The Reliance employees have been given the power to request the name and address of anyone they suspect of causing anti-social behaviour.
On Tuesday 24 February, 12 members of the team were presented with certificates, identity cards and cards displaying their accredited status by chief superintendent Julia Wortley of Hertfordshire Constabulary, who was joined for the ceremony by the University’s deputy vice chancellor, Terry Neville.
Wortley told SMT Online: “We warmly welcome our colleagues from Reliance Security into the extended policing family. This move further advances the close working partnership which already exists in Hatfield between the police, the University of Hertfordshire and Reliance Security, and will complement the work carried out by police officers and Police Community Support Officers in and around the university community.”
Important site in Hertfordshire
Ian Colpitts – Hertfordshire Constabulary’s Community Safety Accreditation Scheme project officer – added: “This is the largest number of people we have accredited on one occasion. The university is a very important site within Hertfordshire, complete with a large campus hosting students from many diverse nations and backgrounds, and including both educational and residential premises.”
Before being awarded their new powers, the Reliance Security employees were vetted and received the appropriate training. They will carry identity cards and display a nationally recognised identification badge that will identify them to the public as well as giving information about their roles and the powers they have.
Hertfordshire’s Community Safety Accreditation Scheme was launched in 2004 as part of a wide range of initiatives to improve community safety across the county. It also promotes closer partnership working with security companies and local authority employees involved in community safety and crime reduction.
