Our Specialist Services Division has had a busy couple of weeks as the preparation planning gets underway for some of our Corporate Buildings ahead of the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow in November.

Circa 1 million protestors will descend on Glasgow City Centre during this period, the questions we’d ask:

Are you prepared?
Can we assist in your Mitigation Planning?
Would your business benefit from a high-quality Penetration Test?
Do you require any of our attached Specialist Services?

If you submit your renewal before 1 October 2021 there is no need for a first aid qualification or top-up training. After 1 October you need a first aid qualification and top-up training to renew a door supervisor or security guard licence. http://bit.ly/SIASkills #SIA Training

Our Retail & Manned Guarding team are preparing for the re-opening of our retail clients on Monday. Our specialist team will be deployed to a variety of retail outlets to assist with loss prevention, provide a professional store experiences for customers, manage crowds and queues and ensure staff and customers adhere to COVID-19 measures.

From 1 October 2021, if you have a door supervisor licence you can renew to a security guarding licence instead if you prefer. In either case, you must have a First Aid qualification, and take top training before you renew.

Find out more via >> #licence-switching" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer">https://www.gov.uk/government/news/changes-to-the-training-you-need-for-an-sia-licence#licence-switching

Security Scotland are looking forward to a sunny weekend of football in Ayrshire, Lanarkshire and Perth! Our events team will be deployed at these 3 games to carry out access control duties, implement physical distancing, correct use of face masks, sanitisation and ensure the safety of staff and players.

Security Scotland is delighted to announce the appointment of Mark Leonard as Head of Field Operations, to lead and manage the implementation of our new Specialist Services Division.

Mark joins our Operations Team and adds to our growing network of specialists from across the public and private sector.

Coupled with his policing experience Mark also has experience as a Scottish Improvement Leader and is a qualified licensing paralegal. This made him a perfect fit to join us as we evolve Security Scotland to the next level and respond to an increasing demand for tailored prevention and reputational risk management for our clients.

In 2000, Mark transferred from the Royal Air Force to Strathclyde Police working in a variety of roles including local Policing, reactive and proactive investigations, and licensing. He has held specialist roles as a Family Liaison Officer on major investigations, Covert Source Handler and a Public Order/CBRN responder.

On promotion to Chief Inspector, Mark led a National Team at the Scottish Crime Campus, Gartcosh where he was responsible for working collaboratively to prevent and reduce the harm caused by serious organised crime, where he worked closely with Law Enforcement and the private sector across Europe.

Security Scotland Operations Director, Chris Callaghan commented “Mark is perfect for this role and brings with him the relevant operational and strategic experience as a former Police Local Area Commander & Event Lead, which includes a diverse portfolio of prevention and collaborative experience”.

For the last three years Mark was the Local Area Commander for Motherwell. As an experienced Policing lead, Security Scotland worked in partnership with him at football, concerts, and other events, prior to Mark retiring from Police Scotland in March 2021.

Mark commented “I am delighted to join the talented and dedicated team at Security Scotland. When this opportunity arose to lead and manage the new services, I was excited and look forward to implementing the new workstreams in response to client needs”.

Click on the link to find out more about the specialist services: https://securityscotland.com/specialist-services/