A police partnership with hoteliers to enhance the security of different hotels, including both independents and chains, across the West Midlands has been commended at the annual Secured by Design (SBD) awards.

The project looks to prevent and reduce crime at hotels, ensuring physical security blends into the landscape of the hotel, whilst being robust enough to provide a level of protection to safeguard their staff and customers.

Hotels experience a spate of offences relating to vehicle crime

The partnership evolved after a spate of offences relating to vehicle crime which was occurring within hotel parks. With vehicle crime a force priority, assistance from the Designing Out Crime Officers (DOCO) team was requested through Operation Seclusion – the force response to rising vehicle crime – in the summer of 2022.

The DOCO team, through the team manager, led the prevention strategy. Using existing contacts from the larger chains, the team, which includes a Business Crime Capability and a dedicated Business Crime Officer, were able to engage with security and safety teams within the local hotels.

DOCOs Tarkan Mehmet-Ali, Sharon Horner and Robert Manson visited hotels, meeting with hotel managers and staff, whose sites had suffered higher levels of crime. The DOCOs completed site specific security assessments at each hotel, offering recommendations in line with the Secured by Design Commercial guide and general crime prevention principles, whilst understanding the constraints that each business had and the post COVID trading impact on hospitality industry.

Strengthened relationship between West Midlands Police and the local hotel industry

This partnership approach has led to a strengthened relationship between West Midlands Police and the local hotel Industry, with the DOCO team not only providing support to established hotels, but also hotels providing advice to hotels in the early stages of planning and construction, to ensure security is designed into the build, rather than retrospectively having to incorporate security measures which can often prove to be costly.

The hoteliers that DOCOs have worked with have reported a reduction in vehicle crime at their sites.

Receiving the award, West Midlands Police Designing Out Crime Officer Tarkan Mehmet-Ali said: “I have worked extensively in the hotel security industry for a number of years and I was able to use those skills in my role as a DOCO, working with DOCO colleagues Robert Manson and Sharon Horner to improve safety and security in partnership with a number of hotel brands in the West Midlands”.

West Midlands Police Force Designing Out Crime Manager Mark Silvester, said: “West Midlands Police work closely with various sectors spanning retail, transport, telecoms and hospitality, to understand how best to work with them to prevent crime. This project was a terrific example of working with the hospitality sector, making guests and staff feel safer”.

Police Designing Out Crime Officers

Designing Out Crime Officers (DOCOs) provide specialist crime reduction advice to the public, businesses and colleagues about premises or property security. They also work with building developers, architects, and council planning departments regarding new developments and refurbishments, to ‘design out’ crimes like burglary and anti-social behaviour (ASB) by providing advice on street lighting, building and street layout, entrances and exits – as well as preferred standards and specifications for doors, windows, and locks, under the Secured by Design initiative. 

DOCOs are able to deliver site specific interventions required to help design out crime in areas that suffer disproportionately from acquisitive crime, based on local crime pattern analysis, police, local authority and community engagement and the collective knowledge and experience of how criminals behave. 

DOCOs are specialist problem solvers, working every day to make a positive difference, changing lives for the better and helping people to be safe and secure in their homes.

Contact details for local DOCOs can be found here.

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