TransportSectorSecuritySystemsBestPractice November2014_riskuk_nov14 07/11/2014 14:19 Page 35
Transport Sector: Security Systems Best Practice
From the skies to the tracks ecent statistics issued by the Home Office revealed that, between January 2012 and June 2013, four of the UK’s Top 10 crime hot spots were major railway stations: Manchester Piccadilly (with 1,508 reported incidents), London Victoria (1,483), King’s Cross (1,322) and Euston (1,283). Set alongside a close-to-10% increase in rail passenger theft between April 2012 and March 2013, these figures readily suggest the UK’s railway stations remain a prime target for thieves and vandals. To whom, then, can security managers operating on the UK’s rail network turn for ideas and inspiration that might just combat the ever-present threat of criminality? The answer is: ‘Airports’. International airports have invested heavily in solutions and strategies designed to better protect their passengers, assets and cargo. What’s more, there are strong parallels between airports and railway stations beyond the fact that both serve as transport hubs.
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Pre-empting security incidents Picture the departure lounges at international airports during the summer holiday season with thousands of people and their luggage present in one relatively small space. Equally, walk through major railway stations on a Friday night during the commuter rush hour and the sheer number of people is overwhelming. Airports approach this situation in an innovative way. Imagine that a passenger leaves a bag in one of the terminals and walks off. Technologies like video analytics help security staff to spot suspicious behaviour in a crowd and pre-empt any problems. In addition, by using a Video Management System to integrate cameras in a single unified view it’s far easier to spot a person behaving in an unusual manner and quickly guide security personnel to the source of the trouble. This approach to managing situations should serve as an inspiration to railway security teams. Another commonality is that both these types of transport networks never cease operations. As such, their security systems must perform to the very highest standards both day and night. Continuing to operate without interruption – whatever the circumstances may be, and even in the immediate aftermath of an incident – is absolutely critical. So how do airports ensure they deliver a 24/7/365 security solution that runs smoothly
In order to boost safety levels for members of the public, what elements of airport security Best Practice might be easily leveraged by risk specialists operating across the UK’s rail network? Daniel Wan investigates
even in extreme circumstances? The answer lies in integrated security systems designed with automatic fail-over to back-up systems so that, in the event of a power failure or other risk scenario, site security is immediately picked up and controlled by a secondary security site. Like airports, railway stations can also be affected by adverse conditions outside of their control – for instance severe weather, flooding or fire – that disrupt critical operational systems and place thousands of passengers at potential risk. Investing in back-up security solutions will afford security managers on the rail network peace of mind. Airports and railway stations play host to different contractors – cleaners, maintenance engineers, shop staff and train operators – who may have access to sensitive areas on site. For their part, airports are managing staff with state-of-the-art access control functionality. Integration with Human Resources and building management systems ensures that no unauthorised personnel can access restricted areas. These systems are linked to payroll and, as soon as a member of staff leaves or a contractor ceases working for the organisation, their physical access credentials are updated simultaneously. In turn, this ensures that access rights are accurate at all times.
Daniel Wan: Marketing Leader for the UK at Honeywell Security Group
“Technologies like video analytics help security staff to spot suspicious behaviour in a crowd and pre-empt any problems” 35
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