Ian Pugh, Director, PAL Protect Consultancy, Anchor Group Services discusses his top tips for security in publicly accessible location.

Identifying and mitigating critical risks

With four decades of senior-level experience in the security industry, I have developed countless comprehensive security strategies that safeguard major shopping centres throughout the UK, Europe, the Middle East and Asia.

These strategies are designed to identify and mitigate critical risks and threats specific to these environments.

A robust security strategy

Security teams must understand their role – sounds simple but it is the fundamental for all security strategies and many of them underestimate the challenges that protecting a publicly accessible location can bring and the importance of embedding a robust security strategy.

For this I recommend the four C’s:

Communication

Engage with the Public: Build trust and visibility by regularly interacting with visitors; a confident presence can deter threats and encourage early reporting of concerns.

Communicate concerns: Quickly and clearly share information about suspicious activity or potential risks with your team and relevant stakeholders to ensure timely responses.

Maintain communication until threat is resolved: Keep all lines of communication open and active during an incident to ensure information is accurate, current, and actionable until the situation is fully under control.

Collaboration

Develop key relationships which will support the strategy: Establish working relationships with local law enforcement, emergency services and centre management to enhance response capability and intelligence sharing.

Work in partnership with key stakeholders: Coordinate regularly with tenants, cleaning teams and maintenance staff, who are often the eyes and ears of the site, to create a united security function.

Maintain teamwork: Foster a culture of teamwork within the security team itself, ensuring that each member understands their role and supports others during both routine operations and emergencies.

Compliance

Follow a clear training plan: Regular, structured training ensures that staff are equipped with the knowledge and skills they need to act decisively in real-world scenarios.

Adhere to your procedures: Consistently applying established protocols ensures a standardised response and reduces the risk of error under pressure.

Test and Exercise your response and plans: Regular drills and scenario-based exercises highlight gaps and reinforce muscle memory, making real-life responses more efficient and effective.

Consistency

All delivery teams to work as one team: Whether security, cleaning or customer service, all front-line teams must operate with shared awareness and aligned objectives.

Be consistent in everything you do: Maintain professional standards and behaviours at all times to reinforce a visible, dependable security presence.

Review and update learnings from each interaction or incident: Use every incident, however small, as a learning opportunity to refine and strengthen procedures over time.

Identifying potential threats

Identify potential threats to shopping centres and evaluate the associated risks to both employees and visitors if such threats materialise.

Shopping centres are designated as Publicly Accessible Locations, which means they extend an implied invitation to any member of the public.

It is essential that the security strategy incorporates clearly defined principles for the security team to follow, ensuring a safe and secure environment and addressing the challenges posed by unscreened members of the public entering the premises.

Customer engagement strategy

A visible security presence in busy areas helps reassure visitors, but it’s not enough.

Security teams should confidently interact with the public, stay alert and act quickly to deter and prevent incidents. As I often say, “Good Customer Service is Great Security!”

While patrolling, security teams should:

Engage with the Public

Proactive engagement not only reassures legitimate visitors but also makes those with malicious intent feel exposed, significantly reducing the likelihood of opportunistic crime.

• Make eye contact: Eye contact signals awareness, discouraging suspicious behaviour while also making genuine visitors feel acknowledged and safer.
• Say hello: A simple greeting establishes approachability, encouraging the public to report concerns more quickly and building trust between visitors and the security team.
• Remain alert: Visible attentiveness communicates readiness and competence, deterring potential offenders who realise their actions will be noticed and challenged.

These actions promote a customer-focused security presence and deter those considering criminal or malicious activity by making it clear that suspicious behaviour will be detected and stopped.

Don’t walk by

• If you see something that doesn’t look right and is outside of the normal for your environment, then investigate it
• Be confident to engage with the member of the public if their actions concern you
• Report and act on your findings if you remain concerned

These measures help security officers quickly detect and report possible threats, allowing them to act promptly to mitigate risks and prevent harm.

Perception V Reality

It is important that you understand the perception that your actions deliver to the public and if the perception of the public is that they feel safe then the reality is that your actions when implemented as above will deliver in the reality and serve to better protect them.

However, if the perception of the public in your environment is that security is poor and inadequate then you need to change that perception with your actions by reviewing how you are delivering security currently and change your strategy to adopt a more proactive customer engaged, alert and consistent delivery model.

Effective security in publicly accessible locations is not just about protocols or procedures, it’s about people, presence and proactive engagement.

By applying the four C’s, fostering strong customer engagement and maintaining constant vigilance, security teams can both deter threats and reassure the public.

Ultimately, the safest environments are created when security professionals combine skill, consistency and visible care, ensuring that every visitor feels protected while potential risks are swiftly identified and managed.