London Bridge City attains prestigious police award for security

That being so, the area presents a range of security challenges to manage. Recognising these challenges and the benefits that good security management can bring to all users and occupiers of the site, as well as the surrounding local community, the London Bridge City management team set its sights on achieving the Secured Environments Award as the end result of ensuring that an effective framework was being followed.

To achieve the Secured Environments Award, the organisation underwent a thorough audit of its security processes and procedures. There was also an extensive consultation with staff to verify that they were following six key principles designed to maximise the security of all visitors to – and users of – the area.

The six key principles of the Secured Environments accreditation are a commitment by an organisation and its leadership to create a secure environment, an understanding of the security risks that it faces, the development of an effective response to reduce the risks posed to the organisation, a management plan to achieve its aims and objectives, the effective implementation of planned security and crime prevention measures and the monitoring and evaluation of those crime prevention measures.

Rigorous assessment process

Magnus MacAulay, estate director for London Bridge City, noted: “London Bridge City is delighted to have achieved the police-recognised Secured Environments Award. By submitting our safety and security operation to what is a rigorous assessment process, we’ve demonstrated our commitment to public safety. London Bridge City is determined to continue to provide a safe, welcoming and sustainable place for businesses, the public and the local community and we’re committed to working with the police and other partners to continuously test, evaluate and improve our processes.”

MacAulay concluded: “We are particularly proud that, while the assessment was facilitated by our team of security professionals, the award itself has ultimately been achieved thanks to collaboration involving a multi-disciplinary team. The team members are wholly committed to safety, security and defeating crime.”

Jon Felix, risk and threat advisor at CIS Security, observed: “Achieving this certification by working in partnership with our clients, the police and the wider community is fantastic. The hard work put in by the security, operations and service partners who engaged as a team across London Bridge City is testament to the levels of commitment shown and ensures the safety and security of this iconic landmark location. The Secured Environments principles and those of the future Protect Duty are embedded every day at London Bridge City. We are incredibly proud to be involved in this partnership with London Bridge City.”

Presenting the Secured Environments Award, Guy Ferguson (CEO at Police Crime Prevention Initiatives) stated: “Congratulations to everyone involved for rising to the challenge and meeting the high standards required to achieve the Secured Environments Award.”

Second Secured Environments Award

As a biomedical facility, The Francis Crick Institute in central London is a high-risk organisation facing up to a range of security challenges. Pleasingly, the Institute has recently attained its second Secured Environments Award.

Through close collaboration between The Francis Crick Institute and its security provider Wilson James, not to mention staff across the organisation, the six key principles of Secured Environments outlined above were met.

The Francis Crick Institute will now hold the Secured Environments Award for a further three years.

Fabio Caires, security operations manager at The Francis Crick Institute, said: “This second Secured Environments Award represents another amazing achievement for the team.” Guy Ferguson added: “It’s crucial for organisations to recognise and respond to the crime and security risks they face as good security is valued by both employees and customers. Secured Environments provides that framework for managing security and ensuring its effectiveness.”

County Mall Shopping Centre

County Mall Shopping Centre in Crawley has achieved the Secured Environments Award for the third time. Supported by its managing agent JLL, the Shopping Centre underwent a thorough audit of its managed security processes and procedures, which included consultation with management, security staff and other staff.

The retail sector has, of course, been hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. As shoppers returned to the physical retail environment, it was important for the team at County Mall to continue to ensure they had good security management processes in place to enable them to respond to existing risks, but also continue to adapt to new and changing challenges such as those presented by the evolving nature of the pandemic.

Meeting the Secured Environments principles demonstrates that they have those management processes in place and that the organisation is committed to providing a secure environment for everyone who works at or visits the site.

Simon Cuckow, manager at the County Mall Shopping Centre, said: “After a challenging two years, it’s great to see that we have been reviewed and judged to be performing at the required standard to achieve this prestigious award.”

Charlotte Howell, research manager at Perpetuity Research, stated: “Now, perhaps more than ever before, it’s crucial for organisations to have structures and processes in place to be able to respond to a wide range of security challenges. This is a fantastic achievement for the County Mall Shopping Centre and JLL team.”

Guy Ferguson noted: “Congratulations are due to the County Mall Shopping Centre team for rising to this challenge and meeting the high standards required to achieve the Secured Environments Award for a third time.”