The guarding company Magenta Security is supporting a petition to UK Parliament calling for assaulting a security worker to become a stand-alone offence.
Magenta says that the issue goes beyond enforcement. It is about fairness, recognition and respect for a profession that is too often expected to manage risk, de-escalate conflict and respond to incidents without the level of protection that role deserves. The company believes that better protection for security workers would send a clear message that violence and abuse against frontline personnel will not be tolerated.
Abbey Petkar, Managing Director of Magenta Security, pictured, is Executive Chairman of the Small Business Network, an Advisory Board Member of IFPO UK, and a member of the S12 group of guarding company chiefs. He said: โSecurity officers play a vital role in public safety. They are often the first people to step in when tensions rise, risks emerge, or members of the public need help. Yet too many continue to face verbal abuse, intimidation and physical assault simply for doing their job.โ
โAt Magenta, we believe in professionalism, responsibility and looking after people properly. Supporting this petition is entirely consistent with those values. If we expect security officers to protect others, then the law should properly recognise and protect them too.โ
โI would encourage everyone across the industry, along with clients, partners and members of the public who believe in safer workplaces and higher standards, to read the petition and sign it if they agree. This is an opportunity to show that the people who protect others should not be left unprotected themselves.โ
What to do
Those who wish to support the campaign can visit the petition page and add their name – https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/750121.
Background
Meanwhile the GMB trade union has called for a specific offence of assaults on transport workers. Labour’s Crime and Policing Bill which is passing through Parliament sets a stand-alone offence of assault of a retail worker, as welcomed by the shop workers’ trade union Usdaw, and trade bodies such as the British Retail Consortium.
About the firm
Magenta is a NSI (National Security Inspectorate) gold certified firm that holds theย ISO 14001 international standard for environmental management.
