The 2006 Focus on Robbery™ Symposium –
Simply the Best
02 October 2006

Delegates from a vast array of police, industry and academic disciplines applauded the fifth IBP International Focus on Robbery™ Symposium as one of the best national security conferences they have attended.

Symposium speakers pose for the camera with Richard Childs (seated, centre) and Digby Ram to his right.

Twelve top UK guest speakers including Assistant Chief Constable Grahame Bullock, Bedfordshire Police, John Hamilton, Head of Security for Bradford & Bingley plc, Detective Superintendent Bob Cummings, Met Police Flying Squad, and Tony Smillie, Director of Security for G4S Cash Services delivered incisive presentations on various issues regarding commercial robbery and Tiger kidnap.

Opening the two-day event, symposium chair Richard Childs QPM, former Lincolnshire Police Chief Constable and managing director ACPO CPI, welcomed over one hundred delegates from the UK and Europe comprising representatives from financial institutions, cash handling, retail, police, academia and security.

ACC Grahame Bullock leads the Tiger Kidnap session.

The symposium dealt with three main areas of research: ‘Intelligence Sharing Partnerships’, ‘Risk Assessing for Robbery’ and ‘The Ever-Present Threat of Tiger Kidnap’, during which delegates were treated to a series of first-class presentations from experts in their field.

Digby Ram, Managing Director of IBP International said: “In modern society it is absolutely essential that the security industry works closely with its partners in developing policies and measures that tackle violent crime. Bringing so many experienced practitioners together to discuss and debate how we go about this task is one way to achieve this goal – working in isolation is no longer an option.”

The outputs from the symposium will form part of the ongoing research being conducted by the Focus on Robbery™ Partnership led by IBP International in conjunction with the Institute of Criminal Justice Studies at Portsmouth University, the BSIA, financial institutions, industry and the police. The aim of the partnership is to harness expertise from every discipline that has an interest in understanding the reasons for criminal behaviour, analysing the effectiveness of current reduction measures and reducing violent crime.

2006 Focus on Robbery™ Symposium topics and speakers were:
Safer Cash – Detective Constable Colin Davies, West Mercia Police & BSIA
Operation Hawk-eye – Trevor Barton, Professional Witnesses
Intelligence and the Post Office – David Ryan, Security Consultant
Intelligence Sharing – Bob Cummings, MPS Flying Squad
Reducing Violent Forecourt Crime – Michael Hunt, Shell
Chip & PIN – Alex Robinson, APACS
Issues Facing the CVIT Industry – Tony Smillie, G4S Cash Services
Risk Assessing for Robbery – John Hamilton & Dale Bradley, Bradford & Bingley plc
The Ever-Present Threat of Tiger Kidnap session – facilitated by Asst Chief Constable Grahame Bullock, Bedfordshire Police
The Police Perspective – Chief Superintendent Paul Forrester, Merseyside Police
SOCA’s Involvement – David Jones, SOCA (Serious & Organised Crime Agency)
Kidnappers, What Makes Them Tick – Dr Karen Shalev, Institute of Criminal Justice Studies at Portsmouth University.

In concluding the symposium, Richard Childs commented: “This has been one of the very best security conferences I have had the privilege to chair. The quality of the agenda and speakers has been outstanding, bringing a wealth of experience that has been shared with delegates who were equal to the challenge in the overall debate that took place.”

For more information visit the Focus on Robbery™ Symposium area of this site, email or call +44 (0)1428 641399.