by terrorists using aviation as a means to their end. While increased security measures at airports were an obvious reaction to those events, the security of seaports has also become a priority. A high level of security is essential at ports for commercial reasons – the protection of cargo and people – but now the risk of a terrorist attack must also be a major security consideration. Ports are particularly vulnerable to terrorist attacks. Their size, accessibility by water and land, location close to large cities, the amount of freight and passengers passing through them, and their transportation links make them attractive targets. A concerted attack could result in large-scale loss of life, along with a major disruption to international trade, as happened in November, last year, when terrorists took over a trawler, killing four sailors, and used it to land themselves and their weapons, undetected, close to the centre of Mumbai, India’s commercial centre. They then mounted an attack which killed 166 people – Indian nationals and visitors from other countries – and wounded over 300 (see “Terrorist attacks on Mumbai”, G4S International, Issue 1/09, pages 18–19). Among those who died was Mumbai’s counterterrorism chief. Mumbai is the world’s most populous city and its port handles around 60 per cent of India’s maritime cargo. Yet a team of terrorists were able to disembark close to the city without detection by masquerading as fishermen on the trawler they had hijacked. Agents of al-Qaeda also successfully used a vessel in a suicide attack on a military target in 2000. They detonated a small boat filled with explosives against the hull of the USS Cole, a US Navy destroyer which was refuelling in the Yemeni port of Aden, killing 17 US sailors and wounding 39 others. Open doors to trade The challenge that faces the maritime industry is how to protect ports while still allowing for the global flow of trade, which is heavily dependent on shipping, with ports across the world offering open doors to goods from other countries. It is this openness that could allow terrorists the possibility of mounting a devastating attack on a target country. Global economies depend on commercial shipping as the most reliable, cost-efficient method of transporting goods and the estimated 12 million cargo containers are in use around the world. A constant concern is the threat of explosive devices being smuggled through ports or even planting a weapon of mass destruction inside a container which could then, theoretically, be sent anywhere in the world. It was the need for greater port security that led to the introduction of a new set of international security regulations for securing international harbours against terrorism in 2004, affecting all passenger and cargo ships involved in international trade and portable drilling devices, as well as the ports which such vessels visit. This meant that ports across the world had to ensure that their operations had tight and effective security. Yet greater security has to be intrinsically linked to the need to allow for the quick movement of freight and people. With this in mind, port authorities are increasingly bringing private security companies on board as they have the flexibility and experience to provide complete security solutions at ports and harbours, ensuring that tight security is combined with a fast CASE STUDY g4S International issue 3: 2009 13 Case Study: Port of Dover, UK Since 2004, G4S Secure Solutions (UK) has been dealing with the security of cruise ships entering the port of Dover, one of the country’s biggest ports and the leading docks for cruise ships. Dover handles an average of 140 cruise liners a year. Services provided by G4S include baggage checking and handling, passenger screening, passenger services, mooring assistance, stores and cargo loading. This successful partnership has since led to the port authority appointing G4S to provide a complete security solution for the port and all the ships and passengers that enter and leave. Dover port authority needed an established market leader in the field of maritime security to take over the whole security operation and handle everything from docking work to detention. “Of all the companies short-listed as potential suppliers, G4S demonstrated that it had the right combination of industry knowledge, people and expertise to work with us in the long term,” explains Robin Dodridge, head of Landside Operations at the port of Dover. “G4S understands the importance of mitigating security risk whilst maintaining excellent customer service levels.” Among the services G4S now provides are X-ray scanning, baggage handling and mobility services for ships visiting the port, as well as 80 port security officers who work alongside 15 detention centre officers. The number of officers on site fluctuates throughout the season but G4S is able to provide a year-round solution that meets the needs of both the Dover Harbour Board and the cruise ship companies. and efficient operation. “With maritime security now such an important issue, port authorities across the world are increasingly looking to outsource their security operations,” says Steven Taylor, managing director of G4S UK Rail and Maritime Services, which is responsible for security services at a number of UK ports. “They are not security specialists so, by outsourcing to a company like G4S, which has the experience and skills to offer a complete maritime security solution, a port authority is able to concentrate on its core duty – that of managing a port.” As a leading supplier of maritime security solutions, G4S offers a huge range of services to ports across the world, providing security solutions that go far beyond manned services. ❚ 14 g4s International issue 3: 2009 Dining in the dark Guests who embark on a unique culinary journey in Brussels do so in safety, under the watchful infra-red eye of G4S Why would anyone choose to sit down for a meal in total darkness? The answer may surprise you. Eating food and trying to identify it by flavour and texture rather than sight results in a very different culinary sensation, even with items that are familiar. In addition, the experience gives participants a valuable insight into what life is like for those with visual handicaps or no sight at all. It’s a concept that has proved popular in a couple of major cities and has now been developed by three friends in Brussels, who gave it the apt name Only4Senses. Launched in December 2008, it welcomes 60 guests on six days of each month at the stunning arched caves beneath the famous Galleries Royales Saint-Hubert shopping arcade in the heart of the city. The evening begins with a reception where diners are introduced to their waiters, all of whom have visual impairment or are totally without sight and have been trained by the Ligue Braille. They are then led into the pitch black restaurant, in single file with hands on the shoulders of the person in front, and guided to their seats. Having so many people in one dark venue raises security and safety issues and so the city’s fire department requested the presence of cameras. G4S Security Systems (Belgium) agreed to partner the enterprising venture and install four infra-red cameras and a surveillance monitor that can see and record proceedings which are not visible to the naked eye. The clarity of the images is exceptional and allows close control of the situation in the hall and a prompt response should an emergency occur. It has also provided exceptional added value to the operation. Each event is directed from the control room with the waiters receiving instructions on what to do, via earpieces, in order to respond to the diners’ needs. ❚ g4S International issue 3: 2009 15 The changing face of VILNIUS Its historic past should transform into a vibrant future for the European city where east meets west The very first mention of Lithuania, which sits on the eastern coast of the Baltic Sea, is to be found in a medieval Prussian manuscript, the Quedlinburg Chronicle. And since that was published exactly one thousand years ago, Lithuania has been celebrating its millennium throughout 2009 – an event marked by special events and the issuing of commemorative gold coins. 16 g4s International issue 3: 2009 In fact, it’s a double celebration because, by a happy coincidence, its capital – Vilnius – has also been named this year’s European Capital of Culture, an honour it shares with Linz in Austria. The southernmost of the three Baltic States (the others being Estonia and Latvia), the Republic of Lithuania shares with those two neighbours a history of foreign domination which culminated in Soviet occupation in 1940. That period came to an end at the beginning of the 1990s when Lithuania restored its independence, on 11 March, 1990. Estonia and Latvia did the same within an 18-month period. Over a decade later, in 2004, all three became members of NATO and of the European Union (EU). Lithuania shares its southern border with Poland and its south-east border with Kaliningrad Oblast which, although it forms the westernmost part of the Russian Federation, has no land connection with Russia. Vilnius is located near the country’s eastern border with Belarus. When Lithuania began its presidency of the Baltic Sea States on 1 July this year it stated its aim of strengthening cooperation in the region. This ambition was echoed by the Swedish presidency of the EU, which began on the same date. Lithuania’s Minister of Foreign Affairs declared: “The Baltic Sea region has to become the venue of an open and creative cooperation. We will aim at lifting barriers … [and] encourage more freedom of movement of people and the exchange of ideas …. Russia’s Kaliningrad region and Belarus have to become full-fledged members of the Baltic Sea region.” It is its geographical location that particularly benefits Lithuania and its capital, giving it the reputation as the country where east meets west, at least as far as the European continent is concerned. By a small miracle, Vilnius’s ancient city centre, one of the biggest in eastern Europe, has withstood the ravages of time and periods of neglect, as well as the conflicts of war and foreign occupation. With the new freedoms that came with independence, it has capitalised on its wonderful historical and cultural heritage and is today attracting an ever-growing number of tourists. The most recent figures for foreign visitors to Lithuania – most of whom pass through its capital – suggest it is now welcoming one million a year. That is double the number of visitors two years ago and also almost double the population of Vilnius. What attracts most of them to the capital is a city sitting between two rivers, the Neris and Vilnele (from which its name almost certainly derives), with an old town of around 1,500 buildings at its core, constructed in a variety of architectural styles. Baroque, for which it is best known, sits comfortably alongside gothic, classic and renaissance styles. So it is hardly surprising to learn that this special feature of Vilnius is well protected, having been designated a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site since 1994. Proud though it is of its legacy, today Vilnius has its mind very firmly focused on the future. Its vision, inevitably, is rapidly changing the face of the city, but everyone involved is aware of the need also to preserve its past. The 21st century makes demands on even the most historical of cities, so in the past decade some spectacular high-rise buildings have been constructed in Vilnius’s business district, along with residential Old and new: Vilnius’s old town’s 1,500 historic buildings (left) stand in stark contrast to the city’s modern developments. Right: Lithuania also has a new president, Dalia Grybauskaite, who was appointed in July this year. g4S International issue 3: 2009 17 properties to house its ever-increasing population. A new road development programme, incorporating viaducts and a new bridge over the River Neris, has begun to reduce traffic jams during peak periods. Its international airport has benefitted from modernisation. This includes the upgrading of its passenger terminal and enhanced security measures, including enhancement of its video surveillance system and the installation of a concrete fence around its extensive perimeter. EU funding is helping the high tech Sunrise Technology Valley to take shape and Vilnius University – one of Europe’s oldest, founded in the 16th century – is also benefiting from this financial support. There are also plans to give Vilnius a new city centre to rival its old one: a waterfront park on the right bank of the River Neris. And a much-needed national stadium, trade and leisure centre was recently completed. It can hold 23,800 for sporting events and 37,000 for entertainment events. Of course, all this activity has been taking place against the backdrop of a global recession which will inevitably slow the pace of change. But no one doubts that the dramatic transformation of Vilnius will continue. G4S has been making a major contribution to the security of the nation and its capital since 1994. Offering a wide range of services, from manned security to cash services and technical solutions, its principal market sectors are financial services and retailing. However, it is not confined to businesses. Home security, in the form of alarm installations and monitoring, is also an important sector. One of the millennium projects which best sums up the spirit of the new republic is the rebuilding of the Royal Palace of Lithuania, which was the political, administrative and cultural centre of the country for four centuries until it was demolished in 1851, having been previously seriously damaged by fire. Since 2002, following a parliamentary decision, it has been under construction in order not only to provide Vilnius with somewhere impressive in which to hold its millennium celebrations, but also to give the growing number of tourists an impression of what the palace looked like in the 15th century. Although not completely finished, a symbolic opening took place on 6 July this year, attended by the Swedish royal couple, the Queen of Denmark, the King of Norway, the presidents of Lithuania, Latvia, Iceland, Finland, Poland, Ukraine and Georgia, and the prime minister of Estonia. Parts of the palace were opened for a short period, but it will now be closed until all construction work has been completed. Six days after the ceremony, Lithuania’s first female president was sworn in. It is expected that Dalia Grybauskaite’s strong background in finance – she was previously the European Commissioner responsible for financial programming and budget and has been nicknamed the “Steel Magnolia” – will help the country survive one of Europe’s worst economic challenges for many years. It is certainly not the first credit crunch that Lithuania has experienced in its first 1,000 years and so it will doubtless face the current economic situation calmly and with confidence. ❚ 18 g4s International issue 3: 2009 How we BUILT A GLOBAL BRAND Nick Buckles, CEO of G4S plc, looks back at the Group’s achievements since its creation five years ago g4S International issue 3: 2009 19 One of our first tasks, following the merger that created Group 4 Securicor (now G4S) on 19 July 2004, was to put in place a strategy and vision for the new organisation’s future. It is a story of impressive growth and performance but because it has occurred, step-by-step, over a 60-month time span, it’s easy to lose sight of just how much has been accomplished. So what better time than the fifth anniversary of G4S’s birth to reflect on our success so far and to consider what the future has in store? Culture change The merger brought together a number of respected security businesses – principally Securicor, Group 4, Falck and Wackenhut – with their own cultures and values. It was essential that the new organisation should have a single brand and share the same vision and values and we are well on the way to achieving that. G4S is now well established as a global brand identity across the Group, with only a few exceptions which are gradually being phased out. We are a much more cohesive organisation than we were five years ago and the resulting teamwork has proved extremely beneficial. We have also built on our respective strengths and created some very robust centres of expertise, enabling us to spread best practice across the Group. That was achieved by appointing product experts, alongside their normal roles, in areas such as cash solutions, electronic monitoring, event security, de-mining and risk consulting and then starting to spread that expertise globally across the business. Strategic goals Our immediate post-merger strategy consisted of five key objectives, the first of which was to achieve synergies throughout the company. We did so very early on in the programme, contributing a one per cent improvement in profit margins without materially affecting the business. 20 g4s International issue 3: 2009 Our second objective was to create a global leader in the industry. How have we done? We are now by far the biggest secure solutions company on the planet. Some might argue that this is only because Securitas, our main competitor, has been broken up and now trades as three separate business entities: manned security, cash services and security systems. But that is not the case. If the three Securitas businesses were reconstituted into a single entity once more G4S would still be larger, whether in terms of revenue, profit or people. Next we began spreading our cash solutions expertise throughout the Group. The result? We are now the acknowledged global leader in cash solutions and product development within that business category, and our business performance in this area has improved greatly. Our fourth objective was to combine manned security and security systems in order to offer integrated solutions that amalgamate technology and human response more widely across the Group. We have two very large contracts which demonstrate that this strategy is beginning to attract the interest of major customers. In the US, we are working with Bank of America and in the UK we are providing integrated solutions to Carillion, the UK’s leading support services group. Finally, we set about combining the extensive presence of the various businesses in developing economies to create an unrivalled New Markets platform. The effect is that our New Markets business has expanded from 12 per cent of Group revenues, in the first days of the merger, to 27 per cent at the time of our half-year 2009 results. That’s a remarkable achievement. It has grown organically by at least 15 per cent per year. Government focus About 18 months ago we reviewed our strategy and decided to focus on more complex outsourced solutions for customers. So cash solutions began putting its emphasis on cash centres and ATMs and secure solutions started examining the sectors with which it could establish an outsourcing partnership. At that stage, government business accounted for around 15 per cent of our revenue. Over the past two years, however, that has grown progressively, through acquisition and development, and income from central government contracts is expected to be around 30 per cent of total revenue in 2009. We are also starting to implement this focused sector or segment strategy across the whole Group, with the appointment of business development directors for Aviation and for Ports. And we are in the process of recruiting for the same position in the Oil and Gas sector. So the next evolution for G4S is to focus on those business sectors which provide long-term outsourcing opportunities that will further strengthen our performance. As well as becoming the global leader during the past five years, our share price has increased by 130 per cent whilst the FTSE 100, during that period, has been almost flat. And we’ve outperformed our security peers in terms of financial performance and share price. The future With our current strategy we now have our sights set on 2012 and, despite the economic downturn, we still feel it is valid and can produce the planned results. We hope, by then, to be a £10 billion organisation, probably even more weighted towards government and developing markets, with higher growth and margins in those sectors. It would see us establish the Group as the undisputed global leader in secure solutions. Our performance so far is an achievement in which every member of the G4S family has played a part and takes pride, as they will in the future. ❚ g4S International issue 3: 2009 21 meet the management Steering a steady course towards profitability MONICA LINGEGARD MANAGING DIRECTOR, G4S SECURE SOLUTIONS (SWEDEN) profile by Keith Blogg A veteran yachtswoman used to sailing in troubled waters, Monica Lingegard has put the same superb navigational skills to good use in her business life. When she climbed on board G4S Secure Solutions (Sweden) as its managing director in 2006 the company was passing through distinctly choppy waters. G4S had just lost a major contract – security at Stockholm’s Arlanda Airport – resulting in a drop of €20.2 million in its annual income from manned security. The company found itself in a loss-making situation, in a market where competition was intense. Fortunately, Monica came to the business with a successful background in company turnaround. Her previous job had been to move Prenax Global AB, a business subscription agency, from severe losses to a profitable growth rate of 25 per cent a year. But what she found when she looked at the way G4S was then performing was rather daunting. “It was a company with systems which were oldfashioned, costly to run and did not deliver anything to the business,” she recalls. “We were not getting value 22 g4s International issue 3: 2009 “An open mind to all new opportunities and possibilities has enabled me to overcome obstacles and taken me to a position that clearly satisfies my ambitions.” for money for the services we were paying for. And we had a lot of departments, such as IT and Finance, which were in need of specialist skills. “In the past, the company should have done more to win new business. “By the time I joined, that situation had changed and we had to fight for every krona. Whilst the G4S business I inherited did have a culture, it was too internally focused. It therefore required a huge culture change to make us competitive, customer-oriented and sales-focused.” A career spent in company analysis and management consultancy enabled Monica, now aged 46, to rise to her biggest challenge. “I am strong strategically and very passionate, both as a leader and as a sales person hunting new business,” she says. ”I think I have been able to clarify and communicate our vision.” Realising that speed was essential to transform the non-profit business, Monica – working with colleagues in Britain – launched her “Turnaround Deck” of 220 actions which were needed to steer the company, not only into calmer waters but also back to profit. Major staff changes brought in a new, leaner and more expert team and within 18 months the business was breaking even. Savings of €6 million in overheads made a major contribution to its results. Today, turnover is topping €100 million a year. Reflecting on that achievement, Monica explains: “In an unprofitable company, where you have to implement many changes and perform hundreds of different actions to drive them through, it is difficult not to find yourself with your hands in the mud more often than you would like. “My new management team and I have been involved in everything, from top to bottom, in order to understand and change the things that needed fixing in our business. We still have much to do, but I feel far more confident now than a couple of years ago.” g4S International issue 3: 2009 23 Monica Lingegard (second from right) in discussion with colleagues about a new “Good Guys” concept, which implements and clarifies the company’s values. Pictured with her (from left) are: Maria Ekstrom, director, Special Services, Anni Svensson, head of information and MD’s assistant, and Johan Vanerell, sales manager, business area East. The daughter of a supermarket owner, Monica learned to face challenges early in life. As a teenager, she sailed across the Atlantic with her father in his yacht and from that experience came a life-long love of boats and the sea. With an MBA from the University of Stockholm and speaking four languages –Swedish, English, German and basic French – she trained in executive management with Bull AG in Munich before taking her first job as a project, key account and staff manager at Cap Gemini Finance. “My career has been 75 per cent in the consulting industry, where you get to see many different businesses and industry sectors,” she says. “You get to enjoy a high speed of learning, acquiring new expertise developed during your education, but unlike university you get paid for it. “Being a woman, I took an early decision that in any relationship I would retain my independence – which some men would not approve of. Luckily, that has not been a problem and I have been with the same man for 25 years. It was important for Monica to have a good education and career because she has always been attracted to the responsibility and influence that a top management position provides. “I never had any clear milestones or targets to reach,” she explains. “An open mind to all new opportunities and possibilities has enabled me to overcome obstacles and taken me to a position that clearly satisfies my ambitions.” Working a 60-hour week – and still finding time to dovetail business with her commitments to husband Johan and three children, Axel (15), Agnes (13) and Adam (5) – Monica believes that only her tremendous energy and physical fitness have enabled her to stay the course. Two or three times a week, the day starts at 05:30 with a breakfast of yoghurt and fruit, cereal or a sandwich before a visit to the gym an hour later. By 08:00 she is at her desk, dealing with papers and finance, before starting a long round of meetings with colleagues, clients and business partners. Sometimes there is lunch with a potential client at the excellent company restaurant, but often there is time only for a quick bite to eat at her desk. At 17:00, Monica the mother takes over. She and Johan, who runs an advertising agency, share parenting duties, so if it is her turn she will collect Adam from the child care centre. Sometimes, if business permits, she picks him up early and fits in a swimming or tennis session. Monica is a competent cook and may prepare the evening family meal: “I can do spaghetti or pancakes, but if it is a special meal I leave that to Johan, who is a really excellent cook. After dinner we talk together or I may help with the homework.” At around 19:00 it is time to become an MD once more and Monica deals with G4S presentations or goes through administrative and financial details. “Even in Sweden there is still a situation where women take more responsibility for their children and their household than the men do,” she observes. “I would assume there are a lot of women who would say I spend too little time with my children, but the way I spend my time is a decision I have taken and I don’t feel it’s a problem. “There is not a lot of ‘me-time’ for myself. I can’t do too much sitting down and reading the paper and I don’t go to the cinema with my girl friends. But that does not worry me. “My two priorities are my career and my family.” ❚ 24 g4s International issue 3: 2009 From monitoring to mentoring Martin Gosling looks at a modern system of coaching skills that has a very long history Twenty years ago, the term “mentor” would have meant little to most people, beyond conjuring up a vague image of a wise and helpful older friend. But more recently, the word has been seized upon, usually in a corporate setting, and is being deployed in a number of ways across many activities in which people interact. Most people therefore regard it as a new concept. That may be true for modern man, but not for the ancient Greeks. The original Mentor appeared in Greek mythology. He was described by Homer as a friend of Ulysses who, before departing on his legendary Odyssey, appointed Mentor to be the wise and faithful counsellor to his son, Telemachus, who had remained at home. How successful Mentor was in his task, or which methods he used, is not recorded, but his name has been perpetuated and invoked in various contexts in the intervening 3,000 years. Nevertheless, it was not until the 1970s that he began to appear in some management literature in the United States. Later, in the United Kingdom, his characteristics became more clearly defined as an academic phenomenon by Professor David Clutterbuck who has since established advanced programmes that teach mentoring and coaching skills. No clear ideal Now, a range of definitions and aims of mentoring have emerged. There is a European Mentoring and Coaching Council, a mentoring project for orphans in Russia and a programme aimed at disaffected youths in South Africa. Each scheme has the common thread of pairing an individual mentor with a beneficiary who is often referred to as the protégé. Above all, structured mentoring initiatives seek to achieve a positive outcome for the protégé in terms of development within a career setting, academically or when overcoming personal deficits of character, poor g4S International issue 3: 2009 25 circumstances or unlawful behaviour. Some proponents of the process have dubbed it “mentorship” and, although the concept falls short of being an accredited psychological construct, it has nevertheless matured into a recognisable discipline in its own right. So what is it? Some core aspects of the process provide a broad definition: “Mentoring is the presence of caring individuals who provide support, advice, friendship, reinforcement and constructive examples to help others succeed. Mentoring can mean the difference between success and failure.” (National Mentoring Partnership, Q & A, 2002.) Another definition: “Mentoring, particularly in its traditional sense, enables an individual to follow in the path of an older and wiser colleague who can pass on knowledge, experience and open doors to otherwise out-of-reach opportunities.” (The Coaching and Mentoring Network.) Mentoring in the Armed Forces It is reasonable to suppose that in any highly structured organisation, such as an army, there is already an established framework within which individuals look to those of senior rank to provide guidance and support. However, this is likely to take the form of instruction and encouragement at a surface level and, because of the hierarchical, command culture that characterises a disciplined body, the more personal form of relationship inherent in mentoring is unlikely to thrive. Despite this, the Australian Army takes the practice of mentoring very seriously and uses it as a defined structure to enable soldiers of all ranks to achieve their potential. In the United States Air Force, a policy directive states that “mentoring is a fundamental responsibility of all Air Force supervisors”. In a paper headed “Mentoring Makes a Difference”, Lt Col Penny H. Baily, USAF, asserts that mentors fill four roles: they coach, facilitate, advise and advocate. Nevertheless, it could be argued that such a proscriptive approach to mentoring (doing it by numbers) effectively eliminates most of the more subtle and long lasting benefits that may be found in less formal models. A G4S initiative In 2008, eight members of the Manchester-based element of G4S Care & Justice (UK)’s electronic monitoring operation, were trained as mentors. The aim was to work closely with a youth development organisation, Brathay Hall Trust, and BEST, a behaviour and education support team, on Merseyside, in supervising a group of disaffected 14–15-year-olds at risk of being involved in criminal activity or of being excluded from full-time education. Those involved in electronic monitoring inevitably encounter young people whose behaviour has got them into trouble with the law and requires them to be tagged. The mentoring project was launched as a way of helping certain young people make better choices about their behaviour and, by doing so, the G4S mentors hope that the protégés will avoid ever needing to be electronically monitored. But it was also very much about helping G4S staff develop their mentoring, coaching and interpersonal skills and, at the same time, give something back to the local and international communities. G4S gave its support by meeting some of the costs. The project, “Journey of a Lifetime”, involved a sixmonth period of mentoring as well as fund raising by both mentors and protégés, prior to the group’s departure to a village in a remote part of Chile. Six G4S mentors and their protégés, led by G4S’s electronic monitoring communications director Claire Sims, and five support staff from Brathay and BEST, travelled to the Mitrauquen Community which had previously received only one European visitor. The Mitrauquens, a people whose lives are steeped 26 g4s International issue 3: 2009 Let’s get physical: the project was challenging in a variety of ways that were beneficial not only to the Chilean community they visited but also to the young participants from the UK and their G4S mentors. in tradition and who travel only by foot or horse, welcomed the visit and sought the group’s help in clearing their religious ground. This was a great honour for the team. By sharing the often-challenging experiences with their mentors, each participating youngster benefited from observing and emulating appropriate responses to difficult circumstances. It was also extremely helpful for the youngsters to meet a community with such different lifestyles and values. Following their return to the UK, the mentoring continued, lasting for a full year, and positive outcomes have been achieved by all who took part (see: http:// jofal.org/). Some of the young people and mentors continue to be in contact outside of the project. Unlike most schemes run in commercial organisations and the armed services, in which the mentors held the power and the knowledge while the young people taking part are expected to achieve set goals, the G4S project was not based on a hierarchical framework. “This mentoring project was not based on the traditional concept of mentoring of an older, wiser person helping a younger person to achieve set objectives but much more about a learning experience for both the mentor and young person,” Claire Sims explains. “The young person was helped to make sense of their often chaotic and difficult circumstances and to identify strategies that would help them achieve their goals as well as being given the space to reflect on their own ideas and experiences.” The agenda was negotiated between them, with the relationship being based on mutual respect, trust and support, as well as appropriate challenge. At any time the young person could opt out of the relationship. “The shared experience in Chile also helped develop the relationship between our staff and the young people,” Claire adds. “We were all in a different community, facing shared challenges and experiencing new things which brought us closer together. “The relationships on our return to England were so much stronger, which meant that the learning of new strategies was accelerated. The mentor and the young person got so much more out of the relationship than simply the achievement of an objective.” A less formal way It is probable that mentoring has always taken place at an informal level in every type of organisation, whether social, commercial or statutory (police, prisons, probation) but significantly also in extended families. In these circumstances, the mentor is neither nominated nor labelled as such. And the mentee/ protégé would probably be shocked to be so called. Nevertheless, it could be argued that this often unacknowledged process is at least as powerful and effective as its structured and frequently expensive, counterpart. In any setting where an individual identifies another as having the skills, personality, manner of approach and knowledge that provoke admiration and respect, a process of mentoring could be said to have begun. This may be beneath the awareness of either participant and the mentor may be seen by the aspirant as a combination of role model or previously absent father/mother figure. Subconsciously, a desire is formed to emulate some or all of the characteristics of the mentor. However, in other cases both participants will acknowledge the nature of the relationship and each will fulfil the required role. In instances where this has happened to a marked degree, the “pupil” may even have involuntarily acquired mannerisms and speech patterns not unlike those of the mentor – and in later years may even repeat some of the mentor’s jokes! In any event, if the original Mentor ever existed outside of Homer’s imagination, it is likely that he would be greatly amused by the current blossoming of activity taking place in his name. ❚ g4S International issue 3: 2009 27 history revisited Driving force that fuelled crime The only concern when cars first took to the road was finding somewhere to fill up safely with gas. More than a century later, there are far wider security issues to consider When Bertha Benz took her husband Carl’s invention for its first long-distance test – without his knowledge! – she drove straight into the history books. Accompanied by her two teenage sons, she drove a Patent Motorwagen No 3 from Mannheim to Pforzheim, Germany, a distance of 64 miles, in August 1888. It took her from dawn to dusk and she sent Herr Benz a telegram to say she had arrived safely. Until then, the newly-created motorcar had travelled only short distances. Along the way she encounterd various mechanical problems but managed to overcome them all. And since her exploit was unique – in fact, the sight of an automobile on the roads frightened a number of people she encountered – there were no filling stations along the way at which she could stop for fuel. Instead, Bertha Benz filled her vehicle at dispensing chemists with Ligroin, which fuelled her husband’s invention. Last year, brave Bertha’s ground-breaking drive was commemorated, 120 years later, with the creation of the Bertha Benz Memorial Route which allows tourists and others to follow in her tracks and to celebrate Germany’s industrial heritage. Within two decades, by which time Henry Ford’s Model T (or Tin Lizzie, as it was known at the time) had started to make motoring a popular pursuit, modern petrol or gas stations began to appear to meet the demand. They were previously suppliers of fuels for other applications. Earlier this year, the oldest surviving gas filling station 28 g4s International issue 3: 2009 – as they are known in the United States – celebrated its centenary. It began life as a blacksmith’s shop but by the late 1880s it was also selling kerosene and lamp oil. The appearance of horseless carriages persuaded its owner to sell gasoline and in 1909 it became a gas and oil station, in an area known as Mansion Park in Altoona, Pennsylvania, supplied with oil by refiner Samuel Reighard. It’s still doing buisness 100 years later, though the Reighard family association ended in 1978 and it is now owned by the Martin Oil Company. What’s more, it has continued to provide the old-fashioned full service, including filling customers’ vehicles and cleaning their front and back windows. Elsewhere, self-service has become the norm. And whereas the main safety concerns of the motoring pioneers was to keep a naked flame away from the liquid gas they were filing their tanks with – still an important precaution, of course – the security and safety emphasis a century later is focused on preventing theft and assaults on customers and staff at the thousands of filling stations around the globe. With rising prices at the pumps and declining reserves of fossil fuels guaranteeing that this upward trend will continue in the future, modern filling stations have had to install security systems that would have been beyond the wildest imagination of the early suppliers of motor fuel. CCTV systems and licence plate recognition are now valuable weapons in the fight against those who fill up and attempt to drive off without paying. But fuel theft is just one of the criminal actions that petrol station owners and managers have to contend with. The major change came about in the 1970s when filling stations began to look for other ways of boosting their income. The convenience store had already proved popular, not only with customers but also with robbers, and the gradual transformation of petrol stations into large-scale retail establishments has added new hazards to those operating in this field. Alarmed by the increase in attacks on US convenience stores, the Western Behavioural Sciences Institute conducted a study in the mid-1970s into ways in which robberies could be deterred. It pointed out that as well as the actual losses from shoplifting and money snatched from tills, these stores were also losing revenue from customers who were too frightened to visit the stores at certain hours, as well as suffering from recruitment problems which had the same root cause. Those difficulties are just as applicable to filling stations g4S International issue 3: 2009 29 with combined convenience stores and they have learned the same lessons: redesigning the layout of their establishments to give would-be thieves fewer places to hide as well as making CCTV recordings of activities in vunerable areas, and situating ATMs in well-lit areas. Some American states have also introduced legislation which imposes security requirements designed to reduce the number of attacks. The Florida 1999 Convience Store Statute, for example, stipulates the use of a drop safe or cash management device that restricts access to cash receipts. Store owners must also post a conspicuous notice at the store’s entrance stating that the cash register contains $50 or less. And stores’ cash management policy must limit available cash at all times after 11 pm. Among the latest security measures being employed by the major chains of filling stations are secure handling machines like G4S’s CASH360 (see “Out of reach with CASH360”, G4S International, March 08, pages 5–8). These are exciting the whole retail sector and are proving understandably popular with filling stations, which are particularly vulnerable because they are sometimes situated in remote locations and are often open around the clock. What makes CASH360 machines so appealing is that they process payments, giving change where necessary, but retain the cash received in a secure environment. That removes most temptation for staff to take money and eliminates opportunities for robbers to snatch the takings from an open till. But filling station owners are not always victims – on rare occasions they are shown to be criminals. In the UK last year, three members of a gang were jailed for their part in a credit card scam which involved secretly filming the PIN numbers of customers using ATM machines inside petrol stations. They had bought the establishments specifically to carry out the high-tech fraud, which involved placing hiden cameras in the ceilings above the ATM machines. They netted over £250,000 from cloned credit cards whose data had been recorded in this way, before being caught. What the long-term future has in store for filling stations may be difficult to predict, as the rush to develop electric, solar, or other forms of powered vehicles gathers momentum. Changes are inevitable, but whether they will be as revolutionary as those of the past century, since Bertha Benz’s momentous drive through to the creation of over 600 million pasenger vehicles on the world’s roads, remains to be seen. The only certainty is that security, in some form, will be an important factor. ❚ 30 g4s International issue 3: 2009 FIGHTING FRAUD How to deter corporate deception and prevent insurance fraud in a business environment There are two ways to tackle embezzlement or other forms of fraud in business. One, of course, is to investigate it, expose the culprit, prosecute and recover as much of the losses as possible. The other – and far more sensible – approach is to ensure that your company is compliant with all the checks and balances that are necessary to make fraud by an employee or contractor virtually impossible. In the current economic climate, it is inevitable that corporate and insurance fraud will increase. And G4S investigators around the world know how easy it is for credible people to cheat their employers out of huge amounts of money without anyone suspecting what is happening. John Walker, director, Consulting & Investigations, 7 6 5 4 3 2 G4S Security Services (Thailand), says one of his fraud investigation cases demonstrates this particularly well. It involved a female finance manager, working for a very large multinational company based in Asia, who was trusted and respected by everyone in the business. “Yet she had stolen several hundred thousand dollars over a period of years by using ‘ghost’ employees – in other words, paying people who did not exist and siphoning off those payments into her own accounts.” She had invested the stolen money in small-tomedium enterprises which provided maintenance, water dispensing, landscaping and vehicle leasing services. g4S International issue 3: 2009 31 Incredibly, the biggest customer of those businesses was the very company she had defrauded. Fortunately, G4S in Thailand was able to recover much of the money for its customer by showing that its money had been invested in these new and successful businesses. “That particular investigation is one of my favourites,” John Walker comments, “because it shows how important certain procedures and disciplines are for a business’ well-being, and yet so many companies ignore them. “No one did a proper background investigation on this employee before she was hired. If they had done so, they would have discovered that she had attempted a similar fraud on a previous employer. On that occasion, she was caught at the first attempt and summarily discharged, and that meant there was no police record.” Not only did the company fail to carry out preemployment checks but there were also no checks and balances within the business to alert the directors to the losses. “And even though everyone in the company was aware that she was living above her means, no one – not even the managing director – questioned it,” Walker adds. “It happens all the time.” Sometimes it is not the employees who act fraudulently, but the person at the top of a business. The astonishing case of Bernard Madoff, now in prison after confessing to defrauding thousands of investors of billions of dollars, illustrates how easy it can be for some confidence tricksters to fool even seasoned financiers, simply because no one asks the right questions. His Ponzi scheme involved paying established investors with their own money or that of more recent participants in his scheme, rather than from actual earnings on investments. Manipulating funds for personal benefit is a popular means of fraud and one that can be very difficult to unravel. Among the many cases on its files, the US-based G4S Compliance & Investigations Special Investigations Unit (SIU) recently completed a twoyear probe into fraud at insurance agents ABIS. © PA Photos 32 g4s International issue 3: 2009 A protestor stands with a board near the courthouse for the sentencing hearing for convicted swindler Bernard Madoff in New York Its customer required evidential documentation that would enable the Pennsylvania Attorney General to determine if a prosecution against the agency was warranted. The G4S SIU conducted personal interviews, reviewed accounts, located witnesses and coordinated their efforts with Fraud Division investigators from the Attorney General’s office. This combined effort revealed the existence of a type of “pyramid scheme” that had operated in 2006 and 2007 around the collection and payment of insurance premium dollars. It culminated in the arrest of the primary owner/agent for ABIS and may extend to others. Reporting the case in his Insurance Fraud Section Newsletter (May 2009), Pennsylvania’s Attorney General Tom Corbett reveals that $250,000 worth of premiums on 89 policies were transferred from the company escrow account to the ABIS operating account, to pay the business’ operating expenses. The insurance companies never received their premiums. The owner was arrested on 2 April and charged with one count of insurance fraud, three counts of theft by failure to make required disposition of funds, and three counts of theft by deception, as well as misapplication of entrusted funds. For the past 20 years, G4S Compliance & Investigations (formerly MJM Investigations before its acquisition by G4S in April 2008) has been fighting insurance fraud, as well as other corporate crimes. “Insurance fraud is a global problem that has become a $211 billion-a-year industry,” says Mike Malone, the company’s president. “We currently handle investigations in 90 countries from our base in Raleigh, North Carolina.” Recent surveys in the US and the UK have shown that nearly one in 10 say they would commit insurance fraud if they knew they could get away with it, and more than one in three felt it was OK to exaggerate insurance claims. One area where that happens quite frequently is in personal injury claims, particularly related to vehicle accidents. It is estimated that these inflated demands add $13–18 billion to the US’s annual insurance bill. Fraud and corporate misconduct can have farreaching consequences across the globe, often creating perilous problems for its victims, Mike Malone adds. He urges businesses to be more pro-active: “Insurance claims fraud is widespread and expensive, with estimated losses exceeding $30 billion in the US alone. Fuelled by technological advances that have made crimes such as identity theft and claims manipulation both easy to commit and hard to detect, fraudulent activity continues to grow and attract a variety of criminal types. “To combat fraud, we combine industry-leading expertise with highly customised solutions to manage risk and help detect, prevent and reduce fraud. That allows our clients to protect their businesses and their customers and develop new and profitable customer relationships.” In addition to its niche market of insurance fraud, G4S Compliance and Investigations also provides a range of other risk management services, from pre-employment screening and incident and ethics management to due diligence examinations and Sarbanes-Oxley compliant employee hotlines. “Risk and investigation challenges are opportunities for businesses to add value and extend competitive advantages,” says Mike Malone. “Globally, G4S is deploying the strategy, processes and technology to avert catastrophic losses and meet urgent compliance deadlines, increasing a company’s bottom line.” Fighting fraud is an expensive and complex proposition for organisations and finding the most cost-effective way to win that battle is a major challenge. The experts are all agreed, however, that the most valuable lesson to learn and to put into practice is that the best time to manage risk is before trouble starts. ❚ g4S International issue 3: 2009 33 Where in the world is…? The beauty of the island nation that is this issue’s mystery subject has led some to describe it as paradise. It was Mark Twain who said, “From one citizen you gather the idea that ------- was made first and then heaven…” Certainly, its white sands and clear seas teeming with marine life are seen as heavenly by most visitors. Its luxury hotels and booming tourism add weight to such judgments. But those who live and work on the island also experience both anticyclones and devastating cyclones. Indeed, it will surprise many visitors that the Dutch, who first settled the main island in the 17th century, left after a century because of the tough climatic conditions. In fact, it was a cyclone which blew three boats of the Dutch fleet off course and led them to discover the island (though the Portuguese had explored it earlier and it was known to other nations’ sailors as far back as the 10th century). After the Dutch left, the French took control but the British captured it in 1810 during the Napoleonic Wars. If you haven’t identified it yet, here’s one more clue. This country is the only known home of the famous flightless bird, the dodo, which was driven to extinction within 80 years of the island being inhabited by man. Just turn the page to find out if you were right. 34 g4s International issue 3: 2009 Where in the world is …? Mauritius previous page: A statue of Shiva and a Hindu temple at Grand Bassin Lake. this page: The Chamarel waterfall and (below) the now-extinct dodo which lived on the island of Mauritius. Carl Mayo, chief executive of G4S Mauritius (standing) and colleagues look forward to the future with confidence. When the Dutch arrived at the main island of what is now the Republic of Mauritius, they named it in honour of Prince Maurits van Nassau. After the French took over the island it was renamed île de France, but reverted to Mauritius after the French surrendered to a British invasion in 1810. Today, these influences are evident in many forms but particularly in the languages used by the country’s one million inhabitants. English is spoken in its Parliament – the only place where it is the official language – but members of the National Assembly are also allowed to address the chair in French. English is also used in government and the courts but most newspapers and media opt for French. Most people are fluent in both, as well as speaking Mauritian Creole. Situated in the Indian Ocean, although 2,000 kilometres from the south-eastern coast of Africa it is still regarded as part of that continent. The republic also includes the Agalega Islands, Cargados Carajos Shoals (Saint Brandon) and Rodrigues island. Since it achieved independence in 1968, Mauritius has developed a diverse economy enjoying remarkable growth in a number of sectors, including tourism, finance and industry. Its capital, Port Louis, is Africa’s wealthiest city and the island has become one of the most popular holiday destinations on the globe, particularly with honeymoon couples. G4S entered the Mauritian market in mid-2007, striking up a joint venture with a local partner, The Rogers Group, the island’s largest corporation. Through the leverage of strong local and international brands, the business has been able to flourish and is currently challenging the apparent dominance of an established global competitor. G4S Mauritius is currently supplying services in the manned security, facility management and systems fields. It has also entered the cleaning sector with the acquisition of a local company, which takes the total G4S workforce on the island to 600, and further expansion is planned. g4S International issue 3: 2009 35 Using curfews to change behaviour Electronic monitoring offers new opportunities for offender management, as well as providing a range of solutions that extend beyond the justice system Confidence in the use of electronic monitoring for offenders, as an alternative to custody, is growing. So, too, is its geographic spread as more governments examine its potential and conduct pilot schemes to test its capabilities. As a result, those justice systems that are already using the equipment are now exploring better ways of doing so, using carefully planned curfews in order to achieve the best results. Technological advances in electronic monitoring (EM) during the past two decades are also creating new opportunities. What is now needed is for those involved in managing offenders to recognise and make the most of those opportunities. Who says so? A Joint Criminal Justice Inspectorates’ report, published in the UK by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) in October last year, concluded that “electronically monitored curfews have the potential to make a powerful contribution to the effective management of sentenced offenders” but they were “a missed opportunity”. It is a conclusion that G4S Care & Justice Services (UK) welcomes and with which it agrees. It is working with others to implement this recommendation – for example, through an MoJ Steering Group, on which it has a seat, and by taking other actions. Among those who are showing a keen interest in using curfew compliance monitoring to the full is Jane Nadin, a South Yorkshire magistrate, who wanted a better understanding of the tagging system and its potential. She arranged with G4S senior relationship manager Tracy Eadie to be fitted with a tag for 28 hours and to be under a curfew between the 36 g4s International issue 3: 2009 hours of 6pm and 7am. “As part of the experiment, Tracy and I had already discussed the fact that I would deliberately breach my curfew,” Mrs Nadin explains. “This gave me the opportunity to find out just how sensitive the equipment was. I was very impressed when I got the print-out from the control centre which reported just when I had left the house and for how long. That really brought it home to me that G4S were fully aware, should a subject breach their curfew order.” She described it as “a very positive experience” when she was invited to give an account of the 28 hours she was tagged at the Joint Sentencers the incredible flexibility of EM as a management tool. Sometimes, their decisions need to be taken with others in mind – such as in cases where there is a known victim – so that the curfew imposed ensures the offender is at home when the victim needs to be out, collecting a child from school, perhaps, or even on their way to and from work. Traditionally, curfews have been night-time detentions, requiring offenders to remain in their homes for 12-hour periods, from dusk to dawn, and that’s still the norm for three-quarters of those whom G4S is asked to tag. But those responsible for offender management are beginning to experiment with complex scenarios Conference in South Yorkshire, attended by 240 Justices of the Peace, Her Majesty’s Courts Service staff and probation officers. The meeting’s theme was “Increasing Judicial Confidence in Community Sentencing”. There are many ways in which curfews can be used effectively, says Richard Morris, managing director of G4S Electronic Monitoring (UK), which tracks the movements of nearly 12,000 people on a daily basis and has seen significant growth in its operations in recent years. Those who decide how best to deal with offenders, he says, are becoming increasingly aware of that can be easily accommodated by EM systems. The hardware has changed little: it involves a personal identification device (tag) fitted around the subject’s ankle, which transmits radio signals to a home monitoring unit which, in turn, relays data to the G4S control centre via GPRS (the mobile phone network). The software controlling EM, on the other hand, has become more sophisticated, allowing for greater flexibility. So, for example, the curfew imposed on a dealer found guilty of selling drugs to children requires him to be housebound daily at the start of the school day, at g4S International issue 3: 2009 37 lunchtimes and again at the end of the school day. Football hooligans have curfews imposed on them that coincide with their teams’ match days and at weekends. And a prolific shoplifter is given two curfew periods a day: from 9am to 2pm and from 4pm to 9pm, to keep her away from the shops as much as possible. The free periods allow her to take her children to and from school. The system can even accommodate multiple addresses and one 14-year-old boy received a curfew at both of the homes of his separated parents, to fit around their custody arrangements. All the above examples are actual cases dealt with by G4S in the UK. The company is also involved in a two-year “Intensive Alternative to Custody” pilot scheme which began in April this year, run by the Greater Manchester Probation Trust. This is targeted at 18–25-year-old male offenders and offers them an alternative to a prison sentence of less than 12 months. G4S Care & Justice is managing enhanced EM curfews and a community outreach service as part of the scheme. There are, of course, very sound financial reasons for a government to encourage non-custodial punishment and control instead of a prison sentence. It costs far more to house and feed an offender in a custodial facility than to impose detention in a subject’s own surroundings. But, of course, economics are not the only consideration. Targeted curfews can be extremely beneficial to those offenders prepared to learn from the experience. As well as enabling them to enjoy certain freedoms, the curfew system also removes some of the temptations that got the person in trouble with the law in the first place – drugs, alcohol or the presence of individuals who are a bad influence. Many of those who are tagged respond well to the stability, structure and supervision which EM gives to their lives. This is borne out by surveys carried out for G4S by Leeds University in 2005. And in 2008, four out of every five of the 2,000 respondents to a G4S exit questionnaire agreed that being on a tag meant they “had stopped offending”. As well as running a large EM operation in the United States, G4S Justice Services, Inc, provides technical sales support to local G4S companies around the world which are bidding for EM contracts. It is also responsible for manufacturing the monitoring equipment that is used. Whereas the UK and most other countries are using radio-frequency equipment, the US has been developing GPS devices for several years, using the same principles as satellite navigation systems. It provides more information about a person’s whereabouts, can impose restrictions on them entering specific places or even towns, and that, says G4S Justice Services’ chief executive officer Blake Beach, is clearly where EM is heading. “A lot of the GPS development in the US has been driven by asylum issues, as well as domestic violence and sexual predator cases, all of which have a need to know where those people are at all times. Prison overcrowding is also an issue in the US, as it is in other countries. The rest of the world is now interested in the GPS solution, so it looks like some countries just embarking on EM pilots are going to skip an entire generation of technology and go straight to GPS … now that it is becoming more reasonably priced.” There are also non-justice applications for electronic monitoring, including the use of tags on individuals with Alzheimer’s that will raise an alarm if they wander away from the safety of their homes or nursing facilities. But whereas EM was developed as a form of limited detention and punishment that would result in a swift response from law enforcement agencies if the subject left a restricted zone, the advent of GPS will almost certainly blur the boundaries between custodial and commercial demands. With the miniaturisation of GPS transmitters and the dramatic drop in their cost, they will become a very common method of asset tracking. They could be attached to virtually any valuable or special item so that owners can personally monitor their whereabouts and know if they are moved. But that will doubtless result in moral dilemmas, particularly in matters relating to human privacy and freedom. Only time will tell whether that is considered a small price to pay for maintaining law and order in an increasingly troubled world. ❚ 38 g4s International issue 3: 2009 Intelligent approach to global risks G4S Risk Management launches a subscription service to keep customers aware of current threats and hazards to their businesses and employees g4S International issue 3: 2009 39 Globalisation brings many benefits to those corporations which have successfully expanded their businesses around the world. But it also has its downside. It requires businesses to anticipate economic and political trends in various countries and make judgments about how best to exploit those opportunities or mitigate their adverse effects, whether already established in a region or considering investment. At the same time, senior executives must recognise the risks that confront the employees they send abroad to visit or work in certain regions of the world and, in particular, those countries that are widely considered to be dangerous. It is a duty-of-care responsibility that needs to be taken very seriously. The problem for many companies is that senior managers seldom have enough local intelligence on which to make their judgments. They will be aware of trends and speculation carried in the global media, but they lack up-to-the-minute reports of rapidly changing situations from those with “their ears to the ground”: well-connected and informed observers who can “read” situations and predict the likely outcome. It is a situation that G4S has faced many times during its rapid expansion, to the position where it now has operating companies in over 110 countries. As a result, it has become adept at keeping its finger on the pulse of the nations in which it has a presence, responding to changes as they arise. Now, through its G4S Risk Management business, it is sharing that expertise with others by establishing a webbased Global Intelligence System (GIS) that extends its reach far beyond its own operational range. Subscribers have access to up-to-the-minute geopolitical intelligence on individual threats and hazards in over 220 countries, territories and dependencies. GIS does this by drawing on detailed information from a comprehensive range of privileged and open sources, as well as from in-country contacts throughout the entire G4S global footprint. That information is available to clients through searches on its dedicated, password-protected, internet portal. It means that subscribers with access to the web can obtain vital information, around the clock, from anywhere in the world. This could be about global security incidents that suddenly flare up and, perhaps, subside just as quickly. Those requiring political and security risk analysis for continuity planning can obtain detailed assessment of various threats, ranging from micro-security risks (lowlevel crime, limited infrastructure and environmental hazards) and strikes, riots and civil commotion, through to serious organised crime and terrorism. G4S’s GIS also alerts its subscribers when there are risks of insurgency, guerilla and civil war, as well as warning of international armed conflict, abduction and the threat of kidnap for ransom and extortion. A choice of daily, weekly and monthly incident alerts, reports and analysis is available, with companies choosing their level of subscription based on the number of users and how many countries on which it requires information. “We believe GIS is the most comprehensive and user-friendly intelligence system available,” says Dan Smith, head of Research and Analysis for G4S Risk Management. “GIS helps businesses to develop suitable contingency and security plans to help protect their assets, ensuring their business and employees operate safely and effectively.” G4S Risk Management is inviting potential subscribers to try out GIS on a 30-day free trial at www.gis.g4s.com, which also provides a demonstration of the Global Intelligence System’s global capabilities. ❚ 40 g4s International issue 3: 2009 updates Back issues of G4S International can be viewed and downloaded on the Group website: www.g4s.com on topics previously discussed in the magazine BIOMETRICS: DNA Israel Scientists in Tel Aviv claim that it is possible to fabricate blood and saliva samples to match the profile of an innocent person and then engineer a crime scene with this false data. All that is needed is access to a DNA profile in a database. No tissue from the individual is required. “Any biology undergraduate could perform this,” said Dan Frumkin, lead author of a paper published online by Forensic Science International: Genetics. Dr Frumkin is the founder of a company that has developed a test to distinguish between real DNA samples of blood or saliva from fake ones. United Kingdom DNA gathered at a murder scene may help clear the name of one of the 20th century’s most notorious murderers, Dr Hawley Crippen. The American physician was executed in 1910 for the gruesome killing of his wife, Cora, a music hall singer. He was found guilty of poisoning her, dismembering her body, dissolving parts of it in acid, and burying the mutilated remains beneath the floor of their North London home before setting sail for Canada with his lover. But now forensic scientists in the US say his execution is “the most serious miscarriage of justice in 100 years”. They claim to have established, using the latest DNA techniques, that the remains were those of a man. Dr Crippen always maintained his innocence, telling friends that Cora had gone to live in California. A cousin of the convicted murderer hopes that the new evidence will result in a pardon. See “DNA: more powerful than a fingerprint”, G4S International, September 06, pages 44–45. © PA Photos Dr Crippen is escorted from the SS Montrose in Canada after his arrest. He was later executed for his wife’s murder. g4S International issue 3: 2009 41 France Police arrested 32 people and seized jewels in June this year as part of their investigation into a spectacular Paris heist six months earlier. Those arrested are suspected of having taken part in the attack on celebrity jewellers Harry Winston in December 2008, or either assisting in the preparations for the attack or in the sale of the jewels. Single diamonds worth £100,000 each were among the gems, gold, pearls and cash stolen from the jewellers, near the Champs-Elysées, in what has been described as “the most lucrative” raid in French history. The total value is put at £75 million. Four robbers dressed as women were involved in the crime. United Kingdom Three men have been arrested COUNTERFEITS Spain Police in the port of Valencia, on Spain’s east coast, arrested 14 people in August in connection with the largest haul of forged €500 banknotes in European history. They had a face value of eight million euro (£7 million) – more than the total of fake notes previously confiscated by Spanish police since the country adopted the euro. They described the garage premises they raided as a “sophisticated laboratory in the process of producing eight million euros” using machinery bought in France and expensive chemicals and dyes imported from China. © PA Photos DIAMONDS under suspicion of involvement in Britain’s biggest jewellery heist in which 43 items, encrusted with almost 1,500 diamonds and valued at around £40 million, were stolen in August. Warning shots were fired by the robbers in an attack on Graff, in London’s Mayfair. Two smartly-dressed men carried out the robbery and appeared to make no attempt to disguise themselves from Graff’s CCTV cameras. But police now believe they had arranged for a professional make-up artist to alter their appearance by using liquid latex to age them, on the pretext that they were appearing in a pop video. Spain is believed to be the biggest user of €500 notes in the Eurozone because of their popularity in “black money” transactions. acquired it after Drees’s death in 1988. While on display in 2006 a space expert informed the museum that it was unlikely that NASA would have given away any moon rocks just three months after Apollo’s return. An investigation by the Rijksmuseum has confirmed that the object is “a nondescript, pretty-much-worthless stone”. Moon rocks have been presented to more than 100 countries by NASA but most of these have come from later missions. Netherlands A piece of “moon rock” that has been owned by the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam for over 20 years is a fake. It is just a lump of petrified wood. Its provenance seemed beyond doubt, having been presented to former Dutch prime minister Willem Drees as a private gift from the then-US ambassador, during a visit by the three Apollo 11 astronauts to Holland after the first moon landing. The Dutch national museum See “Diamonds are still trumps”, G4S International, Issue 2/09, pages 38–41. See series on “Counterfeits”, G4S International, June, September and December 2008. 42 g4s International issue 3: 2009 on topics previously discussed in the magazine INTERNET British computer hacker Gary McKinnon faces extradition to the US. United States A 28-year-old computer hacker has been accused of the largest theft of confidential data in US history. To the embarrassment of the US secret service, it has been revealed that Albert Gonzalez was once one of their informants, helping them to track down hackers. It is now alleged that he used his links to the secret service to warn criminals about investigations. Gonzalez was indicted by a federal grand jury in August for allegedly stealing data from 130 million bank accounts via retailers and financial companies’ computer networks. He was already in prison, awaiting trial in another hacking case. Two unnamed co-conspirators located in or near Russia are also charged in the indictment. Meanwhile, police commissioner Raymond Kelly revealed in April that the New York Police Department (NYPD) was experiencing 70,000 attempts each day to break into its computer system. These attempts, he said, were from mystery hackers mostly based in China. In the same month, the Wall Street Journal reported that Chinabased hackers had successfully broken into the Pentagon’s computers and gleaned design features of the F-35 Joint Strike © PA Photos updates Fighter jet programme. United Kingdom Young people with “unconventional – and not strictly legal” computer talents could be offered work at a new cyber security operations centre at GCHQ, the UK government’s Communications Headquarters which is part of the country’s intelligence and security service. They will be recruited, according to Lord West of Spithead, the Security minister, in the fight against “attempts, many orchestrated from abroad, to infiltrate the national computer network”, according to a report in The Independent in June. Promising that GCHQ would not recruit any “ultra, ultra criminals”, Lord West said: “We need youngsters who are absolutely into this stuff. If they have been naughty boys, quite often they enjoy stopping other naughty boys.” It seems unlikely that Gary McKinnon, the Briton who hacked into 97 US computers, including Pentagon and NASA systems, during 2001 and 2002 in search of evidence that UFOs exist, will be offered a job at GCHQ. The unemployed computer programmer, who has Asperger’s syndrome, faces extradition to the US and the possibility of up to 70 years in prison. His search, which was conducted from the bedroom of his North London home, has been described as “the biggest military hack of all time” and cost £436,000 to repair the damage caused. See “Phishing”, G4S International, September 06, pages 26–27. g4S International issue 3: 2009 43 © Mark Lloyd G4S-sponsored sailors reach world championship finals The G4S-sponsored Skandia Team GBR sailing squad performed impressively at the 49er sailing world championships at Lake Garda, Italy, in July. The six-day event, held at the Fragolia Sailing Club, involved over 70 entrants in a series of qualifying races, culminating in the final medal race in which 10 boats competed. Four of the top ten two-man crews who made it through to the finals were Skandia Team GBR members, including Stevie Morrison and Ben Rhodes, who finished in fourth place, and Chris Draper and Peter Greenhalgh, who were placed sixth. Both these crews are also receiving individual sponsorship from G4S. In the run-up to 2012, the 49ers will be battling for the honour of representing Great Britain in the Olympics. There is only one place available in the British team for this particular event, which made its debut at the 2000 Sydney Games. It requires great agility and athleticism from the crews as they endeavour to outperform their rivals in small, double-handed, twin trapeze sailing dinghies, powered by huge sails. Earlier this year, G4S announced renewal of its sponsorship of the British sailing team (see G4S International, Issue 2/09, pages 32–33). It has been a Silver level sponsor and exclusive security provider to Skandia Team GBR, in the Olympic and Paralympic classes, since April 2006. G4S provided security and support services to the team as they competed around the world in the lead up to the Olympics in 2008, taking care of team logistics, translation and security needs on the ground in Beijing. In doing so, it made an important contribution to Skandia Team GBR’s most successful Olympics to date. Morrison and Rhodes also enjoyed individual sponsorship from G4S at that time and, as well as renewing that arrangement, G4S has also signed a partnership with the newly-formed 49er crew of Draper and Greenhalgh. ❚ 44 g4s International issue 3: 2009 Young Peruvian athlete joins G4S 4teen Action Images/Pilar Olivares Greco-Roman wrestler replaces Kazakhstan weightlifter who won gold in Beijing When Ilin Ilya became the first member of the G4S 4teen international sports programme to win an Olympic gold medal, his phenomenal success created an unexpected opportunity for another young athlete. The Kazakhstan weightlifter had been an integral part of the G4S 4teen initiative since its launch in June 2007, with Olympic legend Haile Gebrselassie as its global ambassador and mentor to the youngsters. The programme was conceived to support and motivate 14 promising young sportsmen and sportswomen from around the world who showed potential for winning medals in the 2012 Olympics in London. But Ilin exceeded all expectations by taking gold in his very first Olympics, in Beijing. At the age of 20, Ilin beat the rest of the world in his weight category (94kg) by snatching 180kg and jerking 226kg: a remarkable total of 406kg which won him an Olympic gold medal. Having exceeded all expectations so early on and having achieved the programme’s goals an incredible four years ahead of schedule, it was agreed that Ilin should step aside from G4S 4teen to give another young person the opportunity to follow in his footsteps and learn from his experiences. G4S announced Ilin’s departure in January this year and embarked on an extensive search for a replacement, working with National Olympic Associations to identify a suitable candidate. Eduardo Palas, a 17-year-old Greco-Roman wrestler from the San Juan de Lurigancho district in Lima, Peru (pictured left), was revealed as the new G4S 4teen member on 4 August, following a long selection process run in conjunction with the Peruvian Institute of Sport. With an impressive list of achievements already to his name, Eduardo has demonstrated determination, courage and tenacity in becoming Peru’s top junior wrestler. Like other G4S 4teen members, Eduardo will receive the ongoing support of the local G4S company, as well as access to G4S’s international network of staff and athletes around the world. In addition to receiving financial support to help him with training, equipment and travel to major competitions, Eduardo will be provided with training in key life skills, including computing and foreign language lessons, as well as help in raising his profile at home and abroad. Eduardo will also be invited to G4S training camps around the world over the next three years, where he will meet up with fellow 4teen athletes and gain vital experience from some of the world’s leading experts and sporting legends. Welcoming Eduardo Palas to the 4teen programme, its mentor, Haile Gebrselassie, said it was great that the young Peruvian was bringing a new sport to the team. ❚ g4S International issue 3: 2009 45 news G4S scoops Investor Relations award G4S has been named the top quoted company for Investor Relations in the Support and Business Services Sector of the 36th Thomson Reuters Extel survey. The complete results cover 31 Pan-European industry sectors, all major European countries and include extensive trend analysis on the growing relevance of IR to the investment community. Commenting on the achievement, G4S CEO Nick Buckles said: “The current climate has underlined the importance of developing close relationships with investors and we are delighted that the efforts of our IR team, and in particular our director of Investor Relations, Helen Parris, are paying off.” AHMED conquers Mont Blanc Security officer Ahmed Ben Zahraa, who works for G4S Secure Solutions (Belgium), was beaten by bad weather when he made his first attempt to climb Mont Blanc, western Europe’s highest mountain, earlier this year. Together with colleague Miloud Messaoudi, field supervisor, manned services, he had spent months preparing for the challenge. After reaching a mountain hut at 3,200 metres in a blizzard, guides advised the pair to go no further because of deteriorating conditions. Safety must come first, so they took that advice and descended from the mountain. Other climbers on the mountain at the same time who ignored the conditions died during the storm. Despite that experience, Ahmed Ben Zahraa was determined to conquer Mont Blanc and so he made a second attempt in August. This time the weather was kind to him and at 20:00 on 4 August he unfurled the G4S flag on the summit, at an altitude of 4,810 metres. As well as being a great personal achievement, Ahmed’s climb to the top is an inspiration to others. It demonstrates that for those who don’t give up anything is possible. Support for conservation is running high Since its inception in 2000, the Safaricom Marathon in Kenya has raised over one million US dollars (£620,000) for a range of wildlife conservation projects, as well as assisting education, healthcare and community development. This year, for the first time, G4S Kenya became a co-sponsor with telecom provider Safaricom, who are one of G4S’s premier customers in East Africa. A team of 40 G4S security personnel provided assistance throughout the marathon and half marathon races on 27 June, in which a thousand runners took part. A G4S fire engine also made an appearance but, fortunately, its services were not required. The event takes place each year on the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy, which takes the runners through some of Africa’s most breathtaking scenery, and attracts competitors from all over the world. Each team is asked to raise a minimum of 100,000 Kenyan shillings (£814). The proceeds benefit a variety of projects located in the north of the country. As a co-sponsor of the Safaricom Marathon, G4S Kenya fielded an impressive security team 46 g4s International issue 3: 2009 news Mine clearance in Mozambique David Hudson, NAMESA regional president, and his colleagues give a big welcome to disadvantaged children at the G4S Happy Day event in Delhi – one of 64 participating locations in 27 countries. 10,000 smiles greet Happy Day Of the numerous events around the globe which reflect G4S’s corporate social responsibility, the biggest and most diversified is undoubtedly “Happy Day”. For the second year, G4S’s North Africa, Middle East and Southern Asia (NAMESA) region set about bringing joy and happiness to disadvantaged children at 64 locations throughout the 27 countries in which it operates. The fun-packed “Happy Day” is seen as the company’s commitment to future generations and this year it reached out to 10,000 children. Those invited to the events were either disabled, HIV-infected, orphans, poor, disadvantaged or underprivileged youngsters. Every country in the region planned its own day in which G4S executives played a leading role, dressing up in themed costumes and joining in the games. David Hudson, regional president, G4S NAMESA, used the occasion to announce “scholarships” for 10 underprivileged children for a period of five years. They have all been living with their mothers in Delhi Jail Crèche, which is also supported by G4S, and it is hoped that this additional support will help steer them in a better direction. “This is the day that G4S has dedicated to help those children who are less privileged than us,” David Hudson said in a message to the region. “It is a day with one clear objective: to bring a little fun to their lives and a smile to their faces … and then we will feel generously rewarded.” G4S Risk Management has been awarded a contract by South Africa’s largest oil and gas company, SASOL, to carry out a landmine and unexploded ordnance survey and clearance programme in Mozambique. Ten teams from the company’s Ordnance Management division, made up of around 500 African and European de-miners and vegetation cutters, are being deployed to clear around 1,000 square kilometres of land in the Pande/Temane region. When completed, SASOL will be able to lay thousands of kilometres of seismic lines which will facilitate exploration for oil and gas deposits. G4S has been providing ordnance management since 1994 and its teams have operated in over 24 countries, including Afghanistan, Cyprus, Iraq, Nepal and South Lebanon. During that time it has cleared thousands of kilometres of land and destroyed over 20 million items of unexploded ordnance. g4S International issue 3: 2009 47 Back to grass roots for Events boss Very few, if any, of the 450,000plus spectators, or the tennis players they came to see at The Championships in Wimbledon, south London, this summer would have noticed anything different about one of the team of 700 G4S security officers on duty. But among them, wearing the same uniform and performing the same duties, was Mark Hamilton, managing director of G4S Events. He chose this year’s Wimbledon event to apply his “back to the floor” philosophy, working alongside officers performing bag and perimeter searches, escorting players, checking tickets and carrying out anti-ticket touting surveillance. Hamilton, who has been involved in security and crowd safety management for over 35 years, became head of G4S’s Events division when his company, Rock Steady, was acquired by G4S in 2008. “Providing the range of services we do for Wimbledon is fantastically exciting, but also a very real challenge,” says Mark Hamilton. “I believe it’s important that senior management understand the responsibilities of front line employees, who work tirelessly to ensure the health and safety of the public at events such as this throughout the year.” Doug Hewitson, managing director of G4S Secure Solutions (UK), added: “Mark prides himself on attending as many of the events that G4S provides services to as possible. This approach ensures that he fully understands customers’ needs and that his operation is reflective of our focus on ensuring that senior managers engage in all aspects of a project. “We encourage all of our senior executives to familiarise themselves as best they can with customers’ needs. Donning the uniform is a great way of achieving that.” G4S has had a 20-year involvement with The Championships at the 42-acre All England Club. Quenching thirst for water protection A major electronic security protection system is being installed by G4S at 33 reservoirs in southern England. The contract, awarded by Sutton and East Surrey Water, recognises G4S’s position as the UK’s leading protection specialist for critical national infrastructure (CNI). G4S will install and maintain CNIguard smart sensoring systems at the 33 reservoirs across east Surrey, parts of west Sussex, west Kent and south London. This will ensure that Sutton and East Surrey Water is in better compliance with measures laid down in the Security and Emergency Measures Directive 1998, a government directive which aims to protect water supply and sewerage services from disruption by civil emergencies or security events (see “A fresh approach to water”, G4S International, Issue 2/09, pages 34–37, for other examples of G4S’s water-related security contracts). Simon Thomson, security manager for Sutton and East Surrey Water, said that G4S had “demonstrated that it had the resources and expertise to provide a joined up security service to protect our reservoirs. We are confident that our partnership will enhance our already strong security arrangements.” Keith Whitelock, managing director of G4S Technology, said the company was delighted to have been awarded the contract by “one of the leaders in the sector of planning for and implementing this type of solution, and we are very pleased that we can help to maintain security across its most critical sites.” Security and strawberries: two of the key ingredients for a successful Wimbledon tennis championship. 48 g4s International issue 3: 2009 news Kazakhstan has its eye on the ball Adventurer reaches Mongolia in taxi Neil Goldsmith in the driving seat, with Phil Shingler, G4S Cash Solutions (UK) sales and marketing director, whose support and promotion of the project was instrumental in turning Neil’s dream into reality. His charitable journey from England to Mongolia took him and his white taxi across 16 countries. Why would anyone choose to drive a third of the way around the world in a London taxi? Neil Goldsmith provides a fourword answer: “for charity and adventure”. Having hear about the Mongol Rally from a friend, Neil – a commercial accountant with G4S Cash Solutions (UK) – decided it was the perfect way to spend a summer holiday, as well as raising at least £1,000 for charity, which was the minimum requirement for all teams. He had to wait three years before getting a place on the popular adventure. Last year’s competitors raised £200,000 (see: http:// mongolrally09.theadventurists.com for more details). All that was required for Neil’s team of four, and the other 450 teams taking part, was to motor from Europe to Mongolia. It wasn’t a race: there was just a start date and a finishing line with no dedicated route to follow. Neil’s team drove through 16 countries, knowing they would have no support from GPS or the organisers, in order to reach the rally’s final destination – Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia’s capital. But having got as far as Russia, a visa mix-up prevented Neil from completing the final leg. That honour went to a solitary teammate. Their white cab proudly displayed a G4S logo throughout the arduous journey, in recognition of £500 of support for his adventure from G4S staff. Neil and his team raised over £6,000 which will help several charities, including the non-governmental Children and Young People’s Protection and Development organisation which is tackling the problem of homelessness, abuse, trafficking and other forms of exploitation of the young. And the taxi? That was donated to charity, too. Neil and his team couldn’t face driving all the way back in it. It isn’t every day that a G4S security officer comes face-toface with one of England’s top footballers. So, even though England had beaten Kazakhstan 4-0 in their 2010 World Cup qualifying match at the Central Stadium in Almaty on 6 June, Bakhit Suleymenov was keen to collect a few autographs. As a member of the G4S team protecting Almaty Airport, Bakhit was hopeful that an opportunity might present itself when the England players flew home, so he took his own football to work that morning. Striker Wayne Rooney, who scored England’s most spectacular goal in the match, was among those happy to oblige. G4S Kazakhstan has been providing security services at the airport for seven years and has a security team of 150, mostly providing perimeter protection. g4S International issue 3: 2009 49 Passion and protection among the Pyramids Microsoft describes its “Imagine Cup” challenge as one way it is “encouraging young people to apply their imagination, their passion, and their creativity to technology innovations that can help solve the toughest problems facing us today”. In the last year, no fewer than 300,000 students from more than 100 countries and regions initially responded to its challenge, of whom 59,000 eventually competed and 444 from 70 countries made it to the Imagine Cup World Finals held in Cairo in July. For most of the students it was the culmination of a year’s hard work and dedication, but for Mohamed EzzEldin, managing director of G4S Egypt, and his team it was the start of a marathon effort, delivering 11,000 hours of manned security in seven days, as over 1,000 people converged on the Egyptian capital for the finals. Planning for the software giant’s Imagine Cup World Finals, which was first held in Barcelona, Spain, six years ago, begins as soon as the previous year’s event has finished, and the security element commenced in February 2009. The brief was demanding. The finalists stayed in three hotels and a range of additional venues, including Cairo’s major tourist attractions, were also included in the security plan. For example, the Citadel, one of the most impressive sites in Egypt, was used for the opening ceremony and the Pyramids at Giza provided the magnificent backdrop for the closing ceremony. As often happens with largescale events, unexpected issues arose and had to be handled speedily and effectively. One finalist arrived in Cairo suffering from the H1N1 virus and, following standard Egyptian procedure, was taken into quarantine. G4S provided all the support needed to make sure the student was comfortable, liaising with Microsoft to ensure his well-being. Late night planning and rapid changes to schedules ensured that the competition continued with no major interruptions and it concluded successfully with the winners at the foot of the Pyramids. Tom Marshall, G4S regional managing director for Egypt and the Levant, paid tribute to the security team. “They embodied all that is good about G4S and the NAMESA region,” he said. “They showed true team spirit and worked hard to exceed the customer’s expectations and go that extra mile. “I don’t think Mohamed EzzEldin slept for eight days. He seemed to be able to be in three places at once and the team never lost their sense of humour. A job well done.” The top three teams celebrate their success at Microsoft’s “Imagine Cup” finals in Cairo. Outstanding contribution recognised Ian Nisbet, chief executive of G4S Cash Solutions (UK & Ireland), received the “Building the Future” award at the annual lunch of the British Security Industry Association (BSIA) in July. This recognises an individual’s outstanding contribution to raising the profile of the security industry and improving its practices. Brian Sims, editor of SMT Online and one of the two presenters of the award, said Nisbet, in his role as chairman of the BSIA’s Cash and Valuables in Transit Section since 2006, “has been instrumental in driving forward the association’s ongoing campaign to reduce cashin-transit attacks”. The award is determined by previous winners and is bestowed on the person or organisation that has created the most significant footprints towards a vibrant, professional and mutually profitable security guarding industry. Two G4S Cash Solutions crew members were among those who also received special awards for outstanding service, which recognised their courageous or meritorious actions. Also collecting an award at the event was G4S’s Ministry of Defence pre-employment screening team of Gurkhas whose dual role requires them to be training support tutors for the British Army as well as security officers. 50 g4s International issue 3: 2009 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 Austria ● Belgium ● Bulgaria ● Czech Republic ● Cyprus ● Denmark ● Estonia ● Finland ● FYR Macedonia ● Greece ● Guernsey ● Hungary ● Ireland ● Isle of Man ● Jersey ● Latvia ● Lithuania ● Luxembourg ● Malta ● The Netherlands ● Norway ● Poland ● Romania ● Russia ● Serbia ● Slovakia ● Slovenia ● Sweden ● Turkey ● Ukraine ● United Kingdom g4S International issue 3: 2009 51 Asia/Pacific Africa Central/South America Australia ● Afghanistan ● Bangladesh ● Bhutan ● Brunei ● Cambodia ● China ● Guam ● Hong Kong ● India ● Indonesia ● Iraq ● Japan ● Kazakhstan ● South Korea ● Macau ● Malaysia ● Nepal ● New Zealand ● Northern Mariana Islands ● Pakistan ● Papua New Guinea ● Philippines ● Sri Lanka ● Singapore ● Taiwan ● Thailand ● Uzbekistan Algeria ● Angola ● Botswana ● Cameroon ● Central African Republic ● Congo ● Democratic Republic of Congo ● Djibouti ● Gabon ● Gambia ● Ghana ● Guinea ● Ivory Coast ● Kenya ● Lesotho ● Madagascar ● Malawi ● Mali ● Mauritania ● Mauritius ● Morocco ● Mozambique ● Namibia ● Nigeria ● Sierra Leone ● Rwanda ● South Africa ● Sudan ● Tanzania ● Uganda ● Zambia Argentina ● Barbados ● Bolivia ● Chile ● Colombia ● Costa Rica ● Dominican Republic ● Ecuador ● El Salvador ● Guatemala ● Honduras ● Jamaica ● Mexico ● Nicaragua ● Paraguay ● Peru ● Puerto Rico ● Trinidad & Tobago ● Uruguay ● Venezuela Middle East Bahrain ● Egypt ● Israel ● Jordan ● Kuwait ● Lebanon ● Oman ● Qatar ● Saudi Arabia ● Syria ● United Arab Emirates ● Yemen Customers that see the challenge of securing their world more holistically are able to protect critical assets more efficiently, generate extra revenues, reduce costs and deliver a better experience to the people they serve. Recognise that the most secure and beneficial solutions come from understanding the whole problem and the interdependence of parts. Let us help you to see the opportunities that exist in the challenge of securing your world. Transforming security challenges into opportunities For more information on G4S visit www.g4s.com ISSUE 3: 2009 The key to releasing wider benefits for our clients is to always look at the bigger picture and consider solutions that transform performance. To do this, we deliver world class project management that brings together our expertise in logistics, technology, managing the world’s biggest force of security personnel, and the knowledge derived from providing security solutions in diverse regulatory environments in 120 countries around the world. By doing this, we offer governments and businesses secure solutions that deliver more than the sum of their parts. G 4 S I n t e r n at i o n a l Our welfare and prosperity depend on us being able to operate in a safe and secure environment. Sadly, in a world increasingly full of risk, we have to focus even more on our security challenges. When we do, however, most of us focus on the downside. At G4S, we believe that in every security challenge there is an opportunity to unlock hidden benefits that can help us to thrive and prosper. ISSUE 3 09 Taking action on climate change: Reducing our impact on the environment New focus on port security Using curfews to change behaviour Intelligent approach to global risks