Security Thought Leadership: in conversation with Martin Gill

Attracting new recruits to the security sector has long been heralded as a challenge. Much more of a hurdle, albeit one that is rarely discussed, is the engagement of those who are teenagers, and particularly those who are most disaffected and at risk of taking the wrong path. On the face of it security would seem to have a role to play, but does it? What does good engagement with teenagers look l...

There is increasing evidence that economic criminals operate under the radar of crime prevention measures and outside of the mainstay of law enforcement activity. In some countries at least (and the UK is an example) the majority of crime is fraud (and related offences). Offenders say different types of economic crime are easy to commit, unlikely to pursued by authorities, and so the chances of av...

The research on the effectiveness of CPTED has been quite positive, but is it evolving logically and should this be a focus of attention for security professionals. Does the modern variation need to include the additional ‘M’ for management? What did Covid teach us about how to use space wisely and were CPTED principles relevant? In seeking to tackle bribery, slum control, cartels, gated communiti...

All over the world the security sector is adjusting to new pressures and opportunities, this includes the aftermath of the pandemic but many other things too including, globalisation, improved technologies, greater integration, the attraction of good parentships and the difficulties of achieving them, the move to professionalisation of security and what that entails. The question is, on these type...

There has long been criticisms of the way security is purchased with claims that buyers prioritise price over quality, while suppliers accept low price bids to cut out the opposition. Meanwhile the image of security is tarnished. But how common is bad practice and what are the ways of remedying it? Is the security prepared to change and will it? What factors will influence buyers in engaging with...

All those involved with security know about the importance of learning from past events, but how good is the security sector at preparing in advance? What are the options to help prepare? To what extent are plans tested and what are the learning points? Major incidents such as terrorist attacks are mercifully rare, and there is guidance available on how to respond but how well practiced is the sec...

Estimating the cost of economic crime has always proved challenging, not least because of various definitions adopted and offences included. Whereas some reports claim that accurate methods of measuring losses have been developed in the last decade, is this really the case? Not only are many of these estimates, but they rarely include the ‘hidden’ costs of fraud, such as the personal costs to vict...

Luxury items are inevitably attractive to offenders, be they thieves, fraudsters or counterfeiters. Similarly, the supply chain is inevitably complex, involving many points at which goods are potentially vulnerable, including manufacture, transportation, storage and sale (physically and online). So what are the key challenges? How do security managers keep up to date with evolving offender practic...

The implications of war are daily news in many countries. Beyond the human tragedy of all those directly involved are an array if implications for countries and their populations around the world. In this webinar we feature specific implications for the global security sector. These are diverse, but what are the most important ones and how should they be assessed? In this webinar we will discuss:...

Why should the security sector be conscious of Pride all year round? This webinar will explore the significance of Pride and the current status of LGBTQ+ representation across the sector. It will also cover the tangible actions that the security sector can take to being truly inclusive. To create positive change for the LGBTQ+ community it is essential that a collaborative approach is taken across...

On the one hand security is regularly discussed as being primarily about people, and on the other we learn continually about the role of security personnel engaging with all parts of organisations. There are many elements to engaging people well, and there is a group of professionals that are specialists in people management and maximising the potential of people at work, namely Human Resources pr...

No doubt all of us have experienced or are aware of the dangers posed by ransomware attacks. But it would be a mistake to see the motives as purely financial gain, it is more complex than that. Indeed, there are many areas of interest. For example, nation state actors are involved, but how? What are their motives? Where are the risks? How significant is the insider threat? Who has responsibility t...

There is now an abundance of security qualifications and certifications, they have taken off dramatically in recent years. But are there now too many to the extent that it has led to confusion and undermined their very credibility? Does it matter? Are some more credible than others and how should we distinguish? To what extent does the credibility of the security profession depend on getting certi...

While it is well known that in order to operate terrorists need weapons, what is less well known and much less discussed is how they get them.  In this interview, Frank Portinari explains how he developed from being a football hooligan, to involvement in right wing extremism, to supplying guns to loyalist paramilitaries entering the world of terrorism and assassinations and eventually prison. It i...

Body worn cameras have been widely heralded by the security sector for generating a range of benefits, not least the fact they provide evidence to support interactions preventing – or at least reducing the chances – of frivolous claims of malpractice. They have also been welcomed for giving the security personnel who use them confidence in tricky situations. Yet, others have viewed them as an intr...

It has long been argued that the knowledge domains of cyber and physical security professionals differ markedly, in some cases complicating converged activities. At the same time there has been a great coming together, not always harmoniously. So where are we now? In terms of outstanding performance what can each group of professionals learn from the other? How do they perceive each other? When ar...

There has been a growth of different mechanisms around the world for the initial notification and management of security incidents, but there has been relatively little discussion about the pros and cons of the best ways of doing so effectively. Arguably this is the crucial stage of security response, ineffectiveness here can be severely detrimental as to how well security (technology and personne...

The traditional problem, suppliers want to charge more for a better service versus clients who want to pay less for a more targeted service, has been and is being played out globally. The difficulty of recruiting personnel, and keeping them, plus the opportunities provided by technology against a background of economic austerity are factors that are giving this topic both extra attention and a mod...

BIDs, which operate under various names first grew to prominence in Canada and the USA and have since expanded across the world. In essence they involve businesses coming together to improve the local and business trading environment with mixed success. Certainly, the role for security varies, sometimes being (at best) marginal and other times core to improving trade and the local communities they...

There are well rehearsed benefits of whistleblowing. For the organisation is not least the opportunity to learn about risks that might otherwise not be identified, and being seen to be following good corporate governance. But what about for the whistle-blower? How can and do organisations prevent victimisation and detriment? How common are these? Once reported, how does an organisation balance a n...

Around the world ‘Food and Agriculture’ is often designated a Critical Infrastructure Sector. It is diverse – e.g. crops, livestock, poultry, seafood – and the threats are as diverse as climate change, international conflicts and theft and fraud including by organised criminals. Clearly this is an area where security professionals have had to step up, but how well protected is our food supply?  Wh...

Fraud is now the most common offence. The sense is that offenders have adapted quicker than those responsible for preventing and responding to crime. There was once a view that suffering financial loss was much less traumatic than suffering physically and that is gradually being challenged. But where are we with managing the response to being victimised? What is being done and where are the gaps?...

The notion that there are physical security products and, separately, digital security products belongs in a museum. These days, all electronic physical security products are cyber ones too. And while that generates enormous advantages, it also has limits; for starters it creates security weaknesses. Research around the Internet of Things (IoT) has illustrated the benefits and drawbacks while high...

There is a wealth of understandable enthusiasm for promoting ED&I in business, morally, ethically and also, and for business this is important, commercially too.  The question is, how strong is the evidence that ED&I is good for business? Where does that come from and what does it suggest? Then there are the practical ways of measuring it, how can this be done meaningfully? Can we trust or...

There are many offences against wildlife and they can be serious. For example, illegal wildlife markets are being exploited by international organised crime groups because they are seen as low risk and high reward. The consequences are serious, the widespread problem of illegal fishing is just one example where the impact has been under employed fishing crews turning to drug trafficking or being e...