The Security Institute

Chairman's Report at 2007 AGM

"It is a great pleasure to see here so many of our members, both old and new. Or perhaps I should say both old and young. I also extend a particular welcome to Terry Scallan and Errol Peace, both Governors of the South African Institute of Security, who are here as guests, and bid a welcome to Jagindar Singh, our member who has travelled here from Malaysia in order to attend this meeting. It is also a great pleasure to deliver my second annual report, the seventh in the history of the Institute.

We have had a great year. In the Institute’s short life to date, every year has been better than the last, and this one has been exceptional. It was certainly a busy year in terms of events, ranging from our hugely-successful participation in both the exhibition and the seminar programme at IFSEC, to a superb lunch at the Royal Overseas League, our support of the Building a Secure World and Tacking Organised Crime in Partnership conferences, a successful CCTV Workshop underpinned by the Institute’s handbook, and further excellent exposure at the Olympia exhibition, where we not only held our Christmas Lunch, but presented a certificate to our newest and 5ooth member, institute Fellow Karl Barclay, of HSBC. In addition, some of our most enjoyable occasions were our evening seminars, where we regularly attracted 70 or 80 members and their guests, and at which we have had some extraordinarily-good speakers.

All of these events, of course, and others, are simply the public face of the Institute. What is less visible, but equally-important, is the work that goes on behind the scenes, the lobbying activity, the liaison with other industry bodies, the research, the work to produce professional publications and the special interest groups and working parties that examine best practice in security. All of this has been set against a year of incredible growth and enthusiasm, which have made us rationalise management issues and consolidate our financial planning.

All of the successes that the Institute has enjoyed this year have come at a price, and that price is a huge amount of work by a very small number of people, whether that be committee work, running events, raising money, or whatever. It would be wrong of me to try to single out everyone and thank him or her, but they know who they are, and the Institute is in their debt.

However, I would like to focus on two crucial areas. The first is the Validation Board, chaired by Doug Cook, assisted by Emma Shaw and Margaret Stock. Some years ago, I chaired the VB, and at that time it was a once every 2 or 3 months affair, and still hard work. In 2006, a sudden surge in application levels meant a whole new level of challenge to be met, and Doug rose to this superbly - to the extent that the VB now meets monthly, and membership application processing is now faster and more efficient than ever before. And these are not people with nothing else to do with their time - far from it.

At this point, it gives me great pleasure to break off proceedings momentarily, in order to present a certificate of Fellowship on re-grading, to Doug Cook, the Chairman of the Validation Board, whose application went through the Board’s last meeting (from which he himself was absent).

Here I would like to make a comment on the Validation process itself. A lot of work has gone on this year, to make the Validation application form as user-friendly as possible. But it is still a pretty long document, and it has to be, because, if we are to be rigorous in our admissions process, then we must ensure that we have all of the information that we need to inform our decisions. So we make no apology for the complexity of the form.

The second area in which acknowledgment must be made is to our General Manager, Di Thomas. Di is at the centre of everything that happens in the Institute, and it is she who makes most things happen. She is tireless and indefatigable in everything that she does. Di is the single most effective weapon that we have at our disposal, and has been the principal reason that we succeeded in 2006 in the way that we did. Our thanks to her are heartfelt.

I must also note the departure during the year of some Council members. During 2006, David Dickinson of the BSIA joined Council, but pressure of work meant that he felt he could not remain. Nonetheless, we remain grateful for his support of the Institute. More recently, we lost Fred Wood as a Council member. Fred would have been here today, but sends his apologies as, sadly, his father died last week. Fred was one of our earliest Council members, a former Chairman of the Validation Board and a dedicated activist within the Institute. But again, pressure of business meant that he could not continue on Council. That has been our loss, and I recognise here the debt that we owe to Fred for all that he has done for the Institute over the years.

Similar considerations mean that Ian Johnson and Stewart Kidd, who retire from Council by rotation at this AGM, are not standing for re-election. Ian has been an Institute member since the early days, and a stalwart of the Council for a number of years. To him, too, go our thanks for all that he has done for us. I personally am very sorry to see Stewart Kidd not stand for re-election, as I am conscious of the immense contribution that he has made to the Institute. One of the original Gang of Six who formulated the idea of the Institute (he thinks it was his idea, I think it was mine… etc) Stewart has been sometime Registrar, Company Secretary, Head of the Publications Committee and, of course, is currently Vice-chairman. No-one can claim to have done more for the Institute than has Stewart, and it is my regret that he is not staying on to take over from me as Chairman. Stewart, our best wishes go with you.

All of these people, of course, are still active members of the Institute - they are simply making way for others to take the reins and drive the organisation forward. Today will see the appointment of a new Council, undoubtedly with some new faces on it, and those people will steer the destiny of the Institute for the coming year. The first meeting of the new Council will elect the Chairman and Vice-chairman for the year from amongst their number.

I have asked Council to expand the role of the Vice-chairman, and they have agreed, to give that post-holder a much larger role in the day-to-day running of the Institute, alongside the GM, thus freeing up some of the Chairman’s time to pursue the strategic aims of the Institute, especially our interaction with other industry and professional bodies, perhaps looking at how we can develop the “Security Industry Alliance”. One of the Council’s first events in the Institute’s new year will be to attend a Strategy Day, at which we plan to look critically at the goals that we need to be pursuing in the coming year.

But the work does not stop with members of Council - many others play their parts, and many more are needed. A new Development Committee has been formed under Patricia Knight’s chairmanship, and this has free rein to look at new initiatives across the whole spectrum of the Institute’s activities. An early issue that they have already begun to tackle is that of international membership. This is a complex matter that is best discussed elsewhere: suffice to say that the model that we have created has engendered a great deal of interest in a number of other countries. At a Development Committee held this very morning, we looked at proposals to expand the membership criteria, include special provisions for overseas members and to introduce mentoring facilities for new entrants to our profession. As these ideas pass through Council, more will be announced.

The coming year will see a full programme of events, and I refer you to the website for a full list of these. Patricia Knight is going to speak in a moment about the lunch on the Dixie Queen on 5 June, which promises to be a tremendous social occasion, and I would like to draw your attention to the Institute’s participation in IFSEC, where we will be running the end-user seminar programme.

But rest assured, we are constantly seeking volunteers with new ideas, suggestions, proposals, or simply the willingness to work in advancing the aims of the Institute. We will also need a new Treasurer and Company Secretary by September this year – this person need not necessarily be a member of the Institute, so the loan of a suitable staff member for 12 hours per month for 3 years would be welcomed. Please do not sit at the back and wait to be invited. Tell us, tell me, that you want to take part. There will be a role for you.

And, of course, we are always appreciative of direct practical support, whether that be financial sponsorship of events, the loan of facilities such as meeting venues, administrative back-up… whatever. In the coming year, we hope to produce a new style of ID badge and, again, we will greatly appreciate the support of anyone who can help us to produce them.

I want to touch, finally, on just 2 significant issues in the coming year. The first relates to the Register of Security Professionals. I will say nothing about that now, because Stefan Hay from Skills for Security is going to brief you shortly. But I have to tell you now that this will be one of the most significant issues in the Institute’s history, and a major landmark in the professionalisation of the business of security in the UK.

I would remind you that the vision that underpinned the formation of the Institute was the goal of enhancing the professionalism and profile of the security business, and this brings me to my second concluding point. From the earliest days of the Institute, it has been our aim to achieve chartered status for this body. That remains our aim. There is a very active debate going on about the best way of achieving this critical goal: but be in no doubt, every member of the current Council is 100% committed to the achievement of that status for security professionals.

Before I sit down, I have one last duty to perform, and it is a very-pleasurable duty that is tinged with considerable sadness. I had the privilege of meeting, and working very briefly, with Institute member George van Schalkwyk, of the company Universal Guardian. George was a lovely gentleman and a true security professional. Sadly, he was killed when the helicopter in which he was flying was shot down in Afghanistan last July.

George worked for Bruce Braes, the President and COO of UG: Bruce will be known to many of you as a long-time activist in Chapter 208 of ASIS International, and as a fervent supporter, and Fellow, of this Institute. Bruce asked Council to consider setting up an award in George’s memory, to be sponsored by UG, and Council agreed. The George van Schalkwyk Award, therefore, has been set up to recognise someone who has made an outstanding contribution to the cause of security professionalism. The award takes the form of a silver De Vecchi bowl, suitably inscribed, one of which will be awarded each year to an outstanding security professional.

We are now about to make this award for the first time and it will be handed over by Phil Cook, who is the Regional Director of Universal Guardian. It goes to someone whose personal standards of security professionalism are beyond question, to someone whose name is synonymous with excellence in our field, and to someone who helped to breathe life into the Institute from day one and who has been central to its success over the past 8 years. I am delighted to be able to ask Stewart Kidd to accept this Award."