Home News Mike Isherwood appointed by AURA

Mike Isherwood appointed by AURA

by Andy Clutton

AURA, the South African security and medical response marketplace, has appointed Mike Isherwood as non-executive director of operations in the UK. The appointment follows the company’s entry into the UK market in 2021.

Mike brings with him a wealth of experience in security and policing, having worked in these industries for several years. MIT trained, he currently consults with various businesses in the UK and USA on security, and establishing a presence in the UK market. He is also an advisor to Hull University Business School, and the business group chairman of the British Association of Public Safety Communications Officials’, where he works with small businesses looking to innovate and do things differently in the security industry.

“I have a passion for disruptive technology and its application within the public safety and security industries, so I am fully invested in assisting AURA cement its service offering throughout the UK,” he says. “Although the UK’s crime landscape is different to that of South Africa from a personal risk profile perspective, the need for access to safety and security services is essentially the same. The bigger the city, such as London, Manchester or Glasgow, the closer the needs are to the South African security market as a whole. The need for safety and security is the same in every nation; we all deserve the right to feel protected as individuals and operate securely as businesses.”

According to Isherwood, there is a glaring and obvious gap in the relationship between security companies and the police forces in the UK. “Alarm receiving centres (ARCs) that monitor sites are finding it expensive and cumbersome to send people out to verify alarms. The result is that many ARCs are relying on grainy CCTV images and gut feelings before acting on alarm calls. They contact the police, if necessary, but the police have a ‘three-strikes-and-you’re-out’ rule and won’t respond to loosely verified or unverified site alarms at a particular premises more than three times in a row. This leaves a gap that criminals are taking advantage of – a gap that is sure to widen with time.”

AURA’s proposition addresses the gap between police and private security companies and provides a way to get a fast response to alarms and make sure people and property are protected. At the same time, it provides security companies with technology to enhance their capabilities and increase revenues while keeping people safe.

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