What exactly is a Secured by Design Licensed Consultant?
A few questions you may ask yourself are what exactly does it mean to be a Secured by Design (SBD) Licensed Consultant, how can it further support our customers, and who exactly am I?
What is a Secured by Design Licensed Consultant?
Although they may be similar and can sometimes be mistaken, a Licensed Consultant is not to be confused with a Designing Out Crime Officer (DOCO).
An SBD Licensed Consultant is someone trusted by the SBD Police initiative to provide expert Crime Prevention design advice. As a result of holding an SBD license, they can provide guidance, advice, and manage all stages throughout the lifecycle of an SBD development; from pre-planning to completion, to the development sign off and approval by the police service.
Whereas, a DOCO is employed by and works on behalf of their local Police force and can sign off developments that are looking to achieve SBD accreditation.
Who may need an SBD Licensed Consultant?
Several organisations can benefit from our services whether you are a Property Developer, Project Manager, Architect, or any other member of the Design team. If you come across a Planning Condition which refers to security, or specifically ‘Secured by Design’, an SBD Licensed Consultant would be able to assist in approving the Planning Condition.
An SBD Licensed Consultant would also be able to assist in earlier design stages of RIBA (Royal Institute of British Architects) Plan of Work to help in reducing security-related design issues that may be faced later in the project.
New kid on the block
A little background information about myself:
I started my journey at college in Manchester where I studied ‘Construction in the Built Environment’. At the time I was studying to become an Architect where I learnt about Landscape Architecture and discovered this to be my passion and more aligned with my life goals and ambitions.
Moving forwards, I then went onto study ‘Landscape Architecture’ at Manchester Metropolitan University where I achieved a vaster understanding of wider concepts such as Environmental/Social Behavioural aesthetic outcomes and Human Interaction within outdoor spaces in addition to learning about Regulatory frameworks. Soon after graduating with my Bachelor’s degree, I went on to work for Greater Manchester Police (GMP) as an ‘Assistant Design for Security Consultant’, progressed to become a ‘Design Out Crime Officer’ and led the Home Office funding scheme for Places of Worship for over two years.
This role broadened my horizon once again and resulted in me playing a vital part in assisting the Local Authorities to fulfil their wider objective to reduce crime and disorder in the Greater Manchester area. After gaining three years of valuable experience at GMP, I then went to work as a ‘Security Consultant’ at a private firm (Toren Consulting) in London where I grew and expanded my knowledge in producing Security Needs Assessments.
In November 2020I started ‘Graphite Security Ltd’ to chase my ambition to fuse creativity and security, and provide a service to those that need it the most.