Customers that see the challenge of securing their world more
holistically are able to protect critical assets more efficiently,
generate extra revenues, reduce costs and deliver a better
experience to the people they serve.
Recognise that the most secure and beneficial solutions come
from understanding the whole problem and the interdependence
of parts. Let us help you to see the opportunities that exist in the
challenge of securing your world.
transforming security challenges into opportunities
For more information on G4S visit
www.g4s.com
ISSUe 1: 2011
The key to releasing wider benefits for our clients is to always
look at the bigger picture and consider solutions that transform
performance. To do this, we deliver world class project management
that brings together our expertise in logistics, technology, managing
the world’s biggest force of security personnel, and the knowledge
derived from providing security solutions in diverse regulatory
environments in 120 countries around the world. By doing this,
we offer governments and businesses secure solutions that deliver
more than the sum of their parts.
G 4 S I n t e r n at I o n a l
Our welfare and prosperity depend on us being able to operate in
a safe and secure environment. Sadly, in a world increasingly full of
risk, we have to focus even more on our security challenges. When
we do, however, most of us focus on the downside. At G4S, we
believe that in every security challenge there is an opportunity to
unlock hidden benefits that can help us to thrive and prosper.
ISSUE 1 11
london 2012 olympic Games
Securing the world’s biggest sporting event
Electronic tags get personal
Canines with a nose for security
G4S opens up a world of job opportunities
Chain of gold encircles the globe
Still breaking into prisons after two decades
G4S iNTeRNaTioNal ISSUe 1: 2011
CONTRIBUTORS
MartIn GoSlInG
A former British Army officer, policeman and senior probation officer
who worked on secondment in prisons, Gosling has wide experience of
the UK criminal justice system. He is now a writer and has contributed
to the Criminal Lawyer, International Police Review and other journals.
GavIn Greenwood
His work as a newspaper and magazine journalist has included stints as
a wire service reporter (Reuters) and postings in Southeast Asia, Hong
Kong and East/Central Africa. Now UK-based, Gavin specialises in
regional political, security and defence issues, including work in complex
environments.
The opinions expressed in
these pages are those of the
contributors and do not necessarily
MartIn SayerS
A UK-based freelance writer of ten years experience. He has been
widely published and specialises in feature articles about business,
technology and history.
reflect the views of G4S.
PubliShed by:
G4S plc,
The Manor, Manor Royal,
roy SteMMan
Editor of G4S International Magazine. Roy has been writing on security
issues and reporting on the Group’s activities for more than 30 years,
during which time he has visited many of the countries in which the
Group operates. He also edits G4S Value Solutions.
lorna webley
Lorna is an editor and writer specialising in employee and customer
publications with many blue chip companies among her clients. Lorna
also writes regularly for the London Press Service. For the past four
years she edited Global News, the internal newspaper of GSL, which
was recently acquired by G4S.
Crawley, West Sussex Rh10 9uN, uK
Tel: +44 (0)20 8770 7000
Fax: +44 (0)1293 554406
Website: www.g4s.com
e-mail: magazine@g4s.com
PRoduCed by:
baskerville Corporate Publications,
Suite 13, 27 Colmore Row,
birmingham b3 2eW
ediToR: Roy Stemman
Tel: (44) (0)121 233 2636
email: roy@baskervillepublications.com
deSiGN: Cox design limited, oxon
PRiNTed in Germany
The PaPeR this magazine is printed
on is produced in line with the
standards of the Programme for the
endorsement of Forest Certification
Schemes and is sourced from
Cover picture courtesy oda/london 2012
sustainable forests.
EURoPE
ASIA/PACIFIC
AFRICA
mIDDLE EASt
AUStRIA ● BELGIUm ● BULGARIA CzECH
REPUBLIC ● CyPRUS ● DENmARK
EStoNIA ● FINLAND ● FyR mACEDoNIA
GREECE ● GUERNSEy ● HUNGARy
IRELAND ● ISLE oF mAN ● JERSEy
LAtvIA ● LItHUANIA ● LUxEmBoURG
mALtA ● tHE NEtHERLANDS ● NoRwAy
PoLAND ● RomANIA ● RUSSIA ● SERBIA
SLovAKIA ● SLovENIA ● SwEDEN
tURKEy ● UKRAINE ● UNItED KINGDom
AUStRALIA ● AFGHANIStAN
BANGLADESH ● BHUtAN ● BRUNEI
CAmBoDIA ● CHINA ● GUAm AND CNmI
HoNG KoNG ● INDIA ● INDoNESIA
IRAq ● JAPAN ● KAzAKHStAN
SoUtH KoREA ● mACAU ● mALAySIA
NEPAL ● NEw zEALAND ● PAKIStAN
PAPUA NEw GUINEA ● PHILIPPINES
SRI LANKA ● SINGAPoRE ● tAIwAN
tHAILAND ● UzBEKIStAN
ALGERIA ● ANGoLA ● BotSwANA
CAmERooN ● CENtRAL AFRICAN
REPUBLIC ● DEmoCRAtIC REPUBLIC oF
CoNGo ● DJIBoUtI GABoN ● GAmBIA
GHANA ● GUINEA ● IvoRy CoASt
KENyA ● LESotHo LIByA
mADAGASCAR ● mALAwI ● mALI
mAURItANIA ● mAURItIUS ● moRoCCo
mozAmBIqUE ● NAmIBIA ● NIGERIA
RwANDA ● SENEGAL ● SIERRA LEoNE
SoUtH AFRICA ● SUDAN ● tANzANIA
UGANDA ● zAmBIA
BAHRAIN ● EGyPt ● ISRAEL ● JoRDAN
KUwAIt ● LEBANoN ● omAN
qAtAR ● SAUDI ARABIA ● SyRIA
UNItED ARAB EmIRAtES ● yEmEN
51
InternatIonal
COnTEnTS
Issue 1: 2011
g4s to secure 2012 Olympic
and paralympic games
RegulaR
OpiniOn
FeatuRe
expeRtise
4
The world’s largest sporting event
spotlight on g4s 4teen
I am delighted to report that G4S has been selected as the
Official Security Services Provider and a Tier 3 sponsor of
the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games (see pages
4–7). This is a great achievement and one we have been
working on since 2005, when G4S Secure Solutions (UK)
started preparing its strategic plan for the event, following
the International Olympic Committee’s announcement that
London’s bid had been successful.
In 2008, we started securing the impressive new Olympic
venues that were taking shape in East London, on behalf of
the Olympic Delivery Authority, and now we have reached
an agreement with the London Organising Committee
of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games to be
responsible for the recruitment, training and management
of the very large number of security personnel whose
services will be required during the Games. You will find the
full story inside (pages 4–7).
Those involved in this tremendous achievement tell me
that, in order to put together their bid, they worked and
consulted with colleagues and subsidiaries from Vancouver
to Sydney and from Sao Paulo to Oslo – all cities which
have hosted either Summer or Winter Olympic Games and
which provided very valuable experience.
As well as our own sense of pride in securing the Games,
the icing on the cake will be to see the dreams come
true of the young G4S 4teen athletes from around the
world who are working so hard to qualify and compete in
London 2012.
8
Young athletes and their famous mentor make news
exciting Cities – Macau
10
Dazzling tourist attraction built
around gaming and casinos
History Revisited
14
How G4S pioneered the private
management of prisons
Meet the Management
18
Jean Pierre Taillon, president and CEO, G4S Canada
Where in the world is …
21
this landlocked country whose capital
sits astride a major river?
a nose for security
23
Different ways in which canine capabilities
are used in the workplace
a world of job opportunities
27
An exciting web-based G4S initiative gives
recruitment a global perspective
electronic cry for help
30
The growing use of communications
devices to help the vulnerable
Regional Review
34
G4S Cash Solutions’ global reach
updates
38
Follow-ups to topics discussed in previous issues
Chain of gold
nick Buckles
CEO, G4S plc
41
G4S’s security presence in the gold industry runs
from mining and processing to point of sale
news
45
4
g4s InternatIonal issue 1: 2011
G4S to Secure
2012 olympic and
paralympic GameS
After securing the Olympic Park since 2008, G4s is now
Official security service Provider for the London Games
With a little over a
year to go before the
opening ceremony of
the world’s biggest
sporting event, G4S
Secure Solutions (UK)
has become the Official
Security Services Provider
and a sponsor of the
London 2012 Olympic
and Paralympic Games.
The announcement was
made in March by
the organising
committee of the
London 2012
Games, LOCOG
g4s InternatIonal issue 1: 2011
since 2008, G4s has been responsible for securing
the development of the olympic park site in Stratford,
east london, as it transforms majestically into a
premier venue in the run-up to the 30th olympiad,
the world’s largest sporting event. For these services,
G4S’s contract is with the olympic delivery authority
(oda), which is building the olympic park.
“We now have over 600 full-time G4S employees
working on the oda contract,” says John Whitwam,
a managing director in the G4S Secure Solutions (uK)
business, who has been responsible for that contract
from the outset.
“this is a unique project in the uK,” he adds, “and
it includes almost all of G4S’s capabilities, so my
team undertake cash collections, we provide risk
management consultancy, we patrol using vehicles
and boats, we control access to the pass office, and
we conduct searching and screening, having received
special training from our aviation & ports businesses.
“it’s hard to imagine a contract with more
stakeholders. i believe our success with the locoG
bid is in no small part due to the experience and
expertise we have built up in the G4S oda team,
most of whom have been recruited from the host
boroughs and include 15 nationalities.”
once the olympic park has been built, the oda
will hand it over to locoG, the body responsible for
running the olympic and paralympic Games. “We will
continue to provide all the security support services
for the olympic park throughout the Games,” John
Whitwam explains, “and be a part of what locoG
does. at the end of the Games, when the olympic
park is handed back to the oda, we will continue to
provide security during the period when the perimeter
is dismantled and the site is converted into a sports
park for the benefit of the community.”
under the nationwide locoG contract, G4S
uK has now been given responsibility for recruiting,
training and managing a huge security workforce that
will be tasked with securing the Games, alongside
colleagues from the police and local authorities across
more than 130 london 2012 competition and noncompetition venues.
to achieve that goal, G4S, which currently
employs 50,000 people in the uK, and locoG
are collaborating with the Bridging the Gap
scheme established by the British Security industry
association, the Security industry authority, Skills for
Security and north Hertfordshire college to identify
talented people from over 90 further education
colleges across the uK.
the initiative is set to bring thousands of new
recruits into the security industry as well as providing
a formal qualification for students from across the
uK. this will lead to a guaranteed job interview with
G4S to help supplement their security provision at
Games time. the students will make up a significant
proportion of G4S’s london 2012 security workforce.
left: g4s
teams conduct
searches on all vehicles
entering the olympic
Park. Here, a Welsh
springer named Buster
assists his g4s handler,
Craig Kemp.
above: John Whitwam,
g4s’s managing director
responsible for the
oDa contract.
5
6
g4s InternatIonal issue 1: 2011
the programme has received the london 2012
“inspire mark” award and it is hoped it will prove to
be a gateway for long-term careers in the security
industry, providing a lasting legacy.
“the students’ primary roles will be search and
screening, perimeter security and some degree of asset
protection,” explains mark Hamilton, managing director
of G4S Secure Solutions (uK)’s locoG operations.
“anybody on foot or in a vehicle coming into the
Games will be subject to a fairly stringent process of
searching and screening. there will also be an element
of accreditation checking. obviously, for an event like
the london 2012 Games, there’s also a considerable
amount of fixed and temporary infrastructure that
has to be protected by locoG, and we will have
responsibility for the entire private sector contribution
to that protection work.”
G4S’s deal with locoG will cover security at all
olympic and paralympic venues across the uK.
“there are 34 competition venues, but contractually
we’ve got a large number of other locations at which
wide-ranging security services are required,” explains
ian Horseman Sewell, G4S uK’s director of major
events. “We need to remember that this is both
the olympic and the paralympic Games. So it’s like
running the Summer olympic Games for a couple of
weeks, having a couple of weeks off, then running the
second biggest sporting event in the world.”
as well as a host of new venues that are under
development, well known stadiums and arenas in
london and other major cities will host events. they
include Wembley, Hampden park, lord’s cricket
Ground, Wimbledon and Hampton court palace.
When the opening ceremony takes place on 27 July
next year, london will become the first city ever to
host the olympics on three occasions. the success of
london 2012, say the organisers, will rest very much
on the contribution made by the 70,000 volunteers
who will support the Games..
the 2012 Games are not just about london or the
united Kingdom, of course. over 200 countries will be
sending their top athletes to compete at the olympic
Games, and over 170 countries for the paralympic
Games. they in turn will be accompanied by their
supporters, national olympic committees (nocs),
national paralympic committees (npcs) and other
interested parties. thousands of media representatives
will also descend on the uK capital, and major
sponsors will want to take advantage of every
opportunity to promote their products or services.
nocs, sponsors and other visiting organisations will
all require different levels of protection and the G4S
uK team is ready and able to provide them with a
range of security solutions, including close protection
left:With
olympic
venues on either side of
the river thames, g4s
is using boats as part
of its innovative marine
solution on the oDa
contract.
above: Charangeet singh
sanger, g4s supervisor,
at work in the olympic
Park entry Pass office.
right: steve gould with
his canine assistant,
springer cross Bubby.
g4s InternatIonal issue 1: 2011
“Anybody on foot or in a
vehicle coming into the
Games will be subject to a
fairly stringent process of
searching and screening.
There will also be an element
of accreditation checking.”
Mark Hamilton, MD of G4S’s LOCOG operations
for high profile individuals, whether they are business
people, celebrities or royalty.
“Because the london 2012 Games will make special
demands on the country’s security services,” ian
Horseman Sewell observes, “very few Vips will find
they qualify for government protection during the
Games. We have asked our colleagues around the
world to reassure them that G4S uK stands ready to
help ensure they receive precisely the level of security
they require during the Games.”
david taylor-Smith, regional ceo of G4S uK &
africa, commented, “We have worked extremely hard
with locoG, the police, central government and
the host venues and boroughs to develop a security
proposal which will provide excellent security for the
Games, whilst ensuring that spectators, competitors
and providers of services to the Games can enjoy the
spectacle of one of the greatest sporting events in the
world.”
locoG ceo paul deighton added, “G4S will
help us ensure that the security provisions in place
are robust and of the highest professionalism and
we welcome them to the london 2012 family. our
commercial programme has been a great success
and we’re now approaching our targets, which will
contribute to the staging of a spectacular Games in
2012.” ❚
7
8
g4s InternatIonal issue 1: 2011
‘AMBITIOn
IS KEy TO
SUCCESS’
G4s 4teen members confirm the
wisdom of their famous mentor
Haile Gebrselassie is not only a worldfamous athlete but also a successful businessman
who believes in using his knowledge and skills to help
others, which is why he agreed to be ambassador and
mentor for the G4S 4teen programme.
The Financial Times interviewed him early in 2011 to
learn more about what inspires his athletic and other
achievements and the Daily Telegraph Magazine carried
an in-depth interview, “Born to Run” (17 March).
Asked by the Financial Times whether ambition or
talent is more important to success, he answered:
“Many talented people don’t make it to the top
because they don’t have ambition. Discipline is very
important, but discipline comes out of ambition.”
In response to the question, “What drives you on?”,
the double Olympic gold medal winner and current
world marathon record holder responded: “My joy
of life and running, and my desire to discover new
boundaries. I also enjoy being in a position where I can
help other people achieve their dreams, which I am
trying to do with the G4S 4teen athletes. Seeing them
succeed gives me immense joy.”
As the mentor of G4S’s 14 young athletes from
around the world who are focused on becoming
champions, Haile has good reason to be joyful.
Some are already making a big impression and are
benefitting from time spent with Haile and at training
camps with fellow G4S 4teen members.
The team includes two boxers, Charly Suarez
(Philippines) and Chatchai Butdee (Thailand), who
were thrilled to be given the opportunity to visit
Haile in his home town of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in
December 2010, and train with him in the foothills of
Mount Entoto – an event recorded by a UK journalist
and 3D film crew.
Haile also took the young boxers to St Mary’s Church
where his Olympic gold medals are proudly displayed.
g4s InternatIonal issue 1: 2011
Among the other G4S 4teen athletes who have
been in the spotlight in recent months are long
distance runner Pauline Korikiwang, BMX rider
Mariana Pajón and sprinter Obinna Metu.
International photographer Robin Hammond
travelled to Kenya to spend two days with Pauline,
following her daily routine and capturing the beauty of
her home country. Among her recent successes was
another first-place finish, this time in the Amorebieta
Cross Country Championship in Spain, on 20 January.
FOr MOre iNFOrMaTiON …
Keep up-to-date with G4S 4teen successes and
other G4S sports sponsorships online at
www.g4ssport.com or follow G4S Sport
on Twitter and Facebook.
Meanwhile, Mariana Pajón, the most accomplished
female cyclist in Colombian history having won 13
world championships by the age of 19,
has added another victory to the
long list. Competing in the Latin
American BMX championship
in Brazil in February, she won
races on successive days.
For nigeria’s Obinna Metu,
the undoubted highlight has
been a visit to Jamaica during
which he experienced almost two
months of training with coach Glen
Mills, including sessions with
world and Olympic champion
Usain Bolt – the fastest man
in the world – who is trained
by Mills. ❚
above :
Pauline
Korikiwang’s training
run impresses local
spectators.
far left : Boxers
Chatchai Butdee
(left) and Charly
suarez display Haile’s
olympic gold medals.
left : obinna Metu
is back from training
with the world’s
fastest man.
9
10 g4s InternatIonal issue 1: 2011
exciting cities
THe CHAngIng FACe
OF MACAU
From a Far east trading post to a dazzling tourist
destination built around gaming and casinos
above :
a city that
never sleeps.
right : 19th century
engraving of Macau.
in recent years, the unthinkable has
happened. Macau, a tiny island in the South China Sea,
has out-dazzled and out-performed Las Vegas as the
world’s top gambling attraction.
Once a Portuguese colony, Macau was handed
back to the People’s Republic of China in 1999 to
be administered as a Special Administrative Region
(SAR) for 50 years under the same “one country,
two systems” formula that also applies to its near
neighbour, Hong Kong, a former British colony.
Two years after the handover, in 2001, Macau’s wellestablished gaming industry, which had been run until
then by the Sociedade de Turismo e Diversoes de
Macau (STDM) – still a major player – was opened up
and casino licenses were offered to other operators.
The interest was phenomenal, particularly from
American companies, and the subsequent growth
in just one decade has been incredible. new hotels,
casinos, entertainment venues, leisure complexes and
shopping malls have sprung up like plants emerging
eagerly from the ground with the arrival of Spring.
And it has transformed Macau’s economy, generating
over 40 per cent of its gross domestic profit.
Within five years, Macau’s revenue from gaming
overtook that of the famous Las Vegas Strip. Its tables,
slot machines and other forms of gambling took the
equivalent of US $6.95 billion (£4.34bn) in 2006.
Just four years later, in 2010, despite the global
economic downturn, Macau’s 33 casinos had takings of
£1.45 billion in a single month – October – and were
reporting a 67 per cent increase in revenues in the
first six months of the year. That was nearly four times
Las Vegas’ earnings in the same period. In fact, SJM’s
takings were more than the combined revenue of all
Las Vegas Strip’s casinos.
How does that income translate into profit? Very
well, if Sands China’s experience is representative of
the industry in Macau. It recorded a 329 per cent rise
in profits in the first half of 2010.
Such rapid development has, inevitably, changed the
face of Macau almost beyond recognition. From an
island that was once renowned as a unique blend of
g4s InternatIonal issue 1: 2011
Chinese and european influences, a meeting of east
and West that spanned four centuries, it has become a
bustling, congested, high-rise city that never sleeps and
whose inhabitants and visitors are constantly dazzled
by the flashing, changing, stroboscopic lights that dance
across the casinos’ facades to entice people inside.
Fortunately, the historic centre of Macau has been
named a World Heritage Site, which will help preserve
what UneSCO’s World Heritage Committee
describe as currently the oldest, most complete and
consolidated array of european architectural legacy
standing intact on Chinese territory today.
It achieved its Heritage status in 2005, just before
a massive boom in the gaming industry. Fortunately,
most of this development has taken place away from
the centre, though on an island that is only 28.2 square
kilometres, there is a limit to how far any development
can be from that historic heart. The solution has been
to reclaim a further 5.2 sq km of land from the sea
and build many of the new hotel-casino complexes on
what is known as “the Cotai Strip”.
11
12 g4s InternatIonal issue 1: 2011
above :
Watching
over Macau’s
thriving metropolis.
right : the facade of st
Paul’s Cathedral which
became a ruin in 1835
after a fire but is now
one of Macau’s most
famous landmarks.
This is a causeway that has been built up between
two islands – Coloane and Taipa, from which its name
is derived – that are also linked to Macau by bridge.
Among its new developments is The Venetian Macao
Resort Hotel which attracted 114,000 people in the
first 24 hours after it opened on 28 August, 2007. It
was then the world’s biggest casino, with 4,000 slot
machines, over 800 tables and a shopping mall offering
360 international brands. Its 1,800-seat theatre is
now home to Cirque du Soleil’s spectacular “Zaia”,
enthralling audiences with its combination of dance,
music and aerial acrobatics.
Despite the wealth and extravagance of Macau,
its crime rate is remarkably low. g4S, which has
been providing security on Macau since 1981, makes
a vital contribution to that happy state of affairs. It
employs over 1,500 personnel who provide a range
of manned security, cash management and electronic
security systems to the Macau SAR government,
leading hotels and casino resorts, financial institutions,
numerous retail outlets, and other major customers
such as Macau Air.
g4S has also had an involvement in a number
of major events, including the Macau grand Prix.
Remarkably, despite the island’s rapid expansion, this
annual sporting attraction continues to be staged
on a demanding circuit of the city’s streets. It will be
returning to Macau this november for the 58th time.
For visitors, the easiest way to reach Macau is either
by air or ferry, though mainland Chinese can reach
its peninsula across a land border. A second ferry
terminal opened in 2007 capable of handling boats
carrying up to 1,200 passengers in order to cater for
the increasing number of visitors. But it will not be
too long before the outside world will also be able to
reach Macau by road.
China has started construction work on what will
be the world’s longest sea-crossing bridge when it is
completed in 2016. Spanning 31 miles, the Y-shaped
Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge will connect China’s
southern guangdong province to Hong Kong and
to Macau, boosting the economic ties between the
mainland, the Pearl River Delta and its two thriving
SARs.
The Asia region has not suffered as badly from the
economic downturn as other parts of the globe, but
some of its foreign investors had to put development
projects on hold until there were signs of greater
financial stability in the markets.
In mid-2008, construction on the Las Vegas Sands
Corp’s Shangri-La, Traders and Sheraton hotels on
Macau was stopped when they were 65 per cent
complete. Sands subsequently secured the $1.75
billion it needed to complete these hotels, all of which
are now progressing well and will be opening this
year. That does not mean, however, that gaming will
continue to expand on Macau at the same rate as it
has in the past. There is a need for a greater balance
in the future.
In April 2008, the SAR ‘s then chief executive,
edmund Ho, introduced an indefinite freeze on
new casino licenses and a ban on new land being
used for casinos. He also gave an assurance that
future reclaimed land would not be used for gaming
purposes. This means that the 361 hectares of land
that are to be reclaimed from the sea for the “MacauTaipa new city plan”, announced in 2009, will be used
exclusively for residential purposes, green space and
public facilities. It will support around 120,000 people.
The face of Macau has certainly changed, and it
will continue to do so. But its new chief executive,
Chui Sai On, is as determined as his predecessor
to control the gaming industry. In his debut policy
address, in March last year, he said the government
will seek to control the scope and pace of the gaming
industry, maximising its competitiveness and leveraging
its driving force in other industries to support
diversification of the economy. He will also chair the
gaming Commission.
It is a strategy that is largely welcomed in the
industry. Chui Sai On has also vowed to strengthen
the protection and promotion of the city’s World
g4s InternatIonal issue 1: 2011
Heritage sites and foster integrated development of cultural and leisure tourism.
Another sign of changing attitudes to the gaming boom is the arrival in Macau of
the five-star Mandarin Oriental hotel. What makes it special – possibly unique on the
island – is that it does not have a casino. This is not a gamble, as it were, but a strategic
decision.
“Our hotels are focused on the destination itself,” explains Martin Schnider, general
manager, Mandarin Oriental, Macau. “We’re selling luxury experiences, with a spa,
views, and we show that Macau has something more than gaming. There’s lots of
history and culture, plenty to see, and Macau’s food is definitely a part of it.”
Whatever it is that attracts ever-increasing numbers of visitors to
Macau, they will certainly find it lives up to its reputation as one of the
world’s most exciting cities. ❚
FOr MOre inFOrMatiOn …
For further information on g4S’s global
operations, log on to www.g4s.com or
e-mail magazine@g4s.com
13
14 g4s InternatIonal issue 1: 2011
history revisited
Breaking into
prisons
Roy stemman recalls how G4s pioneered the
private management of prisons in the united
Kingdom and other parts of the world
g4s InternatIonal issue 1: 2011
“Contracting out the running of
the Wolds offers an exciting new
experiment in setting standards of care
and treatment for remand prisoners.”
angela rumbold, Home offIce mInIster
responsIble for prIsons, 1991
it is 20 years since g4s became the first private
company in the world to be appointed by a national
government to run a prison – HMp Wolds in the
United kingdom. a decade later, it began managing
Mangaung Correctional Centre, the first privatelyoperated prison in south africa.
these two prisons continue to be run by g4s
as part of its Care & Justice services division’s
much wider estate of prisons, young offenders’
institutions, secure training centres and other custodial
establishments in various countries.
the achievements and developments at all of
these facilities are frequently referred to in these
columns. But the celebration of these two important
anniversaries – 20-year and 10-year milestones – has
added significance with the announcement on 31
March 2011 by the Uk Justice secretary, kenneth
Clarke, that two new contracts to run prisons in the
Midlands have been awarded to g4s Case and Justice
services. they are the existing HMp Birmingham
and a new prison, Featherstone 2, currently under
construction in Wolverhampton. HMp Birmingham
is the first publicly run prison to be transferred
to a private service provider. g4s will take over
the Birmingham prison in october this year and
Featherstone in april 2012.
Back in 1991, it surprised many observers that whilst
some inmates may have been looking for ways of
breaking out, g4s was looking to break into prisons.
at that time, group 4 (long before its merger with
securicor created g4s) was responding to political
signals that privatisation might be extended beyond
construction to the management of prisons and court
services. it was a proposal being considered by a
number of governments.
group 4 joined forces, early on, with a
United states consultancy and has been
particularly successful in the Us,
with providing youth
services. securicor also moved into the custodial arena
in 1990 and its development of electronic monitoring
of offenders is now used extensively in a number of
countries.
in fact, g4s had been preparing for such
opportunities since the mid-1980s, partnering with
consultancies and construction consortia in order to
be in a position to respond positively if and when
tenders were invited.
the decision to move into the custodial sector was
prompted by three important considerations.
it knew that its considerable man-management
expertise, used to provide security solutions on many
large contracts around the world, could be adapted
very effectively to the transporting of prisoners and
the management of various types of detention centre.
its crowd management skills and global involvement
with security systems also made it a very useful
partner for consortia bidding to design, construct and
manage prisons on private finance initiative/public
private partnership (pFi/ppp) contracts.
and, as an organisation whose growth was based
in large part on quality training for its employees, it
understood the importance of developing innovative
ways of giving prison inmates the opportunity to learn
new skills.
so, once the Uk’s Criminal Justice act 1991 took
effect, allowing the government to contract out the
running of remand prisons, g4s successfully bid for
the very first: the 320-bed remand prison, HMp
Wolds, near Brough, north Humberside, in the
north-east of england. the contract was signed at
a press conference in november 1991 by the then
Home office minister responsible for prisons, angela
rumbold, before being taken on a tour of the new
establishment, which was still under construction.
the event made headline news and the minister’s
comments were widely reported:
“in my view,” she told the media, “the group 4
minister of state angela
rumbold visited Hmp
Wolds in 1991 to
tour the facility and
sign the management
contract, along with Jim
Harrower, chairman of
group 4 International
correction services.
15
16 g4s InternatIonal issue 1: 2011
proposal incorporates the best of the public sector
with the best of the private sector. Contracting out
the running of the Wolds offers an exciting new
experiment in setting standards of care and treatment
for remand prisoners. it is an important initiative
which will allow the prison service to work alongside
the private sector and gain experience in new ways of
tackling this important task.”
on 6 april the following year, Wolds accepted its first
remand prisoner who had just received his sentence
at a Doncaster court. What he did not know was that
watching his arrival on closed circuit television was
a group of visitors for whom it was perhaps a more
momentous day than it was for the individual being
delivered into the prison’s care. they included group
4’s chairman, Jørgen philip-sørensen, the managing
director of group 4 remand services, Jim Harrower, a
local prison governor and Home office representatives.
there are now 11 privately-operated prisons in the
Uk, four of which are run by g4s. in 1993, a year after
it opened, Wolds was re-rolled as a Category B prison
holding sentenced prisoners. g4s successfully re-bid its
contract at Wolds in 2001 at which time it was again
re-rolled, to a Category C training prison for adult males,
including prisoners serving second stage life sentences.
although the focus of this feature is on the two
prisons celebrating special anniversaries this year, we
should not forget that g4s Care & Justice services
has at different times also been involved in a very
wide range of activities, including court services in
1993 (it became the first private company in the Uk
to transport offenders between courts and prisons or
other establishments), children’s services, electronic
monitoring, welfare to work and police support services.
Just before the merger of group 4 and securicor in
2004, the former’s custodial division, then operating as
gsL, was sold but it was acquired again five years later.
WoRld’s second laRGest pRivate
pRison opens in south afRica
Having proved its custodial capabilities in the Uk and
also in australia, where it runs two prisons, including
the 823-bed maximum security port phillip prison in
Melbourne, g4s went on to bid, 10 years later, to run
a far bigger establishment. Mangaung Correctional
Centre at Bloemfontein, capital of south africa’s Free
state province, is the world’s second largest private
prison. it provides secure accommodation, care and
rehabilitation for almost 3,000 maximum security and
long-term offenders.
g4s was part of the consortium which successfully
bid for south africa’s first pFi/ppp contract and is
now 10 years into its 25-year contract to operate the
huge Mangaung facility on behalf of the Department of
Correctional services.
as with all of g4s Care & Justice-run establishments,
the emphasis is on education and rehabilitation, not
punishment. it is also increasingly engaged in a variety
of projects which benefit the local Bloemfontein
community and more than 86 per cent of its almost
500 personnel are from previously disadvantaged
communities within 100 kilometres of the facility.
Mangaung will be showcasing the numerous
achievements of its first operational decade in an
anniversary event on 1 July. this will focus, in part, on
the enhancement of the community’s safety after the
release of inmates.
“We invest heavily in the development of offenders,”
explains Frikkie Venter, managing director of g4s
Care & Justice services (south africa). “professional
staff, including social workers, psychologists and
educationists, deliver various developmental
programmes to address offending behaviour. these
interventions are also extended to the community
with a focus on creating conducive environments for
children to grow up in or when attending school, in
order to prevent ‘at risk behaviour’.”
Venter adds: “We are looking forward to our
continuing partnership with government for the next
15 years and to investing in the new projects in the
Care and Justice arena, such as new ppp prison bids
and the Youth at risk residential Care Centres.” ❚
g4s direct supervision
officer sechaba mancwe
at the control board
in one of mangaung
correctional centre’s
units, unlocking the
inmates for the day.
right: also at mangaung,
which was constructed
over 10 years ago
(aerial photograph
is from that period),
inmates take part in
purposeful, structured
activities including
recreation pursuits
such as regular tug­
of-war contests.
g4s staff luzaan Koch
and carmel peter
provide a warming mug
of soup to a youngster,
at an informal pre­
school settlement, as
part of the prison’s
Winter Warmer
outreach programme.
marinda Kleynhans,
g4s employee care
coordinator, discusses
healthy living issues
with a colleague,
fabian booysen.
g4s InternatIonal issue 1: 2011
17
18 g4s InternatIonal issue 1: 2011
meet the management
Jean PIeRRe
taILLOn
presidenT and Ceo
G4s Canada
profile by KeiTH bloGG
FORmeR
teLeCOmS
eXeCUtIVe
WIth PaSSIOn
FOR SOLUtIOnS
WHere TemperaTures Can dip to –50ºC and the winter nights
go on for ever, you may sometimes find Jean Pierre taillon, president and
CeO of g4S Canada.
In the unlikely setting of the country’s frozen north, Jean will be
there to ensure the customer is happy with the secure solutions g4S is
providing for the recovery of one of Canada’s greatest natural assets –
oil sands. also referred to in some countries as tar sands, because of its
appearance, these reserves help make Canada’s oil wealth second only to
that of Saudi arabia.
Facilities at the Fort mcmurray camp of 3,300 people, which is part of
Shell’s athabasca Oil Sands Project in northern alberta, are kept secure
by a sophisticated blend of integrated services specially devised by g4S
Secure Solutions (Canada). emergency and first response teams back up
a total security package, which includes access checks and protection of
buildings and equipment.
at least three times a year, Jean makes the 1,650-mile trip from his
base in toronto to liaise face-to-face with his most northern team and
to ensure that g4S’s contract within this vital sector is moving forward
effectively.
Oil sands contain an extremely viscous form of petroleum, known as
bitumen. Deposits of this substance that are located within 75 metres of
the surface are extracted with open-pit mining, which is predominantly
the case at athabasca, whilst deeper deposits at Cold Lake and Peace
River are recovered by injecting steam in order to mobilise the oil and
cause it to flow into production wells.
“the landscape is just miles and miles of strip mining,” says Jean, “and
the camp itself is like a small city, set in the middle of nowhere. But for
Canada this is a vital part of the future and we feel privileged to be
involved.”
the oil and gas contract is a prime example of the new thinking, which
Jean brought to g4S Canada when he took over in 2008. “I found a
business which was focused on providing the security services a customer
requested rather than examining the underlying security issues and
problems,” he recalls.
g4s InternatIonal issue 1: 2011
“this has required a real change of thinking, looking
at the bigger picture, in line with g4S’s solutions
strategy. It means being able to ask customers
the right questions, walking in their shoes and
understanding their issues. I had to bring in people
with new skills and a different way of thinking.”
the large concrete flower bins which adorn the
front of one of Canada’s passport and visa offices
are an unlikely monument to Jean and g4S’s new
approach. the customer had requested four security
officers to man the outside of the building, but g4S’s
analysis suggested that protective concrete under the
windows might provide a more effective, less labour
intensive and therefore less expensive solution.
today, a one-person roving patrol is all the
manpower that is required – and more contracts have
come for visa offices across the country as a result.
“Solutions need not be expensive. Sometimes, a lock
on the door is good enough security as opposed to
access monitoring or security personnel on patrol,” he
adds. Despite the recession, the company’s turnover
has risen by 10 per cent.
Jean developed his operating skills during a 25-year
career with telecommunications companies including
at&t and Bell Canada, where he rose to become
president and CeO of Connexim, the Canadian
telecoms network management specialist, and vice
president, Bell ICt managed Services, montreal.
“I lived through a revolution in thinking in the
telecoms business, driven by the fact that prices of
long distance services, the internet and cell phone
services dropped dramatically. executives were
forced to ask how to bring value to customers and
still preserve margins. One way we achieved this was
by providing solutions instead of simply a range of
products.
“the same transitional thinking is what gets me
excited about the security business. We must get
away from competing on items like the price of a
security officer – simply providing one cheaper than
the competition or claiming ‘mine is better than yours’
is not the answer. anyone can do that.
“ Instead, we are differentiating ourselves by
understanding a customer’s business to find solutions.”
In another radical move, realising that most
companies do not give security a high priority, Jean
and his colleagues are concentrating on areas where
security is both important and necessary. as well
as oil and gas, this includes commercial properties,
transportation, manufacturing and retail.
healthcare is a new and important field. Security
officers trained to work in high-risk hospital areas such
as the emergency room provide a first line of defence
for hospital staff. they are trained to tackle violent
Jean taillon drops in on
g4s control operator
Harpal Chera at one of
the company’s toronto
control centres.
19
20 g4s InternatIonal issue 1: 2011
people and deal with knives and razors.
Other security personnel specialise in 24-hour
patient watch, dealing with the mentally disturbed and
potential suicide cases, removing the need for a nurse.
In addition, others patrol the premises and control its
access points.
“If a hospital hired a police officer to do this work it
would cost six times as much,” Jean observes.
at railway stations, g4S personnel are trained
to deal with aggressive or difficult passengers and
keep an eye out for vagrants and drug dealers. they
are allowed to carry batons and handcuffs, but not
firearms.
Jean started his career with degrees in engineering,
working for northern telecom and motorola. It was
when he moved to at&t in 1992 that he seized
opportunities to develop in other areas.
“I realised that in order to be successful you need
more than an elegant solution or a quick fix. You need
to be able to pitch your idea and get it sold. I learnt
early that you needed to be good at sales, marketing,
engineering and finance.”
Covering Canada, the second largest country in the
world, involves huge journeys for Jean of often more
than 1,000 miles. Vancouver, which he visits at least
three times a year, is 2,800 miles away from his base
in toronto, the distance to Calgary is 2,200 miles and
to Winnipeg 1,200 miles. Jean estimates he spends 180
days a year travelling, working 16 hours on most days.
“It is essential I keep in close touch with my team,”
he explains. “We each have a specific role and when
we play our position we are much stronger. Role
clarity is important to me – it brings accountability and
that helps drive success.”
a contract with the Federal government to handle
deportation of illegal immigrants takes him over the
border and down to Los angeles where he liaises with
his US counterparts.
“Illegal immigrants can range from hardened
criminals to a young and vulnerable family. Sometimes
you have to be tough and focussed, other times
sensitive. If they are sick or go to hospital we use an
electronic ankle bracelet as a humane way to keep
track. It does away with the need for a 24/7 security
officer and gives people some privacy.”
Balancing his life is a priority for Jean. When the
weekend arrives he switches off his hectic business
round and relaxes at his home, set in two acres of
woodland in the village of Carlisle, 45 miles from
toronto.
“You won’t find me sitting with a Blackberry on my
lap,” he said. “this is a time to be with my family, to
unwind and recharge.”
Physical activity is high on the agenda. Jean runs four
or five times a week and regularly joins his wife Linda
and daughters Renee (16) and annik (12) on the ski
slopes.
travel is important for the family and there is also a
keen interest in the arts. Jean is a director of Canstage,
a theatre company dedicated to Canadian drama. “We
are a small country compared to the United States
so it is important that we keep our own identity and
tell our own story,” he explains. “Canstage offers
Canadian productions to Canadian audiences and
keeps our culture alive.”
another of his interests is the Pro-action Cops and
Kids organisation of which he is president. It was at a
police-versus-youngsters basketball match that Jean
realised the benefits of bridging the gap between the
two groups. “It breaks down the wall between them
and hopefully puts the kids on the right path,” he adds.
Jean is undoubtedly on the right path. “I have been
blessed in my career,” he admits, “and now I have a
strong passion for giving back.” ❚
Jean receives an
operational update
from g4s security
contract manager
Wesley McIntyre
during a customer visit.
g4S InternatIonal issue 1: 2011
Where in the World is…?
it is inevitable that a landlocked country,
sharing its borders with seven neighbouring nations,
will have been invaded over the centuries. that is
certainly true of the country we are featuring. Many
of the ancient ruins and monuments that attract
huge numbers of visitors are the creations of other
civilisations, some dating back 2,000 years or more.
But it is also a country that has helped influence
the course of history for others. Having been
occupied after World War II, and experienced
executions and imprisonment of large numbers of its
population, as well as the deportation of 600,000 to
labour camps, in 1956 its people revolted.
the national uprising was brutally crushed, leaving
20,000 dead. However, taking advantage of a brief
period when its borders were open, nearly a quarter
of a million fled and that revolution sowed the seeds
of change.
More than 30 years later, having liberalised
its economy, it opened one of its borders for
humanitarian reasons.
this not only allowed thousands to escape
from oppression but also helped to bring about
revolutionary changes throughout the region.
But where in the world is it? If we have not
given you enough clues to help you identify this
parliamentary democracy, here are two more:
Its capital city sits astride a major river and it is
one of the world’s top 30 tourist destinations.
turn the page to see if you were right.
21
22 g4S InternatIonal issue 1: 2011
Where in the world is …?
hUnGArY
previous page:
the liberty Bridge,
Budapest.
this page – top left:
the Hungarian
Parliament building.
top right: national
theatre, Budapest.
bottom left:tihany
abbey. bottom right:
g4S armed protection
for a delivery in
the city centre.
this central european country has one of
the world’s most beautiful capitals: Budapest. divided
by the danube river, on one bank sits Buda, the older
part of the city, with its cobbled streets and medieval
buildings, and on the other bank is Pest, its newer,
commercial heart.
it attracts many writers, artists and musicians whose
creativity seems to thrive in such surroundings. however,
hungary’s older residents remember a time when
suppression stifled such freedom. Following the fall
of nazi Germany at the end of World War ii, soviet
troops occupied the country and it became a communist
satellite state.
slowly, after the failed revolution of 1956, it shrugged
off soviet control by first liberalising its economy, in
1968, and then two decades later it opened its border
with Austria to allow thousands of east Germans to
escape to the West. its actions hastened the collapse
of communism across eastern europe and helped bring
about the fall of the Berlin Wall in november 1989.
hungary became a member of the european Union
in 2004. today, its history, architecture and famous
thermal springs – as well as its roman ruins and turkish
monuments that are relics of even earlier occupations –
attract over eight million tourists a year.
G4s began providing security solutions in 1990
and now offers manned security, cash services and
security systems throughout the country. it has over
2,500 employees to provide those services through a
network of 14 regional cash-in-transit branches, one cash
processing centre, five manned security branches and an
alarm receiving centre.
not surprisingly, given its popularity with visitors,
leisure and tourism is one of the major sectors for which
it has long provided security solutions. ❚
g4S InternatIonal issue 1: 2011
A nose for security
Lorna weBLey investigates the different ways in which
G4s makes use of canine capabilities in the workplace
it’ s no wonder that dogs are regarded as “man’s best friend”. Many are loyal,
intelligent, devoted and affectionate, whose domesticated role in life is to be a
good companion to humans. But many breeds are happiest when they are working,
whether that be hunting, herding, hauling,
guarding or rescuing, to name just five of
the skills for which they are renowned.
alfie is being taught to
detect explosives in the
United Kingdom by g4S
trainer lee Deighton.
23
24 g4S InternatIonal issue 1: 2011
However, the quality that is most associated with
dogs – their extraordinary sense of smell – is proving
increasingly useful to the security industry, and it is one
of the canine capabilities that G4s is putting to good
use in many countries.
The risk of terrorist attacks against high-profile
events, airports and businesses is one of the threats
that have lead to an increase in canine assistance by
many security organisations around the world who
are eager to make use of their special talents.
Whether the requirement is for general purpose
dog-handler teams to patrol the perimeter of
a sporting venue, a search for explosives at a
conference, or a passive drugs search of entrants
to a music festival, G4s canine handlers and their
four-legged friends are the perfect partnership to
investigate all manner of suspicious or criminal activity.
only dogs that are healthy and have the physical
ability to consistently and effectively work in the most
demanding environments are selected. they are then
put through a rigorous training programme to enhance
their detection, obedience, agility and search skills. they
can be trained to detect by smell a variety of items,
including cash, mobile phones, drugs and weapons.
dedicated detector service
in the Middle east, Africa and the Americas, G4s has
been providing services to customers for 30 years.
With over 350 detector canines and 400 handlers on
assignment in countries such as Afghanistan, sudan,
iraq, Peru and the united states, the division is well
placed to offer security solutions that include mine,
explosives and narcotics detection dogs, as well as
patrol and speciality search dogs. Most recently, G4s
has deployed teams of explosive detection dogs to
protect Baghdad international Airport.
the mine detection dog team has completed
hundreds of demining missions, assisting a multitude
of customers, including governments and international
agencies.
the explosive detection dog team has helped locate
dozens of devices in high-risk buildings including, in
iraq last year, weapons and explosives in vehicles
attempting to enter Baghdad international Airport.
At the us embassy in Baghdad, the team also
detected explosive residue on vehicles and personnel
attempting to enter the compound.
Meanwhile, the narcotics dog team has been
successful in stopping the illegal trafficking of drugs in
and out of many countries. Members of the company’s
patrol dog teams have also helped to safeguard
compounds, such as military installations and oil fields,
by detecting and apprehending intruders.
Leslie Hancock, G4s’s senior director, Government
solutions, comments: “We’ve not experienced any
major incidents at our high-threat contract sites. our
customers regularly express that they have peace of
mind since introducing our service.”
Canine deployment
in the united Kingdom, G4s secure solutions now
has its own integral canine security services division,
providing industry-leading canine security and training
services to customers across a number of sectors. it
has been set up as a result of rising crime during the
challenging and unstable economy. the team pride
themselves not only on meeting the British standards
for dog/handler teams but also on becoming associate
members of the national Association of security Dog
users (nAsDu) and corporate business members
of the national training inspectorate for Professional
Dog users (ntiPDu).
G4s canine security services offer dedicated costeffective solutions that are tailored to suit customers’
operational requirements. explosives, narcotics and
human detection dogs are deployed as a proven
deterrent and as a protective measure.
G4s has also developed a training school which will
teach dog-handler teams the principles of explosive,
narcotics and personnel detection.
John Whitwam, managing director of G4s canine
services, says: “the training will cover the principles
of explosives detection, and will be delivered by
experienced trainers who have many years of
operational deployment and training experience in the
British Army, Police and Prisons service.”
an effective deterrent
in Belgium, for over 20 years dogs have been used
by G4s for security patrols around building sites and
warehouses to prevent theft. During the last five years,
this service has evolved and the patrol dog-handler
teams are now carrying out vehicle and building
searches for explosives. the team has 15 guard dogs
and four certified explosives detection dogs.
“the dogs help to give our security officers more
confidence when patrolling and investigating potentially
dangerous situations,” explains Luc De Jonghe, G4s
contract manager. “During a demonstration at the
nAto HQ, organised by environmentalists, our
patrol dog-handler teams were able to prevent large
numbers of protesters from gaining access to the site.”
g4S InternatIonal issue 1: 2011
“G4S has developed
a training school
which will teach
dog-handler teams
the principles of
explosives, narcotics
and personnel
detection.”
integral to security
in south Africa, Mangaung correctional centre,
Bloemfontein, which has nearly 3,000 inmates, is well
known for its commitment to the empowerment and
development of offenders in their care, while also
ensuring the safety of visitors and employees. the
canine unit is an integral part of that security.
“our greatest challenge is to detect illegal substances
hidden by newly admitted prisoners, who hide things on
their body or between their belongings”, explains Leana
Goosen, G4s care & Justice services (south Africa)’s
director, operations and solutions. “these prisoners
are subjected to searches by our passive drug sniffer
dogs before entering the centre. By continuing to use
thorough search techniques, we will maintain our longstanding record of being drugs-free at the prison.”
25
26 g4S InternatIonal issue 1: 2011
staying one step ahead
in Australia, Port Phillip Prison’s canine unit has existed
since the prison opened in Melbourne in 1997, and is
G4s’s only dog unit in Australia. initially, there were
two operational dogs and their handlers; now there
are four dogs, each with their own handler. the dogs
are trained to sniff out specific drugs, which include
amphetamines, heroin and cannabis.
“our dogs have always been used to detect drugs
that have been introduced into the prison,” explains
John Myers, G4s care & Justice services’ general
manager at 820-bed Port Phillip Prison. “our drug
levels are consistently low and well controlled due to
our use of K9 drug dogs. We have been so successful
that prisoners have endeavoured to replace these
drugs with prescription medicines. our plan is to stay
one step ahead and train our dogs to detect these
substances as well.”
role in rehabilitation
Dogs have also been found to provide people with a
sense of emotional well-being due to the unconditional
love that they give. A study conducted by christopher
Honts at central Michigan university in Mount
Pleasant, us, showed that the presence of dogs in the
workplace led to an increase in office productivity and
teamwork.
they also make a valuable therapeutic contribution
is some situations, as G4s custody officers at HM
Prison &young offenders’ institution, Parc, in
Bridgend, south Wales, have discovered.
Parc has four drug dogs that are used with both
prisoners and visitors to detect illegal substances.
in addition, it has two Labrador puppies, Mitsy and
Betsy, born in the summer of 2010, who live on the
safer custody unit which houses Parc’s most vulnerable
offenders. the puppies are part of its alternative
animal therapy strategy, which also includes goats and
chickens.
the purpose of using animals with this type of
prisoner is largely to reduce incidents of self harm and
it is proving to be effective.
“All our animals are accessible by all our prison
population – young people, young offenders and
adults,” explains sara Webber, Parc’s marketing
and communications manager, “and offenders take
responsibility for the animals’ care, with guidance from
staff.”
from the united states comes confirmation that
those in secure residential settings benefit from being
close to dogs. At Hillsborough intensive residential
treatment (irt) Academy, which is run by G4s youth
services for florida Department of Juvenile Justice,
youngsters are involved in the training of dogs, usually
to increase their chances of being adopted. However,
it is not only the canines that benefit from the “Dude
for Dogs” programme, which operates in conjunction
with an animal welfare organisation whose volunteers
teach dog handling techniques.
“the Dude for Dogs programme provides the
irt’s youngsters, who are high-risk male adolescents
between nine and 14 years of age, with therapeutic
experiences and the feeling of unconditional love,” says
Jim Hill, president and ceo of G4s youth services.
“We find that behavioural problems tend to decrease
dramatically when young people are involved in such
programmes. the facility is calmer and easier to live
and work in as a result because the programme is also
an incentive for them to behave and keep working
with the dogs.”
All 12 dogs that have so far passed through the
programme since 2009 have earned canine Good
citizen certification, indicating they have learned to
follow basic commands and have completed the agility
course.
the hope, of course, is that the young people who
taught them those skills will also have learned to be
good citizens. ❚
g4S dog handler louis
Jacobs and passive drug
dog Sento are helping
to keep Mangaung
Correctional Centre
in South africa free of
narcotics.
g4S InternatIonal issue 1: 2011
A WORld
Of jOb
OppORTunITIeS
MarTin sayers takes a look at an
exciting new G4s web-based initiative that
gives recruitment a global perspective
The wonders of the internet have
enabled the Group Resourcing team of the
world’s second largest private employer, G4S, to
provide a single point of contact for candidates
applying for work with the company, anywhere
across the globe. It’s an essential development
for a company that already employs more than
625,000 and continues to expand.
The newly launched G4S Careers
Centre (http://careers.g4s.
com) has streamlined
the recruitment process
for a Group that takes
on up to 200,000 new
staff each year. That
was quite a
challenge,
given
G4S’s uniquely decentralised structure and its different
component companies across the world, all of which
conduct their own recruitment processes via 100
websites.
“We needed to devise and implement a system
where anyone across the world who was interested
in working for G4S could receive the best possible
candidate experience by being part of our database
and matched to suitable opportunities,” explains Colin
Minto, head of resourcing, who has been instrumental
in developing the new Careers Centre solution.
“We also had to ensure our hiring managers could
search for suitable applicants for specific roles and use
the system to actively suggest candidates based on
matching job specifications to their profiles.”
One of the biggest problems that faced the team
was devising a system that could work within the
autonomous nature of G4S which, in recruitment terms,
had led to a number of applicant tracking systems (ATS)
being used across the business for acquiring, tracking,
processing and managing candidates online.
The solution has been as innovative as it is effective
and will eventually integrate all the many disparate
employment systems that exist
within G4S to produce one
single point of reference for
job seekers.
To the candidates this
will appear as one seamless
point of contact where
they can apply for any job
across the whole business.
27
28 g4S InternatIonal issue 1: 2011
However, the Group Resourcing team has worked
hard to make sure that it is possible to continue
utilising multiple local technologies whilst receiving the
benefit of centralising job and candidate content into
a single, fully searchable, multi-lingual and intelligent
database.
Several major parts of the G4S network are already
using the new site and it is hoped that within three
years it will have reached out to every single section of
the business in over 110 countries.
This makes it a hugely advantageous resource for job
seekers as well as G4S human resource departments
and hiring managers across the world. It works both
as a method of finding relevant job opportunities, by
either location or sector, and as a way of matching
appropriate jobs to candidates, even when they may
not have applied for that particular position.
The website is simple, accessible and extremely
effective and has been getting rave reviews. Anybody
can upload a CV, whether they are applying for a
specific job or not, which is then taken by the system
and broken down to store each relevant component
of the document, such as experience, qualifications
and location.
Similarly, as soon as a job becomes available,
anywhere across the G4S network, its description is
uploaded onto the system and is then matched against
every single candidate on the database. The system
then looks at all the relevant information and matches
the top 30 most suitable candidates to the job and
these details are sent directly to the hiring manager.
As well as recruiting the very best candidates,
the careers site also has a part to play in retaining
employees within G4S, as jobs are
matched to the details of existing
employees as well as aspiring
candidates. This greatly enhances
the prospects for promotion
and career advancement within
G4S and, with retention such an
important aspect of the viability
and effectiveness of any business,
will play a vital part in strengthening
the pool of talent that exists within the
Group.
Among those who have put the website
to the test with outstanding results is Martha
Manoli who, until february this year, was manned
sales administrator with G4S Greece. Having worked
in security for 17 years, 10 of them with G4S, she
felt ready to explore how the international security
g4S employee
Martha Manoli has
proved how effective
the Careers Centre
can be.
market worked. A position with the Group in the uK
might be the answer.
With that in mind, Martha kept an eye on the G4S
intranet where vacancies were regularly advertised
and made several unsuccessful applications. She
started to wonder what she was doing wrong. but
with the launch of the G4S Career Centre, she
realised, from the advice and tips it offers, that she
was not following the best procedures.
“I had a strong CV and knew the working
circumstances in uK but my cover letter was a disaster
because it did not present who I am and what I can
do. I learned this from the website’s ‘10 things that will
help you get hired’ and also ‘Your personal Statement’.
“I followed the instructions with reverence and
made the appropriate corrections to my cover letter,”
Martha explains. “Three applications were enough to
get me an interview and I was well prepared, having
also read the advice offered by the website: “five tips
to help you in your next interview”.
The interview went very well and after a few days
Martha received a congratulatory e-mail. She is now
planning her relocation, to become administration
manager with G4S Integrated Services in the uK.
The Careers Centre website was voted best
Candidate Service at this year’s Onrec Online
Recruitment Industry awards in March, and G4S’s
Group head of resourcing, Colin Minto, was
recognised as Industry personality of the Year. The
website will also play an important role in supporting
unemployed individuals to move into decent, lasting
jobs following the award to G4S Welfare to Work
of the management of Work programme contracts
across three areas of the uK. G4S has been
shortlisted in seven regions to deliver this flagship
employment project. Making its vacancies more widely
available to disadvantaged and marginalised jobseekers
g4S InternatIonal issue 1: 2011
through the Careers
Centre will benefit both
the jobseeker and G4S,
which gets access to a wider,
more diverse pool of talent.
The new site is far more
than a job application portal.
It has also been developed
to provide an interactive
careers experience for
anyone who visits. features
include forums on a wide
variety of subjects, as well as
online tutorials that give tips
on subjects such as writing the
perfect CV and preparing for job
interviews.
Through case studies and employee
reports, the site also shows G4S’s full scope and
operational ability – from ATM management in Hong
Kong, to close protection work in Afghanistan and the
emergency response operation on the niger delta
– allowing job seekers to appreciate the truly global
and diverse nature of the opportunities offered by the
Group.
The website, which launched at the end of 2010, is
already proving to be a hit with job seekers. Within
36 hours of first going online it had seen over 22,000
candidates register, with 400 online job applications
being made. Visits are partly driven by social
networking sites as it seamlessly blends with G4S’s
social media career channels on facebook, linkedIn,
YouTube and Twitter.
As well as helping job seekers and hiring managers,
Colin Minto
points out that
the new site delivers
important benefits
to those who use G4S
services:
“Our customers rely on us
to employ the very best people
over a vast range of different
sectors and the scale and efficiency
of this new site means that we can
literally scour the world for the best
applicants for any position.
“In an increasingly globalised
world we are developing a truly
international recruitment process and
that can only boost the quality of our
own operation and the service that
our customers receive.”
In an increasingly competitive
employment market, the new G4S
Careers Centre is helping the Group keep ahead
of the game by attracting the very best candidates
and offering them the most suitable positions. And
it means that potential recruits will soon be able
to search the entire world for a new job, from the
comfort of their homes.
With such initiatives, it is hardly surprising that
G4S has also achieved second place in this year’s
britain’s Top employer Awards, based on independent
research into companies’ human resource policies and
working conditions. It is the second year running that it
has featured high on the list.
for more information visit www.careers.g4s.com ❚
29
30 g4s InternatIonal issue 1: 2011
ElEctronic cry for hElp
Martin GoslinG explores the growing use of communication devices
to assist the vulnerable, with more than a little support from G4s
g4s InternatIonal issue 1: 2011
It’s more than a bracelet
that she is wearing.
When activated by the
wearer, the elegant
and colourful PFo
one can send an alert
to friends or summon
help from g4s.
the proGress of electronic innovation has
brought about a revolution in instant communication,
giving us immediate access to entertainment and
information. at the same time, satellite ground
positioning systems (gPs) – often called satnavs
– have made navigation much simpler for amateur
yachtsmen and the captains of warships, as well as
bewildered motorists.
Combining these technologies has opened up
a host of new opportunities, among the most
important of which are the hugely significant
advances in the field of personal safety. and it’s
a sector in which g4s – a pioneer in custodial
monitoring – is also hoping to play a vital role.
there are several different groups of vulnerable
people who are set to benefit from these developments,
and across many countries there has been a surge of
interest in meeting their particular needs. In some of
the leading enterprises, g4s has been selected as the
provider of a major element of the operation.
However, in order to understand how these
processes work, it is helpful to have a basic
knowledge of the gadgetry involved.
it started with monitoring
the concept of electronically monitoring offenders
for the purposes of enforcing a curfew is a wellestablished alternative to a custodial sentence and
one in which g4s Care & Justice services has a great
deal of experience.
a “tag” attached to an offender becomes active
and alerts the monitoring agency should the wearer
stray beyond the defined range of an installed
detector unit. this set-up uses mobile/cell phone
picturEs by Johan paulin
technology and is basically a static process that can
also be used for ensuring that vulnerable people
don’t stray from within a safe environment.
to perform the same function for those who are
free to travel, a far more sophisticated process
is deployed that utilises the benefits of ground
positioning systems. originally developed for military
use, gPs utilises a network of 24 space satellites
(with three constantly in reserve) which, through a
complex process of triangulation, transmit data to
the receiver on the ground (or at sea), giving precise
co - ordinates of latitude and longitude.
although this is of enormous help to the recipient
of this data – be it an ocean liner or a backpacker
in the desert – the gPs equipment alone cannot
transmit this information to a third party. this
function requires the addition of a cellular/mobile
phone modem.
By combining the two processes it is possible for
a monitoring station to be aware of the location and
movements of an individual in possession of a cell
phone with gPs tracking capability.
But a limitation occurs if the person being tracked
or monitored is in an area not covered by a cellphone network. When this arises, the data has to
be sent to the tracking station via a communications
satellite. If an alarm device is added to this
combination, it becomes possible for a wearer to
alert a response unit should help be required, while
simultaneously disclosing their precise location. and
since g4s has extensive monitoring and response
capabilities, it is entering into partnership with the
makers of such devices in order for them to offer a
total package.
31
32 g4s InternatIonal issue 1: 2011
emergency response
swedish technology company boomslang instruments
has developed a tracking and alarm device that takes
the form of an attractive item of jewellery. Designed
to be worn by women who value their freedom and
independence but who may be at risk in the urban
world, the device is light and unobtrusive yet combines
a Gps tracking capability with an alarm facility that can
alert a monitoring agent when help is needed.
the bracelet, named pfo one, will be launched
in april this year. Wearers of the bracelet will pay a
monthly fee so that G4s secure solutions (sweden),
the partner chosen by boomslang, can provide a
monitoring and alarm response service. G4s is likely to
work closely with the company in making the product
available worldwide.
Estonia is another country where G4s is helping
to establish an emergency response service that
incorporates tracking technology. tarvi hirv, head of
research and development at G4s secure solutions
(Estonia), explains that a basic mobile phone,
equipped with Gps and an emergency button, is given
to vulnerable elderly people. When activated, a call
is automatically put through to the G4s monitoring
unit which can then identify the exact location of the
sender and respond in accordance with the nature
of the emergency. G4s will attend to the customer
unless the emergency services have specifically been
requested to do so or are obviously required.
this operation is soon to be extended to enable
more mobile phones with a Gps facility to be
equipped with an alarm button, which would make
it unnecessary for customers to purchase expensive
specialist alarm equipment and would bring the G4s
service within reach of a wider range of vulnerable
people.
Electronic monitoring is increasingly used as an
alternative to a custodial sentence, allowing an
offender to have some freedom of movement within
certain times and agreed areas. in the united states,
G4s is now offering a unique monitoring solution for
cases involving domestic violence, to ensure the victim
is not confronted by her attacker.
What is special about the service on offer is that it
tracks the movements of both offender and victim.
this is largely a response to new legislation that has
already been introduced in 15 american states and
is being considered in others, which allows courts in
certain circumstances to fit Gps tracking devices to
offenders under restraining orders.
the person or persons who have been threatened
by the offender – perhaps a partner, a judge, witnesses
in a trial or even county court administration staff –
are issued with a small tracking unit that they keep in a
purse or pocket.
this enables the movements of the offender and
his potential victims to be monitored in real time and,
should he be seen by G4s monitoring centre staff to
be getting too close, either deliberately or accidentally,
to wherever the victim may be, the person in danger
can be alerted by a text or call to his or her mobile
phone.
this G4s solution is a major advance on previous
systems that imposed inclusion and exclusion zones
around fixed locations and offered no coverage for
the victim at common times when they are mobile.
healthcare applications
the mentally ill form another group who are already
benefitting greatly from these developments. in
England, a leading hospital has established a scheme
that enhances the rehabilitation of mentally-ill patients
g4s InternatIonal issue 1: 2011
and instils greater confidence in the process of
temporary release from the confines of the hospital.
an essential element of the therapeutic process is to
improve self-reliance in patients granted home leave
and on final discharge into the community. some 35
Gps devices are now deployed in this ground-breaking
scheme and enable the movements of released patients
to be tracked, while giving the individual wearer an
enormous boost in confidence, knowing that help and
advice is quickly to hand when necessary.
G4s is involved in a similar scheme in the netherlands
which utilises electronic monitoring to provide a
comprehensive range of services to a variety of people.
included in the diverse client groupings are healthcare,
homecare for the elderly, security officers, construction
workers, and staff at other facilities. G4s operations in
the netherlands focus on processing alarm calls from
their clients and responding in accordance with an
agreed protocol.
for example, a blind man who became lost in a public
park was able to summon help with his Gps device. he
was quickly found and helped to return home. an elderly
private householder also requested help after a fall
caused a severe head wound and mental confusion. the
relevant care centre was alerted by G4s and assistance
speedily given. in both cases, these vulnerable people
had activated an electronic alarm system that enabled
G4s operatives to trace them and ensure prompt action.
G4s also provides, in the united Kingdom, a
monitoring and response service for people who work
by themselves without close or direct supervision,
and who therefore may be vulnerable to attack. (see:
“protecting lone Workers”, G4S International, 4/09,
pages 15–17.)
Exciting and rapid progress is being made in the
field of electronic communications. adapting to the
continuous changes in mobile phone technology is
therefore left to the hardware suppliers, whilst G4s
focuses on receiving the alarm calls and organising a
speedy response.
With a firm foothold in the monitoring process
already established across many countries, through its
secure solutions and care & Justice services, G4s is in a
strong position to further expand its contribution to the
well-being of those whose age or infirmity make them
vulnerable.
the next generation of personal tracking devices,
which will be smaller and less expensive, is likely to
produce further growth in the use of this technology
and bring greater safety to many more who are at risk
of harm. ❚
security, naviGation and desiGn
pfo’s Mission is “to make the world a safer place by combining
award-winning design with top navigation technology and the biggest security
company in the world”.
they began by partnering with Wicer, whose fighter jet navigation systems
are used by the us and swedish defence forces, to develop the Gps
technology embedded in the newly-launched pfo one bracelet.
next, acclaimed designers oscar Magnuson and Efva attling sketched the
bracelets which were then created by Elcoteq, the world’s leading mobile
manufacturer, responsible for blackberry and nokia’s production.
a brand image was created by renowned graphic designer stefan
sagmeister and finally, to implement the product, they teamed up with a
global security partner, G4s.
how it works
purchasers of the pfo one can opt for either a basic or the premium
monitoring service. the basic service relies on three trusted friends – called
shields – to react to any worrying situation. if the bracelet wearer sends a
distress signal, the bracelet transmits a text message to each of them, giving
her exact position.
they can then call her mobile phone to check that she is all right and, if
they are close to a smart phone or a computer, they can log onto the pfo
website’s track and trace page and follow her movements. this functionality is
only available when the bracelet is in alarm mode.
for those who do not wish to worry their family and friends unduly, or who
travel away from home frequently, the premium service sends a signal, when
the bracelet is activated, directly to G4s’s alarm receiving centre.
an operator then calls the bracelet owner’s mobile phone to make sure
she is all right and asks for a password. if the phone is not answered or an
incorrect password is given, a response unit is despatched immediately to the
location to give whatever assistance is needed.
33
34 g4s InternatIonal issue 1: 2011
DIVISIONAL REVIEW
CaSh SoluTioNS
Following last year’s restructuring of G4s, we launch a new series looking at
the Group’s footprint, starting with a division that operates around the globe
DurinG 2010, chieF executive Nick Buckles
announced a number of changes to G4S’s Group
Executive Team as well as to the management
structure. These centred on a new geographic
continental structure. But there was one exception
to this Group reshaping. The cash solutions division
would continue to straddle the world. here’s why:
“Cash is a very complex product to deliver,” explains
Ken Niven, G4S divisional chief executive officer,
Cash Solutions. “To do so successfully, we need to
have a detailed understanding of the cash cycle, how
cash flows in an economy and how the regulatory
frameworks operate.
“Cash cycles differ from country to country, and
g4s InternatIonal issue 1: 2011
when you look at all the possible component elements
of cash – the transportation, processing, reconciliation,
forecasting, aTM replenishment and, in some
countries, even the repair and maintenance of cash
machines, all surrounded by security systems –
you realise it is quite a skill set to possess.
it’s more effective to deliver that through
a division rather than requiring individual
countries to develop it.”
Which means that the responsibilities
of Niven and his executive team
currently extend to the leadership
of 12 business units, with strategic
and advisory input to the global cash
business line.
Niven points out that the divisional model works for
the Group’s major cash companies –15 in total – which
have critical mass, meaning they are self-sufficient
and can be run as separate operations. “in the other
55 countries where the cash company is smaller and
further away from the division’s centre,” Niven
adds, “it makes more sense to have the
organisation working in conjunction
with the local country-based security
model. We have a watching
brief on these operations and
check that their cash strategy
and investment plans are
consistent with the Group’s
strategies.
Cash Solutions Division
also provides guidance
and support to all the
G4S cash businesses
around the world in the
areas of operational cash
security, cash reconciliation
and preferred cash-related
technology solutions. in each
of these areas, the division has a
number of specialists who continually
travel the globe, giving advice and support
to the cash operating businesses.
The size and scope of G4S Cash Solutions’
operations will surprise many people who may have
been persuaded that cash, as a method of payment, is
being replaced rapidly by plastic alternatives – credit,
debit and store cards in particular.
“Cash is not in decline,” Niven insists, and he
produces industry figures to corroborate his
statement. “Cash continues to grow, year on year,
worldwide. Clearly, some countries are growing more
than others, but overall we come back to the same
figure: between six and seven per cent growth in cash
in circulation around the world.”
So where do the credit card companies get their
figures from?
“They always talk about their growth rates, but they
are growing from a smaller transaction base, and cash
is normally used for smaller payments while debit and
credit cards are usually used for larger purchases. We
are watching trends carefully, particularly the growing
use of pre-pay cards, but cash still sits at the centre of
all economies. in Europe, for example, 80 per cent of
all payments are made with cash.”
Since it was established, following the merger
of Group 4 and Securicor in 2004, the G4S Cash
Solutions division had been growing at an average rate
of 6.5 per cent, though the global economic downturn
has slowed things down, as it has for most businesses.
With interest rates so low, banks have not needed to
move cash so quickly and are therefore keeping more
cash in aTMs, and retailers are keeping more cash in
stores for the same reason.
But moving cash – basic transportation – is just part
of the story. it is the first step in penetrating a new
market and the G4S Cash Solutions team is confident
that G4S management in some of the countries
where cash services are not yet offered will judge
the time to be right to make that move before too
long. others which already provide cash-in-transit will
also be looking to develop into cash processing, the
replenishment of aTMs and the provision of technical
services related to cash machines.
once well established, G4S Cash Solutions’
businesses are then in a position to assist their
customers with further services, as financial
institutions look to outsource their cash activities or
aTM networks to experts in the field. as the leading
supplier of security solutions to financial institutions
across the world, G4S is well placed to help its
customers reduce costs and increase efficiency whilst
ensuring they are also well served.
“What we’re able to do in G4S, which an individual
bank cannot do when it comes to outsourcing their
cash activities, is to offer a common platform which
runs across many banks,” Niven explains.
“We are therefore able to distribute their direct
costs and overheads across a number of banks, and
it is something we are doing very successfully. in the
united Kingdom, for example, where six banks have
now outsourced to us, we have a common production
35
36 g4s InternatIonal issue 1: 2011
WorlD’s First electric vehicle
the latest step in G4S Cash Solutions’ ongoing commitment to
reducing its environmental impact – the world’s first fully electric cash-in­
transit vehicle – has been unveiled in the uK.
The trial vehicle, which will operate in the Greater london area, is
projected to save 5000kg of carbon emissions per year.
The ground-breaking vehicle combines the latest in battery technology and
electronic management software together with a tried and tested production
vehicle converted into a highly specialised cash-in-transit protected vehicle
encompassing state-of-the-art security features.
it is hoped this prototype may lead G4S into deploying more of these
vehicles in city centres, harnessing the benefits of zero pollution and noise,
while providing clear economic operating benefits.
The vehicle has a range of around 100 miles, significantly further than
the longest route length it will be required to travel for G4S in between
re-charging the batteries. The vehicle also has a solar panel fitted in order to
constantly provide a source of sustainable energy back to the battery while
the vehicle is on the road, producing enough sustainable energy to power the
vehicle’s ancillary electrical energy usage.
Electric power is up to seven times cheaper than the equivalent diesel
vehicle and there are further cost benefits with road tax and congestion
charge exemption in the capital city, so in the longer term these vehicles may
be able to cut costs as well as the company’s carbon footprint.
Ken niven hands the keys of the first all-electric cash vehicle to russ
Hawkins, operations manager, g4s Cash solutions (UK) in london.
platform through which we’re able to leverage
manufacturing and production processes. That also
results in greater productivity and makes for a much
more cost-efficient model for the banks.”
outsourcing, of course, is just one of a portfolio of
services that are on offer from G4S Cash Solutions,
around the world.
in the uK, it transports 90 per cent of the country’s
banknotes every day, moving £300 billion each
year and processing one-fifth of that on behalf of
commercial banks. From its new superbranch in
central london, opened in 2010, it handles 72,000
services a month as well as filling and distributing
42,000 aTM cassettes packed in the same period.
in Canada, it has a nationwide contract with
Toronto-Dominion Bank that includes cash
transportation to 1,093 branch night deposit machines
as well as 2,577 fully-functioning aTMs that are both
cash dispensing and deposit taking.
in hong Kong, it provides an end-to-end
management solution for all of Standard Chartered
Bank’s aTMs. it sealed that deal by guaranteeing base
levels of service.
in Malaysia, it has partnered with the CiMB Group,
the country’s second largest financial services provider,
in pioneering a high tech cash management system
throughout its banking operations. The solution, built
around iCom cash forecasting, has been extended
g4s InternatIonal issue 1: 2011
to all 1,500 of CiMB’s aTMs, its 18 cash centres and
over 300 branches.
Retail establishments around the globe are also
benefitting from G4S’s enterprising approach to
cash solutions, particularly its unique CaSh360
cash management system. CaSh360 offers a
suite of payment solutions that optimise the latest
secure handling machines by integrating them with
G4S software and combining them with its cash
transportation and processing services. among those
who have either trialled it or installed it are major
retail chains, two theme parks in Europe, a well known
chain of burger restaurants, and the operator of
holiday villages.
Cash Solutions Division has also been reaping the
benefit of its acquisition two years ago of Secura
Monde international, the world’s leading independent
technical and commercial cash advisory company.
Specialising in the design, production, technology and
issue of banknotes and coins, its clients include central
banks, major brand owners and state and commercial
printing works.
as for G4S Cash Solutions’ future, Ken Niven is
confident that the economic upturn will see a greater
demand for flexible and cost-efficient services, with
more banks looking to outsource their cash processing
and the management of their aTM estates.
“and from our perspective that will all be
underpinned by an absolute focus on quality. What
banks and retailers really want, however, is for us to
make life more efficient and easy for their customers.
“That, of course, is what we are dedicated to doing
and i am looking forward to the division’s continuing
expansion in the years ahead.” ❚
For More inForMation …
For further information on the topics covered
in this article, log on to www.g4s.com or e-mail
magazine@g4s.com
37
38
g4s InternatIonal issue 1: 2011
updates
on topics previously discussed in the magazine
© Whitney Curtis
Mark tullos, director of
the Hilliard University
art Museum in
lafayette, holding one of
the forgeries purported
to be by Charles
Courtney Curran.
aRt seCuRItY
uNiTeD sTATes
It would appear to be a crime,
but the motive has mystified the
art world. For at least 23 years,
someone has been donating works
of art to small museums and
universities across the us. around
30 museums have been identified
as “beneficiaries” of these acts of
kindness. But they are all believed to
be fakes.
the person believed to be
responsible uses different aliases
including “Father scott”, “steven
Gardiner” and “Mark Landis”. this
charade came to light at the end of
last year after Mark tullos, director
of the Hilliard university art
Museum in Lafayette, Louisiana, was
offered a painting.
according to theartnewspaper.
com website, tullos was visited by a
man dressed as a Jesuit priest who
said he wanted to donate a painting
in honour of his late mother. He
had with him a painting purported
to be by american impressionist
Charles Courtney Curran together
with what appeared to be proof of
provenance.
Closer examination, after the
painting was accepted, showed it
to be a reproduction that had been
painted over and signed. When
tullos alerted other museums,
similar cases came to light. the
police, FBI and tax authorities
were notified but, as one expert
observed, as he has not actually
committed fraud it is difficult to
know what he could be charged
with, if identified, because there has
not been a loss to anyone.
In January 2011, John Gapper,
writing in the Financial Times
Magazine, identified the forger as
Mark augustus Landis who he had
tracked down to a gated community
in Laurel, Mississippi.
Landis readily admitted that he had
been producing forged paintings for
three decades and donating them to
museums. It began with the death
of his father and appears to have
increased when his mother died.
His bizarre actions, it seems, were
to honour his parents. “I mean,
everybody’s got a tombstone, that
doesn’t mean anything, but a picture
in a museum, that really means
something,” he told Gapper.
isRAeL
What has been described as the
“forgery crime of the century” is
drawing to a close after five years.
the high-profile trial of two Israeli
antiquities experts ended in October
2010 and the judge’s verdict is still
awaited as we go to press in March
2011. Only two of the original
defendants, Oded Golan and Robert
deutsch, remained in the dock at
the Jerusalem district Court.
since september 2005, the
court proceedings have spanned
116 sessions, heard 133 witnesses,
examined 200 exhibits and read
nearly 12,000 pages of witnesses’
testimony. Golan is charged with
44 counts of forgery, fraud and
deception and his co-defendant, an
antiquities dealer, faces 13 lesser
charges.
the case centres on items now
declared to be fakes that were
once considered some of the most
highly valued historical and religious
pieces to be found in Israel. they
include an ancient ossuary, or
burial box, which, it was claimed,
might be associated with James, the
brother of Jesus of Nazareth, on
the strength of an inscription. the
ossuary is likely to be a genuine
burial box but, according to the
prosecution, at least part of the
inscription is probably a recent fake.
the case, as well as indicating that
biblical forgeries are big business,
also has implications for scholars,
particularly those involved in
religious history.
sPAiN
Masked men broke into a Madrid
warehouse in November 2010 and
stole a lorry containing art works
valued at £4.2 million (€5m). the
paintings, lithographs and sculptures
by pablo picasso, eduardo Chillida
and antonio saura belonged to
galleries in Madrid, Barcelona and
Cologne, Germany. they had been
transported to spain after being
exhibited in Germany.
see: “Counterfeits: modern
masterpieces?”, G4S International,
1/09, pages 4–6; “ancient and
modern”, Issue 3/10, pages 4–7,
and “Missing masterpieces”,
March 06, pages 4–7.
g4s InternatIonal issue 1: 2011 39
pIRaCY
sOMALiA
during 2010, across the world,
pirates – many of them heavily
armed – hijacked 53 ships and
kidnapped 1,181 people, leaving
eight dead. these are the highest
figures ever recorded, according to
an International Maritime Bureau
(IMB) report published in January.
Of these, hijackings off the coast
of somalia accounted for 92 per
cent of all ships seized and, as of
december 2010, somali pirates
were still holding 28 vessels and
638 hostages for ransom.
the IMB report added that the
number of pirate attacks on ships
globally had risen each year for
the past four years. In 2010, 445
incidents were reported – an
increase of 10 per cent on the
previous year.
a worrying trend in the seas off
somalia was the over-powering of
ocean-going fishing or merchant
vessels by the pirates to use as
bases for further attacks. On the
other hand, incidents in the Gulf
of aden more than halved in
2010, to 53, which it attributed
to the presence of international
naval forces. this, it seems, has
caused somali pirates to travel
further in search of victims, to the
Mozambique Channel and the
Indian Ocean.
there are also reports of an
increase in piracy in other areas,
including Bangladesh, Indonesia and
the south China sea.
several arab countries are
believed to be involved in a
mulit-million pound programme
to mobilise some 2,000 somali
recruits and train them to fight
pirates on the country’s coast.
until such measures are
successful, travel companies are
said to be spending millions of
pounds to boost their maritime
security systems. some of the
methods at their disposal were
revealed after a British cruise
ship, the Spirit of Adventure, with
350 holidaymakers on board was
chased by somali pirates in the
Indian Ocean.
passengers had just sat down to
dinner when the crew reported
that the liner was being followed
by a speedboat. everyone was
ordered to the lounge and told
to sit on the floor, then the
captain took the ship to full speed,
outpacing the pirates.
Razor wire, water cannon,
propeller-busting equipment
and horns whose sounds could
disorientate pursuers are among
the anti-piracy devices such vessels
are now believed to have installed.
a new study from Chatham
House, the uK’s foreign policy
think tank, puts the annual cost
of maritime piracy to the global
economy at between £4.4bn and
£7.5bn.
see: “Return of the pirates”,
G4S International, Issue
2/09, pages 42–44.
Members of a naval
boarding party from
HMs Cornwall uncover
arms and ammunition
during a search of a
somali pirate dhow in
the Indian ocean. the
vessel was boarded
after it was spotted
acting suspiciously
by a south Korean
merchant vessel. Five
hostages and their fishing
vessel were released,
and an initial search
discovered aK47s, a
grenade launcher, rocket
propelled grenades
and large amounts
of ammunition.
ap photo/dave Jenkins, Ministry of defence, ho
40
g4s InternatIonal issue 1: 2011
suRVeILLaNCe
this CCtV image issued
by the Metropolitan
Police is believed to
be of a motorcycle
rider who the police
believe had the stolen
graff jewellery passed
to him. He is seen
walking towards green
Park after abandoning
the motorbike.
CHiNA
the Chongqing government in
south-west China is planning
to install new closed circuit tV
cameras equipped with video
analytics, taking the city’s total to
500,000 CCtV cameras within the
next three years. the network
will automatically alert the police
to robberies, muggings and
community intrusions in the city,
which has 32 million inhabitants.
the mayor of Chongqing told the
media that as well as supporting
public security management, the
system will be used for disaster
alarms and work safety supervision.
uNiTeD KiNGDOM
dramatic video footage taken
during what was described as
“the biggest jewellery heist ever
in Britain” was shown in court
during the second trial of Craig
Calderwood, one of the two
armed robbers involved. In March
2011 he was sentenced to 21 years
for his part in the attack.
the jury had been unable to
reach a verdict in the first trial,
in July 2010, in which four others
were convicted of conspiracy to
rob. Calderwood’s accomplice, the
heist’s ring leader, aman Kassaye,
was convicted of kidnap, conspiracy
to rob and possessing a firearm,
and was sentenced to 23 years’
imprisonment in august 2010.
the robbery, in which £40
million of gems were stolen, took
place at Graff jewellers in central
London in august 2009. Kassaye
and Calderwood did not cover
their faces but were said to have
used latex disguises. they forced
a young female assistant to open
display cabinets and snatched 42
items of jewellery – none of which
has been recovered – before
taking her hostage as they left the
premises, releasing her only when
they got to their getaway cars.
see: “smile! You’re on CCtV”,
G4S International, June 05,
pages 33–34, “surveillance
and acceptance”, March 08,
pages 9–11, and “CCtV’s
electronic tripwire”, Issue
4/10, pages 41–44.
Metropolitan police/pa Wire
CYBeR CRIMe
CHiNA
In the course of 2010, China
claims to have clamped down on
computer crime, arresting 460
hackers, resolving 180 cases of
computer crimes and closing 14
websites that provided hacking
software or training. a Ministry
of public security spokesperson
described the situation regarding
cyber attacks in China as “still
extremely grim”.
Chinese hackers are not only
responsible for many domestic
attacks. their reach, now that
the internet has made the world
a global village, is widespread,
so much so that Google issued
automated warnings to its Gmail
users, late last year, saying: “Your
account was recently accessed
from China.”
see: “dangerous dot Cons:
phishing”, G4S International,
september 06, pages 26–27.
© Rand Refinery
g4S InternatIonal issue 1: 2011
ChAin of gold
G4s is involved in all aspects of gold, from mining to processing and on
through vaulting to transportation, reports Gavin Greenwood
The skills and arts involved in extracting,
moving, working and selling gold are as old as
civilisation. They transcend time, geography and
cultures and point to gold’s elemental hold over
human desires to possess the metal – originally as a
store of wealth but more recently also to utilise its
unique chemical and physical properties.
And with gold prices at an all-time high, security
throughout the entire process becomes even more
important.
41
42 g4S InternatIonal issue 1: 2011
gold’s intrinsic value lies in its scarcity and the
complex and costly methods required to exploit and
refine the rare metal. Refined gold in late January
2011 was selling at around US $42 per gram, or US
$42 million per tonne. According to the authoritative
World gold Council, the five-year average supply of
gold between end-2005 to late-2010 totalled 3,766
tonnes. of this 2,209 tonnes were obtained through
mining, 1,323 tonnes from recycling and 234 tonnes as
a result of sales of bullion by state agencies.
g4S is involved at all stages of this complex, and
at times hazardous, process that can begin with a
geologist’s hunch and end with an exquisite item of
jewellery, a dental crown or a minute speck buried
inside a mobile phone.
exploraTion and exTracTion
The exploration phase, often involving crews
working for years in harsh and sometimes hostile
environments, can require extensive security in the
face of both legitimate and more extreme opposition.
g4S personnel or manpower provided by local
affiliates play key roles in protecting exploration sites,
workers and equipment.
This is not without risk. in december 2010 two
security officers employed by a local g4S affiliate were
shot and wounded while on duty at the Tampakan
gold and copper mining concession on Mindanao island
in the southern Philippines. g4S was awarded the
contract to protect the site following a series of raids
by heavily armed communist guerrillas, though the
latest incident appeared related to local opposition to
the project. Similar events have also occurred at sites
protected by g4S personnel or contractors in Africa
in recent years.
The task of securing an operating mine site differs
from the exploration phase primarily due to the need
to ensure access controls are applied on both sides
g4S InternatIonal issue 1: 2011
43
enforcinG secure cusTody for Gold
processinG and refininG
Mined gold-bearing ores are subjected to various
processes of crushing, leeching, refining and smelting.
Much of this work is done at or near the mine site,
although the smelting process may be carried out by
specialist companies some distance from the mine.
This is also the penultimate stage before the smelted
metal is sent for final refining into a minimum of 99.9
per cent pure gold. Tight security is required as it is at
this stage that the gold becomes identifiable and is a
potential target for theft.
TransporTaTion and vaulTinG
Moving gold, in its pre- or post-refined forms, is
a specialised task that g4S international logistics
© Rand Refinery
of the fence. While pilfering of materials may be a
problem at any industrial location, the illicit removal
of even the smallest quantities of gold can become a
major issue at a mine or processing sites.
less obvious is the role of security companies in
ensuring safety among the workforce. g4S Secure
Solutions (Canada) has an explicit role in ensuring
workers on remote mining – and indeed oil and
gas – sites follow protocols intended to reduce the
risk of injury and harm. in addition, g4S Canada has
enhanced security at the numerous sites it helps
protect by entering into agreements with local
indigenous communities in order to reduce areas of
friction that can have a major impact on any industrial
activity. g4S offers work protecting mine sites to
members of what the Canadian government refers to
as “first nations peoples” near to their communities.
rand refinery has special reason to place special emphasis on
quality in all aspects of its operations. Established over 90 years ago by
the Chamber of Mines of South Africa to refine all the gold mined by that
country, it has since processed over 40,000 tonnes of gold, representing
almost 30 per cent of all gold mined in the world since antiquity.
“Rand Refinery is strongly supportive of the need to accept only gold for
refining which originates from a source of known provenance, is conflict
free and has been mined with due concern for the environment and has not
contributed to severe abuses of human rights,” explains Chris horley, the
company’s head of resourcing.
“it has a stringent ‘know your customer’ and due diligence process in
place in order to satisfy itself to all reasonable lengths that gold deposited
for refining conforms to these principles. Rand Refinery also supports the
organisation for Economic Co-operation and development’s due diligence
guidance for responsible supply chains from conflict-affected and high risk
areas.
“To this end, it is vital that the gold supply chain from mine to refinery
remains intact and that this chain of custody can be independently audited
and verified. The service providers for secure logistics from mine site to
refinery are an integral part of this process. Accordingly, Rand Refinery
encourages and is fully supportive of all efforts made by the logistics service
providers, like g4S international logistics, to enforce secure custody for the
gold supply chain.”
44 g4S InternatIonal issue 1: 2011
who owns The world’s Gold?
deMand for Gold between 2005 and 2010 was dominated by the
jewellery sector, which absorbed 2,151 tonnes, followed by investment at
1,182 tonnes, with industrial use at 433 tonnes. The total amount of processed
gold known to be in existence at end-2009 was 168,600 tonnes. Around 51
per cent, or 83,700 tonnes, is held in the form of jewellery and is mainly in the
possession of individuals. investors account for 18 per cent or 29,600 tonnes,
state agencies hold 17 per cent (28,900 tonnes), 12 per cent (19,800 tonnes)
is used in industrial processes – ranging from electronics to dentistry – while
there is no trace on the remaining two per cent (3,600 tonnes).
© Rand Refinery
performs. The transportation of gold in various forms
is obviously a highly sensitive operational task, given
the potential threats to such high value cargo carried
over often considerable distances.
“g4S international logistics provides services
in many countries, including remote parts of latin
America, Africa and Asia,” says its managing director,
Chris fergus. “The logistical requirements are unique
to each mine and can include a combination of all
or some of the following components: armoured
vehicle, helicopter, charter and passenger aircraft,
customs brokerage and vaulting. our services are
sold and coordinated from key financial centres in ten
countries.”
The movement of gold by g4S in Malaysia offers
an example of how the metal is transported in an
environment that combines modernity and traditional
security threats. g4S both protects – through
electronic surveillance and manned security – and
transports gold from Malaysia’s three main gold
smelting companies to its own main vaults near Kuala
lumpur.
The company uses specially designed armoured
vehicles capable of carrying the weight of the gold
consignment while also being able to withstand a
criminal assault or an accident. The crew are armed,
as are those in the support vehicle that escorts the
consignment. The convoy maintains radio and mobile
telephone contact with the g4S command centre,
which in turn plots its location in real time using gPS.
Any suspicious activity during the journey is
immediately relayed to the command centre, with
backup escorts ready to be deployed if required,
and the police are kept informed of any threats that
materialise. The consignment is delivered to a vault
manned by armed guards and dog handlers.
“once the gold is refined, g4S international
logistics transports the metal to major financial
centres and jewellery manufacturing markets. We
also provide services to central banks and offer longterm storage capability, which is becoming increasingly
more important as investment demand outstrips
consumption.”
for many, the most important link in the gold
chain is the one that brings this remarkable metal
to consumers in the form of exquisite jewellery,
either on its own or combined with other precious
metals and jewels. Again, g4S plays an important
role, not only in transporting these valuable finished
products to retail outlets but also to suppliers whose
customers shop online.
Jewelry TV is a 24-hour television channel and online
store which ships nearly six million valuable packages
a year from its Tennessee base in the United States.
g4S international logistics was asked to review its
processes in order to find ways of reducing risk and
increasing efficiency and customer focus.
g4S proposed a vendor management system which
now provides Jewelry TV with a secure solution that
offers flexible shipping options. At the top end of the
market, high value goods from their 300 vendors are
now carried by g4S’s armoured transport system, not
just in the US but in almost every country worldwide
in which g4S has a presence. ❚
for More inforMaTion …
for further information on the topics covered
in this article, log on to www.g4s.com or e-mail
magazine@g4s.com
g4S InternatIonal issue 1: 2011 45
news
BeLGiuM
ProTeCTinG The euroPeAn Commision
G4s Belgium became the official
security provider for the european
Commission in January 2011
when it was awarded the largest
integrated security contract in the
country. G4s will provide total
security solutions for 68 buildings
in Brussels and its immediate
surroundings.
The five-year contract
commences on 1 April 2011 and
will require over 300 personnel
whose services will include manned
security, access control and X-ray
protection of all buildings, fire­
fighting and fire prevention services,
and control room management.
Already working for several
european institutions and the
european Commission, G4s
Belgium was selected for its
security solutions experience and
expertise. This contract secures
G4s’s position as the market leader
in Belgium where it is also the
largest employer with more than
6,000 employees.
GReeCe
sCreener inTerCePTs eXPLosiVe PArCeLs
During routine cargo screening
for DhL, the international logistics
provider, at Athens’ international
Airport, Greece, in november
last year, a G4s security officer
identified two suspicious parcels.
These were isolated and found
to contain explosive material. They
were destined for delivery to two
high-ranking european agencies.
At that time, there was a
european-wide alert regarding
parcels containing explosives which
Greek terrorists had addressed to
recipients in a number of countries.
This success in intercepting
the packages demonstrated
that the G4s Aviation & Ports
secure solutions division in
Greece operates with the highest
standards and security procedures
and the training given to its
employees makes them experts in
their field.
The Greek police detonated
the packages, along with others
discovered in Athens. Two parcels
sent by the terrorists through one
of DhL’s competitors were not
recognised as containing explosive
material by that company’s security
screeners.
Among the packages sent in
the terrorists’ coordinated attack
which successfully reached their
destinations, using international
airmail and parcel services, was
a bomb addressed to German
Chancellor Angela merkel. security
forces in a building adjacent to her
office destroyed it.
italian Prime minister silvio
Berlusconi and French President
nicolas sarkozy also had explosives
sent to them. similar packages
were sent to various foreign
embassies, including the russian
embassy in Athens where it
was destroyed in a controlled
explosion.
G4s has been providing a range
of security solutions at Athens’
eleftherios Venizelos international
Airport for many years.
eNGLAND
seCuriTY ConTrACT For miLiTArY sChooL
G4s Gurkha services has secured a
12-month contract with The Duke
of York’s royal military school, a
distinguished independent uK state
boarding school for the sons and
daughters of services personnel.
The Gurkha division, part of
G4s secure solutions (uK), will
secure the main gate entrance and
access control to this high profile
military school based in Dover,
Kent, providing a full-time security
presence. The services provided will
help to ensure the security of nearly
600 pupils and staff.
Charles Johnson, head of The
Duke of York’s royal military
school, commented: “we are
very pleased to have the G4s
Gurkha services team on board,
providing enhanced security with a
professional manner. many of the
parents have voiced their happiness
as a result of the appointment as
the team are good role models.”
John whitwam, managing director,
Gurkha services, added: “our team’s
extensive military experience and
knowledge fits well with the culture and
requirements of this prestigious school.”
G4s Gurkha services recently
achieved an Approved Contractor
scheme score of 113 from the
security industry Authority auditors
– an outstanding result considering it
has been trading for just three years.
46
g4S InternatIonal issue 1: 2011
news
CYPRus
Deminers resCue Fire resPonse TeAm
Fearless G4s deminers carried out
a daring night-time rescue recently
when members of a Greek Cypriot
fire response team inadvertently
drove onto a minefield.
The five firemen in two cars and
a fire engine accidentally turned into
the minefield, the latter detonating
an anti-tank mine with one of its
rear wheels.
G4s ordnance management’s
field supervisor Larry Brophy
received the emergency call at 5pm
and immediately began mobilising a
small emergency response demining
team.
“we knew the fire crew was still
in the vehicles, but that was all the
information we had at that time,”
said Larry, who led the extraction
team, accompanied by team leaders
Denis Faluco and ramos nuvunga,
and deminer eugenio rumbana.
Despite the fact that mine
clearance is never carried out at
night because of the risks, the
rescue team entered the minefield
with two torches and made their
way to the stranded fire crew.
“we followed the vehicle tyre
tracks and our deminer used
painted wooden pickets to mark
a safe route,” Larry revealed. “if
there was any indication there was
a mine, we were careful to go safely
around.”
After two hours, the rescue team
reached the fire crew.
The five men were safely escorted
from the minefield on foot and
the operation to recover the three
vehicles began a few days later.
The G4s team recently
completed a major milestone
towards making Cyprus completely
landmine-free when it cleared its
25,000th mine. over 9.5 million
square metres of land have been
cleared over the past six years,
returning much of it to productive
farmland.
since 2004, the 60-strong team of
G4s deminers has been engaged in
clearing 71 minefields in the island’s
180km-long buffer zone between
the Turkish-controlled north of
the island and the Governmentcontrolled region, and is on course
to complete the task very shortly.
The next step is for the cleared
mines to be moved to a central
demolition area and destroyed.
“For an island of this size,” said
Jerry Barlow, who heads up G4s
risk management‘s ordnance
clearance division’s team in Cyprus,
“the quantity of landmines has
been considerable and they have
presented a great danger for many
years.”
eGYPT
G4s heLPs eVACuATion
G4s personnel in egypt helped
repatriate over 1,000 clients from
egypt via its key international
transport hubs, including airports,
ports and country borders, during
the country’s revolution that started
on 25 January.
G4s egypt, which has over 5,200
employees, worked closely with
G4s risk management to provide a
rapid response service utilising their
expert knowledge of the country
and its current issues.
Assistance was provided to
the employees of numerous
major multinational companies
by the repatriation team which
included provision of 24-hour crisis
management centre support; access
to fully secured accommodation
close to Cairo’s international
Airport; access to close protection
operators, including specialist drivers;
and support personnel on the
ground with good local knowledge
who were fluent in both Arabic and
english.
Jim Batty, director of risk
solutions, G4s risk management,
commented: “with the travel
situation worsening in egypt our
rapid response team were able to
help secure a significant number of
evacuations out of the country for
both expatriate company staff and
uK government officials.
“working in partnership with our
G4s egypt colleagues we expect
to continue to support many
organisations while the political
situation in the country remains
fluid.”
g4S InternatIonal issue 1: 2011 47
sOuTH AFRiCA
sTiTCh in Time GiVes A wArm FeeLinG
Two Group businesses in south
Africa, G4s Cash solutions and
G4s Care and Justice services,
have thrown their weight behind
the very worthwhile Knit-A-square
(KAs) project.
This initiative began many years
ago when a family moved to south
Africa and through the community
and church to which they belonged
started getting people to knit
squares and sew them together
to make blankets that could be
distributed to needy children.
some members of the family
moved to Australia but continued
to promote this initiative via the
internet with the result that it has
blossomed with people from all
over the world sending hundreds
of knitted squares every month to
the KAs project in south Africa.
early in 2010, wendy hardy
of G4s Cash solutions was
approached by some of the
founder members of KAs for
ideas on how to manage this
now massive project. After some
thought and discussions with G4s
Care and Justice services, the
two G4s companies made a joint
proposal to KAs.
They offered to assist KAs by
opening some of the many parcels
they receive and sorting the
content. The project has grown
to such an extent that in addition
to knitted squares they receive
donations of clothing, gifts, toys
and other useful items.
having separated them, the
squares will now be packaged and
sent to the G4s-run mangaung
Correctional Centre (mCC) at
Bloemfontein to be made into
blankets as part of a workshop for
inmates. This project will also offer
mCC offenders an opportunity to
give back to the community.
once the blankets are made,
KAs and the local offices of G4s
Care and Justice and G4s Cash
solutions, in Bloemfontein, will give
these blankets to needy children in
the area. They expect to hand out
a substantial number of blankets
before winter this year.
This partnership will begin as
a pilot project and, once the
participants have ascertained how
well they are able to work together,
they may look at extending it to
other south African regions.
DeNMARK
Boss Goes unDerCoVer For TV show
when G4s Denmark agreed to
participate in its country’s version
of the popular “undercover Boss”
television documentary series,
there was one problem. The TV
production company needed a
top G4s executive who would
not be recognised by employees.
That difficulty was overcome when
Danish-born søren Lundsberg­
nielsen, G4s’s Group general
counsel based in the uK, agreed to
take on the role.
Adopting the name søren
nielsen and claiming to be a project
engineer with global engineering
company FLsmidth, søren told his
G4s colleagues that he and the film
crew were making a programme
called “Trying a job”. he was seen
on patrol in Copenhagen’s busy
tourist and shopping streets, fitting
an alarm for a domestic customer
and working in the warehouse that
provides parts for its extensive
security systems business.
only at the end of the filming
did he disclose his true identity and
the real purpose of the programme
could be revealed. søren and
G4s had participated in order to
learn useful lessons not only about
the Danish business but also its
employees, which meant there were
pleasant surprises for those he had
worked with during the making of
the documentary.
The security officer with whom
he patrolled Copenhagen’s streets
had mentioned that he was thinking
of leaving to join the police force.
søren told him he would be invited
to discuss career possibilities within
G4s. An invitation was extended
to the alarm installation engineer
to visit London and see G4s’s
uK operations and its corporate
headquarters. And the warehouse
stock manager was asked to join a
project that was seeking to improve
the business’ workflow.
in the process, of course, it also
provided excellent, high-profile TV
coverage for the G4s brand.
48
g4S InternatIonal issue 1: 2011
news
eNGLAND
unDerCoVer oFFiCers For LonDon AirPorT
A new G4s team of undercover
officers trained to detect the
smallest signs of suspicious
behaviour is now protecting
passengers at London’s heathrow
Airport.
Anxiety, a lack of luggage or
taking photos can all indicate that
someone is either a potential highrisk threat or could simply be a
normal passenger. The role of the
team of nine behavioural detection
officers (BDos) is to help tell the
difference.
Blending seamlessly into the
check-in area, the officers use non-
intrusive observation and analysis
techniques to identify potential
threats and share intelligence with
uniformed colleagues and the police.
in its first three months, the
team carried out 40 stops, 10 of
which were referred to the police.
Team members have to be patient
and keep observing people they
think are acting suspiciously. if the
situation requires it, they ask a
uniformed employee to approach
the person to have a quiet talk,
while a BDo observes how they
react. if it is necessary, he or she
informs other agencies and refers
the situation to them.
sam Tudjaroglu, general manager
of G4s Aviation services (uK),
explains that the team has to
be low-key. “There’s also a
strong customer service element.
sometimes the officers will advise
passengers, such as warning them
about thieves if their wallet is visible
on the front of their suitcase.”
The technique the team uses is
also employed by law enforcement
agencies around the world, and
the possibility of rolling it out
further across G4s is now being
investigated.
iRAQ
ADVisorY BoArD AssisTs DeVeLoPmenT
The formation of an iraq
Advisory Board to assist with
the development of G4s
secure solutions (iraq) has
been announced by G4s risk
management.
it will be chaired by michael
P wareing, CmG, formerly the
British Prime minister’s special
envoy for reconstruction in
southern iraq and chairman of the
Basra Development Commission,
and will bring together senior
members of the G4s iraq business
and senior iraqi leaders.
NORTHeRN iReLAND
BeLFAsT AirPorT ConTrACT For G4s
G4s, the largest secure solutions
company in northern ireland,
has been awarded a three-year
contract to provide security
services at George Best Belfast
City Airport.
its duties include searching,
customer assistance and car park
management, deploying some 100
employees made up of full-time
and part-time staff.
George Best Belfast City Airport
currently caters for approximately
2.7 million passengers a year
representing almost 40 per cent of
the scheduled domestic air traffic
that passes in and out of northern
ireland.
sWeDeN
PArLiAmenT ConTrACT win
G4s sweden is the new security
provider for the swedish Parliament
Administration. The contract began
on 1 march and will involve around
50 employees. Thomas Lundin,
managing director, G4s secure
solutions (sweden), is delighted to
have been awarded the contract
and says G4s was chosen “because
of the opportunities we can bring
to the customer to provide secure
solutions at the highest level”.
g4S InternatIonal issue 1: 2011 49
esTONiA
ViTAL roLe in euro ChAnGeoVer
G4s estonia provided manned
security services at estonian Post
for the exchange period of 1–15
January 2011 when the country’s
currency changed to the euro.
in the first two weeks of January,
kroons could be exchanged
for euros at both banks and
estonian post offices. G4s security
personnel maintained public order
in estonian post offices during that
period where up to 1,000 euros
per customer per day could be
exchanged.
The contract required at least
one security officer to be stationed
at every post office providing
currency exchange services: a total
of 178 out of estonian Post’s 391
establishments around the country.
G4s estonia’s cash solutions
division was also heavily involved in
the euro’s introduction.
The country’s minister of Finance,
Jürgen Ligi, explains: “G4s was
responsible for the euro cash
transport for banks, estonian Post
and the business sector. Thanks to
G4s’s great work, the euro was
available from the first minutes of
2011 from every ATm in estonia. it
was a valuable contribution to the
success of the changeover process.”
NORWAY
smiLes ALL rounD For worLD sKi eVenT
G4s made a major contribution
to the success of the event,
working with the organisers to
provide “security with A smile”
at the new holmenkollen national
Arena and other venues. oslo 2011
ran from 23 February to 6 march.
For G4s norway’s event
manager, Christian rist, it
required months of preparation
as well as the deployment of 300
security personnel, manning the
security observation centre for
the stadiums, and patrolling the
surrounding woods in electric
minicars and snow scooters.
norway won the most medals
– a total of 20 – dominating crosscountry skiing. marit Bjørgen won
four gold medals and one silver for
her country, and fellow norwegian
Petter northug won three gold
and two silver medals.
Atle Bjelde, G4s norway
A crowd of more than 120,000
people, watched over by G4s
norway, gathered in oslo’s
university square on 5 march for
the final medals ceremony at the
end of a very successful Fsi nordic
world ski Championship, oslo
2011.
it was the 10th night in a row
that the streets in the heart of
the capital were packed with
spectators and competitors,
celebrating the day’s events,
watching the presentation of
medals and enjoying concerts and
other entertainment.
GLOBAL
DemonsTrATinG soCiAL resPonsiBiLiTY
G4s has signed up to the united
nations Global Compact, an
international standard which
promotes socially responsible
business behaviour in the areas
of human rights, labour, the
environment and anti-corruption
The principles set out in the
Compact are already wellembedded in G4s’s existing
policies, so the Group has decided
the time is right to make a public
commitment to this excellent
initiative.
more and more customers,
investors and other important
stakeholders look for major
companies to be members of the
Compact as a way of reassuring
themselves that they are associated
with socially responsible businesses.
As part of G4s’s Compact
membership it has undertaken to
issue a statement of progress each
year on how it is improving its
performance in the areas indicated
above. This will be done through
the existing annual G4s Corporate
social responsibility report.
Three G4s national business units
– Peru, Cyprus and israel – had
already signed up to the Compact
individually but now, with the
signing of a corporate agreement,
the whole Group is formally
putting its weight behind it.
50 g4s InternatIonal issue 1: 2011
G4S
worldwide
countrIes In whIch g4s operates
the amerIcas
argentIna ● BarBados ● BolIvIa
BrazIl ● canada ● chIle ● colomBIa
costa rIca ● domInIcan repuBlIc
ecuador ● el salvador ● guatemala
honduras ● JamaIca ● mexIco
nIcaragua ● panama ● paraguay
peru ● puerto rIco ● trInIdad &
toBago ● unIted states ● uruguay
venezuela
For more information about G4s
and its operations, visit: www.g4s.com
g4s InternatIonal issue 1: 2011
europe
asIa/pacIFIc
aFrIca
mIddle east
austrIa ● BelgIum ● BulgarIa
czech repuBlIc ● cyprus ● denmark
estonIa ● FInland ● greece
guernsey ● hungary Ireland
Isle oF man ● Jersey ● latvIa
lIthuanIa ● luxemBourg malta
the netherlands ● norway
poland ● romanIa ● russIa ● serBIa
slovakIa ● slovenIa ● sweden
turkey ● ukraIne ● unIted kIngdom
australIa ● aFghanIstan
Bangladesh ● Bhutan ● BruneI
camBodIa ● chIna ● guam and cnmI
hong kong ● IndIa ● IndonesIa
Iraq ● Japan ● kazakhstan
south korea ● macau ● malaysIa
nepal ● new zealand ● pakIstan
papua new guInea ● phIlIppInes
srI lanka ● sIngapore ● taIwan
thaIland ● uzBekIstan
algerIa ● angola ● Botswana
cameroon ● central aFrIcan
repuBlIc ● democratIc repuBlIc oF
congo ● dJIBoutI gaBon ● gamBIa
ghana ● guInea ● Ivory coast
kenya ● lesotho lIBya
madagascar ● malawI ● malI
maurItanIa ● maurItIus ● morocco
mozamBIque ● namIBIa ● nIgerIa
rwanda ● senegal ● sIerra leone
south aFrIca ● sudan ● tanzanIa
uganda ● zamBIa
BahraIn ● egypt ● Israel ● Jordan
kuwaIt ● leBanon ● oman
qatar ● saudI araBIa ● syrIa
unIted araB emIrates ● yemen
51