Interviews

ABC of Garry Wardell

by Mark Rowe

Earlier this year we ran a three-part article on Garry Wardell’s perimeter security management at the Olympic Park last year. We’ve gone back to his Midlands office to ask about his regular work.

Garry Wardell shows me a photograph of himself standing with Matt Smith, the then Doctor Who. No, Garry’s company Securex Security does not have the contract to secure the Tardis; his firm since it started in 1999 has done work for the BBC. It’s not all looking after household names and faces. For instance, Securex provided security for the farewell party at Pebble Mill, once the BBC TV centre in Birmingham, now a flat piece of land at Edgbaston awaiting redevelopment. The BBC studios are now in Birmingham city centre, at the Mailbox. It’s a little-considered part of security management; how to secure a place when it’s shutting? As Garry recalls, everything was stripped, and logged; auctioneers went through room by room, because objects were of value, sentimental or otherwise (someone will pay top dollar for memorabilia to do with The Archers radio series!?). Items were registered, tagged and over some weeks things were auctioned – chairs, tables, lockers, computers. Security did not end there; when someone went to the back of the building to collect the item they had bought, there was a procedure to follow to be sure that the person asking for X was correct on the paperwork. The Mailbox has its own security, and has retail and other users besides the BBC. The BBC there prides itself on being open to the public; you can buy things, even stare through windows at the radio presenters in their studios, broadcasting live. Are you a fan of such BBC shows as Doctors? Land Girls? Or Hustle? Securex does the security where they’re filmed, at Selly Oak in the city; and reception duties, booking in the actors, and extras. Some of the extras know where they are going; some do not, and it’s a matter of letting the producer’s assistant know something has arrived for filming. Parked there are police cars and ambulances used only for filming, that need to be secured. Talking of cars, the outside broadcast (OB) vehicles and radio cars are in a secure place near the Mailbox, which requires 24-hour access in case a camera crew has to go to a scene at any hour. On that note, Securex provide an on-call service. Say that a reporter and cameraman are gathering news at what Garry calls ‘vulnerable areas’. Security officers will be there, dressed like the onlooking public, Garry adds, ‘just milling in the background, rather than saying ‘we are Security’’. The BBC crew know that Security is there, in a low-key way in case of any trouble, whether people object to filming or take a fancy to broadcast equipment.

Garry’s company was awarded a contract and in August started work at BBC Nottingham, having done a month or two there in 2010. By day the BBC studio off the city centre has its own receptionist. Guards working four on, four off provide cover at nights, making sure the building is secure out of hours. After the building is locked down at 5pm, staff still come in and out the front door, with their passes; and radio guests might come all evening. Security will have a list from the journalists of who’s due to come; and those visitors are escorted to the TV or radio studio. Again, the work is a mix of building and vehicle security. Garry points out that the BBC is investing in the regions, such as at Bristol, and Manchester; the BBC’s regional facilities managers are responsible for building facilities, including security.

Garry’s background is in security first for 12 years with the National Exhibition Centre (NEC, pictured), so it’s a sort of homecoming for him now that the Emergency Services Show, which Securex has done security for since it’s been at Stoneleigh Park near Coventry, is moving to somewhere bigger: the NEC. Readers nostalgic for IFSEC at the NEC before the late 2000s, who recall the exhibition at halls 17 to 20, may wish to visit the Emergency Services Show there on September 25 and 26. As the event name suggests, it offers products and services for the 999 services. So expect demonstrations on the lake at the NEC. Garry’s firm provides security there, on the doors, and floor managers. What’s the difference between securing the same event, but at the two places? Parking, for a start. Most parking at Stoneleigh has to be on grass, whereas the NEC has hard-standing. At any time of year that’s rainy, then, Security has to beware of directing traffic to waterlogged ground. A security officer then has to be thinking on his feet (literally), as to where the next cars will be directed, once this row is filled. Again, partly depending on weather, more or fewer people may arrive than anticipated (or may come by taxi; or coach laid-on by organisers; until the day, you can never be sure of how many will do what).

Whatever the event, it takes long planning and preparation of procedures; on the security side, for instance, deciding manning levels; then drawing up the manning schedules, booking the staff, writing briefings, and briefing those staff once they turn up. Garry says the Emergency Services 2013 has been planned since November – in other words, since the 2012 show ended, including site visits at the NEC; and meetings with contractors, the venue, medics, health and safety, besides the event organisers. Why plans? Because things do happen, such as extreme weather. Garry recalls that wind on the second day of the Emergency Services Show last year meant that a marquee had to be evacuated and closed. Nor did the work end there; Security had to be on every door, to stop anyone going back in. Likewise someone could have a medical emergency on their walk to or from the car park: “You deal with all sorts of things on the event side.”

Given that Garry’s been 26 years in event security, I wondered if it still keeps his interest. “Every show is different,” he replies, and despite the internet, people are still going to events – as indeed the London Olympics showed. “We see events going from strength to strength. It’s about individuals and their leisure time.” Take one weekend at Stoneleigh, long a place for agricultural shows. The same weekend might have a pony show; and a craft fair. Security officers, then, have to work with various animals at Stoneleigh events – llamas; pigs; poultry. Or, animals might be brought in to stand alongside mechanical exhibits. So if a bull goes on the loose on a show-floor, it could quickly do damage. Hence regular checks to pens and perimeters, and reporting any damage. That said, one show at the NEC sees snakes and scorpions: “Strangely enough, not many people try to pinch those!” Garry says. “That’s the beauty of events, it’s so diverse.” One can be serious – featuring weaponry; the next, a dog show, the winners going forward to Crufts. “And that’s what I like about the events industry,” Garry adds. Yes, halls 16 to 20 at the NEC are what they are; shells; but it’s what goes into them, and the audiences. Garry recalls from his NEC days that the exhibition centre might have hosted, at the same time, an antiques show, a racing pigeon event, and the BBC Clothes Show Live; and a baby and toddlers event. Different audiences, all having to be managed!? Parents going to the baby event, for example, may well be pushing prams and buggies, that could cause more congestion than usual. Running his company, he goes around the country: Manchester; Glasgow; London. Take ComicCon. As the name suggests, it’s a convention, for like-minded people interested in cult films, television, computer games and comics; teenagers, mainly. It’s a phenomenon; tens of thousands turn up. Some are in costume of their favourite character; Spongebob, or Mario; or bring a radio-controlled Dalek with them. The problem for Security, Garry explains; how to be sure who has paid and who has not. At the entrance, Security issues the wristbands as proof of legal entry; now it can be genuinely difficult to attach a wristband to someone in an intricate (or scanty) costume. As a long weekend, three-day event, someone may have an all-event wristband; are they supposed to wear it (and their costume, some all-in-ones) for 72 hours?! “We do have to use a bit of discretion; but we do have to be firm about it, because people do unfortunately try their luck with it.” In other words, let’s say six teenagers go in as a group, properly, having paid and with wristbands. What if they then take off those wristbands, give them to one of their group, who goes outside and hands the wristbands to five friends, who can then walk in?! While these conventions are good-natured affairs, some young people can come across, shall we say, as cocky. Queue management at ComicCon, particularly on the busiest day, Saturday, is an all-day affair. The attenders will turn up with their barcode; they are handed their pass, whether for one, two or all three days. That paperwork is exchanged for a wristband, that the security officer puts on the attender, tightly enough so that it can’t be handed to someone else, or indeed fall off by mistake. Garry shows a picture of himself as a young man in formal NEC uniform, including peaked cap. Now he’s wearing a white open-necked short-sleeved shirt with Securex logo above the left pocket. Fashions change. Who would ever have thought of a Doctor Who in his 20s?! It’s like policemen, that seem always to get younger: “You have to move with the times,” Garry says smilingly.

For the Emergency Services Show visit – http://www.emergencyuk.com

About Securex Security – visit http://www.securexsecurity.com

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