The sun was shining again and it was a glorious hot day for the recent Association of Security Consultants (ASC) Annual Luncheon, again at the Royal Air Force Club, Piccadilly, London, on Thursday, June 24.
ASC members and guests gathered for an informal chat and get together in the bar prior to being called in for luncheon and a short introduction to the proceedings by ASC Chairman, Roy Sutherland, with grace being said by ASC Vice Chairman Jon Laws. Roy was delighted to welcome three of the ASC patrons: Lord Imbert, Lord Mackenzie and Lord Bethell. (VIPs left to right Roy Sutherland, Frank Armstrong, Lord Imbert and Lord MacKenzie. Photo courtesy of ASC member Simon Lambert.) <br><br>The delicious menu comprised asparagus soup, a main course of chicken cordon bleu filled with ham and gruyere cheese, lyonnaise potatoes together with a selection of seasonal vegetables, with fresh fruit salad and cream for pudding, followed by coffee, liqueurs and petits fours. There were excellent wines accompanying the meal, with RAF Club Sauvignon Sec and RAF Club Claret being served.<br><br>The guest speaker for the day was Frank Armstrong, Assistant Commissioner of the City of London Police, who shared with the audience that he had his wedding reception at the RAF Club and was pleased to be back. Mr Armstrong talked about economic fraud, the current terrorism threats, domestic extremism, the public/private partnerships in the City and the challenges of the future Olympics. He also shared some amusing anecdotes about a few of his experiences as a police officer. <br><br>For those who are not aware, the ASC encourages the development of ideas for the advancement of risk and security management in the UK through the award of this annual award. The ‘Imbert Prize’ is named after Lord Imbert of New Romney CVO QPM JP, former Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police.<br><br>Imbert Award<br><br>Lord Imbert was in fine form and said that all the dissertations presented were of an extremely high standard and that it was a hard decision to make by the award panel, made up of members appointed by the chairman of the ASC, the ASC Board, and such other members required for the purpose of adjudication. He said that the panel used a marking guide and the winning submission was separated from the second place by only half a mark. <br><br>Every candidate is worthy but there had to be a winner and the award of £1,000 for a selected dissertation submitted by an academic institution was won by Danie Adendorff of Loughborough University. His dissertation comprised “In a culture where perceptions count more than reality, it is unsurprising that security practitioners call themselves professionals before the actual professionalisation of their occupation. Is this misleading, or is security management in reality a profession growing its domain?”<br><br>The award panel agreed that this was a well-written paper on security management involving extensive research and coming up with sound conclusions. Mr Adendorff had made valid comments in his dissertation and identified that there is still a long way to go. <br><br>Other nominees for this award included:<br>Spyridon Mazarakis, Cranfield University,“Piracy in the 21st century: Challenges for International Law and International Security”.<br>Brian Mair, Leicester University, “Maritime piracy off Somalia: Is the risk exaggerated?”<br>Efstathios Mainas, University of Portsmouth, “The Analysis of Criminal and Terrorist Organisations as Social Network Structures”.<br><br>Association Award<br><br>The award for the person making the most notable contribution in the security industry in the preceding year was presented to David Evans, BSIA Project Directpr. Other nominees included Chris Brogan (the IPSA nominee), Jude Awdry (ASIS) and Bobby Logue (TSI). <br><br>ASC member<br><br>There were joint winners this year to two ASC members who had been nominated by the members of the ASC, as adjudged by the ASC Award Panel. These were Gordon Herrald for his work over many years for the ASC website, and Jack Case for his work on the link with the International Association of Professional Security Consultants.<br><br>To close the awards, ASC certificates were presented to recently appointed association members James Henderson and Roderick MacKinnon. Other certificates were given to Roger Noakes who had transferred to full membership, Mike Bluestone as an associate, and Mike Topping as an affiliate member.<br><br>Roy Sutherland concluded the formalities by thanking all those who attended with a reminder of the forthcoming Business Club on Thursday, July 15 and that CONSEC, the annual international showcase of the ASC, will run on Thursday, November 4, at the Royal Air Force Museum, Hendon. <br><br>For further details contact [email protected]
