CSSC Archives - City Security Magazine https://citysecuritymagazine.com/category/cssc-companies/ News and advice for security professionals Wed, 10 Jan 2024 11:52:56 +0000 en-GB hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.8.3 https://citysecuritymagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Logo-Square-300x300-1.jpg CSSC Archives - City Security Magazine https://citysecuritymagazine.com/category/cssc-companies/ 32 32 CSSC supporting a security operation centre – a case study https://citysecuritymagazine.com/cssc-companies/cssc-supporting-a-security-operation-centre-a-case-study/ Wed, 14 Feb 2024 01:33:00 +0000 https://citysecuritymagazine.com/?p=13301 CSSC supporting a security operation centre – a case study The Cross-sector Safety and…

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CSSC supporting a security operation centre – a case study

The Cross-sector Safety and Security Communications (CSSC) is a partnership between police, local and national government and the private sector, helping businesses by distributing authoritative safety and security information.

There are CSSC hubs in each of the UK regions. In this update, we hear from Darden Security, a member of CSSC Eastern Region, on how CSSC supports their security operation.

With the ever-increasing amount of both national and global unrest there has never been more relevance for a service such as CSSC. CSSC is a platform that I use on a daily basis as a head of a security operations centre in Cambridge. I find that having the ability to share timely and accurate information is incredibly easy and it gives me confidence that the information is being shared within a likeminded community.

With CSSC I have the ability to keep both client and staff informed of anything that will affect their safety, livelihood or day-to-day pattern of life. It also paints a picture for us to understand the wider scenarios that are currently taking place around the globe and on home soil.

A very live and recent example of this was the information that was shared during the UK’s Armistice Day events. We were given accurate feeds of where parades and protests would be taking place. This involved everything from mapping of routes to suspected numbers and suspected intentions of those taking part in the protests. This meant we were able to inform our clients and all staff in geat detail of any disruption to service that may affect their operational output.

I started here five months ago as the head of Security Operations Centre (SOC). The mission at the time was to transfer what was a functional control room into an SOC and one of the challenges was identifying platforms where information and intelligence can be collated. CSSC does this for me in a fantastic no-nonsense manner.

Going forward, I will be striving to actively use the CSSC platform more to disseminate timely information, especially for the East Anglia area. London, for us, has been very fruitful and we’ve managed to get some concise and timely information out to our clients and staff, and this is well ahead of the main event actually taking place, whatever that event may be.

I was fortunate enough to attend this year’s CSSC dinner charity event held in London.  This was a great event and it was very clear from the large turnout of people that there is a real community which is keen to share information and make sure people are always kept fully informed. The relationship between Dardan security and CSSC is very strong, and I really look forward to taking that relationship forward in the future and growing the network.

Thanks to the team for giving us such a good platform to inform and keep people safe.

Steve Armon

Head of SOC and Mobile Service,

Dardan Security.

For further information, please visit:

www.thecssc.com

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Cross-sector Safety and Security Communications (CSSC) spring update 2023 https://citysecuritymagazine.com/cssc-companies/cssc-update-spring-2023/ Mon, 03 Apr 2023 11:30:03 +0000 https://citysecuritymagazine.com/?p=12658 Cross-sector Safety and Security Communications (CSSC) spring update 2023: focusing on VaWG Cross-sector Safety…

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Cross-sector Safety and Security Communications (CSSC) spring update 2023: focusing on VaWG

Cross-sector Safety and Security Communications (CSSC) continues to work in partnership to share authoritative security-related messages at pace to businesses and communities across the UK.

There is ongoing growth in the number of messages cascaded from the authoritative partners (who include police services, local and central government) and the total number of recipient industry leaders (the representatives for each industry sector who cascade the messaging within their sector).

Controlling this initiative is the CSSC Hub, which acts as an interface between those that have information and those that want to receive it. During 2023, the hub team is examining ways of streamlining the registration process, to allow applicants to self-register onto the messaging platform.

The major theme for this year, in conjunction with the City of London Crime Prevention Association (CoLCPA)  is to provide support and messaging for the prevention of ‘Violence against Women and Girls’ (VAWG). The partnership includes the Safer Business Network, domestic abuse groups, Metropolitan Police Service, British Transport Police and City of London Police, and aims to support this major national police initiative.

A total of 1,674 CSSC national and regional messages have been sent in the last eight years. The average number of messages sent during 2022 was 34 per month.

CSSC messages are currently sent to a national cascade of 3,692 Industry Sector Leaders.

The increased awareness of CSSC throughout the UK has resulted in a large number of registrations by local government authorities. 154 local authorities are currently registered with CSSC. These consist of County, Borough, City and Town Councils.

Click here to learn more about the CSSC and how to join

Read more updates from Cross-sector Safety and Security Communications (CSSC)

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CSSC in 2016: a framework for success https://citysecuritymagazine.com/police-partnerships/cssc-framework-success/ Mon, 20 Aug 2018 07:16:53 +0000 https://citysecuritymagazine.com/?p=4360 Delivering security through connectivity: CSSC in 2016 Founded in November 2011, the Cross-sector Safety…

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Delivering security through connectivity: CSSC in 2016

Founded in November 2011, the Cross-sector Safety and Security Communications (CSSC) was established as a direct response to the realisation that, with the London 2012 Olympics fast approaching, there needed to be a broad and robust communications and intelligence infrastructure in place that had not previously existed, and which would bridge and bring together police, security agencies and the private sector.

The lack of such a framework was highlighted in November 2011 during the riots that occurred across several English cities. In the wake of these events the then-Deputy Assistant Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, Janet Williams, requested a bigger version of Project Griffin that would cover the entire community and improve police-to-civilian communications in anticipation of the Olympics. The CSSC was launched in response and was endorsed by the Minister of State for Security and Immigration at the time, James Brokenshire, as well as myself, Sir David Veness CBE QPM, who had previously served as Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations Department of Safety & Security and as Assistant Commissioner (Specialist Operations) New Scotland Yard, and Janet Williams herself.

Setting up the CSSC

Project Griffin, which I had co-founded in 2004, was a strong starting point when thinking about the CSSC as it had proven the concept of harmonising the public and private sector security industry. Project Griffin had made some quantum leaps as it formalised information sharing between law enforcement and private sector, and has been quoted in Hansard four times as a highly successful example of public and private partnership.

The challenge in setting up the CSSC was compounded by the Olympics fast approaching, but we quickly identified 24 industry sectors and media, including hotels and transportation, and the key security players in each of those disciplines who would be responsible for both disseminating information and providing feedback. These individuals are known as Industry Sector Leads (ISLs). It is important to understand that the CSSC is not merely a top-down communications channel, but a two-way communications vehicle, and information coming into the hub is as important as that being sent out.

Using the pharmaceutical industry as an example of the process in action, the industry trade association has 900 core members. The association’s principle person (the ISL) would be involved in bridge calls, chaired by myself and with police input. An email would be drafted that they would send to their members which, in turn, would pass it around; for example, a message to Boots the Chemist would be send to every Boots the Chemist outlet in the country. The information cascades outwards from a central core. It’s a very simple way of doing things.

We used this concept for both the Olympic and Paralympic games, and we have continued to refine it ever since. We are currently revising the ISLs to make sure we have the right people doing the right thing in the right way.

14 million recipients: CSSC in 2016

As a result, we now have 35 industry sectors and a distribution of around 14 million recipients. If we want to send out a message today, we can do that in under 20 minutes and get to 14 million businesses and people.

We have also recently created a core team of ten senior security people who, should an incident occur, can ‘stand up the Hub’, in other words staff the CSSC Hub which acts as the interface between those who have information and those who need to receive it.

To further improve the CSSC, a study was initiated by Sir David Veness CBE QPM (Co-Chair Consultative Board CSSC) in the aftermath of the Paris attacks of 2015. This study would serve as a review into enhancing the engagement between business and public bodies in the UK in a rapidly changing security environment, and would be crucial in determining the future direction of the CSSC.

Findings

Amongst its many findings, conclusions and recommendations the study identified seven broad threat categories that have the ability to interrupt business and cause damage to reputation and brand. These threat categories are Business Crime, Cyber Crime, Transport Disruption, Environmental Disruption, Terrorism, Critical Incident and Health. However, these seven threat categories do not map naturally to a specific government department, where departments operate as ‘Lead Government Department’. This alone underlines the importance and the scope of the CSSC which, through Information Sharing Protocols with required departments, agencies and bodies, enables the provision of information and advice for communicating to the public.

The report has also mapped a way forward for the initiative with a more structured and robust management structure needed to ensure administration and data management is as robust as it needs to be. While funding such improvements is a challenge, the CSSC currently benefits from the generosity of members, including the CBRE (property management company) which has donated a person for three days a week for three years, and London First which has also loaned a person for data administration.

While there is still a lot of work to be done to get the CSSC to where it ultimately needs to be, both in structure and scope, its effectiveness cannot be doubted. Current and future London Resilience Forum (LRF) plans see the CSSC as the key messaging service to broadcast critical messages both on a routine basis and in times of crisis, and in 2013 the CSSC was awarded the Best Contribution to Continuity & Resilience Award at the CIR Business Continuity Awards.

Don Randall MBE

Co-founder CSSC, Project Griffin and chair of the City of London Crime Prevention Association.

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CSSC in the East Midlands: Regional Management Board https://citysecuritymagazine.com/police-partnerships/cssc-east-midlands-regional-management/ Wed, 01 Aug 2018 09:32:38 +0000 https://citysecuritymagazine.com/?p=5315 Cross-sector Safety and Security in the East Midlands In March, over 30 Business Champions,…

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Cross-sector Safety and Security in the East Midlands

In March, over 30 Business Champions, from across the East Midlands, assembled for their first Industry Sector Lead meeting, which was generously hosted at the offices of Capital One in Nottingham. The majority of the business sectors are now covered.

Presentations were given during the meeting by Inspector Rob Taylor from Nottinghamshire Police, on the updated terrorist threat across the UK; by Wing Commander Andy Bunce from the Royal Air Force, who discussed leadership styles in security management; and by Richard Stones OBE from Next Retail, who delivered a presentation about business crime. The event was CPD accredited.

Regional Management Board

The group has also established a Regional Management Board which includes Steve Goad from Capital One in Nottingham, Ruth Nixon from Zycomm Electronics in Ripley, Paul Crane from Cavendish Nuclear in Leicester and Anthony Day from Leicestershire Police. The East Midlands region of CSSC is now up and running and has already distributed messages following the tragic events that took place recently in France. It is very encouraging that so many security professionals have put themselves forward to support this important business initiative.

CSSC in the East Midlands is working in partnership with Counter Terrorism Security Advisors from all five police forces in the region and is being supported by Next Retail and Poppleston Allen licensing solicitors.

Andrew Nicholls

Chairman, CSSC East Midlands

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CSSC: success in numbers after five years https://citysecuritymagazine.com/police-partnerships/cssc-success-numbers/ Mon, 23 Jul 2018 08:54:34 +0000 https://citysecuritymagazine.com/?p=4462 CSSC – success in numbers The CSSC initiative has been in place for more…

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CSSC – success in numbers
The CSSC initiative has been in place for more than five years. The statistics below are a measure of its success:
  • Nearly 9 million people can now be reached on the CSSC London cascade.
  • A total of 170 CSSC messages were sent or bridge calls held between 1st November 2014 and 26th October 2016.
  • The six eastern county Police Services in the Eastern Regional Intelligence Unit send their bulletins for distribution through CSSC.
  • The CSSC hub team took an active role in the multi emergency service exercise.
  • Unified Response in 2016. Industry Sector Leaders were chosen to represent each of the 33 industry sectors with a further five representing the BIDs and five representing the Business Representative Organisations.
  • 27 organisations across 30 tables with 300 individuals attended the 2016 charity dinner, combined with JSAFE, in October. Nearly £20,000 was raised for charity.

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CSSC receives praise for support of Glasgow 2014 https://citysecuritymagazine.com/police-partnerships/cssc-praise-support-glasgow-2014/ Thu, 12 Jul 2018 10:11:55 +0000 https://citysecuritymagazine.com/?p=3331 Business responds positively to CSSC at Glasgow 2014 A recent business survey, following the…

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Business responds positively to CSSC at Glasgow 2014

A recent business survey, following the use of CSSC during Glasgow 2014, has provided very positive feedback.

Johanna Buchanan, Project Manager, CSSC Scotland, summarised the findings at a CSSC breakfast briefing, with some powerful statistics:

  • 97% feel CSSC Scotland is an effective means of enabling communication between the public and private.
  • 94% agreed that the information was timely and 89% said it was relevant to their business.

The responses showed that businesses found the initiative to be well managed:

“The information was concise, timely, consistent and very relevant to our business. Really supported me with forward planning and communications to all our staff. It was invaluable and I would love to hear that this will continue as legacy.”

The project began in January with testing, exercising and sharing of business guidance and information. In June and July, the Queen’s Baton Relay made its journey throughout Scotland, followed by the games themselves, where CSSC was used to keep businesses informed, between 23 July and 4 August 2014.

Following the close of the Games, the survey demonstrated how opinion has shifted in some key areas, when compared to a similar survey in 2013:

  • 90% now believe that the public and private sectors effectively share information on safety, security and resilience, as compared to 40% previously.

CSSC Scotland will continue to be used during the other major events in Scotland, including the Referendum and the Ryder Cup. It will transition to the new operational delivery team between October and December 2014. If you are interested in becoming part of the team, or any other aspect of the project, then please email scotland@cssc.gb.com.

Your views on CSSC requested

At a recent breakfast briefing for CSSC Industry Sector Leads (ISLs), Sir David Veness announced a two–year review of CSSC. He said, “It has been decided that it is timely to initiate a review; your thoughts on where it should concentrate are invited.”

 

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Glasgow 2014 embraces CSSC https://citysecuritymagazine.com/police-partnerships/glasgow-2014-embraces-cssc/ Thu, 12 Jul 2018 09:34:48 +0000 https://citysecuritymagazine.com/?p=3328 Security Partnerships Glasgow 2014 – The best Commonwealth Games ever Following our interview earlier…

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Security Partnerships
Glasgow 2014 – The best Commonwealth Games ever

Following our interview earlier this year with Deputy Chief Constable Steve Allen from Police Scotland, Security Director and Gold Commander for Glasgow 2014, we caught up with him recently to see how the security of the games went in practice.

He was very positive about Glasgow 2014, “The city was buzzing and the atmosphere created an environment in which people felt excited but safe.”

Steve explained that detailed modelling and analysis was carried out to predict the behaviour of the crowds and any potential pinch points. Hundreds of thousands of people moved around the city over the course of the Games without incident. “There was some pressure on the infrastructure over the first weekend, but with a combination of proactive management and the patience and good humour of the public, problems were quickly resolved.”

Successful security

In terms of overall security, Steve also believes the games were a real success, with no major safety or security issues. “The integration of military, police (including BTP), private sector and prison service worked really well and the partnership command and control arrangements went to plan.”

This best practice learnt won’t be lost. There were two key lessons for Steve. “Firstly, to ensure the safety and security planning takes account of the specific context – no two Games are the same and the political, cultural, economic and social contexts have to be understood and responded to. In Glasgow 2014, it was essential to understand and navigate the political set up in Scotland, its relationship with Westminster and the timing of the Games, just before the Scottish Referendum.”

The second lesson is about “ways in which you can secure the event long before the gates open, with clear communication and coherent messages about determination, professionalism, capability, preparedness – all of these shape the mindset of a would-be attacker at the point they would be starting to plan. We adopted most of the principles of Operation Servator in this area”.

The private security involvement was a success too. “The companies involved worked incredibly hard to overcome the challenges of recruiting, training, accrediting, accommodating and transporting thousands of staff. They should be very proud of how they took their place as part of the integrated safety and security workforce of around 15,000 people. They played a full part in making Glasgow 2014 the ‘Best Games Ever’.”

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CSSC Update Spring 2014 https://citysecuritymagazine.com/police-partnerships/cssc-update-spring-2014/ Tue, 10 Jul 2018 10:26:06 +0000 https://citysecuritymagazine.com/?p=3070 CSSC Update – Spring 2014 CSSC has widened the range of authority bodies that…

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CSSC Update – Spring 2014

CSSC has widened the range of authority bodies that circulate their information direct to the Industry Sector Leaders (ISLs) within the project.

Andy Archibald, the Head of Cyber security at the National Crime Agency, has recently finalised arrangements for regular monthly bulletins from the NCA to be circulated through CSSC. The Senior Intelligence Officer for Threats/Alerts at NCA subsequently requested that a combined NCA and NFIB alert message on a ‘Construction Industry Mandate Fraud’ be circulated by CSSC.

Exercise Safer City

Twenty ISLs and the CSSC project hub teams in London and Scotland took part in the GLA London Resilience Team table top ‘Exercise Safer City’, held in November.

During three pre-planned conference calls, a two-way flow of extremely useful advice and guidance was discussed and supplied by the ISLs, which had a profound effect on the course of the exercise.

CSSC Table Top exercise

Over 60 ISLs took part in a major CSSC ‘Table Top’ exercise at Credit Suisse in Canary Wharf in April. Sir David Veness opened the event with special guests including Sir David Wootton and Richard Barnes.

CSSC Charity Celebration Dinner 2014

Invitations have been sent out for the charity dinner to be held on Tuesday, 14th October 2014, at the Grange City Hotel, Coopers Row. Individual seats will be £85 and full tables of ten places at £850. Any individuals or organisations who wish to book seats or a whole table at this very popular charity dinner, should contact CSSC Secretary Irona Wilson at admin@cityoflondoncpa.org.uk

A new CSSC website was launched in early March. This has been designed to incorporate the additional CSSC regions being developed around the UK.

The CSSC Scotland hub team has already formed, ready for the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, and it is planned that an East Anglia region will be established later this year.

Easy facilities have been provided for companies and organisations to register for messaging. www.thecssc.com

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Steve Allen: CSSC Scotland and Glasgow 2014 https://citysecuritymagazine.com/police-partnerships/steve-allen-cssc-scotland-glasgow-2014/ Tue, 10 Jul 2018 09:30:28 +0000 https://citysecuritymagazine.com/?p=3047 Interview with Steve Allen An exclusive interview with the Deputy Chief Constable of Police…

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Interview with Steve Allen

An exclusive interview with the Deputy Chief Constable of Police Scotland and Security Director for Glasgow 2014 Steve Allen.

The Commonwealth Games come to Glasgow in July 2014, with an anticipated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion, one million ticket holders and hundreds of thousands of visitors to Scotland.

Police Scotland is responsible for all aspects of safety and security at the Games. Deputy Chief Constable Steve Allen is the Security Director and Gold Commander. On a recent visit to London, we met up with DCC Allen to learn about the security and safety operation and the man heading it up.

In contrast to London 2012, the majority of Glasgow 2014 will be located in the city itself, “All the infrastructure for the Games is cheek by jowl with the city, bang in the middle of Glasgow.” This scale and complexity brings its own challenges, “It will double population of Glasgow, putting pressure on the infrastructure, such as transport and accommodation. But I am confident our planning is more than good enough to meet the challenge.”

Complexity also comes with the governance structure of the Commonwealth Games. “The Chief Constable is responsible for the whole safety and security operation, not just policing. This brings many advantages in terms of simplifying decision making – but complexities in terms of relationships between very different organisations.”

Private Security involvement

UK security suppliers will play an integral role in delivering the security and safety operation, together with police officers and military personnel. Private security suppliers are performing two main functions: safety stewarding and guarding. In both areas plans are well advanced.

There was some surprise that G4S were considered. DCC Allen is robust about this decision “Every company signed up has been through a rigorous and competitive process. They must be able to assure us of their ability to deliver. We have not just taken their word for it, we have taken a very close look at their plans. I am entirely confident that they can deliver and have no qualms. If any company has learnt the lesson from London 2012, it will be G4S.”

Businesses get ready

Following the London 2012 model, the Glasgow 2014 Organising Committee has produced a Business Ready Guide for local businesses. “We are asking local businesses to carry out an impact assessment and review business continuity and emergency plans.”

Glasgow 2014 Legacy

As with London 2012, legacy is a key factor for Glasgow 2014. “I am determined we don’t only do things we must, but that we do the things we can,” says DCC Allen.

CSSC Scotland

Building on the success of CSSC in London and across the UK, CSSC Scotland is being implemented in support of the security and safety plans for Glasgow.

“CSSC Scotland is accelerating at a pace and will go live on 14th April, 100 days prior to the event. It provides a very fast, flexible way of communicating. It also has the wider benefit of supporting our overall approach as Team Scotland, bringing people together to work in partnership. It is a significant component of the legacy that will be left in place.”

A further legacy of the Games is Police Scotland Youth Volunteers, an organisation similar to the Police Cadets, being developed in partnership with the youth charity Young Scot. At the same time, games-related fitness is spreading throughout the Force. Police Scotland have asked all staff to set a health, well-being or fitness goal to be achieved by 2014. “This has been taken up with great enthusiasm, including senior managers in Tayside cycling the boundary of their division.”

Police Scotland Amalgamation

April will see the first anniversary of Police Scotland, when the eight previous forces combined to form a single, national force. DCC Allen is clear that the amalgamation is impacting really positively on plans for Glasgow 2014, “We are using officers from all over Scotland and this is a much simpler process. We are a national organisation, so we are much more consistent in terms of equipment, command and control and specialist functions. It is much easier to balance the requirements of the Games with delivering business as usual.”

There was considerable concern from the public on how this national force would deliver a police service that continues to meet the needs of the local community. “The difference between areas, such as Central Glasgow and Stornoway, is profound, not just the geography but the whole nature of community and the style and culture of policing.” DCC Allen believes Police Scotland is meeting this challenge by being very clear about its organisational values of integrity, fairness and respect. Together with their code of ethics, they provide a clear framework for how officers behave and deliver policing. Alongside this, Police Scotland’s approach is to “empower each divisional commander to meet the needs of the local communities”.

Steve Allen

Steve Allen has moved up country, not only geographically but in rank. His policing career began with 17 years in Avon and Somerset, followed by 7 years in the Metropolitan Police; his last move to Scotland in 2010 was with a promotion to Deputy Chief Constable Lothian and Borders.

And how does DCC Allen feel about being responsible for Scotland’s biggest sporting and cultural event? “I feel a huge sense of responsibility. I recognise just how important this is for the reputation of the UK and Scotland and for Police Scotland – our first really major international event as a new organisation. Clearly, there is real excitement in being involved. This is a massive summer for Scotland, including the 700th anniversary of the Battle of Bannockburn, the Ryder Cup and of course the Referendum, all of which will put Scotland squarely on the international stage.”

Andrea Berkoff

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CSSC extends its reach in 2014 https://citysecuritymagazine.com/police-partnerships/cssc-extends-its-reach-in-2014/ Tue, 10 Jul 2018 08:44:31 +0000 https://citysecuritymagazine.com/?p=3010 CSSC – A partnership for safer cities Recently officially launched as a charity at…

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CSSC – A partnership for safer cities

Recently officially launched as a charity at a Gala dinner in the City of London, Cross-sector Safety and Security Communications (CSSC) is continuing to extend its reach. In this article, Graham Tucker, Project Manager, explains the background and detailed workings of this innovative project.

CSSC was founded partly to ensure businesses could continue to operate efficiently during the Olympics and to be prepared in the event of a major security incident, but also to ensure that in the future, London and the UK had a partnership-based framework to communicate with businesses, help them address resilience and emergency preparedness issues and bring together public and private sector to work cohesively and cooperatively.

The initiative is now firmly established in London, and the restructured post-Olympics Hub team is working hard on national rollout. CSSC Scotland is already in place in preparation for the Commonwealth Games, and we even have expressions of interest from outside the UK by countries wishing to emulate the CSSC model.

Sir David Veness CBE QPM, one of the founders of CSSC says, “I am delighted with this momentum, and even more so as our efforts have been recognised at the Business Continuity Awards 2013, held on 30 May at which CSSC was awarded Best Contribution to Continuity & Resilience, beating some formidable competition.”

Olympics Legacy

CSSC featured highly in a very detailed report entitled ‘Applying The Security Lessons Of London 2012’ that was published on 19 April 2013. One of the key lessons learned was that there is no need for a huge budget. The CSSC was made up of volunteers from 24 private and public sectors, and from 29 different industry sectors. During London 2012, these volunteers worked together as one team and every day a call was made to all sectors. Another key lesson was to help your neighbours, whether large or small. The CSSC worked with everyone from the International Liaison Unit for the needs of the international community to TfL for local transport movement.

The CSSC Hub – So how does the CSSC actually work?

At the centre of the project is the “CSSC Hub”, which acts as the interface between those who have information and those who need to receive it. The Hub is in permanent direct contact with the police and other authorities and the Industry Sector Leaders from the various business groups, trade organisations and major individual businesses.

Updates flowing from the authorities can be shared quickly with the relevant business contacts who, in turn, cascade the information quickly through to their own networks, which, in the case of larger firms, may well include nearby smaller businesses that do not have formal business continuity or security functions.

Since the Olympic Games, the Hub has become a virtual communications network, maintaining contact and providing advice about ongoing threats and risks, while maintaining the facility to ‘stand up’ the communications hub when circumstances demand.

A new CSSC Scotland Hub has been created for the run-up to the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow in 2014. It is intended to create other regional hubs in the future, and the project is being exported to India, South Africa, Australia, Hong Kong and Canada.

The Bank of England

The Bank of England has been at the heart of the CSSC project since its beginning and it remains so to this day. The fact that it is seen as a neutral non-profit making organisation within the corporate world has enabled it to carry out many of the important functions without being questioned about advertising or commercial gain. The Bank of England security control room has provided a 24/7 service for hosting the ‘Conference Bridge calls’ and has the ability to send out calendar invites to calls and ‘Imodus’ messages to the ISLs within minutes of being requested.

Industry Sector Leaders

The Industry Sector Leader (ISL) role is fundamental to the CSSC concept and structure. Each business sector is now represented by one or more ISLs and the successful delivery relies on having committed and effective ISLs who are able to:

  • Share and disseminate safety and security messages.
  • Represent their specific industry sector or member organisation and act as a conduit between that sector and the CSSC hub.
  • Act as a focal point for their sector, gathering information on issues affectingbusiness, sharing good practice and information amongst their sector networks and passing relevant information back to the hub.
  • Promote the work of CSSC at industry events and extend reach as far as possiblewithin their sector.

The CSSC project currently has over 190 ISLs and deputies spread over 29 business sectors, who cascade information through their various business links, trade organisations and contacts. The potential reach for CSSC messaging is nearly 8 million people throughout the nation.

Role of Business

Business involvement in the project has included several organisations seconding their own staff to the CSSC project team, under the chairmanship of Sir David Veness, as well as representatives from individual firms and sectors contributing to its strategy and management.

Although the CSSC project has focused on London, the business representatives and associations that comprise the network are local, national and international and the model could be replicated in any city. London business is made up of 80% of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs).  It is these SMEs that CSSC communicates with, and the two-way communication is a key element.

Until CSSC was created there had been no other way for the majority of businesses to communicate with law enforcement, the Home Office, the Mayor’s office, Government, or London Resilience, etc.

Information Flow

The unique point about the CSSC project is that the information flow is two-way.

A key lesson from the geographically widespread disorder in August 2011 and a number of international terrorist incidents in recent years has been the importance of a two way flow of information.

Through the Hub, real-time information can be fed back, supporting the authorities in their efforts and helping optimise the use of resources. There are also on-line resources to help businesses prepare to mitigate specific risks.

CSSC Methods of communication include:

Conference Bridge calls

For serious or urgent incidents, at the request of the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), or any of the recognised authorities, an invitation to all the Industry Sector Leaders can be sent out, via the CSSC Hub team, asking them to join an urgent unscheduled telephone ‘Conference Bridge call’. This can be achieved within an hour.

During the lead-up to major events or on occasions when advanced notice can be given, a scheduled ‘Conference call’ can be arranged and these are usually timed for the day before the event.

Recent bridge calls were held prior to the Baroness Thatcher funeral, and before the ‘G8’ demonstrations. The MPS also made use of the scheduled telephone conference bridge call system following the week of G8, to gain feedback from Industry Sector leaders, about the Police handling of the public disorder.

This exemplifies the unique two-way flow of information within the CSSC.

‘Vocal’ Imodus messaging

The ‘Vocal’ Imodus messaging platform is now used to send out both serious and less urgent communications. These are given red, amber or green priority status. Authoritative documents sent by this method include the MPS ‘Counter Terrorist Security Bulletin’ and similar documents from the City of London Police, other police services and government agencies. Numerous advice and security articles have been broadcast covering subjects such as cyber crime, fraud, burglary, robbery and theft.

Recent communications have included:

On 23 May 2013, a message from Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe following the murder of Drummer Lee Rigby in Woolwich.

On 28 June the MPS wished to give notice about conditions imposed on an intended procession and assembly in Woolwich on 29 June, due to their concerns that it would lead to serious public disorder.

On the same day Transport for London requested CSSC to send out TFL advice to Londoners and visitors to the Capital to plan their journeys for Saturday 29 and Sunday 30 June, when a large number of events and concerts took place, including concerts at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in Stratford, the O2 and Wembley, as well as the Wimbledon Tennis Championships and the Pride Festival in central London.

CSSC Business Bulletin

The CSSC has now developed a monthly Business Bulletin which features advice and guidance documents written by experts in their field. The fourth edition has just been circulated to all ISLs which addressed the subjects of ‘Know your Banknotes’ and ‘Travelling Safely in an Uncertain World’.

Website

The CSSC Project also has its own website for general information at www.thecssc.com

Graham Tucker

Project Manager

www.thecssc.com

 

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