ArmorGroup: making the world safer
There are now many areas of our planet, including entire nation states, in which the basic security and social infrastructure has fragmented to a point where it is hazardous for commercial, government or humanitarian organisations to operate.
In some crisis regions welfare, medical and aid agencies are highly vulnerable to criminal attack and can only function effectively with the help of specialist protection systems.
Additionally, in those countries enduring armed conflict, there is often a requirement for professional private security capability to complement the primary role of legitimate military operations.
It is in these and other similar high-risk settings that ArmorGroup, which was acquired by G4S in May 2008 and is now in the process of rebranding to G4S Risk Management, has long been regarded as pre-eminent in providing a comprehensive range of defensive and protective security services.
Began with gas and oil
In 1981, the British company Defence Systems Ltd (DSL) was established to provide protective security services primarily to governments, multinational oil, gas and mineral extraction companies. DSL was acquired by Armor Holdings, whose principal activity was the manufacture of body armour, in 1997.This was followed by a management buyout in 2003, since when the re-shaped ArmorGroup, with headquarters in London, has developed into a formidable worldwide provider of protective security, risk management, security training and mine action services as well as providing developmental, humanitarian and reconstruction support to the UN and other peace and security organisations.
During recent years, ArmorGroup has been supporting customers in over 50 countries with its thousands of expatriate and local employees often working in extraordinarily challenging circumstances. Through its acquisition, G4S now has significant operations in Afghanistan, Algeria, Iraq, Rwanda and the Sudan.
Protective security
Among the services now provided by G4S Risk Management and ArmorGroup are:Convoy protection
Escort teams protect critical cargo and secure lines of communication in often hostile environments. In 2007, for example, ArmorGroup carried out almost 2,400 convoy missions in Iraq for the US Government and its contractors – nearly a third of those run that year – and achieved the highest successful delivery rate of all the companies involved in that country.Premium guarding
For clients operating in remote or hostile locations, where local law enforcement systems are either ineffective or non-existent, it is vital that arrangements are made for the protection of their personnel and material assets. G4S Risk Management is able to deploy international operations managers, together with G4S Gurkha Services personnel and, where appropriate, carefully selected trained local nationals, in order to provide the necessary security. An example of this would be in Afghanistan where ArmorGroup provides the protective security for the British Embassy in Kabul and for other government property across the country.Travel security and response centres
Employers making business travel arrangements for their staff can draw on G4S Risk Management’s portfolio of services in order to reduce the uncertainties associated with journeys to remote or threatening environments. In addition to this, it can connect customers with a network of response centres which provide a round-the-clock capability to react to an emergency. These offer travel and security advice, together with instant access to expert risk management teams.Maritime security
G4S clients are likely to have noticed a reported increase in commercial piracy at sea, particularly off Somalia, in the Gulf of Aden and the Niger Delta. This worrying trend is being met by a range of responses and G4S Risk Management security consultants have been involved in developing strategic and tactical plans aimed at countering threats to shipping and port facilities across the world.
Risk Advisory Services
The depth of experience and expertise acquired by G4S and ArmorGroup over many years in differing theatres enables them to provide customers with a range of risk management and mitigation services. Consultancy can be provided for a variety of settings and business circumstances, including the development of risk mitigation strategies, reviewing of crisis management plans and the provision of risk analysis, particularly for organisations operating in potentially hazardous locations or confronted with challenging scenarios.Abduction, kidnap for ransom and extortion services
Each year, there are over 15,000 cases of kidnapping, detention and extortion around the world. This rapidly growing form of crime needs to be tackled by incisive counter-measures. NYA International is a specialist subsidiary of G4S Risk Management which, since 1990, has been providing training, prevention and response services in relation to the key threats of abduction and kidnap for ransom and extortion. Their clients include governments, international corporations and individuals. The world’s largest insurers and risk brokers view NYA as a leading consultancy in this field.Security training
The acquisition by G4S has brought with it ArmorGroup’s extensive training facilities which provide specialist security training to thousands of security professional, government officials, corporate executives and their families worldwide. Two training centres are sited in the UK, at Pershore in Worcestershire and at Hereford; two in the US are based in Texas and Virginia; one is at Al Hillah in Iraq and another at Anjuman Base in Kabul, Afghanistan.Each location has extensive training grounds and between them they are able to simulate hostile environment incidents utilising off-road scenarios. Its instructors are predominantly former Special Forces personnel, all of whom have been carefully selected to ensure they have extensive military experience, appropriate operational expertise in hostile environments and the educational qualifications to effectively teach the specialist skills required by customers.
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ArmorGroup: making the world safer
