We invited Mike Reddington, Chief Executive, BSIA to analyse the impact of 2020 and look forward to 2021:
2020 was probably one of the most unpredictable years, with us all having to deal with a global pandemic.
It is no surprise that many businesses and individuals were unprepared for such a scale of restrictions and events unfolding, as there hasn’t been anything like this in modern history.
The COVID-19 pandemic has been a major influence on the work the BSIA has been focusing on in representing our members. In March 2020, we lobbied the government to gain key worker recognition and status for members of security officer services and all those operating in the security sector who provide service and support for critical services.
We have also worked on raising awareness of the importance of cash as a safe choice, during and beyond lockdown, for our cash in transit members, who have been hugely impacted by events of the last six months as the use of card payments increases and use of cash decreases. In September 2020 we continued our work with the telecoms industry in preparing installers for the switch to ALL-IP by 2025, promoting the urgency of being prepared as the transition begins in earnest. In the same month the Association saw the fruits of its lobbying on behalf of our Asset Property Marking members in gaining an extension on licensing of vehicle marking as a new standard is developed, a project that the BSIA will be taking a significant lead on.
A continuing major focus, which comes with its own challenges, has been the work alongside the Security Institute (Syl) and the Security Commonwealth (SyCom) on raising the perceptions of the security officer in the political and public arena. Our campaign ‘The Hidden Workforce’ aims to highlight the valuable and positive work our industry sector undertakes and how it can assist government, police authorities and the public in creating a safe and secure environment for us all to live and work in.
Mike Reddington, Chief Executive, BSIA
For further views on this topic, see related articles from our Police & Partnerships category:
David Ward, City Security Council on the recognising the importance of security officers
Robert Hall, Resilience First, on lessons learnt from 2020
Guy Mathias, Security Commonwealth on evolving the security response
Richard Jenkins, NSI on the security sector response to Covid-19
