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Recently published retail crime surveys from the Home Office, USDAW and ACS were not light reading. Retail crime is up across the board with abuse and violence towards workers at record highs. In 2020, the trigger was most often aggressive resistance to Covid protection measures, but even as such measures were relaxed, abuse remained high. “Faced with such appallingly high levels of violence and abuse, and with shopworkers’ almost complete lock of confidence in the ability of the system to […]

Retail workers are calling for greater protection in the workplace, with almost one in five (18%) specifically requesting that they want more security guards present on the premises. This is unsurprising given the extreme hostility directed towards retail workers over the past year, as revealed by two recently released retail crime surveys covering 2021: one from the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers (USDAW) and another from the Association of Convenience Stores (ACS). Combined with the Home Office’s Commercial […]

It was not just a loss of profits that hurt British retailers during the pandemic, almost half of them (46%) reported an increase in violence and assaults in their premises. These findings come from the Home Office’s recently released annual Commercial Victimisation Survey, which reports on the prevalence, frequency and impact of crime on retail and wholesale businesses in England and Wales. This year’s report covers the period from April 2020 to March 2021, providing insight into how the pandemic […]

Crime is a cost that most businesses must deal with, whether through being a victim of a crime or through spending time and resources on its prevention. While there are many advantages to security services beyond crime prevention, crime prevention remains the main reason businesses purchase security. It’s better to deter criminals than to catch them While security guards and CCTV can provide useful evidence for catching criminals in the act, prosecuting them or taking disciplinary action against staff, it’s […]

Boris Johnson ignored the surge of cyber crime and fraud when he boasted that 2021 saw a 14% reduction in crime – and it’s easy to see why. Take fraud and cyber crime into account and crime doesn’t reduce by 14% but in fact rises by 14%, driven by a massive 36% increase in fraud and 89% increase in cyber crime. These figures were gathered by the Crime in England and Wales Survey. We covered the survey’s findings for crimes […]

While speaking in the House of Commons in February, Boris Johnson claimed that crime had fallen by 14%. This figure, pulled from the Crime Survey of England and Wales, excluded fraud and cyber crime – a fiddling of the figures that was widely condemned. Ignoring the prime minister’s spin, there are many interesting findings in the Crime Survey of England and Wales, which compares crime figures for the year ending September 2021 to the year ending September 2019, providing insight […]

2022 marks the return of corporate events. All mandatory pandemic controls have been lifted and ExCeL London’s calendar is once again packed with trade shows, expos and conferences. After so much time away from the conference floor, we thought this was the ideal time to offer a refresher on how to run a safe corporate event and how the right security company can help. Risk assessments, COVID-19 and emergency plans Health and safety and security are the linchpins of a […]

All Plan B COVID-19 measures have been lifted and employers are being encouraged to return to physical workplaces, with civil servants leading by example. As offices fill back up and commuter hubs surge with activity, we need to make sure that everyone is kept safe. We must live with COVID-19 but don’t pretend it’s gone While vaccine use and exposure to the virus have given much of the population the antibodies necessary to fight off the COVID-19 virus with mild […]

2022 is being celebrated as the year we return to normal. Time will tell whether this optimism is earned but for now all pandemic restrictions have been shed and the beginnings of the post-pandemic economy are taking form. With face-to-face business returning after a long absence, this is the ideal time to provide a refresher on security fundamentals. If you’re looking for security for your new premises or need to enhance protection for your current site, the following services are […]

At Magenta Security, we’re used to being the tip of the spear. We were the first security company in Europe to receive ISO 14001 certification, this year we officially became Carbon Neutral+ and Managing Director Abbey Petkar has been a fierce advocate for reform in the security industry throughout his career. The problem with being ahead of the pack is that it can feel a little lonely, so it’s always reaffirming to receive recognition from local or industry peers. Towards […]