Integrated Security Consultants (ISC) has been retained as lead provider of security to Wembley Stadium for the next five years and aims to continue meeting the highest benchmark of services.
The security provider first won the security contract from the venue’s operator, Wembley National Stadium Limited (WNSL), in 2009 and has been retained following four years of successful deployment.
ISC provide 24-hour security, 365 days a year, to the sporting and cultural venue and liaises with Metropolitan Police, Brent Council and WNSL. Its operational duties on-site include site patrols and CCTV monitoring, while ISC security officers act as the first point of contact for visitors.
The company also undertakes corporate security for Club Wembley and conference and banqueting security at events, while on match-days and at major events held at Wembley Stadium, ISC managers take on key roles such as response team managers, safety officers, pitch security, corporate and VIP area security, customer services teams and stadium announcers.
ISC’s Permanent Security Team will continue to provide 24/7 security services at Wembley, with the team headed by head of operations, Bob Milnes. ISC managing director Pat Carr will remain Wembley Stadium’s operational planning consultant and part of the senior crowd safety team as part of the contract extension.
Carr, who has risen through the ranks at Wembley Stadium having started as a car park barrier attendant in 1988, told SecurityNewsDesk the ISC team is totally integrated within the Wembley management team to the extent that they are now seen as an ‘internal department’ of the National Stadium.
The numbers and roles of staff deployed is gauged by the profile of each specific event. Carr stated the requirements are “examined against key assessment criteria” and calculated proportionately to risk and intelligence sources.
Carr said: “Wembley Stadium is an iconic and world recognised venue with a maximum capacity for 90,000 spectators – with an international brand and reputation to match. This requires the very highest standards of health and safety and customer service standards, and is expected by the client groups using the stadium.
“Our security provision and service standards have to set this national and international benchmark. Then there is the practical consideration that no event is ever the same. We have to look at each large scale event individually and examine all the dynamics, likely outcomes and plan for contingencies.
“As the national stadium and home of the oldest Football Association in the world, the whole world’s eyes are upon us and we have to get it right – every time.”
The managing director hopes the invaluable experience from the Wembley model can showcase the services and people of ISC, and the expertise can be shared with other similar potential clients.
