Barkers Fencing welcome Designing Out Crime Officers
Industry-leading perimeter security manufacturer Barkers Fencing recently opened up their factory to Designing Out Crime Officers from across the North West and the Midlands to discuss the role perimeter security solutions play in crime reduction.
Working on behalf of the Police Service throughout the UK to deliver a wide range of crime prevention and demand reduction initiatives to design out crime, Secured by Design (SBD) visited Barkers for their knowledge and expertise of fencing and perimeter security.
The day provided a varied programme for the assembled Designing Out Crime Officers (DOCOs), with activities planned to educate the crime prevention specialists about the tests and processes Barkers undertake to become SBD accredited.
DOCOs are mostly based in police stations and work with designers, architects, developers and local planning authorities to incorporate crime prevention measures from the initial concept and planning stages through to final construction. Those who attended the event at Barkers represented North Wales Police, North Wales Fire, Cheshire Constabulary, Derbyshire Constabulary, Merseyside Police, Lincolnshire Police, Staffordshire Police and West Yorkshire Police.
Barkers Fencing's Adam Savage presents to the DOCOs
The Awareness Day began with a presentation from Barkers Marketing and Sales Director, Adam Savage, discussing design consideration and an introduction to the Barkers Fencing product range. The talk covered the history of Barkers, achieving LPS 1175 certification, mesh vs palisade fences, and how to spot potential risk in the external environment.
North Wales Police DOCO Chris Livesey
Following the presentation, the group moved to an outdoor area, where the DOCOs were able to carry out attack testing on various products. North Wales Police DOCO Chris Livesey made a good attempt with a sledgehammer on an LPS 1175 B3 palisade fence, StronGuard SL2, but wasn’t able to make it through the panel. SBD Development Officer Hazel Goss joined others in trying to cut through their LPS 1175 B3 mesh, SecureGuard SL2X, a 358 mesh panel with 10mm vertical wires, but the group were again unsuccessful.
SBD Development Officer Hazel Goss
After a fantastic lunch spread, the group donned their stylish hi-vis jackets and hard hats and were taken on a tour of the Barkers facility. The tour covered the entire manufacturing process, including processing of raw materials, extrusion of pales, assembly, galvanising and powder coating.
Finally, the group reconvened for an informative presentation from Richard Flint of BRE’s LPCB, on the LPS 1175 standard.
SBD Development Officer Hazel Goss said: “I would like to thank Barkers for their hospitality and time, making this an excellent day for all who attended. It was a very informative day, and we all went away with lots more knowledge than we started with, which is why I love to hold these events. They benefit our member companies by demonstrating what they do and give our DOCOs new Continuing Professional Development (CPD) opportunities.
Adam Savage, Barkers Fencing, commented: “It was a fantastic opportunity to be able to welcome so many Designing Out Crime Officers to our facility to learn more about security fencing and gates, and the LPS 1175 standard.”
Barker Fencing organised the CPD day for local DOCOs to enable them to develop and enhance their knowledge about Secured by Design accredited fencing. The aim was to provide the best knowledge, advice and hands-on experience to enable them to confidently specify perimeter solutions for the premises they support.
Barkers Fencing Site Tour
Secured by Design
Police Crime Prevention Initiatives (Police CPI), which is part of the UK Police Service, delivers a wide range of crime prevention and demand reduction initiatives across the UK. Secured by Design (SBD) is the most well-known of the extensive Police CPI portfolio, with all initiatives designed to keep the public safe from crime and to reduce the demand on the police service.
SBD seeks to improve the security of buildings and their immediate surroundings to provide safe places to live, work, shop and visit. SBD work closely with builders, developers, local authorities and registered housing associations to incorporate its police crime prevention standards into developments from initial concept and design, through to construction and completion. Police forces throughout the UK have specially trained Designing Out Crime Officers (DOCOs) who offer police designing out crime and SBD advice free of charge.
SBD also operates an accreditation scheme on behalf of the UK Police Service for products or services that have met recognised security standards. These products or services – which must be capable of deterring or preventing crime - are known as being of a ‘Police Preferred Specification’.
There are many hundreds of companies who produce over 7000 individual attack resistant crime prevention products in more than 30 different categories that have met the exacting Police Preferred Specification. This includes doors, windows, external storage, bicycle and motorcycle security, locks and hardware, asset marking, alarms, CCTV, safes, IoT connected products, perimeter security products and many others. SBD is the only way for companies to obtain police recognition for security-related products in the UK.
SBD is the only way for companies to obtain police recognition for security-related products in the UK.
You can find out more about Barkers Fencing and their range of Secured by Design accredited products on their dedicated member page.