On the 15th of March, the team visited Bishop Auckland to deliver invigilation training to members of staff and volunteers. Our CPD certified Introduction to the Protection of Cultural Venues was presented to the group.
The cultural heritage sector requires specialist safety and security measures due to the history, value, and popularity of its assets. With museums and galleries being home to some of the world’s most valuable pieces of art and historic artefacts, the potential threats and risks posed at these venues must be understood.
Cultural venues are an attractive target to criminals such as organised crime groups who recognise the financial value within these places. Therefore, the staff members were shown the potential threats faced at cultural venues like The Spanish Gallery. Several case studies showed acts of terrorism, theft and armed robbery leaving objects damaged and stolen with some still not found to this day.
Therefore, the programme focuses on the importance of how the newly trained invigilators should understand the concept of situational awareness and how to correctly challenge something that does not represent their understanding of expected normality. For example, if an invigilator spots someone standing over a security barrier guarding a painting, this is not what is expected or perceived as normal, posing a potential threat. To appropriately challenge someone, the invigilator should walk up to the individual and simply say, “Hello, how may I help you?”. This is a simple way of getting that person’s attention, making them understand they have been recognised and will defer them from exploiting the security and protection in place at the cultural venue.
If you would like further information on this programme, please contact the training team on 01325 734850 or email [email protected]. We hope to hear from you soon!