Is Small Beautiful When It Comes To Security?

Are you an Events Organiser or Personal Assistant who believes in the convenience of only choosing the security companies with the biggest names, fully expecting that it guarantees you will be getting the best value for your money? Or perhaps as a result of choosing one of the large security companies, you felt that you were badly let down by their class of employee and attitude? If you answered both or even just one of these with a yes, then you need to be querying the logic behind such a choice and ask the question; can a major security company that claims it employs thousands of SIA licence holding members, really supply a consistent level of quality operator that will satisfy the demands of your client? The SIA will try and convince you that holding an SIA licence is indeed an assurance that the standard of employee will be of the highest order because they have fulfilled the required SIA criteria but ask those who find themselves directly involved with the events, if they believe the quality is of a consistently high standard and you will get a resounding no. The old maxim of quantity over quality seems almost appropriate when describing the workforce of these larger security companies. For you to realise fully why utilising the services of a large security company may not be the most suitable option for you, then you need to know why the SIA was brought into existence and just who they are. According to SIA information, the security industry had the perception for being associated with the criminal element. It was decided that it was in desperate need of cleaning up and regulation. The Security Industry Authority or, SIA, is responsible for regulating the security industry. They are an independent group who are accountable to the Home Secretary, under the stipulations of the Private Security Industry Act 2001. Their area of responsibility is to control the private security industry for the purpose of reducing criminality, raising values and to identify quality service providers. Their main focus is the on the mandatory licensing of those wishing to work within the private security industry and to handle the voluntary Approved Contractor Scheme, this scheme measures security companies against independently assessed criteria. What we have now, as a result of SIA meddling, are Personal Assistants and Events Organisers who cannot see past the SIA smoke and mirrors and believe that all SIA licence holders are created equal and therefore do not believe it necessary to research the company or their staff backgrounds. If we go back and look at the claimed reason for the formation of the SIA, were they justified in making that statement about widespread criminal involvement? Possibly this perception of criminality could have been applied to the lower end of the security spectrum, the doorman and site security markets but it certainly did not apply to the people working in Close Protection. Those working in Close Protection were self regulating and fastidious about their reputations; only working with those they knew previously and were of the same high standards. If you ever tried to break into the London bodyguard scene, famously known as The Circuit, then you will have an understanding of what I mean, it was nigh impossible. At first glance this may seem unreasonable, possibly unjust but it had the desired effect of providing only the best security personnel for a the protection of a client. At this stage you may be asking yourself one or two questions, such as; why would I hire from a small security company who wish to supply more expensive Close Protection Officers for a job that I am sure only needs those with an SIA door supervisor licence and will therefore be cheaper, also can a larger company not provide the same type of security person? The answers are versatility and quality. You will find that a smaller security company has far greater control over their staff as it is more intimate and that their personnel will have a different mindset to those working for a corporation. They will be vastly experienced, they will have an greater sense of pride in their work and will attain a level of professionalism that cannot be matched. Whilst you may flinch at the initial difference in price between Door Supervisors and Close Protection Officers but when you understand what you are getting for your money then you will realise that you are getting the best value possible. In fact, what you are getting for your money is a far superior operator in all aspects, someone who will be able to carry out a varied amount of security related tasks over and above those that a door supervisor can and do so at a standard that is greater than the one stipulated by the SIA. Should you still not be convinced that a smaller security company would suit your and the interests of your client far better, then the best of luck to you as you will need it. Some of the incidents we have witnessed, whilst subcontracted to these large security companies, would open your eyes to the types of character that slips through the net and onto their books. Such as; initiating fights for their own personal gratification, boasting about what they have just stolen from the very people they were hired to protect, disappearing every time a police sniffer dog was in the vicinity and SIA licence holders who could not speak English. So just how do you know if you are hiring the right security company? The best way is to go back to the techniques used before absolute belief in the SIA badge and that is through word of mouth, others recommendations, testimonials and references from people who have had a great deal of satisfaction from using a particular company. You must understand that a smaller firm knows only too well that it cannot stay in business if the reputation of the company has been tarnished through supplying anything other than the very best security personnel and services.

We as a service provider at Go Executive Protection utilise an experienced and professional Private Investigator who has experience working at the very top and provide his services at a price to suit you, not only that we are also able to provide you with access to some of the most widely regarded Close Protection Officers that are working in the industry today.