Ian Dyson QPM DL appointed chair of CSPRA

CSPRA, of course, is the body that oversees the admission, governance and maintenance of the Register of Chartered Security Professionals and is appointed by The Worshipful Company of Security Professionals, the owner of the Register.

Successful security management requires proven competencies across a range of technical disciplines including strategy, cyber security, risk and project management, leadership, regulation, communications and reporting. Prior to 2010 here in the UK, there was no independent professional qualification based on assessments carried out within the working environment. The launch of the Register by The Worshipful Company benefited the entire security sector, business, communities and individuals.

Knowledge, presence and experience

Russell Penny, the current Master of The Worshipful Company, explained: “I’m delighted that Ian has recognised how the Register brings benefit and is prepared to take on being the independent chair of the Registration Authority. His knowledge, presence and experience will be a very welcome addition. On behalf of The Worshipful Company, I welcome him to the organisation.”

Don Randall MBE CSyP was serving as Master of The Worshipful Company when the Register was launched and is hugely respected for having forged a distinguished career in the City of London Police before moving into the commercial sector. Randall played a key role in the original team who set the criteria for the CSyP designation when it was launched in 2011 and was also instrumental in introducing Dyson to the Register.

“Following the sad passing of Lady Ruth,” observed Randall, “filling the role of CSPRA chair was never going to be easy. We were delighted when Ian accepted The Worshipful Company’s invitation to become the new chair. Throughout his policing career, Ian has always exercised wise judgement, compassion and understanding in his deliberations and decision-making. These are qualities Lady Ruth practised in abundance. We feel certain that she would fully endorse Ian’s appointment.”

Different policing disciplines

Dyson has spent much of his life in London. He joined the Metropolitan Police Service in 1983, straight from university, subsequently working across a range of different disciplines.

For eleven years, Dyson was a public order trained senior officer with extensive experience of commanding the policing of large public events, including no fewer than 18 Notting Hill Carnivals.

He then joined Surrey Police as assistant chief constable in June 2008 followed by the City of London Police as commander in September 2010, becoming the chief officer lead on economic crime and also expanding the force’s national fraud responsibilities. Dyson was the national police lead for contact management and led the national roll-out for the 101 non-emergency number.

Two years later, Dyson was promoted to assistant commissioner, leading on business change and performance. He was promoted to commissioner in January 2016 and led the force through challenging times of financial constraint, in addition to two terrorist attacks on London Bridge in 2017 and 2019.

Fraud and economic crime

During this period, Dyson was the national police lead for fraud, economic crime, cyber crime, financial investigations and business crime. He was also the national police lead on technology and information management and, for six years, the national police senior information risk owner.

Dyson retired from the police service after 38 years in January 2022. He’s now a Trustee of several charities and sits as a non-executive director or advisor to a number of companies in the crime, tech or cyber security sectors.

He was awarded the Queen’s Police Medal in 2016, is a Distinguished Fellow of the Royal United Services Institute and became a Deputy Lieutenant for Greater London two years ago.

Professionalising security

In commenting his new appointment, Dyson noted: “It’s a huge privilege to be taking on the role of chair of the CSPRA and, in doing so, I pay tribute to Baroness Ruth Henig, who was an exemplary chair and widely respected both inside and outside of the industry.”

Dyson continued: “During my time in the City of London Police, I witnessed the impressive work of The Security Institute and The Worshipful Company in helping to professionalise the security industry and I very much hope to continue to build on the excellent work completed to date.”

Dyson was able to meet a large cohort of volunteer assessors at a special celebratory gathering hosted by Corps Security at its London headquarters on 30 May. All assessors are themselves Chartered Security Professionals and are specially trained to offer their support to potential registrants through mentoring, document assessing and interviewing. Each applicant is assessed by a minimum of seven assessors a part of a vigorous onboarding process.

Chartered Security Professionals lead by example, putting their considerable security knowledge into practice, demonstrating high standards, leadership and communication skills, all of them harbouring an individual personal commitment to continued learning.

Dyson is now very much looking forward to chairing his first CSPRA meeting in July at Mercer’s Hall and watching on as the CSyP recruitment approaches 300. He will also host the annual celebratory dinner for Chartered Security Professionals, which is being held at Ironmonger’s Hall on 23 September.

*Further information is available online at www.charteredsecurityprofessional.org