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much as 80% so, for most, a one-off
interaction with someone wearing a
mask may not feel like a risk. However,
repeated exposure at a lower dose can be
just as infectious. In addition to this,
while most of us take every precaution,
there are a few members of society who
choose not to abide by the mandated
safety measures. These people are
putting themselves at risk and it’s often
security officers who need to prevent
them from putting others at risk as well.
We’re using specific COVID-19 risk
assessments on all sites that are not
COVID-secure. A complete review of all
offices across the UK that we protect has
also been completed, ensuring that
they’re following Government guidelines
and are safe for reoccupation.
In addition, we’ve made the correct
personal protective equipment (PPE) a
priority for all officers. At the beginning
of the pandemic, the sudden demand for
PPE left many front line workers unable
to access it. However, now that there has
been time to adapt, it’s vital all front line
workers are provided with effective
equipment to protect themselves.
For those looking to re-open buildings,
solutions such as fever screening are also
a cost-effective means of protecting both
clients and security staff. By ensuring all
relevant safety measures are in place,
security firms can best protect both their
clients and their own serving officers.
Proximity to others cannot explain
the whole picture, though. The ONS
modelled the risk of exposure of various
occupations and compared death rates
to exposure risk. The results are striking
and seem unexpected. Hairdressers and
barbers, who’ve been in the spotlight in
terms of their risk of exposure, show a
similar exposure rating to front line
security officers. However, there have
been 6.63 deaths per 100,000 members
of the population in this cohort
compared to 33.68 per 100,000 for
security officers. While every death is, of
course, a tragedy, the security sector has
undeniably been the hardest hit.
Risk factors
Early on in the pandemic, certain factors
that put people at higher risk of severe
symptoms and death were identified.
Age was a clear risk factor and even for
those who are only middle-aged. Up to 1
May 2020, only 384 people aged up to
44 had died from COVID-19 compared
to 3,529 aged between 45 and 65. This
may pose a risk factor in the security
sector. The percentage of the UK
workforce aged 55 and older is 22%
compared to 27% in the security sector.
For those looking to re-open buildings, solutions such as fever
screening are also a cost-effective means of protecting both
clients and security staff
In addition, of those issued with
security guarding licences by the
Security Industry Authority, 42% are
aged 55 and older. Again, this doesn’t
explain the full picture since other front
line jobs also employing above-average
numbers of those aged 55 and over are
not suffering the same numbers.
Gender is also a risk factor. As of 26
May, 56% of deaths resulting from
COVID-19 were men and 44% women.
For those within the age range between
45 and 79 years, males accounted for
66% of the deaths (double that, in fact,
for females). Security officers and
related occupations are almost 85%
male, making the workforce as a whole
that much more vulnerable.
However, when compared to other
sectors with similar proportions of male
workers, this once again is unable to
explain the disparities. Gardeners and
landscape gardeners – another role
which cannot be transacted remotely –
have an even higher proportion of male
employees (ie 86%), but a rate of only
6.8 deaths per 100,000 compared to 39.1
for front line security roles.
The Intensive Care National Audit
and Research Centre found that one-third
of COVID-19 patients admitted to
critical care units were from ethnic
minority backgrounds, which is far out
of proportion with their representation
in the working age population – 20 to 64
years – at 12%. While it does appear to
be the case that some of this disparity is
due to biomedical factors, many of the
things which place these populations at
higher risk are socio-economic, such as
higher rates of poverty in addition to
employment in front line roles.
Security roles were shown to have a
high level of diversity within the
workforce, with 35.2% of employees
emanating from ethnic minorities
compared to 12% in the broader
population. However, there are
anomalies to be seen here as well. With
a much lower diversity score, market
and street traders exhibited the highest
mortality rate of those considered, while
the research showed that pharmacists –
themselves exhibiting the second highest
diversity score – were characterised by a
much lower rate of mortality.
Health and wealth
The Health Foundation has reported
that the COVID-19 pandemic and the
response to it have compounded pre-existing
inequalities. Those already
struggling are at greater risk of catching
the virus and suffer worse health
outcomes. They’re also more likely to
suffer from other illnesses, which then
renders recovery more difficult.
In addition, the measures being taken
to protect people, such as lockdowns
and social distancing, are having a more
harmful impact on those already
disadvantaged. ONS data shows that the
most deprived areas in England had
more than double the mortality rate
from COVID-19 than the least deprived
ones. Many of the health issues
associated with the most deprived areas
have also been shown to be risk factors
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