Case Study

Leicestershire County Council is responsible for providing education, transport, planning, public safety, social care, libraries, waste management, and trading standards to the people of Leicestershire.

The County Hall in Glenfield provides the council’s headquarters, and it is from here the council oversees Leicestershire County, Leicester City, and Melton Mowbray security from a specialist helpdesk. Leicestershire County Council spans a vast geographical area, and so to keep citizens safe and maintain order, the council utilises professional remote security support through Samsic.

The Challenge

The challenge for Samsic regarding Leicestershire County Council is the broad range of issues security officers can encounter, and the large geographical area which needs to be monitored.

The Security team at Leicestershire County Council is required to provide a CCTV monitoring service of all smartlibraries, recreational parks and car parks, ensuring safety is maintained and crime is prevented. Out-of-hours helpdesk support is also required, where residents can call with emergency issues and be put through to the correct service via a switchboard. Issues a citizen may have can be greatly varied, and it is important that the Security Officer knows the correct procedure for each situation.

Leicestershire County Council reported that the quality of staff and managers alike in the security function was poor and that support was urgently needed. Security officers were poorly trained, lacked professionalism, and required more management support. With so many potential scenarios that could unfold as part of the role, process training was sorely lacking and the service quality for Leicestershire County Council residents was being compromised as a result.

Samsic thereby needed to ensure quality, management presence, and strong service operations were reintroduced to Leicestershire County Council’s security function.

The Solution

A specialist training program was created for the Security Officers and management team to develop them into a high-calibre, professional security function who could operate the technology and processes required to create demonstrative change.

New recruits commence the contract with a three-week training course to provide them with the knowledge required to manage the helpdesk. Additionally, once in the role, they are able to refer to a digital reporting suite, a collation of training support guides and information to help complete the processes and forms required. Regardless of the issues that come through the helpdesk telephone line – Security Officers are equipped to handle it.

Security Officers are supported in surpassing newly introduced key performance indicators (KPIs) and quality assessments. Management visibility on-site was also increased so that for Security Officers and Leicestershire County Council management alike, constant feedback can be collected, and issues can be resolved quickly.

Technological innovation SamTech, a cloud-based platform that aggregates the management of mobile patrolling and guarding, was introduced to assist with client relations. With SamTech, Leicestershire County Council are sent paperless reports in real-time which inform of any site-wide issues and help to improve service standards. To improve keyholding across the Leicestershire County Council estate, SentriKey was supplied. SentriKey is an auditable, secure key box, useful for a remote team as it ensures that keys stay on the site where they are required, and first response to any emergencies or alarms can be made by the closest Officer available.