27-11

Healthcare Security
crimestoppers in hospitals:
Right: Left to right, Paul
Richardson of Manor
Hospital, Walsall;
local PCSO Tracey
Bingham; Marina Pekris
of Crimestoppers;
and Adrian Canale
of Carlisle Support
Services. Below; the
posters on knife crime
and bed hopping
Photos by Mark Rowe
34
NHS partner in crime
NHS trusts are beginning to
partner with Crimestoppers in an
arrangement set up by a security
contractor. We attended the launch
at one Midlands hospital.
A
steady number of people were
stopping by the Crimestoppers
stand inside the entrance
lobby of Manor Hospital in Walsall.
Like many new-builds, it was large
and bright - escalators to take you
up, a Spar shop and restaurant,
a reception desk to direct you.
Understandably visitors had only eyes
for their appointment on their way in;
but on their way out, some paused.
Because Crimestoppers, the freephone
line (plus online) for reporting
crime anonymously, is a simple, well
known idea. As the NHS remains one
of the UK’s main employers, bringing
the two together may seem obvious.
Bed hopping
The beauty of Crimestoppers is
not only that you can report things
without trace - you won’t be spotted
walking out of a police station, it
doesn’t show on your ‘phone bill;
the method works whether you’re
reporting drink-drivers or (to take
examples of campaigns) doping
among athletes, or cable theft or
‘energy theft’, namely bypassing or
tampering with electricity meters.
The posters at the Manor advertised
some crimes common elsewhere -
such as knives - and others peculiar
to the NHS, such as ‘bed hopping’.
NOVEMBER 2017 PROFESSIONAL SECURITY
Paul Smith, trust security manager at
New Cross, Wolverhampton, and a
local security management specialist
(LSMS) explained it upstairs over
coffee to Professional Security. A
homeless person may present himself
at an accident and emergency wing
- knowing what sort of illnesses are
hard to disprove - and aim for a stay
in a hospital bed. By the time the
hospital finds out the person isn’t
unwell, he can go to the next hospital.
“It’s one of the silent crimes within
the NHS,” added Paul Richardson,
head of performance and quality
in estates and facilities at Manor
Hospital. Or, someone may seek
medication; if denied them, they may
turn aggressive, or complain. Other
posters covered vulnerable children;
and modern slavery.
Wind your neck in
Whether crimes that NHS staff,
patients or visitors see on wards, in
the grounds, or at home, people may
respond in two ways. Some are set on
reporting, because it’s the right thing
to do, despite well-publicised cases in
all sectors of whistle-blowers being
victimised. But if you see something
suspicious inside a hospital, such as
theft of controlled drugs, who do you
report to? Police, or the hospital? The
other reaction - if you see a colleague
stealing hospital property - may be
to keep quiet. If you tell your line
manager, who’s busy, they may tell
you to ‘wind your neck in’. Do you
want to risk a colleague knowing you
informed on them. Every workplace,
then, has the same dilemmas; few are
wrong-doers, yet reports of wrongdoing
tend to sink into nothing.
Idea
The table of knick-knacks at the
Manor - after similar launches at
Southmead Hospital, North Bristol;
Wolverhampton; and a week later
Luton - was the idea of Adrian
Canale, sector director - education
and healthcare at Carlisle Support
Services. It took about a year to
arrange, to satisfy hospitals and
the Crimestoppers charity alike.
Reports go to the trust LSMS; more
serious cases to the LSMS, and
police Paul Smith recalled visiting
Crimestoppers, to listen to the call
handlers at work. He was impressed,
and satisfied the service is truly
anonymous. The handlers typically
run callers through a set of questions,
to find the what, where and when.
Hospitals have their own 0800
Crimestoppers number so a handler
knows the sort of person ringing at
once. Crimestoppers already does
a similar service for corporates; for
the Security Industry Authority, for
instance, to gather complaints of fake
SIA badge use.
Intelligence key
Crimestoppers works, then, whether
the crime is someone scratching your
parked car, or a patient popping out
to see their drug dealer, and returning
with crack. Staff know it’s happening,
but may not want to go to the trouble
of putting their name to reporting it.
As Paul Smith said: “Intelligence
in security is key,” meaning that if
you know what crimes and concerns
are out there, you can better prevent
crime, whether by monitoring CCTV
or sending patrols. For Carlisle,
this work with Crimestoppers is
one way of the contractor offering
a different service - more different
than a promise at tender to change the
uniform. Other ways are healthcarespecific
training, with trainer Jim
O’Dwyer of Aegis; and an app,
for officers to report incidents, for
analytics to then ‘heat-map’ so that
you can see patterns and patrol
accordingly. p
www.professionalsecurity.co.uk