In previous webinars we have heard about the fraud risks in the speed with which Governments have offered financial help without adequate (or sometimes any) fraud risk assessments; and the dangers of people working from home where there are less developed systems of fraud control and less oversight. To what extent are forms of these challenges replicated in the Public sector and how are they different? This webinar will assess:

The types of fraud that most impact on the public sector and the ways these are changing
The effectiveness of the response from the public sector to current fraud challenges
The future trends for fraud and for the response in the public sector

Panellists:
Marc McAuley – Head of Counter Fraud Operations at Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy
Helen Peters – Fraud & Investigations Manager at Cheshire West and Chester Council
Capt. Praveen Dahiya – Founder & Managing Director at InQuest Advisories Pvt Ltd

A video and summary of this session is available here: https://www.theospas.com/2021/06/25/fraud-challenges-in-the-public-sector-in-what-ways-are-these-changing-and-how-effective-is-the-response/

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Why is it that around the world regulators have such a priority focus on security officers/guards and not on managers and directors? Is it because only frontline workers are considered important enough? All too often attention is paid to improving the education and training of officers/guards, upskilling them and ensuring they are competent, but can you ever have a competent team or company if only one level gets compulsory training? Is it the case that we have been too focussed on the competence of the frontline worker at the expense and to the detriment of those further up the hierarchy? This webinar will discuss:

Is the training of security managers and directors sufficient?
What are the gaps and where are the areas of improvement?
What is a proper balance between focussing on frontline workers and those further up the hierarchy?

Panellists:
Dr. Glen Kitteringham – Research Criminologist and President of Kitteringham Security Group Inc.
Dennis Shepp, CPP – Security Management Professional
Kevin Palacios – Ecuador Security and IFPO Latin America

A video and summary of this session is available here: https://www.theospas.com/2021/06/23/thinking-about-security-training-too-much-emphasis-on-the-security-officer-guard-and-not-enough-on-the-manager-director/

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The traditional view of the security sector that it was focussed on the protection of assets, has led some to narrowly define its work in these terms. So claims that it only works in the interests of those who can afford to pay persists. Yet the security sector generates many benefits way beyond this. In many countries most of a country’s national infrastructure is protected by the broader private security sector – security teams in organisations and security suppliers – and the protection offered by security extends way beyond a single locale. Good security practices at work have knock on benefits outside work. These are examples. This webinar will discuss:

In what ways does the security sector generate benefits beyond just its clients?
What more can it do and how?
What more can be done to publicise the good aspects of security?

Panellists:
Eddie Ingram – Managing Director at Bidvest Noonan
David Evans – CEO at Global Aware International and Chairman and Founder of Terrorist Information New York Group (TINYg)
Peter Prak – Director at Vertas B.V.

A video and summary of this session is available here: https://www.theospas.com/2021/06/18/who-are-the-beneficiaries-of-a-thriving-security-sector-beyond-clients/

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Building on previous webinars that have looked at different aspects of equality, diversity and inclusion, this one focusses on what needs to improve. This is a broad topic, there are many issues that merit consideration here although the security sector has not been good at discussing them all equally, just for example: age, disability, gender (reassignment), marriage and other types of partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion and belief, and/or sex. So what are the gaps and how might we begin to respond to them? What are the barriers and how might they be tackled? Is the security sector ready or not and why? What does a good initiative look like? This webinar will:

Discuss the current approaches to inspiring diversity and highlight the gaps
Explore the different elements of diversity and exclusion and why some have not been a focus
Evaluate what needs to happen next and who should be responsible

Panellists:
Oliver Curran – Deputy Security Manager at UCL
Jayne King – Head of Security and Site Services at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust
Houdah Al-Hakim – CEO and Founder of Quick Click Security and Board Member of Women’s Security Society

A video and summary of this session is available here: https://www.theospas.com/2021/06/16/inspiring-diversity-and-inclusion-in-security-what-needs-to-improve-and-how/

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There are many different types of radicalisation although in general terms we tend to identify it with conducting criminal acts of direct action to support some type of protest campaign, and there is often a link to terrorism. There are also different stages of the radicalisation process, each of which provide an opportunity to intervene to stop or halt progression to the next and ultimately to a malign outcome. Moreover, radicalisation can be motivated by a range of factors, including ideologies, religious beliefs, political beliefs and prejudices against particular groups of people and these too lend support to different preventive interventions. This webinar will discuss:

How big is the problem of radicalisation and what are the things which we should be most concerned about?
What are the key ways in which threats can best be managed?
What does good radicalisation prevention/management look like?

Panellists:
Ashton Kingdon – PhD Candidate at University of Southampton
Tochukwu Omenma – Senior Lecturer at University of Nigeria Nsukka
Kumar Ramakrishna – Head of International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research at S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies

A video and summary of this session is available here: https://www.theospas.com/2021/06/11/the-challenges-posed-by-responding-to-radicalisation-where-are-we/

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At present there is no legal requirement in most countries for a company to report a fraud. This is in contrast to money laundering, where there is a duty to raise a suspicious activity report (SAR) should money laundering be suspected. The widespread nature of fraud and its severe impacts raises the issue of whether the reporting of fraud should also be made mandatory, meaning that shareholders, employees, suppliers, and the general public would be fully aware of anything that may adversely affect the viability of a company. That seems only fair? But is it realistic, how can it be policed and are there better ways of achieving the same end result? This webinar will discuss:

The pros and cons of requiring the compulsory reporting of fraud
What the current barriers are to reporting fraud and how they can be overcome
The lessons to be learnt from countries that have been successful in requiring the mandatory reporting of fraud

Panellists:
Mike Haley – Chief Executive Officer at CIFAs
Dr David Shepherd – Senior Lecturer in Economic Crime at University of Portsmouth
Lee Fitzgerald – Director at Fraud Advisory Panel

A video and summary of this session is available here: https://www.theospas.com/2021/06/09/should-the-reporting-of-fraud-be-made-compulsory/

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Worldwide societies are adapting to the experiences of the pandemic. We have learnt in previous webinars about the ways in which society has had to adjust to restrictions and the role security has played. But what now? Is there an opportunity to build on the experiences of the last year or so, or has that world gone and we are back to where we were? What changes will last into the post pandemic world, what are the good things that need to be harnessed? What behaviours and attitudes do we need to jettison? Is this likely to happen and why? What are the characteristics of South Africa that will be presented as challenges and opportunities? This webinar will:

- Discuss the adaptations made by the security sector in South Africa
- Examine the emerging post pandemic experiences
- Discuss the barriers to developing a better security and how they can be managed

Panellists:
Tony Botes – Ingulule Consulting and Security Association of South Africa
Doraval Govender PhD., SOE, F.I.S – Department of Criminology and Security Science at UNISA and ASIS International South Africa
Johan Du Plooy – Roarr-Advisory (Pty) Ltd. and ASIS International South Africa
Andre Du Venage – Secure Logistics and Transport Asset Protection Association

Following the Thought Leadership panel discussion, winners of the inaugural South Africa OSPAs were announced virtually in collaboration with Securex South Africa

A video and summary of this session is available here: https://www.theospas.com/2021/06/03/the-south-africa-ospas-and-thought-leadership-webinar/

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We have heard how the world of manufacturing and distribution has been disrupted over the last year or so. The pandemic rendered some goods/parts difficult to obtain, made it difficult for some employees to work; some supply chains to operate. Meanwhile political upheaval, including Brexit in Europe, has disrupted supply chains. Some tastes have changed, some needs are different. But how have security manufacturers been affected? What changes are they sensing? What can they tell us about where security is heading? This webinar will:

Discuss the ways in which manufacturing have been impacted by the pandemic
Examine the new opportunities that are emerging and the barriers to achieving them
Realising the ways security is changing and the potential implications

Panellists:
Simon Cham – Technical Security Advisor at Warrior Doors
Jasper Weijman – CEO at Bavak Security Group

A video and summary of this session is available here: https://www.theospas.com/2021/06/02/security-manufacturers-the-signals-to-a-changing-security-landscape/

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There is now a wealth of evidence that security has not always enjoyed the best public image and indeed still faces challenges. There is a sense in which the ‘guns, guards, gates’ image pervades, especially amongst the public. A recent study found that most people end up working in security by chance; it is rarely a career of first choice. This provides further evidence, if any were needed, that security needs to represent itself. But what are its best bits and how should they be portrayed? This webinar will:

- Discuss the key benefits generated by good security
- Examine the drawbacks of current approaches to presenting the security sector to different audiences
- Present ideas for rethinking the image of security

Panellists:
Matthew Bull – Editor at International Security Journal and Security Journal UK
Peter Harrison – Managing Director at FGH Security Ltd
Rod Cowan – Writer & Director at Security is Your Business

A video and summary of this session is available here: https://www.theospas.com/2021/05/28/our-image-of-security-what-are-the-best-bits/

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The Association of Certified Fraud Examiners estimates that some three and half trillion pounds is lost through staff fraud/theft. The impacts on staff morale, internal trust, corporate reputation, not to say finances are amongst the impacts felt. Dishonesty amongst staff takes many forms, from petty fiddling at work to large scale theft and fraud. It includes those at the lower levels of an organisation to senior executives and all grades in between. Sometimes staff work with colleagues and sometimes outsiders. Staff are well placed to exploit weaknesses and loopholes in operations, which can make them a target for exploitation by (organised) criminals. In this webinar we will examine:

The extent to which staff dishonesty presents a different threat following the pandemic
The main challenges posed by staff dishonesty and the types of loopholes being exploited
The key prevention strategies

Panellists:
David Butler – Dispute Resolution Partner at Fox Williams LLP (UK)
Egidijus Gailiunas – AVSEC Adviser at Transport Competence Agency (Lithuania)
Martin Speed – Safety & Loss Program Manager at River Island (UK)
Elsine Van OS – Founder and CEO at Signpost Six (Netherlands)

A video and summary of this session is available here: https://www.theospas.com/2021/05/26/the-insider-threat-how-serious-is-staff-dishonesty-and-what-do-we-do-about-it/

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