IFPO UK and Ireland appoints Professor Mark Button to Advisory Board

The Advisory Board is a group of highly experienced security professionals drawn from across the sector and plays a vital role in determining the direction IFPO UK and Ireland will be taking over the coming months and years in terms of its governance and in its mission to support the education and career development of front line security officers, supervisors and managers.

Advisory Board members include Chris Middleton Dip ML MSyI (security and client services director at ABM UK), Dr Peter Stiernstedt (senior lecturer in criminology at the University of West London), Yolanda Hamblen (head of physical security operations at Virgin Media) and Les Allen (chair of the Association of University Chief Security Officers) as well as Brian Sims BA (Hons) Hon FSyI, Editor of Security Matters.

Author and consultant

Professor Mark Button is director of the Centre for Counter Fraud Studies at the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice, itself part of the University of Portsmouth. Across the years, he has written extensively on counter fraud, cyber fraud, security and private policing issues, publishing many articles and completing several books.

In fact, Professor Button has authored ten books, including ‘Private Policing’ (published by Routledge), ‘Security Officers and Policing’ (published by Ashgate) and ‘Private Security’ (co-written with Bruce George MP), the latter published by Perpetuity.

In addition, Button has served as a consultant for the United Nations Offices on Drugs and Crime on developing international standards for civilian private security services, co-writing a UN Handbook on the regulation of private security.

Button is also a Fellow of The Security Institute and a former Board member. Before joining the University of Portsmouth, he was a research assistant to Bruce George MP specialising in policing, security and home affairs issues.

Professor Button completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Exeter, his Masters at the University of Warwick Business School and his Doctorate at the London School of Economics.

Input and insight

Speaking about this latest appointment to IFPO UK and Ireland’s Advisory Board, Mike Hurst CPP (director of IFPO UK and Ireland and a member of the organisation’s global Board of Directors) commented: “Having someone of the calibre of Professor Mark Button on our Advisory Board can only serve to strengthen what is already a stellar team of senior security professionals. We very much look forward to his input and insight.”

IFPO is a not-for-profit membership association that provides professional learning and career advancements opportunities for security officers, supervisors and managers to impart the knowledge, skills and competencies required for them to maximise their job performance and enhance their career potential. Alongside education, the subjects of mental health and well-being are at the very core of IFPO’s ongoing activities.

IFPO was founded back in 1988 and boasts members in 68 different countries. To date, upwards of 100,000 professionals have studied for IFPO qualifications.