East of England Co-op extends security services to East Anglian businesses
Leading independent retailer, the East of England Co-op has announced the launch of an innovative new arm of its business; Co-op Secure Response.
Extending their expert in-house security services to external businesses and communities, this latest business venture adds another string to the East of England Co-op’s bow, already known for its food, funeral, travel and events services.
For over 150 years the East of England Co-op has been a local business owner, employer, distributer and retailer across East Anglia. The East of England Co-op’s security team was established in 2011 to protect these businesses, their customers and colleagues, evolving to this new service, now available to a range of other sectors.
Co-op Secure Response provides a range of security solutions across multiple sectors, with a focus on building a bespoke and cost-effective package for their clients. As well as 24/7 CCTV monitoring, Co-op Secure Response provide tailored technology for rural teams, lone workers, schools and churches and utilises existing technologies in a way that best addresses their client’s needs. Businesses can chose from a range of services that best suit them, including site guarding, intruder and fire alarms and recovery when incidents do occur.
Lee Hammond, Head of Security at Co-op Secure Response, commented: “Co-op Secure Response is all about the people. Our work revolves around the hardworking and friendly team who get to know our clients on a first-name basis. There’s really no hard sell with us. It’s important that we get to know what keeps business owners up at night so that we can understand what matters most to them.
“This is a really exciting time for us, as we have worked hard over the past seven years to ensure that the services we offer are the very best for us and our clients’ businesses. We look forward to continuing the hard work that we do for the local community as part of the East of England Co-op, as well as protecting businesses and staff locally and nationally.”
The launch of Co-op Secure Response was marked with a networking and speaker event held at East of England Co-op’s head office, Wherstead Park on Thursday 26th April 2018.
The event gave local business owners the opportunity to network and meet with the East of England Co-op’s team of security experts. Attendees heard from local business entrepreneur William Notcutt and Rob Brooks from Ipswich based charity, Brickmakers Wood as well as the Co-op Secure Response team, as they shared insights and valuable tips on how business leaders can protect people and premises.
Attendees were also given the opportunity to visit The ARC, the Co-op Secure Response’s 24/7 high tech monitoring centre, which is manned day and night by a team of accredited and friendly security professionals. The ARC uses state-of-the-art technology to monitor almost 7,000 CCTV cameras across the country as well as GPS trackers installed on items as small as a packets of cigarettes to as large as a tractor, protecting clients against theft and trespassers.
The Co-op Secure Response team will be familiar faces to many in East Anglia. The team is known for its impactful community outreach programmes, working closely with the police and local authorities to raise awareness of the impact of anti-social behaviour. The East of England Co-op is a supporter of Usdaw’s Freedom From Fear campaign, aiming to protect retail workers against aggression and anti-social behaviour.
Under the leadership of Lee Hammond, who brings over 15 years of experience in retail security, Co-op Secure Response has built up a team of experts from a range of backgrounds, including retail and hospitals to customer services, who undergo intensive training when joining the organisation. The team also take part in Dementia Friendly Training with the Alzheimer’s Society, enabling them to support the most vulnerable in society.
For out more information on the Co-op Secure Response website.