The Royal Canadian Mounted Police has opened up its counter terrorism workshop to the security industry. G4S in Canada was the first security company to partner with the RCMP and host a three day workshop with officers and customers from across the country. 

 

G4S has partnered with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), to present a three-day Counter Terrorism Information Officer workshop. Over 150 G4S customers and employees participated in the session which took place at the City of Mississauga Library in Toronto, Canada.

 

Designed by the Public Engagement Unit of the RCMP, the programme aims to harmonise the work of the Canadian law enforcement community in identifying, preventing, responding to and investigating criminal activities related to terrorism and national security threats. Participants received terrorism awareness training, information and intelligence from experienced members working within the national security environment.

 

The sessions explored recognising terrorism event pre-incident indicators, cyber terrorism, the dark web and the use of the internet, suspicious incident reporting and an overview of the national security environment. All of the sessions emphasised the role that private security employees can play in countering terrorism and the importance of “See something? Hear something? Say something.”

 

A customer of G4S in Canada, Jeff Scratch, Global Security Manager, General Motors of Canada Company, offered his opinion on the workshop; "This is a great program - the Counter Terrorism Information Officer program - in my opinion, is a great advancement in private security. The fact that they (the RCMP) have reached out to us for help - it is normally the other way around. For private security professionals to provide input, and be a part of the conversation is so valuable to the protection of our people, product, and property across Canada"

 

On the final day, G4S conducted an open panel featuring customers and partners from a wide range of businesses and closed the workshop with a question and answer session. The panel was moderated by Tim Saunders, Chief Business Development Officer and SVP of Sales for G4S Canada and featured Sgt Param Dhillon, RCMP, Division "O", Public Engagement Unit NCO I/C, David Truax, Vice President, Security and Investigative Services, Citibank Canada, Andy Karski, Vice President, Corporate Security, CIBC, Harold Wax, Senior Director and Chief Security Officer, BGIS North America, JD Killeen, Vice President, National Sales, G4S Canada.

 

When asked about the session and what it meant for G4S and their customers, G4S CEO in Canada, Peter Panartis, said, “We’ve seen changes prompting us as an organisation to work with our customers differently - understanding their business goals and environments and building partnerships as a trusted advisor to reduce risk and minimise threats to their operation”.

 

“This workshop was eye opening for all of us to learn about, and identify, the potential for terrorism here in Canada. The workshop reminded me of why we do what we do. I will be tasking our trainers to work with law-enforcement so that we can bring similar training to our frontline employees. ”

G4S places an emphasis on training and the professional development of our people. Sessions such as the Counter Terrorism Information Officer workshop are particularly important in promoting education and collaboration within security. Partnership between federal law-enforcement, private security providers, and industry professionals is critical to securing communities in Canada.