Expected change in ACPO Policy regarding lone worker systems

Currently, ACPO policy (published January 2010) regarding how and when they will respond to a lone worker incident is set out in Appendix V. It calls for the alarm receiving centre involved to meet both BS5979 Cat II and BS8484. It further calls for the loe worker device used to comply with BS8484 (All Identicom's do by the way!).

It is anticipated that ACPO will shortly announce a change to this and call for the supplier of the solution delivered to a client to also conform and be audited to BS8484. This move is seen as a further (and welcome) strengthening of Police policy and recognises the need for the supplier to meet a wider range of corporate metrics (e.g. financial standing, appropriate insurance, data protection policy etc).

The announcement is expected in November 2010 but will come into force from April 2011.

Appendix V is also expected to reference Appendix S and that suppliers must comply with its requirements. These again are to ensure the supplier company and its staff meet criteria appropriate for the provision of lone worker security systems.

For further details or a copy of ACPO policy please contact me at craig.swallow@connexion2.com

The rising recognition of risk impact on corporate brands

Whenever we engage with a client seeking to improve the safety of its staff one of the key things we seek to understand is the principle reasons why. More specifically, what has driven them to the point where they need to implement technology solutions or training.

In the past year we have seen a notable increase from some (specifically large corporate clients) who are recognising the risk of reputational brand damage that an incident may enable. In the light of major incidents like those effecting BP and Toyota, it seems that more and more clients are casting their net wider in terms of understanding and scenario playing incident types that would really impact on their brand. As Warren Buffet once said, it can take 20years to build a reputation and only five minutes to ruin it.

Reputational risk is therefore one of the most potent dangers that any company faces. It is also, unfortunately, one of the most elusive. While it is relatively easy to talk about reputation risk in the abstract, it is far harder to protect against it in practice. A recent survey conducted by Airmic, the association for insurance and risk managers, frames the conundrum well. Of those who took part in the poll, 80% claimed that reputational risk is their top concern. However, only 43% believed that they have formal and well managed plans in place to tackle it.*

Our customers have carried out business risk assesments and found that the safety of their lone workers (and specifically the types of possible incidents they face) place these risks in their top ten. Mitigating the business risk by getting lone working staff to carry out a dynamic risk assesment is proven to work. Capturing audio evidence from an incident provides the back-up required to respond effectively and to keep staff positive and productive.

*Blog post adapted from an article in the Wall Street Journal, for full details follow these links:
Corporate Risk: Brand Values
Corporate Risk: Cinderella Moment