Marlowes Shopping Centre at Hemel Hempstead is the first shopping centre to gain the Secured Environments accreditation. They underwent an audit of their security processes and procedures which included independent consultation with management, security staff and general staff.
As Perpetuity who run the scheme pointed out, a challenge for shopping centres is to maintain customer service and create an enjoyable shopping environment – which cannot be achieved without understanding the potential security risks and mitigating them. Marlowes is a 360,000 sq ft, 68 unit, enclosed mall.
Vince Williams, Centre Director, said: ‘The Secured Environments award attained by the Marlowes Shopping Centre is a testament to our commitment towards the safety of all our staff, contractors and shoppers who visit us on a daily basis. A secure and safe environment benefits our retailers and landlord in terms of safety to persons and property as well as assisting us with the defensibility against claims. The process of gaining the award included the re-evaluation of all our risks and procedures and the way in which we implemented and communicated that to our staff and visitors was a fantastic exercise for all concerned.’
For more about the Secured Environment police certification scheme, visit www.securedenvironments.com.
