Monday 8 July 2013 was something of a Red Letter Day for security guarding in the UK, but you wouldn’t have been overly cognisant of the fact unless you happened to be watching Channel 4 at 9:00 p.m.
Series 5, Episode 2 of the broadcaster’s Undercover Boss — in which company executives go undercover to witness first-hand what’s going on in their businesses — featured Geoff Zeidler, country president and UK and Ireland managing director at Securitas.
Following Securitas’ 2011 acquisitions of Reliance and Chubb, Zeidler wanted to learn what life is really like for his frontline staff during one of the worst spells of economic recession ever to hit the UK.
What ensued was not only a seriously engaging hour-long documentary, but also a thought-provoking exercise bringing key topics to the fore.
An engineering graduate of the University of Cambridge, Geoff left the comfort of the Boardroom for five days and — under the fictitious persona of Dale James, an unemployed engineer looking for a career change — worked alongside Securitas’ frontline officers. Those officers wouldn’t recognise him, he hoped, once he’d grown a beard and shaved his head.
Watch a clip from Undercover Boss: SecuritasSecuring the night-time economy
First port of call was a waterside development of bars in Manchester. Geoff met with Mo and Mario (former employees of Reliance). Over two decades, they’ve been threatened by people brandishing firearms, slashed with knives, and “glassed” by thugs toting broken bottles.
Geoff swapped his suit for a metal-plated vest and, alongside the duo, attempted to control aggressive drunks and impromptu street brawls. Not his usual habitat, and one that, by his own admission, was “very frightening”.
Next stop was The Priory Shopping Centre in Dartford. Here, instances of attempted theft and anti-social behaviour crop up. Geoff was put to the test by security manager Julie, who asked him to confront a six-foot giant banned from the site — the man concerned was acting out the role — before informing Securitas’ UK leader that she regularly works 14-hour days (many beginning before 5:00 a.m.), finds it difficult to cover all shifts due to lack of bodies, and that her own life outside of work is suffering as a result. Not a great picture.
Then it was off to Cirencester, where Geoff pitched up in front of Charles and Carl looking for mobile patrol work. Alas, the eagle-eyed duo rumbled Geoff’s disguise thanks to a photo of “The Real Mr. Zeidler” immediately behind him on their office wall, but agreed to keep quiet.
Geoff ventured out on night patrol with James, one of four officers who check up on 500-plus properties. James had to buy his own torch because the one with which he’d been supplied didn’t cut it. He’d also negotiated a new GB pound 25,000 contract for Securitas to monitor three warehouses, but there was no commission in place for him.
Incidents in the transport sector
To round off the whole experience, Geoff dropped in on Dewsbury Bus Station (a long-term contract for Securitas). The station resides in a racially diverse town where one-third of residents come from an ethnic background.
Dave — one of the officers on duty — was quizzed by Zeidler, who learned of security staff having to cope with (among other things) drunks who threaten them, attempted headbuttings, and instances of racial abuse.
At the end of the programme, Geoff — by now angry with what he has seen — admits who he is and acts fast. Mo and Mario are granted extra CCTV, and Julie additional officers. James is paid his commission (and issued with a new torch). Dave receives GB pound 500 to donate to local charities, while consideration is afforded to alterations for Basic Job Training on the site that will improve aspects of communication.
How frontline security officers are viewed and treated — by their employers, their employers’ customers, and society at large — matters, and massively so. As this programme amply demonstrated, those officers do a fantastic job day in and day out, often under immensely trying circumstances. They absolutely deserve to be wholly respected by the society they protect.
Channel 4, Securitas, and Geoff Zeidler merit much praise for producing this programme. We desperately need more prime time documentaries centred on security’s frontline. Maybe then we can banish forever the tired, cliched, and erroneous views of security guarding that have no place in today’s world.