In what seems an increasingly volatile world, the issue of security is big business. This term increasingly refers to online security, but for many people and organizations, physical security comes first. People want to feel safe in their homes, walking the streets, or driving from one place to the other. For more and more employers, offering their workforce a secure environment is increasingly important; not only is a safe workplace good for morale and productivity, but it also greatly reduces the risk of being sued.
While this might sound cynical, the fact is that public and private institutions alike are finding it necessary to employ security personnel. In doing so, they want to be as sure as possible that these personnel are themselves trustworthy; this in turn requires applicants to pass background criminal record criteria, which can mean employers applying for an Enhanced CRB check.
Security Workers in Demand
Demand for security personnel has been growing extremely quickly since 2010, possibly because of the global uncertainty caused by the financial crash of 2008. Leading security businesses actually describe the rise in demand as “exponential”; this in reports on their own performance to shareholders. Unusually, data regarding recruitment numbers has been shared by both China and the USA, giving a very clear picture of demand which had a resulting positive effect on these companies’ share prices. This is in large part because, as well as reporting continuous growth, this is confidently predicted to last until 2025 and beyond.
Security employers categorise their offering into two categories; service and equipment. Servicing relates to personal security; this can be at venues (including workplaces) or even in neighbourhoods. Securing equipment usually relates to high value items, such as IT servers. When it comes to recruiting, security companies deal with either personal applications or commercial tenders; in the latter case, the company submitting the tender will ensure their own employees have been vetted.
Security Worker CRB Checks
In many ways, the type of background check needed for security work depends on the nature of the job itself. Understandably, service security means looking after human beings, and therefore can require a high level of DBS check; either standard or enhanced. Equipment security, on the other hand, may be carried out by workers who have applied for their own basic level check. The standard and enhanced checks can only be obtained by potential employers, who have to satisfy specific criteria in order to gain access to the required records.
Basic DBS checks only reveal unspent convictions. In this case, it could be that a security guard is required to ensure that a physical asset is not stolen, or that a premises is not breached. On the other hand, it may well be that the employer will want to know that their worker is themselves trustworthy, and not likely to steal the said item or take advantage of an empty premises. In most cases, therefore, security work will mean an applicant being subject to a standard or enhanced DBS check. Both of these are fairly easy to obtain if the right DBS required documents are enclosed with the application.
Brexit and Security Work
While the covid pandemic and political events of 2022 have dominated the international news agenda, it is worth remember what came before; namely, Brexit. For the security industry, the UK leaving the EU has had significant effects. In the main, this is because, prior to Brexit, a large proportion of the UK’s security work was done by EU nationals; since January 2020, these workers have had to leave the country.
While this means there should be more security work available for British workers, this does not mean these jobs will be filled quickly. This is at least in part because of the DBS checking process; potential employees may opt for work in other industries (such as HGV driving) which require less stringent background checks.
ACRO Certification
The Criminal Records Office (CRO) in the UK is still referred to for background checks, and known as ACRO. Once any check has been carried out by the country’s Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS), the result of this search goes onto what is known as an ACRO certificate. The advantage of using this method is that the ACRO check is portable; it gives potential employers confidence that the appropriate level of DBS search has been carried out by UK authorities. As one of the most trusted systems in the world, having an ACRO certificate is a definite advantage when seeking security work in many countries.
