“I would highly recommend using members of the UK Security Alliance for all your professional security requirements” – Jerry Springer

London, England, 17^th Jan 2011 – The UK Security Alliance is a unique group that has been created by working professional close protection officers looking to raise the standards of the close protection industry. This once self-regulating industry is now awash with badly trained, inexperienced people since government licensing was introduced in 2006. The UK Security Alliance has been created to distinguish between professional career security officers and the people who just fancied trying something different or exciting. This is achieved by our unique membership system.

Stephen Hopkins, founder of the UK Security Alliance comments “People who use professional security services don’t realise that holding an SIA (Security Industry Authority) close protection licence only means a person has passed a 14 day course, has a clean criminal history and has paid £245 to the Government to be allowed to work in the security industry. The shocking reality is that you could be entrusting your safety to someone who has never worked in the security industry before. The UK Security Alliance offers free professional advice to potential purchasers of professional security services, and if someone would like us to put a potential task to our members, we are happy to do so free of charge after we have carried out all necessary due diligence.”

Jerry Springer – media personality, user of professional security services and current user of UK Security Alliance members says “It’s very important to know that the person in charge of your safety knows what they are doing. I feel safe and secure knowing I am in the experienced hands of members from the UK Security Alliance. I would highly recommend using the members of the UK Security Alliance for all your professional security requirements.”

The UK Security Alliance is a not-for-profit group. Stephen Hopkins has worked in the security industry for over 11 years, managing corporate and entertainment close protection tasks. The UK Security Alliance aims to raise the standards of the close protection industry, and connect close protection security service buyers with professional security companies and individuals.

For further information please visit UK Security Alliance Web Site or contact:
UK Security Alliance
contact [@] uksecurityalliance.co.uk
Follow UK Security Alliance on Twitter @theUKSA

The UK Security Alliance (UKSA) has been created by working professional close protection officers looking to raise the standards of the close protection industry. The once self-regulating industry is now awash with badly trained, inexperienced people since government licensing was introduced in 2006.

The UK Security Alliance is a networking tool for professional close protection officers and a resource for purchasers of close protection service. Membership to the UK Security Alliance is by invitation only from current members, with professional close protection officers staking their reputations on the people they invite to join. This ensures that only the best qualified and experience CPO’s become members.

The UK Security Alliance is not associated with any Government organisation or with any other security ‘association’. Created by close protection officers, for close protection officers, the aim of UKSA is to ensure purchasers of close protection services have the correct information and advice they need to make an informed decision about the security officers and companies they use. This is a free service.

The UK Security Alliance are happy to forward details of close protection jobs to their members, only after necessary due diligents has been completed. This is a free service to purchasers of close protection services.

More information on the UK Security Alliance is available on the UK Security Alliance web site.

Contact with the UK Security Alliance is initially always through the UK Security Alliance Contacts page of the web site.

An official press release from the UK Security Alliance is expected soon.

The shocking reality is that the person you could be entrusting yours and possibly your families safety to, may never have worked in security before.  Yes, they may have a close protection licence issued by the SIA (Security Industry Authority), but all this really means is that they have completed and passed a 150 hour course, have been vetted by means of a CRB check (Criminal Records Bureau), and have paid £245 to the government to be allowed to work legally in the UK security industry.

Many security companies advertise that all their security officers are SIA licenced – Well they should be anyway as it’s the law, BUT, just being in possession of an SIA Licence DOES NOT guarantee that you will get the experienced and knowledgeable security officer you think you are getting.

Licensing the close protection industry meant that the once self-regulating CP industry was now open to all. There are now over 6,500 licenced close protection people.

I have personally seen people who are willing to work for minimum wage to get their foot in the door and get some working experience in close protection. I would never even consider putting someone with no CP experience on a task, but other companies do, and they do it because there is profit in doing so.

YOU are solely in charge of your security. This means you decide if you need close protection services, but it doesn’t stop there. It’s still up to you to make sure you have security officers that have the knowledge and experience to carry out the task. If you or your representative purchase close protection services based on price alone, then you are cutting corners on something you could end up regretting.

Anyone can put up a web site, borrow text from other sites and make it seem like they are experts in the security industry. Some security companies throw the huge security net out there, hoping that if they offer every security related service, that they might get a bite. We write this blog so that it gives you an insight into how we think, and we have considerable experience in the security services we offer.

If you need close protection services and think you’ve negotiated a great deal for £10 per hour, after the company has taken their part, the person on the ground might be lucky to get £8 per hour. Be aware that this is the type of cost that you won’t find experienced CPO’s willing to work for, but the people who have no experience will. You have just taken a huge gamble on your security.

We have quoted for jobs that we didn’t initially get, only to be called half way through to come and take over because the people they had chosen for the task turned up late every day, were scruffy, didn’t have any people skills, didn’t understand the job requirements or were completely the wrong type of people for the environment … but they were initially chosen because they were cheaper!

If your security is important to you and you require experienced, professional close protection security officers, then please contact us.

With so many security companies to choose from, how do you select a goood one? Or more importantly, the right one for your security task?

I can’t tell you how you do that, but I can tell you about Capitol Risk and how we do things.

At Capitol Risk, we still have old school values when it comes to the security officers we use, no matter what the task is.

We don’t believe that just because a security officer is ex-special forces or police, makes them the right choice to be placed on your security detail. We don’t try and force that point on potential clients either. If the security task requires someone to stand in the same place for 5 hours, you still need the right person for that task.

People who are unfamiliar with the UK security industry may think that just because a security officer holds a valid Close Protection licence, they are qualified and experienced enough to give you the level of protection you require. On paper, these security officers are qualified, but the unfortunate reality is that many people who hold SIA Close Protection Licences have never worked in the security industry, and many CP licence holders who do work in the security industry may never have worked as part of a real close protection detail.

This is where our experience in the security industry and our values really come in to play. We only use professional career security officers who we have personally worked with, or who have come through our network of professional security officers. Professionals will never risk tarnishing their reputations by recommending someone who might be below standard, so to us it makes perfect sense to hire using this format.

There are many factors that go into team selection, but when you use Capitol Risk, you can rest assured that we will have found the best people to suit your security requirements. We have never placed someone on a security team just because they have the right SIA licence.

Capitol Risk are very well connected in London and work with the best supplementary services in the West End. We have access to a  fleet of brand new, very high spec Mercedes, at your disposal, with a brand new Bentley for that special occasion, and other vehicles available on special request. We have access to a Box at the o2 Arena and can usually arrange tickets for booked out shows and restaurants in the West End. Offering more than just personal security services, we can assign a personal assistant to the team who will manage your complete visit.

Contact Capitol Risk to find out how we can help you with your next security task.

contact @ capitol risk. co.uk

I have spoken to some huge guys who said they were close protection officers, and they told me that if something happened they would easily be able to stop it! The one thing that both clients and people new to the industry forget is that close protection is about spotting potential problems before they happen and getting the principal away from the threat. The “I can stop trouble when it happens” train of thought most likely comes from working on the doors for years, where that’s exactly what you have to do.

I have seen people who use close protection services surround themselves with the biggest guys they can find, but big doesn’t necessarily equal safe. If you choose to have this style of security, be aware that wherever you go, everyone will know where you are and how many security officers you have.

Regardless of what guys you have in your security team, just make sure they are suitable for the position. A good test is to ask prospective security officers what their definition of close protection is. If they answer “to stop trouble” or “to keep the principal safe” then there’s a chance they don’t really understand what close protection is really about.

I have worked with many close protection officers who have been ex-military, and they have been some of the top guys I have worked with, but if you do require close protection, do you really require ex-military personnel?

If we are talking about security details in hostile environments, then 99% of the time you have to come from an ex-military background to get these positions. But for the sake of this article, we are talking about working in a London security team.

Just because someone has been in the army, it doesn’t automatically qualify them to work in the close protection field and it certainly doesn’t make them security experts. Ex-military personnel do have skills that security officers form a “civvy” background might not, but do you really need those skills for your London secuirity?

Some ex-military personnel are lucky enough to have completed extensive courses on close protection whist serving, but most haven’t. People leave the armed forces every day, complete the same SIA close protection courses that everyone else does, and that’s it.

Personally, when I’m putting a CP team together, I don’t over look anyone who has the relative experience for the job in hand. It doesn’t matter that some close protection officers might be ex-military and some might not. What matters is that the close protection officers know how to do their job so that their principal can go about their business in a safe environment to the perceived level of threat.

There are many documented cases of famous people who have been away from home and had their houses targeted by thieves. More serious cases have reported the persons family being held at knife-point.

Stories such as these could have been avoided by means of a simple risk assessment. If you are going on holiday or leaving town for a couple of days and half the world know where you are, then you should put together a simple security plan to safeguard your home and/or family. What people sometime forget, is that it’s not just the law-abiding citizens who are reading the news papers and magazines.

For celebrities who need the media for their careers, they must remember that the thing that keeps them in the public eye can also be their enemy. I remember seeing a large photo in a tabloid news paper of a football player leaving his house, wallet in hand, and it was clearly stuffed with £50 notes! Possible future target?

Its not a case of surrounding yourself with bodyguards. It’s about making yourself aware that being in the public eye can make you a target, and raising your personal security awareness could dramatically lessen your chances of becoming a victim of crime. Just because something hasn’t happened, doesn’t mean that it won’t happen in the future.

The number one rule of personal security is that YOU are responsible for your own personal security!

This rule doesn’t mean you have to undertake every aspect of your own security. Just recognizing that you need to make some changes and reporting them to the security manager is a great start. If you work for a large corporation or are a celebrity in your field, you will usually have an in-house  security manager you can ask for advice.  They should then be able to make some recommendations  for you. If you don’t have an in-house security manager but still recognize you might need to make some changes, then contacting a trusted, professional and experienced company like Capitol Risk is a good place to start.

Building a relationship with a good security company can be an invaluable asset.  It’s assuring knowing you have someone to turn to if you really need help any time of the day or night.

Supplying security services now days is more than just about supplying security officers. Capitol Risk for example can organize for you to be picked up, driven to a private airport to meet a private aircraft and then flown to an exclusive luxury paradise island. Then once you are fully relaxed, bring you all the way back home to your door step. If you would one day be on holiday and happen to find yourself in the middle of a political uprising, then we would also be in a position to get security officers to you and get you out of the country.  Extensive networks and connections enable us to bring you fully managed security services for every aspect of your life.

I once had a client say to me that he wasn’t going to call me about a specific task as it was only small and he thought it would be too much trouble. I told him that it doesn’t matter what the task is, it’s always best to call as that’s what we are here for; and I would say that to everyone who might think the same. Every security task we undertake gets 100% of our dedication, nothing is ever too small.

Remember – There is no such thing as random crime.

Making arrangements and using security services before something happens is never a waste of time or money.