Police ‘Are Training G4S Staff’ Date: Friday, July 27, 2012 Source: Nic Brunetti - Security Oracle

Officers have been providing G4S staff with security training amid claims that the firm’s employees were poorly trained in the first instance, according to a Fed regional branch. West Midlands Police Federation said it was aware of an officer delivering a training session to G4S security staff at Tally Ho Police Training Centre in Birmingham.  The Federation said the session had only been provided for G4S staff working at Coventry’s Ricoh Arena during the Olympic football tournament. The session, on July 24, had focused on search techniques, Chris Jones, Secretary of the Joint Branch Board said, and further demonstrated that the police were helping to resolve G4S staffing issues. Just days earlier, an officer providing Olympic security cover in the West Midlands said he had been “shocked” when G4S staff appeared to have little knowledge of how to conduct checks or use search wands. He had taken it upon himself to intervene with a training session after noticing issues, the Federation claimed. The officer said: “Rightly or wrongly I spent the next 25 minutes showing all the security staff at this point the art of searching and the use of the electronic wand and what they should or shouldn’t be doing. “All of them stated that I had taught them more in 25 minutes than they had learnt on their initial input during their training.” Mr Jones added: “It is a whole topsy turvy driven world. The idea was they could come in and do it better than us. “This is the complete antithesis. We are having to train them.” The Federation says West Midlands, Warwickshire West Mercia and Staffordshire Police forces are providing more than 200 officers in total for the Olympics operation in the region. A G4S spokesman said the company was not paying police to deliver training – but said the Police Service had partly approved its curriculum for security training alongside LOCOG. He said: "G4S is totally committed to delivering a safe, secure and successful London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. “The company has put in place a rigorous process to ensure all recruits pass the necessary training, vetting and accreditation procedures and those who don't, will not be part of the London 2012 Olympic workforce. “G4S' training for Olympic recruits includes security industry training, which is set by the SIA and has been assured by external bodies, and role specific training based on LOCOG Standard Operating Procedures and following a curriculum approved by LOCOG, the police and other agencies. “We have received excellent feedback from many of the candidates on the quality of the training." Meanwhile, two Pakistani men who were set to work for G4S at the Ricoh Arena have been deported from the country, the UK Border Agency confirmed on July 26. The men, aged 24 and 21, had been arrested previously following accreditation checks which revealed they had overstayed on their visas.   Courtesy of SecurityOracle.com - The Secury Industry's Portal