From our January print edition.
On the wall of Rod Repton’s Derby city centre office is a black and white photograph of him giving a briefing on drugs to Douglas Hurd, then a Conservative Party cabinet minister. “Should have been Prime Minister,” Rod remarks of Hurd – now Lord Hurd, for times have moved on. And so has Rod moved on. His 33 years’ service with Derbyshire Police included two years seconded to New Scotland Yard in the central drugs intelligence unit. After retirement, he set up Repton Training and Security.
Where the man is now
To mention that monochrome photo on the wall tells you about Rod’s background – he set up the Derbyshire force’s drug profit confiscation unit as an investigator and superviser – but to be frank it gives the wrong impression of where the man is now. Five years in, he has bought the Burton upon Trent office of Peter Hough Investigations, and employs two full-time former police detectives there. On the Security side, he has some guarding contracts and is going into key-holding. On the Training side, he works with former Derbyshire chief inspector Dave Ashley, and former police detective trainer Dave Watkiss, who since his West Midlands Police service has had experience with Argos and who now has an office in Scarborough. Repton Training does door superviser training and is going into guarding and conflict management training. Make no mistake though, Rod is not someone doing something ‘in security’ in between rounds of golf and Rotary Club meetings. He makes plain that for a retired police officer to go into security is not for the half-hearted, or the unfocused. He says: “I have never worked so hard in my life … what I find is that a lot of policemen retire and perhaps think that the world will come to them. You can’t expect them to come.” He is a member of the Association of British Investigators, a committee member of EPIC (Ex Police In Commerce, see next page) and sits on the British Vehicle Rental Licensing Association’s security committee. He is the national consultant for vehicle rental company Thrifty (which explains the Thrifty coffee coaster on his desk!). He has done work for Midlands clothes retailer Limeys, and investigations for Royal Ascot, and tyre maker Pirelli.
Long term
Rod says that when he retired his plan was to form the group of companies and to have people running them; and his job would be an overall, strategic one, although he still does the odd investigation. He adds: “My long term plan is to gradually ease off and we have a succession plan in the company; and we reward loyal employees.”
Security, the new marquee
While, as Rod says, he employs former military and police people, you can see from inside his office that it is not some replica police set-up. On top of a cabinet is a Derby County football; Repton Security was a match ball sponsor of a game against Everton, in the (fairly) recent past when County were in the Premier League. Rod is a regular watcher of Derby County … perhaps the less said about that the better. More seriously, Rod sees his role as including marketing. The essence of a successful enterprise, indeed, is spotting where the business is. Rod sees growth in the area of leisure, and event security. “I see the security man as the new marquee,” Rod says, and by that he means that whereas a marquee at your wedding or other family or corporate event was a sign of status, now it’s a security man; because we live in an uncertain world, and security person on the spot allays fear of crime.
Gain in Spain
Which brings us to Rod’s next venture: setting up Repton Security Europe Limited. The idea is to base that operation at Sotogrande, on Spain’s Costa del Sol. The ex pats in gated communities, golf resorts and the like in that region are suffering, Rod reports, from crime: home invasions, kidnappings, thefts and burglaries. For this venture Rod is teaming with Dale Grogan, Derbyshire businessman and a 2004 victim of a 4am burglary at Sotogrande. Rod’s idea is to offer a full security service: personal security awareness training, guarding and key-holding, and due diligence. Travel advice for Spain, on the Foreign Office website www.fco.gov.uk does mention bombs in the country and what it calls “the global risk of indiscriminate terrorist attacks”. The official advice also covers street and highway crime, but not how southern Spain is fought over by gangs of various nationalities, partly to do with the drugs trade from nearby north Africa.
About EPIC
EPIC (Ex Police In Commerce) is an association of former police officers of all ranks. There are quarterly meetings; and a director of members’ services is available. President is Sir Stanley Bailey; vice-presidents are Lord Imbert and Lord MacKenzie of Framwellgate. Chairman is Anthony Miller, of High Wycombe-based Risk Management Services (Chiltern); vice-chairman is consultant Trevor Barton.
For more details: You can ring the secretary Barry Davis on 01332 780112 or e-mail [email protected]
