South East CSSC: raising awareness outside London

By David Ward 31st July 2018

By David Ward Organisation Ward Security Online 31st July 2018 First Published Spring 2018

CSSC South East Region

One of the challenges we found in setting up our local branch of CSSC is that outside London the CSSC is still a relatively new concept for businesses and organisations.

This means we have concentrated on having conversations around establishing the credibility of our organisation, so finding the right people to help has been essential. The local Counter Terrorism Security Advisers (CTSAs) and CSSC connections have helped massively, which means we have been introduced to the right people on the ground to help us spread the word.

Communicating its benefits, how the CSSC came into being and its hugely important and relevant role in delivering counter terrorism, is a key part of my role. The CSSC name and key messages have got to get out more consistently and nationally from the heart of CSSC in London and that is something every CSSC member can help with.

To my mind, something simple like having a coordinated push to our network of contacts that explains who and why the CSSC exists would be a massive help for all CSSC branch coordinators.

Cascading messages

However, the biggest challenge I am trying to address is ensuring we cascade the messages from the hub far enough down the chain.

By this I mean, how do we get to the smallest of businesses, the taxi and courier firms, the corner shops based on a high street near where there may be a major incident or issue, the thousands of independent businesses that are not based on a business park or in an office environment or plugged into a major communication network. We need to build our database of recipients in each region and find smart ways to alert everyone, efficiently and effectively and that might be something as simple as signposting businesses to receive text alerts.

Another issue for us is the enormity of the geographical spread of the South East region: we cover Kent, Surrey, Sussex, Hampshire and Thames Valley. Unlike London, we are not compact and on a good day it can take five hours to drive from one end of the region to another, which means getting people together for face-to-face meetings, to brainstorm ideas or talk through initiatives can be problematic. I acknowledge we have skype, email and conferencing facilities, but nothing beats a face-to-face meeting, particularly when you are explaining CSSC.

All that said, recruiting sector leads in the southern region is going well. We are delighted to have on our team the Head of Security for P&O Ferries, Chief Constable Thames Valley Police, the Head of Security for Virgin Airways and the National Security Manager of Santander.

Fundamentally, the CSSC model is a proven and strong asset for ensuring better security and business resilience in our local communities; we just need to build on it and improve awareness nationally if it is to have the same importance and impact that it currently has in the capital city.

David Ward, Chairman, CSSC South East

For further information please visit thecssc.com

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David Ward

David Ward is a senior security consultant who has worked at every level of security over many of the security disciplines for over 25 years. In 2000, he co-founded Ward Security a company which under his direction, grew to become one of the leading security company’s in the UK with a £50m turnover, employing over 1100 security personnel. He left his Chief Executive position in the business in 2021 to establish DWA Associates and specialise in working with businesses at an international level to provide risk management consultancy, security advice and training. He is a board trustee of the CSSC (Cross-Sector Safety and Security Communications) and Chair of the South East Region, a role he has held since 2015 and one that involves developing strong partnerships between law enforcement agencies, local and national government and private sector businesses. He is the creator of the City Security Council (CSC) and until recently was Chair of the Group. The CSC is a collective of premier city security companies formed with the specific purpose of improving incident responses by security companies in the City of London in times of major crises by working collaboratively together and in partnership with the City of London Police and the City of London Corporation. He has recently been appointed as Chair of a Special Interest Group at the Security Commonwealth (SyCom) where his main role involves understanding the perceptions of the security industry and identifying areas that need addressing to manage the overall reputation of the industry in the UK.