The Private Security industry covers a wide range of roles, with varying levels of danger and challenges; from lone worker or a duo
of security staff at a town centre shopping arcade to a large squad of event staff at major sporting events and music festivals. All of these members of staff will require a reliable communication line to their colleagues.
The number of privately hired security staff is dwarfing the number of police in the USA and UK. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Confederation of European Security Services (CoESS) & UK Home Office there are 151,000 police officers and 232,000 private security workers in the UK. Similarly, there are 800,000 police officers to 1.1m private security workers in the US and these numbers are growing. Perhaps one reason for the increase in these numbers is the growing fear of terrorism and violent attacks. There has also been an increase in demand for personal security, especially for those that are regularly in the public eye.
Despite the growing numbers of staff there is still a large number of security personnel that would consider themselves to be “lone workers”. These are operatives that work out of plain view of their colleagues, although they may call on others if they require immediate backup. Typically, these could be night time security staff at large corporate offices or even patrolling and monitoring unused buildings. Because of the physical nature of these jobs, staff can often face tiredness and then potentially thrown in to a dangerous situation where they could be confronted by someone that is armed and/or intoxicated.
Body cams are becoming increasingly popular as they offer many helpful features to the user such as a panic call button that alerts colleagues that they need help and will send out details of their location. The video camera will capture the incident and how it has been handled, which is not only vital if the situation results in a court case (with the video being used as evidence) but the footage can also be used for staff training and development. Some models of body cam offer a live stream of footage, which enables backup staff to watch the incident develop whilst en route so they know what to expect when they arrive.
Hytera body cams and two-way radios are fitted with functions that are designed specifically with lone workers in mind, such as a ‘man down’ alert that will send out an alert if the radio has been tilted at a certain angle for a length of time (i.e. if the user has fallen over). There is also a timer feature that will send out an alert if the user is inactive for a set amount of time. As mentioned above a GPS tracking function is also on many models in the Hytera’s two-way radio range. The panic alert that is sent out does not have to go through to another two-way radio, it can also be sent to mobile phones, a computer or a tablet.
Body cams and two-way radios are also popular amongst construction workers, drivers, factory workers and farmers. Here at Foresolutions, we offer body cams and two-way radios on short- or long-term hire, we also sell units as part of a package to suit your requirements. Make sure your staff feel safe at all times wherever they are. Contact us today for a quote.