Is the security industry recession-proof or indeed even a sector that profits from a recession, because more people turn to crime and assets need protecting more? So the February print issue of Professional Security Magazine will consider.
It may be true at some times and places; but not if you ask the security people at places such as Woolworth’s, and Goldman Sachs, two of the higher-profile names that went bust in 2008 (hence no more work there for the suppliers of CCTV, product tagging and so forth). <br><br>That said it is worth revisiting the 2001 debate in the House of Commons before the Private Security Industry Act passed. Senior Labour MP Bruce George pointed out: “Private security has grown because it is a good industry to enter for people who want to make a profit. The increase in terrorism and environmental protest, the demands of insurance companies, the Government’s commitment to privatisation, Governments’ failures adequately to fund the police, the growth of mass ownership of property that is ‘worth nicking’, the role of advertising, changes in technology and the deregulated nature of the market are all contributory factors.” Those factors are as true in 2008 as indeed in 1998. But if a public or private sector organisation is having to cut staff or core work, will it cut services such as security (or indeed gardening and cleaning) any less? Hardly. Hence just as the private sector has more or less stopped hiring people, to judge by the small ads in regional newspapers, so there appears to be little or no recruitment advertising for security officers. <br><br>Spycams, voice recorders – industrial espionage does not go away in a recession. On the contrary, argues counter-surveillance consultancy WhiteRock. <br><br>The High Wycombe-based firm gives the example of GSM bugs, electronic eavesdropping devices. Think of them as mobile phones, without the keypad, and much smaller. They use pre-paid and untraceable SIM cards and can cost less than £100. They can be secreted into objects, such as vehicles, for eavesdroppers to listen-in from anywhere. Some devices have audio eavesdropping. What to do? It’s striking that counter-measures need not be costly but are a matter of vigilance. For instance, be aware of any changes to your office: this could range from structural work to the addition of new pieces of furniture, pictures or even a desk ornament – given to you as a gift?! If you have something highly confidential to discuss the consultants suggest you use a location not normally set aside for meetings. This could thwart any deployed in situ GSM device.
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If there is anything you would like to add on this topic, or if you have any news – good or recession-busting?! – email editor Mark Rowe at [email protected]
