With our customer being forced to close their estate due to the COVID-19 pandemic, new risks quickly emerged. With unmanned properties housing precious assets, the customer was looking for a security partner that could protect valuable assets and prevent the reputational damage that would result from a breach.

Operating with an estate of over 500 sites, the customer identified their top 32 sites which were viewed as most high risk and required 24/7 security to be deployed in under three weeks.

THE GOALS

For the purposes of our customer, some clear project goals were listed including:

• Short term security personnel mobilisation to provide professional cover at short notice.
• Deter intruders through random and scheduled patrols to prevent theft and trespass.

THE SOLUTION

G4S were able to mobilise a project team who centrally managed the arrangements across all 32 sites, with additional Mobile Patrol and Response services for a further eight sites, where static security was not necessary.

Each location came with its own set of unique requirements. Staff welfare was a top consideration due to the restrictions and guidelines in place during the early stages of the pandemic.

In addition to sourcing suitable staff at short notice, G4S also had to arrange security vehicles for some locations where perimeter patrols could not be performed on foot. We also supplied temporary welfare units for officers at locations where we were unable to access the main premises.

THE RESULTS

Once mobilised, the customer needed to work with a flexible supplier, who could adjust and react quickly to changes in government guidelines and who had the ability to scale up and down at short notice.

As the customer did not know when they would be able to re-open their estate to the public, we had to be agile in our approach to resource management, whilst being ready to re-deploy our officers elsewhere at short notice, should sites re-open.

After an initial successful programme of 12 weeks of securing the 32 sites during lockdown, a site re-opening plan was announced.

For G4S, this brought a new set of challenges. With the public being able to access the sites once again, but with government restrictions firmly in place, we led social distancing enforcement and traffic management - as sites experienced high footfall - with limited options elsewhere in communities.