The Expanded Metal Company hosts Designing Out Crime Officers

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A group of Police Designing Out Crime Officers from police forces across the North East of England were given a glimpse behind the scenes at a Hartlepool factory which is a world leader in the development and manufacture of expanded metal mesh products.

The Expanded Metal Company, which has been a Secured by Design (SBD) member company since 2001 and was the first fencing manufacturer to have their products accredited by SBD, hosted the North East Designing Out Crime Officers regional group meeting at their factory on 2 May, allowing them to see first-hand the huge range of security fencing systems, gates, partition wall systems and window meshes that are available.

Touring the extensive 25,000 sqm factory, the Designing Out Crime Officers saw how the expanded metal mesh products are manufactured, a process which involves slitting and stretching material to create holes rather than punching it out, giving it a diverse range of properties, which makes it a versatile material that can be used throughout a variety of industries.

During the visit the Designing Out Crime Officers also heard from Business Development Managers, Paul Green and Paul Whitton, who gave a fascinating and educational insight into the security rated products that The Expanded Metal Company produce, and the range of work that they undertake across the world.

You can find out about The Expanded Metal Company’s extensive range of SBD accredited products here:
https://www.securedbydesign.com/member-companies/sbd-members?view=companydetail&sbdoldcompanyid=143  

SBD Development Officer, Alfie Hosker said: “This was an excellent meeting and factory tour, whereby the Designing Out Crime Officers, who provide security and design advice for a number of police forces across the region, received an in-depth and enjoyable view of the capabilities of The Expanded Metal Company’s Secured by Design Police Preferred Specification accredited products.

“The officers saw first-hand how the perimeter security products are manufactured on site and the attack testing that they are put through, demonstrating why it is crucial to ensure that quality perimeter security correctly specified in line with the security risks should be an integral part of any development.

“The products offered by The Expanded Metal Company are extensively tested to ensure that the company can supply high quality perimeter products, be it a fencing system, Securilath partition walling system or their Alleygator alley gates.

“It was a great day, benefitting all who attended”.

Paul Green of The Expanded Metal Company said: “We were delighted to welcome the Designing Out Crime Officers team which enabled us to showcase our range of High Security Perimeter products to an audience of Senior Security Professionals. We have always endeavoured to ensure that our products are at the fore-front of industry testing, which hopefully reflects in our association with SBD and BRE (Loss Prevention Certification Board) initiatives.”

SBD is part of Police Crime Prevention Initiatives (PCPI), a police owned organisation that works on behalf of the Police Service to deliver a wide range of crime prevention and demand reduction initiatives across the UK. PCPI is a not-for-profit organisation and Board Members include senior police officers from each of the four Home Nations who control and direct the work PCPI carries out on behalf of the Police Service.

SBD plays a significant crime prevention role in the planning process to design out crime in a wide range of building sectors. It has achieved some significant success including one million homes built to SBD standards with reductions in crime of up to 87%.

SBD have many partner organisations, ranging from the Home Office, Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government and the Police Service through to local authorities, housing associations, developers and manufacturers and work closely with standards and certification bodies to ensure that their publicly available standards actually meet the needs of the police and public alike.

Products must be subject to rigorous testing and additionally be fully certificated by an independent, third-party certification body accredited by the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) before being allowed to carry the SBD logo – this is the only way for companies to obtain police accreditation for security-related products in the UK.

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