ASIS Spring Seminar
10 March 2005
BAT were the hosts for the 2005 Spring Seminar and the Chapter thanks them for their
hospitality and support.
The “Corporate Slot” was filled by John Purnell, Group Loss Prevention and Security
Director for Tesco plc, the world’s third largest retailer with over 2,300 stores in 14
countries. John explained how, he had restructured the department over the last nine
years and his thoughts on the key skills needed for a role such as his.
Colin Denyer, the Africa and Middle East Regional Security Manager, for BAT spoke
on “Securing Business in the Middle East”. He outlined some of the threats a business like
BAT (86,000 staff in 180 locations) can face. These range from illegal sales and
counterfeiting to military conflict and terrorism. The risks can vary at very short notice,
particularly in a region such as Colin’s.
Allen and Overy is an international law firm with a presence in 26 countries. Ensuring
“Business Continuity Management” is a topic close to the heart of Joe Greenan CPP,
Head of Safety and Security for the firm. Joe explained to the 130 attendees his
processes for ensuring that the firm was always able to provide an acceptable level of
service to its clients no matter what.
Diversity in the workplace is a subject that should only be ignored at your peril. Tracey
Swinscoe, Area Security Manager Specialist for the NHS, became involved in the
training of ‘Diversity and Equal Opportunities’ in the Police. Amongst other topics, her
interactive session explained that having a diverse work force did not mean treating
everyone the same: in fact it means treating everyone differently so that everyone has
equal opportunities.
Crime Reduction and Contingency Planning Officer for the British Transport Police.
Stephen Anderson’s Case Study covered the process by which the Operation Hawkeye
surveillance scheme came into being. Stephen gave his guidelines for ensuring the
success of such projects and took justifiable pride in the success of the operation, which
has lead to a 70% reduction in car crime in London Underground car parks.
The seminar was closed with and energetic and upbeat presentation by Russell
Tomlinson Operations Director of the day’s sponsors, The Shield Guarding Company.
ASIS would also like to thank the other companies who supported the event. ADT Fire
and Security, ARC Training International, Geoffrey (UK) Ltd, Initial Security Services
and Universal Security Systems Ltd all had exhibition stands at the seminar.
Stephen Anderson
Stephen is a career police officer, and one of the leading individuals to negotiate with the
Home Office for Operation Hawkeye funding. The London Underground, by its nature
being the main transport for the Capital, is open to over 3 million passenger journeys every
day, which then makes it a target for any criminal or terrorist. From its large network of car
parks throughout London the Underground suffered from a high level of crime. The British
Transport Police bid for and were awarded the highest amount of government funded
money to install a network of CCTV cameras in all of the Underground car parks. The
session will focus on the work that was undertaken, from the operational requirement,
PSDB (Police Scientific Development Branch) standards, implementation, lessons learnt,
future and results.
Colin Denyer
Former Army Officer, service in Northern Ireland, the UK and Germany with the
Intelligence Corps. Colin then worked in Local Government responsible for Emergency
Planning, Crime Reduction and Risk Management. He joined BAT in 2000, initially
responsible for Security in West Africa area, and now covering Security and Anti-Illicit
Trade for Africa, the Middle East and Caucasus Region.
Joe Greenan CPP
Joe is Head of Safety and Security for Allen & Overy LLP, an international legal practice
comprising Allen & Overy LLP and its affiliated undertakings. Their clients include some of
the world’s leading businesses, financial institutions, governments and private individuals.
Joe retains global responsibility for security, safety, crisis management and business
continuity planning and is a graduate of Leicester University and a serving member of
ASIS. He is also a Fellow of the International Institute of Security and sits on their
examinations marking board. Business Continuity Management is now a governance
issue and one of the four pillars of any corporate security programme, which are central to
effective risk management. Specifically, the processes that this organisation (a global legal
practice) have gone through to ensure that it can continue to provide an acceptable level
of service to its clients and business partners, regardless of any external events or
incidents that occur, will be discussed. The development of the recovery strategy and what
the plan should deliver, together with an overview of plan testing and the firm’s awareness
programme will also be examined.
John F Purnell GM QPM
John is the Group Loss Prevention and Security Director for Tesco plc. Tesco is the UK’s
leading retailer and operates internationally in fourteen countries. He joined the company
in May 1998 and is responsible to the plc Board for protecting company assets, CRISIS
Management and Business Continuity in all spheres of Tesco Group operations. He is a
senior director of Tesco reporting directly to Sir Terry Leahy the CEO.
Prior to joining Tesco he served with the London Metropolitan Police. He joined in 1963,
and retired in 1998 with the rank of Deputy Assistant Commissioner. In 1977 Her Majesty
the Queen honoured him for his part in the capture of terrorists and again in 1996 for
distinguished police service. He is a graduate of the English Police Staff College, the
British Cabinet Office Top Management Programme, and was a Fellow Commoner
researching at Wolfson College, Cambridge. As well as ISMA, he is member of the
Selwyn House Committee, the Risk and Security Management Forum, and ASIS. He is a
Fellow of The Security Institute, Deputy Chairman of British Retail Consortium Policy
Advisory Group (Security), Founder of the Company of Security Professionals and a Non
Executive Director of the National Security Inspectorate.
Tracey Swinscoe
Tracey joined the West Midlands Police after leaving University in 1989. She was a police
office for 15 years; the last 5 of which were spent as a force trainer at both local and
national levels. As a police trainer, Tracey became involved in the training of ‘Diversity and
Equal Opportunities’. NHS Counter Fraud & Security Management Service (CFSMS) in
September 2003, as a Training Officer. In her new role she regularly trained and delivered
the Accredited Counter Fraud Specialist (ACFS) course. However, her initial main
responsibility was the developing and writing of the new Accredited Security Management
Specialist (ASMS) course. One particular lesson that she wrote resulted in her being
asked to attend the ASIS conference – Diversity & Equal Opportunities!!! After the course
was developed, and Tracey had delivered it in its entirety a couple of times, she left the
Training Department to join the Security Management Service of the NHS (October 2004),
where she is now one of the Area Security Management Specialists (ASMS) responsible
for the West Midlands and Eastern regions of the country.