104 replies to this topic

[Special Dibble]

I dont doubt that training is being cancelled, and all training is towards 'combat operations', but are you saying he is being pulled out of PDT, rather than just training. As in, he has a deployment date and due to go out within 6 months?

Within 6 months, was due to attend urban combat training in the US, has been cancelled, the deployment date has not been moved back to accommodate the training-like I said, I have actually been told this from the horse's mouth

[Killicksparker]

Within 6 months, was due to attend urban combat training in the US, has been cancelled, the deployment date has not been moved back to accommodate the training-like I said, I have actually been told this from the horse's mouth

Is he in the Cavalry ??

[victor-bravoHQ]

This has been on the cards for ages. As someone that is still in the recruitment mess who has to supervise alleged G4S 'guards', it is all pathetic. 'Specialised training- yeh right...more like death by powerpoint. A friendly, welcoming face into the Olympics - erm no; speaking english would be an advantage. Also, some team leaders I know are more concerned that the xray trays are not being put in 3 cms apart than anything else.

The recruitment process is completely broken. Not enough staff have been employed to process applications and now G4S are worrying which has meant people being rushed through. Professional security? Absolutely not.

I am working this to try and make changes and to ensure my area of responsibility is the best part!

[Rocket]

Not sure if you have head the interview with the G4S whistleblower, have a listen;

[victor-bravoHQ]

Not sure if you have head the interview with the G4S whistleblower, have a listen;

Inspires confidence!

[Rocket]

The Guardian is running a live blog at the moment, lots of G4S employees posting comments; http://www.guardian....blog?CMP=twt_gu

[Mayday]

Made me laugh "The Police can't do anything" xD

No wonder some G4S staff have the attitudes they do.

[Radman]

Made me laugh "The Police can't do anything" xD

No wonder some G4S staff have the attitudes they do.

Fairly accurate if you ask me, the policing minister, home secretary and Mr Winsor are their best mates.

On a political level atleast they are...

[Ginny]

Within 6 months, was due to attend urban combat training in the US, has been cancelled, the deployment date has not been moved back to accommodate the training-like I said, I have actually been told this from the horse's mouth

Fair enough, seems ridiculous when there must be other units not about to deploy, but I don't doubt you

[Special Dibble]

Fair enough, seems ridiculous when there must be other units not about to deploy, but I don't doubt you

Thanks, and someone asked if he is cavalry-he is not. Seriously, they should be soldiering in preparation for combat and they are not.

[Sam Vimes]

Thanks, and someone asked if he is cavalry-he is not. Seriously, they should be soldiering in preparation for combat and they are not.

We should all be doing the jobs we were employed to do, but the entire public sector is being pushed around to continually cover the shortfalls of another agency, be it Police Officers picking up the slack of Social Services/Ambulances/Mental Health, or Soldier picking up the slack of Police Officers and private security. Round and round we go chasing shortfalls...

[Special Dibble]

We should all be doing the jobs we were employed to do, but the entire public sector is being pushed around to continually cover the shortfalls of another agency, be it Police Officers picking up the slack of Social Services/Ambulances/Mental Health, or Soldier picking up the slack of Police Officers and private security. Round and round we go chasing shortfalls...

and when the s.... hits the fan, we're the first to take the media outrage....

[Rocket]

Just seen this tweet from the Fed;

PFEW ‏@PFEW_HQ
150 G4S staff should have arrived at one of the Warwickshire Olympic “island sites” to be accredited today. Only 1 turned up.

[SC Meerkat]

Just seen this tweet from the Fed;

That tweet about sums it up really!


G4S really are making a shambles of this. Bodes well for privitisation.

[pmtts]

[DukeDan]

Not sure if you have head the interview with the G4S whistleblower, have a listen;

The whistle-blower (Ben Fellows is his real name) has been going on radio where-by the host believes there will be a government staged terror attack at the 2012 and that G4S knows about it. So Ben's testimony may be slightly ropey.

[Marty McFly]

Daily mail headline in physical paper (on phone so can't post)
Exclusive: Teenage students to guard Olympics

Basically expressing the shock that 18 and 19 year old students are part of those being employed by g4s, now I don't know about other forum members, but I was a teenager when I was attested, if I can be trusted to carry out the role of a police officer, carry baton, etc and arrest people Thus taking away their liberty... How is it "alarming" That a 19 year old is doing bag searches?

As I said, I'm posting this from my phone after reading the physical paper, hopefully someone else can post from their site.

[victor-bravoHQ]

Daily mail headline in physical paper (on phone so can't post)
Exclusive: Teenage students to guard Olympics

Basically expressing the shock that 18 and 19 year old students are part of those being employed by g4s, now I don't know about other forum members, but I was a teenager when I was attested, if I can be trusted to carry out the role of a police officer, carry baton, etc and arrest people Thus taking away their liberty... How is it "alarming" That a 19 year old is doing bag searches?

As I said, I'm posting this from my phone after reading the physical paper, hopefully someone else can post from their site.

Yep - i've posted the story below.

Bungling Olympic security firm trains 3,300 teenagers to guard the Games in £284m debacle... but some of the A-Level students seem more keen to snooze and listen to their iPods

• Teen guards 'behaving like children' during training exercises
  
• Security firm G4S accused of jeopardising public safety
  
• Troops set to be drafted in to fill shortfall
  
• Theresa May said Logoc will impose penalties on the firm for the mess

By Stephen Wright and David Williams
PUBLISHED: 19:56, 11 July 2012 | UPDATED: 08:41, 13 July 2012

• Comments (1427)
  
• Share
  

Sitting in the back row of a classroom, a young man listens to music through bright red headphones
Next to him a woman is slumped asleep across her desk.
This was the scene at a recent training session for Olympics security guards recruited by G4S.
It was photographed by a fellow student appalled by the poor calibre of those hired by the beleaguered security firm.
The picture will offer fresh embarrassment for Olympic chiefs coming ont he day it emerged that hundreds of A-level students have been hired as front-line security guards at the Games.
They are among 3,300 teenagers recruited from colleges around Britain to help form a ring of steel at the venues.
Scroll down for video



Chilling out: A trainee listens to music while a blonde woman to his right slumps across her desk fast asleep

Security experts expressed alarm that youngsters aged 18 and 19 had been entrusted with searching spectators and bags.
And some accused G4S, the private security firm, of jeopardising public safety by recruiting the students on £8.50 an hour to cut costs.
A whistleblower told the Mail: ‘Some of the people on that course you would not hire to empty a dustbin. You are talking about really poorly educated, slovenly yobs.

More...

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• Afghan heroes drafted in to guard Olympics will be forced to sleep in derelict buildings
  
• Man charged with 'planning to car bomb London's Olympic Park during Games'
  
• Tower block residents lose their High Court bid to stop Army placing surface-to-air missiles on their roof to protect Olympic Games
  
• Fury as half of Heathrow passport control desks are SHUT just weeks before the Olympics
  
• Foolish art school student sparks London terror alert by leaving bomb-like 'project' backpack trailing wires at college reception
  
• £284m debacle over security: As troops fill the Olympics gap, how did G4 get it all so wrong?

‘I was shocked by how few students were paying attention to the lessons. There were also people secretly texting and playing on their smartphones.’
‘They are children. And believe me, they behaved like children during the training exercises.’
Another recruit claimed trainees failed to detect bombs and deadly weapons in practice checks. He warned that security measures were so lax that there was a 50-50 chance someone could bring a bomb undetected into one of the Olympic venues.
The whistleblower said that staff received two days of training in how to operate X-ray machines, but still failed to notice grenades and firearms carried by test spectators. One trainee guard even picked up a suspected improvised explosive device and waved it around during an exercise, despite warnings never to touch suspect items.


Falling short: The Armed Forces are to provide up to 3,500 extra troops for security duty at the Games after private security firm G4S admitted it could not supply the 10,000 guards it promised to deliver
The whistleblower, who claimed to have significant military experience, revealed that during training one recruit failed to notice a 9mm pistol stuffed in a test spectator’s sock.
He told Sky News: ‘During my employment I planted pretend IEDs, decommissioned weapons, knives and other large metallic objects on students and sent them through the metal detectors.
‘They’re not being seen by X-ray staff and they’re not being picked up during physical searches, so the training is completely insufficient.’
Despite the incompetence, G4S was said to operate a ‘no fail’ policy, so all trainees are believed to have been cleared to work as security staff at the Olympic Park.
Adding to the shambles, a G4S security manager called Pauline said she had still not been told about arrangements for the Games. She said: ‘I don’t know what I’m going to be doing, where I’m going to be working, nothing.
‘There are hundreds of managers sitting at home in exactly the same situation as me, waiting to hear from G4S. It’s unbelievable.’
Details of the ‘A-level guards’ emerged as Home Secretary Theresa May faced accusations that Olympics security is a shambles after the Armed Forces were called in to plug a gap left by the failure of bungling G4S chiefs.




Help: Home Office minister James Brokenshire, left, said the security shortfall came to light just two weeks ago forcing Home Secretary Theresa May to plead with the MOD for troops to help during the Games
With just two weeks to go until the opening ceremony, an extra 3,500 servicemen and women are being flown in after the firm, which has a history of mistakes, said it might not be able to provide enough guards for all the venues.





TODAY'S POLL

Do you have confidence in the security measures in place for the Olympics?
No
YesAll polls
MPs accused the company of letting the country down, while Mrs May insisted ministers were told of the ‘absolute gap in the numbers’ only on Wednesday. In other developments in a growing pre-Games meltdown yesterday:
■ At Heathrow, passengers arriving for the Olympics faced two-hour queues at immigration and millions face travel chaos because the M4, which links Heathrow to London, remains closed for repairs for the ‘foreseeable’ future;
■ A G4S whistleblower claimed fake explosive devices and lethal weapons were smuggled past security trainees during Olympics test events;
■ It emerged that the extra servicemen now called in to carry out security duties during London 2012 will be forced to camp in disused buildings;
■ A parliamentary report said MI5 and MI6 have been put under ‘unprecedented pressure’ by the Olympics, leaving the country vulnerable to terrorist attacks.



Safety: The 23,700-strong security force for the Games will be comprised of military personnel, private security guards and at least 3,000 unpaid volunteers but there have been concerns about 'militarisation' of the event





Defence: The navy's biggest warship, HMS Ocean will be stationed in the Thames throughout the Olympics
In the Commons, Mrs May denied Olympics security was a shambles and insisted there was ‘no question’ of it being compromised.


But the revelation that an army of students are playing a key part in the biggest security operation in Britain since World War II added to the unease.
They have been recruited from colleges under a scheme called ‘Bridging the Gap’ and have attended four-day Security Industry Authority (SIA) training courses to qualify as guards.
Many of the students were 17 when they were trained, but rules stipulate they must have turned 18 by July 1 to be taken on for Olympics security work.
Following each course, the students undertook another day’s training in the use of X-ray and metal-detecting equipment.
An informed source, close to G4S Olympics recruitment procedures, told the Mail: ‘I have grave concerns about the deployment of college students as security guards.
‘They are effectively sixth- formers, and putting aside their immaturity, their lack of life experience makes it very difficult for the authorities to vet them comprehensively.






Getting ready: An aerial view shows preparations for the opening ceremony inside the Olympic Stadium




An aerial view of the Olympic Village where athletes will stay during the Games

MPS WARNED OF TRIPLE TERROR THREAT TO THE GAMES


MI5 and MI6 have been put under ‘unprecedented pressure’ by the Olympics, leaving Britain vulnerable to terrorist attacks.
The annual report of Parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee warned that ‘risks’ have been taken with security to concentrate on protecting the Games.
Intelligence chiefs told the committee that spies have identified three potential sources of terrorist threat to the Games.
Al Qaeda and its affiliates could launch a conventional terrorist attack which might target American or Israeli nationals.
Irish republican groups are judged to be capable of a smaller attack or a hoax aimed at causing disruption rather than mass casualties.
There could also be clashes between rival groups or minorities present in London during the Games who would not normally be considered a security threat to the UK.
The report says: ‘We recognise that the Security Service has taken all possible measures to make available the necessary resources during the period of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, but remain concerned at the risk that is being taken in some areas and the vulnerability of the UK at this critical period.
‘It is clear that coverage of terrorist groups is by no means comprehensive.’

A criminal records check is unlikely to show anything up because they are so young, yet they might have worrying allegiances.’
Asked whether there would be any financial penalties for G4S on its £284million contract, Mrs May said the firm’s deal was with Games organisers Locog, but she understood that penalty clauses were included.
Keith Vaz, the Labour chairman of the Commons Home Affairs Select Committee, said: ‘G4S has let the country down and we have literally had to send in the troops.’
He summoned its chief executive Nick Buckles and chairman Alf Duch-Pedersen to appear before the committee next week to explain the problems.
Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said it looked like ‘another Home Office shambles’, with G4S falling 25 per cent short of its contract.
A G4S spokesman confirmed that 3,300 students had been recruited to work as guards and would be paid a minimum of £8.50 per hour.
‘They will be doing a mixture of roles dependent on their skills and training,’ he added.
‘The vetting procedure is the same for all the other 2012 employees. We screen and vet the candidates, and then a further level of screening is carried out by Locog (under Home Office direction).'


Read more: http://www.dailymail...l#ixzz20VBc2tUj


This is all true, people don't pay attention is the death-by-powerpoint classes. People routinely listen to music and fall asleep. None are told to wake up or stop listening to music. As for the comment re teenagers. I am sure you as SC are very competent at what you do. The point is though, you have passed numerous assessment stages to sift those teenagers who haven't got a clue. G4S on the other hand have none of these assessments and as such are recruitng everyone - including those who have no clue. It's all true. The majority have no clue.

Edited by juliet-xray, 13 July 2012 - 11:46 AM.

[Marty McFly]

Yep - i've posted the story below.

I know, I just don't like the ageism, i know a 30 year old who couldn't cut as a police officer or a security guard, it has nothing to do with him being 30...

And on the assessment points, I'm sure there's incapable people over 20 who have got in...

[Onlyme2008]

My view is this no matter who took on this job would be hitting the press right now. I don't where anyone thought they could get the numbers needed.

That's what we do, you say today we have increased security at airports, and people will go out their way to hit the papers with things that they got on a plane. Airport checks of people coming in, they were not checking everyone, did not like that, so they checked everyone, and that took longer, than it is taking to long.

[Shogy1]

I think part of the problem lies in the initial contract which was for approx 2000 security staff in 2010. I can't remember the exact date but I think it was last year that the number of security staff needed was increased to over 10000. Any company no matter how big is going to struggle with that sort of numbers in a short space of time.

[wanabe]

I think part of the problem lies in the initial contract which was for approx 2000 security staff in 2010. I can't remember the exact date but I think it was last year that the number of security staff needed was increased to over 10000. Any company no matter how big is going to struggle with that sort of numbers in a short space of time.

No way would 2000 of been enough!!' why promise 10,000 if you can not deliver? It's not as if they have had a week to employ more staff they have had at least 2 and a half years!!!!!

[Burnie]

They should have done what organisers for various music festivals have done.

Namely, hire more than one company and give them different areas of responsibility because I can guarentee that companies like ShowSec have people on payroll who, due to the nature of the work, dont have any confirmed work over the olympic period or only have limited work. Also by only asking each company to provide staff for their area of responsibility it is easier for each company to ensure their staff are properly trained and vetted and to provide the supervisory structure.

[Dave SYP]

No way would 2000 of been enough!!' why promise 10,000 if you can not deliver? It's not as if they have had a week to employ more staff they have had at least 2 and a half years!!!!!

I agree, but that is the nature of the beast. They would promise anything if it won them the contract.

[Shogy1]

No way would 2000 of been enough!!' why promise 10,000 if you can not deliver? It's not as if they have had a week to employ more staff they have had at least 2 and a half years!!!!!

It's not their fault that the number went up. It's whoever came up with the initial security plan and then came up with the second plan.. About 1 year is not along time to recruit and train over 8000 people.