Police and private security officers in “show of force” across City of London

The third annual ‘HI Viz! Day’ exercise showcased the fact that the Square Mile is a safe environment for everyone who visits, lives in or works within the area, as well as improving community engagement.

Throughout the day, members of the public were invited to chat with City of London police officers and security officers – all of them clad in high-visibility jackets – at ‘pop up’ centres located at St Paul’s, the Royal Exchange, the Aviva Plaza and at Liverpool Street/Bishopsgate.

With the night-time economy enjoying post-COVID growth, officers visited licenced premises during the evening to discuss ways in which to lower incidents of violence – notably so against women – and theft.

In what has been described as the ‘Best Practice’ public safety model, the City of London Police is working hand in glove with the City Security Council – an umbrella group of premier security companies based in the City – to improve the real-time flow of incident information.

The collaboration directly connects police officers with private security professionals working across the City, enabling them to be instantly alerted and updated about any potential incident.

Show of strength

“The third ‘HI Viz! Day’ represents a show of strength between the police and the private sector,” stated Ray Marskell, chief inspector at the City of London Police. “Security officers are often the first responders to an incident and can act as our eyes and ears until police officers   on the scene.”

Marskell added: “The reality is that trained and qualified security professionals play an important role in detecting and limiting the impact of crimes. Working together and quickly sharing intelligence makes the City of London a safer place. Put simply, it’s Best Practice procedure and a blueprint that other cities should consider.”

At the centre of the process is the recently installed CityINTEL joint communications platform. Sitting in the City of London Police Joint Command Control Room, the bespoke system allows controllers to quickly select the most appropriate individuals to send to a reported incident. The two-way flow of information can be targeted to individual buildings and chosen areas, as well as used to broadcast more generally to City Security Council members.

City trials

“We know that other cities like Manchester and Birmingham are considering the idea of trialling the CityINTEL platform later this year,” observed Ashley Fernandes, chair of the City Security Council. “Effective policing relies on efficient communication with all stakeholders. Professionally trained security officers are an everyday part of life, so enabling them to speedily share information about an incident can only make our city and country safer.”

Fernandes continued: “We know that, in times of crisis, speed is of the essence. Security professionals play an important role in the process if they can instantly react to a situation and immediately communicate with the police.”

In conclusion, Fernandes added: “Having key people on the ground who are able to supply accurate and instant upgrades to the police plays a key role in their decision-making. Our collaboration with the City of London Police and Borough Councils is making a genuine impact. We hope this model can be replicated to improve safety in other cities and communities across the UK.”