Safeguarding businesses from intruders, thieves and damage is high on the agenda for East Anglian businesses, says Essex-based security specialists Shercurity, part of Shergroup – one of the UK’s leading providers of outsourced business solutions.

With the Security Industry Authority cleaning up the act of the security business through its Approved Contractor Scheme, Shercurity has proved it is ahead of the game.

All Shercurity staff are ex military and the brand is gaining a fast and enviable reputation for the quality of service it offers because it combines high-calibre guards, most of whom were in the Army, with state-of-the-art equipment.

Andrew Roberts, head of Shercurity, says it’s this combination that offers clients a cost effective and better way to safeguard their premises.

He says: “Technology on the market today enables businesses to employ just one or two top-quality guards in a key area of the site, for instance, instead of three or four. Technology is now so advanced that security cameras, accessed by the web, can be watched by security guards from a different site altogether.”

“Should they spot an intruder they can use a speaker system to either warn off the intruder, advise them they are being filmed or let them know that the police have been called, which is usually enough to get them to move on.”

“They can also alert a security guard to visit the location in question. The net result is it cuts down on the amount of patrols and therefore manpower needed to be employed at the site.”

Another cost saving has been on door-entry systems that can now be operated remotely using cameras, where before security staff would have to be on site to check out the visitor and then open the door.

Increasingly, Shercurity manpower is now being employed as front-of-house security – concierge, reception and building management staff.

“Building management can involve checking that all the health and safety aspects of the building are being complied with whilst the office is empty as well as escorting female members of staff to their vehicles after working late, or simply ordering taxis,” says Andrew.

In an industry where it is common to see a 70 per cent turnover of staff annually, Shercurity is bucking the trend: “Our staff turnover is nowhere near that,” says Andrew.

“We have such varied contracts and offer such interesting work that our staff – many of whom hold close-protection licences, and who have four or five times more training than most manned guards in the business – stay with us.”

Shercurity is part of Shergroup, one of the leading providers of outsourced business services, specialising in security enforcement, legal and IT solutions.

Shercurity offers clients cost-effective solutions backed up by a professional and experienced legal team. It is the only security company in the country to offer an integrated solution providing legal services (using Sherwin’s to obtain a writ of possession) along with High Court enforcement (using Sherbond to physically remove intruders from a site), thereby offering the fastest and most efficient solution to an urgent problem, re-securing customer premises.

Shercurity works in tandem with Sherbond, which specialises in removing squatters, eco warriors, protesters and travellers from property, including churches and vacant land. Once Sherbond has removed the squatters, it is then that Shercurity moves in to ensure unwanted visitors are kept out by installing low-cost physical security such as steel windows and doors, perimeter fencing or concrete barriers.

By undertaking mission analysis and thorough risk assessments, gathering intelligence and using the latest technology and equipment, Shercurity can quickly prevent further trespass, allowing clients to concentrate on what matters to them – their own business.

In fact, Shercurity makes such a good job of minding other peoples businesses that all they have to do is run them.