Facilities management firm Incentive FM has become nationally accredited on the Community Safety Accreditation Scheme (CSAS).
CSAS, a voluntary scheme, sees chief constables accredit employed people already working to improve community safety with limited but targeted powers.
The scheme was created to develop a framework for public and private bodies to partner with the police to provide additional uniformed presence in communities.
Specific security employees of Incentive FM will now be available for CSAS appointment, capitalising on their skills and engagement with the community to assist police activity, said the company.
Andrew Robbins, associate director of security and risk at Incentive FM, said: “There will now be a strict selection process for security officers who will then undergo training by a CSAS-accredited provider, and in some cases the police will deliver the training directly. When our security officers are trained, they will be given authority by the relevant chief constable to have specific powers to help the police tackle crime and disorder.”
Since starting in 2002, the scheme has incorporated the services of neighbourhood wardens, hospital security guards, park wardens, shopping mall security officers, and train guards. CSAS-accredited people within Incentive FM will wear an official identification badge endorsed by the local police force on their uniforms. The scheme has benefited local communities with an increased uniformed presence on the streets, saving valuable police time to tackle with low-level crime and disorder.
With greater business involvement with the police, the scheme allows police officers to influence the training of Incentive FM to develop a two-way exchange of information between both agencies. When a chief constable accredits a person with powers under paragraph 1 of schedule 5 of the Police Reform Act 2002, he or she may also choose whether to give the accredited person the power to issue fixed penalty notices.
Robbins added: “As a business, we will look to have an incremental roll-out of the scheme across key locations to further enhance the solutions we provide to our clients. All schemes are managed, monitored and assessed at a local level by the responsible police force.”