Group 4 Securicor sees rise in attacks in UK

Group 4 Secretor said today it had seen an increase in the number of robberies on its cash handling staff in the UK.

Chief executive Nick Buckles did not put a figure on the number of attacks, but said the industry as a whole saw an estimated 25% year-on-year rise.

He called for a strong response from police and the authorities, but said good progress was being made in reducing attacks in certain regions, adding that the company continued to develop new technologies to reduce attack losses.

The cash-in-transit market in the UK is one of the most attacked in the world, reflecting the fact that staff are not armed.

Across the group, pre-tax profits were 10% higher at £277m (€406m) after turnover rose 8.4% to £4.35bn (€6.8bn) in 2006.

The company employs 470,00 people worldwide after Group 4 Falck’s security business merged with Securicor in 2004 to create the world’s second largest security provider.

Today’s figures showed a sharp improvement in recent trading at the company’s security services arm in the UK, which includes justice services.

The group is responsible for more than 1,000 adult and juvenile prisoner places at Parc in Bridgend, as well as the operation of a secure training centre at Milton Keynes. Its electronic monitoring business in the UK, the US and Israel has more than 35,000 offenders being monitored daily.