Besides key-holding, alarm response and patrols to protect now largely shuttered high streets and retail parks, business owners are looking beyond traditional guarding models to deal with uncertain times, says a security firm. Hence a shared guarding initiative aimed at retailers for them to pool their security resources across the UK.
The scheme, ROM – Roaming Officer Model – is an ad-hoc resource introduced by Amberstone Guarding. Their idea; to optimise resources cost-effectively across stores, distribution centres and even the protection of lone working delivery services. Under the ROM, contributing retailers can access a pool of roaming security personnel to protect their people and property, besides providing intelligence, including the COVID-19 Pandemic Resource Hub provided by partner Zinc Systems, which provides real time government and health updates, as well as situational awareness to aid any re-deployment of security resources.
Patrolling, key-holding, incident assistance, high-risk (in terms of theft) product protection and worker welfare checking across multiple locations are under the new ROM umbrella, all of which are supported by technology and data sharing protocols. The firm says that ROM can also work with a retailer’s guarding providers, many of whom may be feeling stretched during the coronavirus lockdown.
Amberstone’s CEO, Jason Trigg, pictured, said: “This is far from business as usual because we’ve never seen anything like this during peace time. However, necessity is the mother of invention and businesses like ours and Zinc have been able to step up and respond to the requests of leading retailers in the spirit of the old wartime mantra ‘Keep Calm and Carry On’. ROM works by the flexible re-deployment of guarding no longer required to patrol non-essential retail stores, albeit the risk of empty property vulnerability can also be part of the 24-hour shared offering on high streets or retail parks.
“This flexible approach enables retailers to be able to map their challenges and deploy a shared, cost-effective resource to whatever challenges are thrown up by the crisis – whether its conflict situations created by panic buying in supermarkets, threats and intimidation directed at delivery drivers, or even incidents of civil unrest, if necessary. This is a service can be effectively flexed for the duration of the crisis or for as long as retailers need it.
“The ROM model can work directly with retailer’s or, under strict framework agreements, their approved guarding supplier to take the strain of what is happening across the UK on a day-to-day basis. We are among the top ten guarding companies in the country and understand the pressures the sector is under – this approach to working together in partnership will help.”
