Now in its fifth year, the Security Institute’s Wilf Knight Award is presented annually at the Security Excellence Awards in recognition of a unique piece of research into a security management based subject. This year’s event on October 23 at the Hilton Hotel on Park Lane, London, saw the award go to Adam Jones, who won a glass engraved trophy and £500.
Pictured left to right are Emma Shaw of the Security Institute; recipient of the award – Adam Jones; and Patricia Knight.
Nominated by his course tutor, Phillip Wood, head of faculty enterprise and security at Buckinghamshire New University, Jones’ dissertation was titled Violence in the Accident and Emergency (A&E) Department: Does a Pro-Security Culture Reduce Risk of Violence in an Accident and Emergency Environment? An Analysis of the Barnet and Enfield Hospitals Trust.
A&E departments have to deal with violence and aggression from patients on a daily basis, and despite a pro-security culture there has not been a reduction in these types of incidents since the inception of NHS Protect. Jones’ study examined what a pro-security culture actually means to the NHS, discussed its interpretation and went on to suggest an appropriate strategy based on his findings.
The judging panel felt that his work has value not only to Barnet and Enfield Hospitals Trust but also to any organisation with an interest in developing a secure working environment and limiting the risk of violence within it. The dissertation was awarded a grade of 74 per cent and gained the only distinction ever awarded for the course.
Jones is a senior consultant for 4C Strategies, a international provider of risk management solutions. He began his working life in the Army and then had a 20-year career in the UK Prison Service and the New Zealand Department of Corrections.
After returning to the UK, he was keen to pursue other interests and joined the NHS as a security management specialist. In this position he enrolled in the MSc in Business Continuity, Security & Emergency Management at Buckinghamshire New. To seek experience he joined the Barnet and Chase Farms Trust in Enfield, north east London.
Wilf Knight’s widow, Patricia Knight and Emma Shaw, CSyP, chairman of The Security Institute presented Jones with the award alongside Brian Sims, one of the SEA’s judges. Emma Shaw said: ‘I’d like to offer my congratulations to Adam, who is a very worthy winner, given the very high standard of entries this year. There is always the potential for a degree of controversy in exploring security issues within a public sector environment. However, during his study he was sensitive to the needs of the organisations and participants involved in the research, while also being clear about his overall aims and objectives. I think that there is a lot we can all learn as a result of his interesting and thought provoking work.’
David Paterson from Leicester University was highly commended for his thesis “Is there a link between staff job satisfaction and the level of shrinkage within a retail store? A Comparison of Staff Satisfaction and Shrinkage.” He completed an MSc in Security and Risk Management and was nominated by Dr Matt Hopkins at Leicester.
Major Crossley McEwen was commended for his paper “Nuclear New Build: A Move towards a Securer Future for the United Kingdom?” which he wrote at the Department of Management and Security, Cranfield University. He was nominated by Dr Anna Maria Brudenell.
