News Top, a demo by an exhibitor FogBandit, of the fogging product. Right: Natasa Wilson, RAC admin assistant; Gemma Sellar, Regional Executive for Northern Ireland and north west England; Gary Parkes, RAC chairman, regional loss prevention manager, Next; Maxine Fraser; Stephanie Karté, Regional Executive Scotland; and Jim McFedries, RAC Vice chairman and head of profit protection and security, Scotmid Cooperative Photos courtesy of Retailers Against Crime 14 Amber Rudd UNHAPPY ‘A quarter of Brits access digital material illegally, and often don’t realise the risks associated with that, for them and their families.’ Kieron Sharp, Director General of FACT (Federation Against Copyright Theft). high-profile attacks: Acid ban proposed The Home Secretary Amber Rudd has announced proposals to ban sale of acids to under-18s, prevent children purchasing knives online and restrict access to dangerous firearms. As the UK Government admits, this follows a recent rise in police-recorded knife and firearms offences, and acid attacks. The Government will first consult, including on a new offence of possession of a corrosive substance in public and restricting online sales of knives so they cannot be delivered to a private residential address and must be collected at a place where age ID can be checked. Rudd also spoke of plans for a new ‘Serious Violence strategy’, published in early 2018. Speaking to the Conservative Party annual conference, in Manchester, she said: “Acid attacks are absolutely revolting. You have all seen the pictures of victims that never fully recover. Endless surgeries. Lives ruined.” She also proposed a review of the Poisons Act to limit the public sale of sulphuric acid, “given its use in the production of so-called ‘mother of Satan’ homemade explosives”. l Also announced last month, a police-run hub to take online hate crime reports, due to start before the end of the year; and a change to terror law, so that people who repeatedly view terrorist content online could face up to 15 years in prison. p US, China in cyber talks: Last month top officials co-chaired the first US-China Law Enforcement and Cybersecurity Dialogue (LECD), as agreed by US President Trump and Chinese President Xi at their first meeting in April, and as pursued by President Obama and featured in Professional Security in November 2015. As agreed then, neither country’s government will conduct or knowingly support cyber-enabled theft of intellectual property. p How Irish pay: Since October 1, the Private Security Authority, the Republic of Ireland’s equivalent of the SIA, has stopped a facility to pay later for those applying for a licence for the first time, online. p NOVEMBER 2017 PROFESSIONAL SECURITY Anniversary day in Glasgow Some 200 delegates attended the 20th anniversary conference of the loss prevention body Retailers Against Crime (RAC) in Glasgow. The day’s topics were information sharing and the emphasis on educating staff on what to look, said Maxine Fraser from RAC. She was among the speakers at ST17 in Glasgow a fortnight earlier. She told Professional Security: “Tagging, EAS systems and security, are all key to deterring crime. However without educating staff on what to lookout for the thieves will still succeed. No matter what tagging system you have, the professional criminals will eventually find a way to overcome it. Customer service is obviously a key deterrent, however professional and organised groups or teams will not be put off by staff asking to assist, they will simply engage with the staff member whilst others are selecting and concealing Ransom response: A new approach is needed if terrorist groups are not to continue to benefit from multimillion-dollar cash injections. That’s according to a report, Closing the Gap, by the UK think-tank on defence and security, RUSI. The Royal United Services Institute suggests a global, rigorously applied and scrupulously monitored commitment to prevent any concessions to terrorists, to eliminate hostage-taking as a source of terrorist finance. The unsatisfactory status quo can be improved at once by shifting responsibility for ransoming from governments to the private sector, write Anja Shortland and Tom Keatinge. p stock in the background. Businesses that invest in crime reduction measures and education to deter crime will help create an environment where staff feel supported and their businesses will thrive.” Police Scotland Assistant Chief Constable Wayne Mawson, a return speaker, hailed the joint working: “At a local level over 300 police officers based in our community can access the secure members site on the RAC website and also receive regular bulletins on the most up to date intelligence.” Pete Cheema of trade body the Scottish Grocers Federation said afterwards: “We look forward to developing our partnership with RAC and engaging with their wider stakeholders as we attempt to bring legislation forward to protect shop workers and create safer retail.” p l Gary Parkes has stood down as RAC chairman after three years; he's also moved job to Matalan. Jim McFedries has become chairman. Football takedown: Recent American Football games at Wembley Stadium prompted an awareness campaign about NFL fake merchandise. Detective Inspector Nicholas Court, of the City of London Police’s Intellectual Property Crime Unit, said: “So far we have overseen more than 28,000 takedowns of websites selling counterfeit goods, a number of which have had NFL branded items listed. In doing so we have prevented thousands of consumers from becoming victims, duped into handing over their personal and payment details to criminals who often commit further crime through identity theft.” p www.professionalsecurity.co.uk p14 News <strong>27</strong>-11.indd 1 10/10/2017 16:13
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