Security Thought Leadership: in conversation with Martin Gill

The traditional view of the security sector that it was focussed on the protection of assets, has led some to narrowly define its work in these terms. So claims that it only works in the interests of those who can afford to pay persists. Yet the security sector generates many benefits way beyond this. In many countries most of a country’s national infrastructure is protected by the broader private...

Why is it that around the world regulators have such a priority focus on security officers/guards and not on managers and directors? Is it because only frontline workers are considered important enough? All too often attention is paid to improving the education and training of officers/guards, upskilling them and ensuring they are competent, but can you ever have a competent team or company if onl...

In previous webinars we have heard about the fraud risks in the speed with which Governments have offered financial help without adequate (or sometimes any) fraud risk assessments; and the dangers of people working from home where there are less developed systems of fraud control and less oversight. To what extent are forms of these challenges replicated in the Public sector and how are they diffe...

The pandemic has had a dramatic impact on people’s daily routines, it has disrupted business and personal operations globally. But what has been happening to crime rates has received scant attention, at least in public discourse. What we do know is that offenders are good innovators, that they are adept at exploiting new opportunities when current ones are blocked. So how have they adapted and wha...

The world has experienced a change, one that has impacted on the personal and professional lives of nearly all people. Security personnel have been at the forefront, either losing their job as some industries stopped functioning (e.g. airports and hospitality), or adjusting to the new demands and pressures incumbent on all frontline workers. So how has this impacted in Nigeria? What changes have b...

This session is sponsored by Altia https://www.altiaintel.com/ We tend to think of fraud as an offence committed because an opportunity presents itself and that some individuals will take advantage of these situations because they are motivated by greed. Whereas, increasingly we are witnessing more organised and sophisticated fraudulent attacks against organisations, many of which involve consider...

It is always a risk that a company will become a victim of a ransomware attack, and the consequences can be severe. What should victims do: lose business and not give in or a go for a quick fix by succumbing to the demands of offenders? Law enforcement generally advises against payment, business owners often prioritise the pecuniary imperative. But what are the principles that should govern decisi...

The value of diversity is unquestioned, yet it is far from clear that the security sector is good at engaging with this issue, certainly not across sectors and at different levels. One recruitment consultant described the issue as ‘real’ and another as ‘imagined’; in short it is specious. In this webinar we will discuss the basis for the argument that diversity is a challenge in the security secto...

The pandemic has changed business operations, at least in the short term. It became very difficult to travel, most often it was prevented by law and by companies except in the most necessary of circumstances. So what changed and how and what has security learned? To what extent will the new normal mark new ways of security working in managing staff travel? Will we ever return to the old ways and w...

The pandemic has affected many business activities in different ways but arguably one area where the impact has been the most dramatic is security events, specifically physical conferences and exhibitions. There has been a move to virtual events, but where does that leave the physical ones? When will get the opportunity to network in person again? Will exhibitors ever come back? Are virtual events...

Our Thought Leadership webinars have taken a global perspective, yet to-date we have had limited insight on the role of the security sector in Russia. The aim of this webinar is to address that. The aim is to explore the state of crime and security, the major crime problems that exist and the role of the Russian security sector in responding. We will examine what role it plays, the means of holdin...

Our webinars have covered many security issues in many countries, and this theme continues with a specific focus on South East Asia, it will build on a previous webinar that highlighted some key issues earlier in the pandemic. What makes this particularly important is that Asian countries including are frequently seen – particularly by many in the West – as setting examples in good security practi...

Over recent months there have been growing concerns about the mental health of a range of workers. These have ranged from those working from home for long periods without appropriate support; those who have been concerned about the stability of their roles; and those working on the frontline dealing with the consequences of the pandemic. One group that fits this latter categorisation well is front...

Global Security Operations Centres (GSOCs) are widely heralded as a key interface between receiving data and using it in some way. They combine expertise in for example, creating and managing intelligence (avoiding being overwhelmed by the volumes available) and communicating that in a target user friendly way, facilitating an intelligence led approach to security. They take many forms, for exampl...

There can be few concepts or frameworks that have received so much coverage as ESRM. It draws upon a range of established good practices and is sometimes presented as an unqualified good bringing together the best learnings from many approaches to security. Yet, not all organisations adopt it. After all, the concept of the business owning the risk appears good, but at what point does that go too f...

Previous webinars have helped highlight the learning points from the security experience of the pandemic, across the globe. But one place about which we have heard very little is Germany. This is perhaps all the more striking given that in some countries the German response to Covid-19 has been a reference point for good practice. But what about for security? In this webinar we will explore how Ge...

Previous webinars this year have highlighted some of the things that security has done well, for example, stepping up quickly in the crisis, responding to changing demands on the frontline effectively, providing a reference point of expertise in a chaotic period in organisational life. But not all agree, others have pointed to: organisational hierarchies viewing security as secondary to say health...

Around the world we are seeing pockets of content about Government responses to Covid-19. There is resentment in some quarters to the enforced lockdowns and the impact on civil liberties. Some see lockdown restrictions as draconian or at least an ‘over the top’ reaction, and setting dangerous precedents. The protests are for other reasons too, for example where financial assistance is promised and...

This session is sponsored by Altia-ABM https://altia-abm.com/ In the UK it has been shown that a third of all offences are fraud related. This is massive. All the more striking is evidence that the impact of fraud on victims can be considerable, as much as some violent crimes. Meanwhile, the police response might best be characterised by the word ‘challenging’. There are complaints that the proces...

This session is sponsored by Altia-ABM https://altia-abm.com/ It is something of a common-sense view that we should make offenders pay for their crimes by confiscating any financial benefits they have accrued for offending. There are strategies in many countries but all too often they have fallen short of public expectations to deliver large sums of money or to make offenders feel the threat is a...

Previous webinars have discussed the role of security in different countries. We  have seen that there country specific struggles that Covid-19 poses are very different, at the same time though there are opportunities to learn about how to do security better. In a previous webinar some of the challenges discussed included: the need for security professionals to respond quickly to a mounting crisis...

There has been a long-held view that the criminal justice system has focussed on the need to address offending to an extent that has overlooked the needs and interests of the victim. From the 1970s onwards many countries have developed ways to refocus processes to take account of the crucial role of victims in providing essential evidence in the most daunting of environments. A range of victim ser...

The session took place as part of the National Association for Healthcare Security’s (NAHS) online conference https://nahs.org.uk/ The session begins with a welcome and presentation by Professor Martin Gill, followed by a panel discussion chaired by Martin Gill: Security and the Healthcare sector: marginalised during Covid-19 or the centre of operations? During pandemics healthcare services are lo...

We have heard a lot about the need for security to raise awareness, both within organisations, and also amongst society generally. For too long security has too often operated under the radar; and been proud to do so. Yet it can be argued this fact alone has led to some of its most salient difficulties, namely, that it is under appreciated (by a variety of stakeholders), and is wrongly perceived a...

The disruption of business operations has of course been a distinct feature of the pandemic, and security personnel at all levels have been at the forefront in responding. Previous webinars have highlighted a range of challenges, faced by buyers and suppliers, these have included: the process of identifying the types of different disruptions and then coordinating appropriate responses; determining...