Not everyone will be looking forward to the end of the summer!

We are now in September, a month that for many suggests the end of Summer and the beginning of the dark months ahead. Whilst it is undoubtedly getting darker earlier, it isn't necessarily this type of darkness they are worrying about. For many people, returning to work, school, or university fills them with dread, not because they hate the work, but because they fear the toxic environment they are returning to.

With nearly 66% of UK women and girls experiencing sexual harassment at work or school and with 70% of workplace incidents going unreported, for many these environments are places where they feel unsafe, unhappy and lonely. Incidents go unreported for a number of reasons, with a lack of trust in the investigative process and the fear of repercussions among them it is no wonder toxicity in the workplace hits the news headlines every day. It damages reputations, increases absenteeism, decreases performance and encourages some employees to leave as well as damaging ESG credentials which then reduces investment opportunities.

Our white paper 'The Insider Threat' explores the link between economic downturn and concerning and threatening workplace behaviours.

Click here for a copy.

The Online Bodyguard podcast.

Re-branding?

Our podcast is getting revamped!! Following a lengthy and exhausting creative process we can announce that the podcast will now be called 'The Defuse Podcast - how to feel safer in public life"?

Our next episode features Jameson Ritter who shares his wisdom and experience from his new book "This Book Saves Lives"?

Click here to access our podcast

What is the difference between a Security Consultant and a Threat Assessment and Management (TAM) Professional?

A security consultant is an individual or group of individuals who specialise in some field of the security industry.

?Threat Assessment and Management (TAM)? is a specialism in itself. TAM professionals are involved in threat and violence risk assessment. They are specifically trained to address such issues as?fixated people,?stalking,?threats,?disputes,?harmful workplace behaviour?and?lone actor threats.

One of the main differences between the conventional security consultants and a TAM professional is that TAM includes professionals from a variety of fields including law enforcement, prosecutors, mental health professionals, corporate security experts, probation and parole officers and others.

TAM professionals focus on an identified individual or person of concern. This means that they are not searching for anyone who may pose a threat but are looking at identified people to ascertain whether they pose a threat to a specific target, be that a person, organisation, or venue. The processes used are preventative rather than predictive.

?TAM professionals will utilise protective intelligence and protective security to keep their clients safe.

?The process is divided into three parts, identification, assessment, and management.

Click here for the full article

Why do most threats go unnoticed?

Because neither the target nor the security professional knows what to look for.

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Marianna Spring, who hosts the podcast “Marianna in Conspiracyland,” said that 80% of the online hate directed at BBC journalists targets her specifically.

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The BBC uses software that flags messages containing threats or online violence. Of 14,488 items, 11,771 were directed at Spring.

?Now, do you suppose that the BBC has analysed every one of those 14488 messages, or do you think that AI has done that for them?

?Are they looking for hate or threats?

The reason I ask is that they are very different things. People are very public about communicating hate, some even believe it's their ‘human right’ to be allowed to express themselves like that.

Threats however are quite different. It isn’t as simple as saying ‘people who make threats don’t pose threats’ although that is a strong indicator.

For instance, people who make threats and have previously been in an intimate relationship with the person they are threatening very often carry their threats out.

?The fact is that if you don’t know what you are looking for, no level of expertise in research or AI will find it. It is more likely that any such indicators will be ignored as being insignificant….when they are the complete opposite. Click here for the full article

If anything in this newsletter has caused you to think you may benefit from our help, please don't hesitate to contact us at the details below or make an appointment.

Click here to book a complimentary 30 minute meeting.