Author: Derek Brooksbank
ISBN No: 0 566 08783 9
Review date: 11/12/2025
No of pages: 264
Publisher: Gower
Year of publication: 11/09/2012
Brief:
Gower has published an eighth edition of Security Manual, first brought out in 1969.
The update is by Derek Brooksbank, a former West Yorkshire Police man, now a trainer and a Fellow of the International Institute of Security. It’s taken into account the Private Security Industry Act 2001. There are updates on the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order, powers of arrest, cultural and diversity issues, and the terrorist threat. With a nod to the rise in violence faced by security staff, there is a new chapter on conflict resolution.
The manual covers everything from first aid to patrolling, keeping a notebook, cash security and searches and drug awareness. The book is suitable, the publishers report, for those seeking professional qualifications such as: NVQ Levels 1, 2 and 3 in Security Guarding and for Supervisors; NVQ Level 3 in Investigations; C&G, BIIAB and NCFE qualifications in Door Supervision.
In a foreword, Patrick Somerville, IPSA chairman, writes: “The role of the private security officer has developed considerably in recent years and ever higher standards of knowledge and performance are expected by employers and the public.The introduction of licensing and regulation, with its emphasis on training and qualifications aimed at achieving higher levels of professionalism, makes this publication even more relevant today.”
And in a preface, Brooksbank writes: “The security profession is, at last, regarded as an essential aide to crime reduction and public safety throughout the UK. The myth that to earn a decent living, the security employee has to work long hours has to be dispelled. In fact, career progression is available, and many supervisors and managers have been promoted through the ranks.” He says that licensing ‘can only be a good thing’ and sums up: “The security industry is in good order and its retention of staff and its services will both improve.”
