Page 18 - AUCSO Newsletter 5_Neat

Top trends in the university security sector

AUCSO Chief Operating Officer, Julie Barker talks about the latest
threats and challenges members are tackling in the university security
industry at the moment … And the common denominator is that it’s
becoming more and more about protecting people, and not just
buildings!

There are some key challenges facing universities in today’s fast-changing world and new threats
are entering the sector every day. For example, the advance of tech and massive increase in cyber-
crime across the globe are just two components, which are impacting on students and universities
and set to feature centre stage in months to come.

1) Terrorism

Terrorism remains a real threat and universities will be keeping their security arrangements under
regular review, especially with the pending changes to the UK CONTEST strategy. This includes
the Protect Duty, which is likely to become enshrined in legislation in due course.

Universities will need to plan now to
revise their security arrangements to
mitigate the risk of a terrorist attack, as it
is probable that many sites will fall within
the parameters of ‘Publicly Accessible
Locations’.

To ensure universities evolve at a pace
that will be necessary to meet the Protect
Duty, there will be a need for forward
financial planning. This is not only in
terms of physical resources and
operational effectiveness but also in the
use of technology to support university’
communities, assets, and reputation.

The expected introduction and implementation of the requirements of this law will inevitably be a
challenge for university security services. Members across the UK are concerned about the financial,
and indeed the resource implication, so this will necessitate careful consideration.

2) Changing role of security services teams

We have seen, and are continuing to see, a change in the nature of the role of security teams in
universities as they become more involved in dealing with the mental health of staff, students, and
visitors to our institutions. There’s a fundamental shift from looking after buildings to looking after
people.

In order for security teams to achieve this fundamental shift in their role, there will need to be some
significant re-modelling of operational practices, new collaborations with other departments and

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