Hello everyone,

I hop eyou don't mind me posting here but I am genuinely interested in your opinions on this. I've been in the security business for some time although still only mid 30's. I currently run and own a couple of security firms mainly in the corporate sector. One of the businesses provides services into industry such as vehicles, alarms, expensive equipment used ona mobile basis and our other is a more discreet VIP tracking service which is global and provides services for VIP, celebrities, diplomats and foreign aid workers.

Strangely enough I have two very close friends who are in the adult, escorting business and both have asked about tracking and safety issues for themselves. It got me thinking and not one to miss out on an opportunity I thought I would investigate this a littel further to see if it's a viable option for us and something that ladies in the industry, or men for that matter would consider.

We would look to do something along the lines of the following. Bear in mind we already have the IT systems, the back end functionality and the staff accross the UK in place to be able to cover this type of operation almost immediately.

client would register with us
We would charge them a deposit of ?200 for the supply of a discreet GPS based tracking device (never rely on the one on your phone if you have a smart phone!) This would be fully refundable upon the return of the device if the client decided to stop using our service at any point.

Upon leaving for an appointment you simply call or text, turn on the tracker and let us know the address of the appointment (we do not require any names) the time and how long you intend to be there.

Upon leaving another call/text and we close off that appointment.

very simple system but effective as we have a permanent monitor markign your exact position to within 5 feet of where you are.

Should you need to raise the alarm, you can click a panic button on your GPS. This raises a silent alarm to us which immediately pings on our systems. We then alert the authorities to your exact position at all times (in case worst case scenario you are on the move for any reason we stay on the phone and give a continued update). We are not allowed to directly intervene as such in the event of anything criminal, when I say that, I mean sned one of our staff round as that's effectively vigilante rules and outside of our scope.

That's  just a rough example, obviously we can be as detailed as we like or offer a simpler solution without tracking etc.

To make it worth our while and make a profit, not ashamed to say that, we are a business after all! I would be looking at a figure of around ?50 per month for a basic service to ?85 per month for a tracking service with monitoring.

My questions therefore are the obvious - is this something that could be viable in this industry, would you be prepared to pay that amount for a security service?

Answers greatfully received.

Kind regards

Wilko

Should you need to raise the alarm, you can click a panic button on your GPS. This raises a silent alarm to us which immediately pings on our systems. We then alert the authorities to your exact position at all times (in case worst case scenario you are on the move for any reason we stay on the phone and give a continued update).

I'd be interested to hear what response the Emergency Services offer when they get a call from you...

I'm assuming all you can say is that you are a Private Security Company and that a silent alarm has been triggered and that you're worried about your client who is currently at XXX location.... But then what happens? Is that enough to send a fleet of Police cars, all fully apprized of the situation, screaming to my rescue, or they make a note of your call and I'm still on my own dealing with the situation, or what?

I'd need a very VERY definitive answer and all kinds of cast iron guarantees before I parted with a single penny. And then, I'd also want to be able to test the response in the event of a panic without being done for wasting Police time (or similar). Apologies if I sound snarky (its been a long day and night) but its a genuine question.

R