The East of England Co-operative has launched a new business arm, which will extend its in-house security services to other businesses and communities.
Co-op Secure Response will provide services such as site guarding, intruder and fire alarms and recovery when incidents do occur. In addition to 24/7 CCTV monitoring, the business will offer tailored technology for rural teams, lone workers, schools and churches.
Lee Hammond, head of security at the new service, said: “Co-op Secure Response is all about the people. Our work revolves around the hard-working 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.”
Co-op Secure Response’s Alarm Receiving Centre (ARC) is run 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, by a team of accredited security professionals. It 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 team is also working closely with the police and local authorities to raise awareness of the impact of anti-social behaviour.
The ARC was built in January 2014 at Wherstead Park – which is home to East of England’s head office. The service was initially used to support the society’s own business.
