AIB Community Safety
Why community safety schemes are vital for public confidence
The security of the public, particularly women and girls, has come into sharp focus in recent months. With the Office of National Statistics (ONS) suggesting that as many as 80% of women do not feel safe on the streets and 40% of men also feeling unsafe, it’s clear that more needs to be done to give residents trust and confidence in the safety of their public spaces.
All In Black Security have been working with councils to develop our Community Safety Officer programme, which has proved highly successful across public spaces such as parks, high streets and housing estates. We know that every community is different and they have different characters, needs and threat levels. That’s why our CSO approach is different in that it is led by intelligence and driven by the local community. In essence, our staff are from the community, serve the community and care about the community.
How AIB can support local councils and residents
As councils balance the growing public demand to improve community safety measures, with not only a lack of police resource but dwindling confidence in the police from some sections of society, our CSO programme could be the stepping stone needed to demonstrate that the council is serious about the safety of local residents.
At AIB, our biggest asset is our people. We invest in people. We believe in them. That is why we take recruitment so seriously. All of our AIB operatives are fully vetted and checked and are a security detail you can depend on in every situation, including covert and high-end operations.
Above all, we have the ability to adapt to unique situations and all of our operatives and guards are trained for real world and real-time incidents.
To find out more about our Community Safety Scheme, contact 01908 030088 or email aaron@aib-group.co.uk
MK Lightning Strike Up Partnership with AIB Security
All In Black will continue as the title sponsor for the 2021/2023 season As a Platinum Partner of MKL, AIB will continue their expanded and deepened relationship with the club which builds on a long term partnership.
All in Black Group is the leading security, systems and training company in Milton Keynes. With over ten years experience operating across the city for clients in a range of sectors, AIB uses experience from Civilian, Police and Military backgrounds, to give their clients the insight and expertise to advise them on the right security requirements for their needs.
Milton Keynes Ice Hockey Club CEO Claire Eason-Bassett told us what the role of Official Team Partner means to the club: “Bringing MKL back onto the ice after Covid means we need to have absolutely rock solid foundations and a safe and secure club. All In Black brings a wealth of experience in safety and security, and we couldn’t have a more knowledgeable and skilled partner to be working with as we wake up NIHL National hockey once more in Milton Keynes.”
She went on to say “We aim to offer our fans, volunteers and players the best night out in Buckinghamshire and the local region, and we can only do this by having event staff who are considerate, professional and courteous in the way they interact with people. All in Black bring this approach perfectly, and we are hugely grateful for their continued support and partnership with us this year.”
Aaron Mills, Managing Director of All In Black is delighted to have deepened and further strengthened the partnership with MKL, saying: “We are proud to continue our sponsorship of the All In Black Milton Keynes Lightning Ice Hockey team and to work with them to create a welcoming and secure environment for both home and away teams at the Arena.”
He went on to talk about what it means to him: “MKL is a personal passion for me and my family and I’m committed to ensuring we provide the team and the fans with the highest level of security and support. We love interacting with fans and are committed to keeping them safe and comfortable when supporting the team.”
As well as keeping us all safe with their specialist event services on matchnights, we are also working together to bring their experience into our planning for a safe return to play. We have actively engaged with them on event planning, Covid safety and risk management protocols to meet the needs of today’s world. This will bring the safety and security we need to be confident that we are ready as a club to return to play in line with Government and EIHA requirements, and we’re truly grateful for their support and expertise in this area.
Aaron Mills talked about this depth of cooperation: “Our partnership extends well beyond sponsoring the shirt and providing security services at the arena. AIB is playing our part in ensuring MKL is the pride of Milton Keynes and welcoming new audiences to ice hockey. In addition to traditional sponsorship we are also supporting MKL with sponsoring players. We’re so excited to see what this new season has in store and rest assured we have MKL covered.”
Like we said last year, with All In Black, together we’re stronger and safer. That’s your All In Black Milton Keynes Lightning.
If you’d like to find out more about MKL, head over to their website at https://www.mk-lightning.co.uk
Report Function a Roaring Success
AIB Security have recently launched the ‘Report It’ hotline for concerned residents to be able to report incidents and suspicious behaviour in parks and open spaces across the Basildon Borough.
As part of an ongoing community safety scheme, AIB has been supporting the council to increase protection and reduce violent and weapons-based assaults in Basildon’s parks and open spaces.
So far, the ‘Report It’ function has been used over 500 times and helps residents to anonymously report suspicious behaviour without fear of wasting police time. The reports immediately trigger to our community safety officers who then deploy to the site, either on foot or via their tracked vehicles. The ‘Report It’ button has helped us to reduce knife crime, move suspected drug dealers on from car park locations at the entrances to parks and even support residents who have had a trip or fall in the park and need immediate First Aid before an ambulance arrives.
The ‘Report It’ function has been a roaring success.
Police forces have been facing cuts for over a decade
Police forces have been facing cuts for over a decade which in real terms has meant there are fewer police officers out there than ever before. I recently read that since 2010 there’s been a cut of nearly 23% in the police staff workforce; this is unacceptable considering violent crime and anti-social behaviour is continually rising.
"Over 3,000 PCSOs disappeared between 2012 and 2016 which has had a huge impact on levels of crime and local intelligence gathering"
Naturally, the police have had to focus their limited resources on the more shocking and violent crimes and less on anti-social behaviour, but this has had a drastic effect on the day-to-day lives of people and local communities. After all, it's proven that in situations perceived as unsafe all types of uniformed presence increased feelings of safety, with foot patrolling police contributing to the greatest increase.
Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) were incredibly successful at decreasing anti-social behaviour and increasing the feeling of safety in a community yet have been worst hit by the funding cuts. Over 3,000 PCSOs disappeared between 2012 and 2016 which has had a huge impact on levels of crime and local intelligence gathering. It has left a void that criminals, rather than police, are filling. PCSOs were at their best when they were out there, on the beat, visibly engaging with their communities and making the local neighbourhoods safer for everyone.
"Since 2010 there’s been a cut of nearly 23% in the police staff workforce; this is unacceptable"
The unfortunate result is that we’ve seen a huge rise in anti-social behaviour, public rowdiness, street drinking and drug-taking, littering, and public order offences. Defunding the police can work, but only when those resources are reinvested in community projects that tackle the root causes of criminal behaviour. In the UK, those resources have not been re-invested and the devastating cuts across the police service have simply damaged the ability of the police to keep the public safe.
As the Managing Director of All In Black Group, I have decided to address this issue and develop the Community Safety Ecosystem.
The Community Safety Ecosystem was developed as a direct response to police cuts and the subsequent rise in anti-social behaviour. The cornerstones of the Ecosystem are our visible patrols and public spaces protection programmes. In next week’s post, I’ll go into more detail about our Ecosystem's successes in Basildon, but in short, it works. All In Black are now filling the gap left by the police and supporting councils to reduce anti-social behaviour and provide their communities with a safer way of life.
A critical part of our success is our control centre, a headquarters staffed 24/7 where our operations are managed. Every single incident is reported back to the control centre and recorded in tandem with our CCTV and monitoring services. We collate the information, record the data and work with the council and local police forces to support them in their investigations and achieve a greater rate of convictions for repeat offenders. Local intelligence gathering is back, and it is helping to reduce crime and increase public trust and confidence in the safety of their public spaces. This is good for the community, the council and the police.
I doubt that police forces will ever return to how they once were and anti-social behaviour will continue to rise as a result. However, at All In Black we want to help local authorities fill the gap left by police and make their communities safer. All In Black’s Community Safety Ecosystem can do just that and provides councils with an alternative option to relying on an underfunded police force.
A 360-degree approach to community safety – a better approach to community safety.
