Page 16 - the SyI Quarterly

Our Membership
“Never stop learning,
because life never stops
teaching.”
By Joe Rutlidge MSyI
“Never stop learning, because life never stops teaching.”
This is what I remember my colleague telling me after I stopped a
known shoplifter. It was November 2009, I was a Loss Prevention
Investigator for EH Booths, working at our West Yorkshire store,
I’d identified an ‘IC1 female’ concealing bottles of spirits into a foil
lined bag. I recognised the Offender, as she was recently shared as
wanted by the Police.
I was in plain clothes on an operation and discreetly followed her on
the Shopfloor. My colleague and I were communicating via a radio
earpiece. She was blatant, didn’t really make any effort to hide what
she was doing and didn’t seem to care. I observed her, ensuring
ASCONE was adhered to, before she made her way past all points
of payment, bumping into a customer and speedily walking to the
exit. As she exited, I approached her, introduced myself and before
I could get in another word, she immediately opened her bag. It was
like she knew I was going to stop her. There was nothing but a coat.
I was shocked, I’d watched her the whole time! She was compliant and came back into the store without any
issues. The spirits had gone, no doubt about that, but where? I saw her conceal at least 10. We reviewed CCTV.
Nothing. It all went in that bag. I watched it again and again. Then I saw it. In the seconds before she left, she
crossed paths with an older gentleman. As she bumped into him, they exchanged bags. He had the exact same
bag! He left with the spirits, unchallenged, walking right past me! Over £500 worth. The offender was wanted, so
the Police took her away, as for the male, he had got away with it.
I considered myself a good, confident, store detective, but this fooled me. I was gutted, even a little
embarrassed, never lost one before, must have arrested hundreds, but I wasn’t aware of this scam, and I learnt
a lesson. I was interested to know about similar techniques, so I read up on scams, tricks, different types of
incidents. I wouldn’t necessarily say this is where my Continuous Professional Development (CPD) journey
started, but it certainly reminded me the importance of it.
With CPD the important thing is that you must be continuously moving forward. Learning, developing, sharing,
and taking an honest look at the things you are great at and identifying the areas you want to improve. There
isn’t a set way to do this, everyone has their own preference, interests, opportunities, and journey.
Over the years, I’ve studied and received qualifications in Security, Law, Leadership, Conflict Management
and completed a Master’s level qualification in Investigative practice. But arguably even more importantly, I’ve
researched, practiced, challenged myself and built a comprehensive personal development plan every year.
I’m no expert on development and I would never claim to be, for me it’s about looking inward and focusing
on ways to better yourself. How you want your plan to look and what you put in it is up to you, the important
16
thing is that it inspires and motivates you. What inspires me is personal safety. The safety and security of my
family, friends, and this is echoed across my work. It’s one of the reasons I started working in Security. To ensure
everyone, every day, gets home safely.
Over 15 years ago I started my journey as a Loss Prevention Investigator for EH Booths following 2 and a half
years voluntary service in the Police. In March 2011 I was promoted to the Loss Prevention Manager which I did
for 4+ years before moving on to a bigger role in Tesco Onestop overseeing Security for 350+ stores in the North.
In March 2018 I stepped up to become the UK Lead Security Business Partner for all Onestop stores (800+), which
I did for 3 years before moving into Tesco Security in the Northeast Region for a year. Then in January of this year I
was successfully appointed as the UK Guarding & External Partnerships Manager for Tesco.
I have accountability for Guarding nationally, a significant budget, over 5,000 officers and 6 contracts. Leading
on transforming how we support our colleagues through a flexible, sustainable, industry leading, value for
money proposition supported by technology. Technology such as Body worn cameras, Headsets, Digital Radios
(connecting colleagues to each other, mobile officers and our intelligence hub), Door Access Systems and the
‘Dalek’. All to help keep our colleagues and customers safe, with a focus on preventability, deterrent, customer
service, and conflict management. We conduct advanced QN accredited training for all our officers. Including
mobile officers, who work proactively and reactively based on intelligence to support our colleagues, customers
and communities.
It’s important for me to stay ahead of the curve, keep up to date on the industry, drive standards and work as
strategically as possible. Each year I ensure that I complete and submit my CPD to the institute, but it doesn’t stop
there. I continue this throughout the year and always work on my professional development. My CPD tracker is
saved to my desktop alongside my PDP. I don’t update them daily but having them on screen when I load up my
laptop encourages me to keep them in focus.
I work on my CPD internally and externally. Internally, that could be a ‘lunch and learn’, presenting, speaking,
or delivering a training course. Externally, I study, I read articles, magazines, the Institutes eNews and explore
LinkedIn. I make time for webinars, events, and exhibitions if they are relevant to my role. Always making an effort
to engage, network, collaborate and listen. In my spare time, I volunteer by participating in the Security Institutes
Membership Matters Advisory Group (MMAG) and I have been on the Validation board since September 2021.
It’s a busy life, and I can’t stress enough the importance of a healthy work/life balance. My Wife Abbie and Son
Tobias always come first, and the times when I’m not working, I make sure to switch off, re-charge, re-energise and
get in some family time. Usually that’s walking the dogs in the Lakes, spending time together at theme parks, in
Blackpool or chilling with a book or film.
CPD can be a combination of approaches, ideas and techniques that help you manage learning and growth. It
can be worked around or into everyone’s diary. The most important message is that development is different for
everyone. One size doesn’t fit all. Your CPD is yours and you get out of it what you put into it.
Never stop learning, because life never stops teaching.