Coventry Building Society Headquarters Recognised for Security-Led Approach

The building society was the first financial institution in the UK to achieve Secured Environments accreditation in 2024, with the ATLAS award providing further recognition of its commitment to security and risk management.

Secured Environments is a certification scheme for organisations including complex sites or estates, such as universities, hospitals or shopping centres, that can demonstrate they have met six key principles for managing security and risk.

·       Commitment – demonstrating leadership commitment to creating a safe and secure environment for staff and public

·       Understanding  - understanding the security risks the organisation faces

·       Response  - developing an effective response to reduce those risks

·       Management  - having a plan to manage security and achieve objectives

·       Implementation – effectively implementing security and crime prevention measures

·       Evaluation – monitoring and evaluating those measures to identity where improvements are needed

For Coventry Building Society, the achievement builds on an established relationship with policing and a long-term commitment to crime prevention and security across its many branches and wider estates.

Designing Out Crime Officer, Sharon Horner, from West Midlands Police, had already worked closely with the building society over a number of years, building a strong working relationship with Senior Manager, Andrei Marcovici, and supporting the organisation with Secured by Design (SBD) principles and products across more than 10 branches in Birmingham, Solihull and the surrounding areas.

Having achieved SBD Gold certification across its branches, Senior Manager Andrei and the building society wanted to take its approach further and apply for the Secured Environments accreditation for its headquarters and surrounding estate in Binley.

Although there were already significant measures in place on the site, including police accredited car parks, 24-hour site security, good lighting and CCTV, the Secured Environments assessment provided an opportunity to look at the area as a whole and consider it from the perspective of someone looking to commit a crime.

Using the Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) the DOCO looked beyond the physical buildings, which were already secured to a high standard, and considered how the wider environment was being used, including entrances and exits and less visible areas.

While the immediate site presented low levels of crime, the headquarters and estate sit close to an area with higher deprivation. The site is also bordered by areas of grasslands and public parkland, with a public path running alongside the estate regularly used by dog walkers. The DOCO recommended additional protection be introduced, including reinforcing the boundary with additional security gates and key coded access control.

These additions complemented the security measures already in place and helped strengthen security across the wider site. The assessment also built on the strong working relationship that Sharon had already developed with Coventry Building Society through the SBD process over many years.

DOCO. Sharon Horner said: “I was really just crossing the t’s and dotting the i’s with this project, Coventry Building Society had already implemented so many crime prevention measures and they have such a proactive approach to crime prevention. They are a pleasure to work with; they are collaborative and really listen to crime prevention advice.

“This was the first Secured Environments project I had worked on, so it was a learning curve for both of us. It’s been a breath of fresh air working with Coventry Building Society and Andrei, helping them prepare for the Secured Environments assessment. They want to be the best of the best and they are a great example to other financial institutions.”

Senior Manager, Andrei Marcovici and DOCO Sharon Horner

Andrei Marcovici, Senior Manager Coventry Building Society said: "The ATLAS Award and our Secured Environments accreditation are significant achievements for Coventry Building Society and reflect a long-standing commitment to creating safe, secure and resilient places for our colleagues, members, customers and visitors.

Security is not a standalone activity. It is embedded into how we design, operate and continuously improve our workplaces and wider estate. Achieving recognition as the first financial institution in the UK to attain Secured Environments accreditation demonstrates our commitment to leading from the front and adopting a proactive approach to risk management and crime prevention.

This recognition has only been possible through strong collaboration with our partners, particularly West Midlands Police and Sharon Horner alongside the reputable risk management professionals in Secured Environments, whose expertise and support have helped us further strengthen our approach. The assessment process challenged us to look beyond individual security measures and consider the wider environment, ensuring we continue to evolve and improve.

While we are proud of this achievement, we see it as another step in an ongoing journey. Security and resilience require continuous review, investment and partnership, and we remain committed to maintaining the highest standards across our workplaces and the communities we serve."

The Secured Environments assessment process is rigorous, measuring against high standards of security management and requiring ongoing review and improvement.

Professor Martin Gill, Director of Perpetuity Research, experts in security management, who run the Secured Environments scheme on behalf of Police Crime Prevention Initiatives (Police CPI), said: “The team at Coventry Building Society are to be commended for their approach to security. Their ethos is that people come first. Having an approved framework in place to manage security provides the strongest foundation for preventing incidents and responding effectively when incidents do occur.  Working in partnership with others such as the local Police force and developing an internal culture where all colleagues are informed and prioritise security requirements are key to keeping everyone safe.”