Instant Arming vs Offensive Weapons: Where Does the Law Draw the Line?
A venue owner once asked whether weapons could be hidden around his premises for security officers to use during a terrorist attack. Sean Keelan examines the difference between instant arming and offensive weapons under UK law, drawing on the 2019 London Bridge attack and explaining how venues can protect staff without introducing unlawful weapons.
Planning Is Not Preparation: The Dangerous Gap in Emergency Readiness
A school lockdown drill exposed a serious gap between planning and preparation. While pupils knew the procedures, a substitute teacher had not been briefed and was unable to secure the classroom. Sean Keelan explores why having an emergency plan doesn't necessarily mean an organisation is prepared to implement it, and what this means for protective security, staff training and emergency readiness.
The Security Officer Who Says “Something Doesn't Look Right”
Good security officers know what normal looks like. Sean Keelan explains how behavioural awareness can help identify suspicious activity and hostile reconnaissance — without turning frontline officers into amateur detectives.
For the published version, I would hyperlink ProtectUK suspicious activity guidance, ACT Awareness and SCaN (See, Check and Notify) from the relevant sections. Those are particularly valuable external associations for this article because current official guidance explicitly recommends ACT Awareness and SCaN for staff learning about suspicious activity.
Evacuate, Invacuate or Lock Down? Why “Just Get Everyone Out” Can Be the Wrong Response
Following the Borough Market attack, I developed what we called a “fallback” strategy for a client.
The challenge was simple:
We couldn't realistically invacuate everyone.
That experience changed how I look at emergency planning.
Don't start with the procedure.
Start with the threat and ask: where are people safest?
Full article below.
Stop Buying Security by the Hour – You're Not Buying the Same Service
Buying security by the hour is standard practice.
The problem is, the hourly rate tells you very little about the service you're actually buying.
£19.50 and £21.50 aren't necessarily the same product with a £2 difference.
Most of the time, you're comparing apples with pears.
Full article below.
The Security Officer Is Asleep – But Who Has Actually Failed?
One of the worst calls a security company can receive:
“Your security officer is asleep.”
Yes, the officer has failed.
But my next question would be:
How did we not know?
If the client discovers it before the security company does, there's a bigger conversation to be had about management, monitoring and welfare.
Full article below.
Searching People Is a Skill – Not Just Looking Inside a Bag
Searching People Is a Skill
A search can look perfectly professional and still be practically useless.
Searching isn't just a procedure. It's a skill.
What are you looking for? Where could it be concealed? What happens when you find it?
I've written about why baseline training should be the starting point, not the finished product.
Full article below.
What does a security guard do?
A question we get asked a lot as Blue Light Group is what does a security guard actually do? In this blog, we will break down the daily duties and responsibilities of a security guard
How Should Police and Private Security Firms Work Together
Partnerships between law enforcement and private security agencies now allow communities to optimise scarce resources while effectively working together to combat threats to public safety.
Securing your construction site
The rise in steel prices throughout 2021 has threatened construction sites, not just due to the rise in supply costs but also from the increase of construction site thefts. Demand for steel has not subsided, however the impacts of Brexit and Covid-19 are mainly to blame for the reduced availability of the material and naturally caused the prices to inflate.
Why is Crowd Control Necessary at an Event?
Crowd control is a practice of ensuring all attendees at an event or location are managed to keep attendees, employees and property safe. Crowd control isn’t necessarily just for large scale events but also used at locations such as airports and shopping centres. It can be used anywhere a large crowd gathers to ensure the crowd is guided through a process or kept in a safe environment.
10 ways to secure a building
Building security is necessary for many different reasons. It may be that you’re looking to ensure your home is secure for any period of absence.
Knight Frank Case Study
We have been working with Knight Frank for just over a year, providing concierge/reception staff and 24-hour security services. Our co-founder, Sean Keelan, had worked with Knight Frank before we formed Blue Light Group, which, of course, had a helping hand in establishing Blue Light Group as Knight Frank's current service provider. In that they could trust us to give them the best quality security services.
Productive working environments and their security implications
A security assessment of a multinational company, with surprising results
