Mike Reddington, Chief Executive, British Security Industry Association writes

The looming recession we face will be a major concern for many companies and, having spoken to BSIA members recently, it is something the industry needs to be prepared to navigate its way through.

The recruitment and retention of staff is a major issue across many sectors, including the security sector; in terms of security officer services, we estimate we need to boost the size of our licensed security officer population to more than 400,000 over the next year, an increase of 12% to meet the growing demand for security services. Our major recruitment and awareness campaign, People, Property, Places: Professionally Protected plays a key role.

Our security officer services section members are also concerned about unregulated security companies undercutting professional security companies market pricing as some security buyers look at price rather than quality of service.

This is a serious concern that needs to be addressed as a matter of urgency, with the BSIA working closely with the SIA, HMRC and insurance companies on tackling this issue. We will also be actively supporting the ‘Protect Duty’ which is due to be published in 2023 as this could assist in addressing this very serious issue.

We’re concerned about the proliferation of unregulated products and services; the security sector has many products and services that are not professionally installed and available to consumers at low prices. 

These products and services are not accredited or certified and do not offer the same level of product quality, guarantees or police response that are offered through products and services in the regulated market as offered by BSIA members.

To address these concerns, we will be engaging on some major pieces of research and lobbying in 2023 to ensure these issues are addressed

Having a strong trade association to address these issues on behalf of its members and the wider industry is essential. Throughout 2023 we will be working with our industry stakeholders and calling on government to help to mitigate these concerns.

We will lobby government so our members are heard, via the various steering groups we sit on and continuing our engagement with the new Minister for Security, Tom Tugendhat.

We will also be publishing key reports to both the national and trade platforms to raise awareness of the value of professional security to both commercial buyers and the general public. 

We will not be complacent in our approach to continuing to provide a value-added membership service whilst being prepared for any further potential economic turbulence that may come.

About Mike Reddington

Mike has worked in the security industry for over 30 years, beginning his career in electronic engineering before moving into sales and marketing, rising into senior roles for a variety of organisations, starting at Racal Guardall and Gardiner Technology before moving on to join Honeywell and ADI.      

Mike was appointed as Chief Executive of the BSIA in 2019 and also holds a position on the board for Electronic Call Handling Operations (ECHO) and an MBA from University of Leeds.

SECURITY JOURNAL UK