Data Driven Decisions - Integrating Zinc, six months on

In September, we announced the integration of the Zinc Connect platform into our security operations. Six months on, it is already transforming the way we capture, manage and use information.

For our clients, this digitisation and streamlining of processes has improved accuracy and made security information instantly accessible. For us, Zinc provides valuable real-time and historical insight into what is happening on the ground across our sites.

This visibility is driven by Zinc’s connected mobile and web applications, which work seamlessly together. Incidents can be initiated by frontline teams and then updated in real time by control room colleagues, ensuring a continuous and accurate flow of information. This joined-up approach means all stakeholders have access to the latest updates as situations evolve, while also allowing incidents to be escalated or flagged for further management oversight where required, such as health and safety concerns.

This level of data visibility is important for our clients, but even more so for our key partners such as the police and local authorities. Robust, reliable data is essential in driving decisions, whether that is building situational awareness or evidencing patterns of incidents to support further action.

In addition, Zinc enables rapid mass communication directly from the control room. As incident details are received, updates can be shared instantly with tenants and wider stakeholders, ensuring timely and consistent communication during service disruptions, emergencies or other critical incidents. This ability to keep all parties informed in real time is particularly valuable in fast-moving or high-risk situations.

For example, when our officers respond to incidents of anti-social behaviour, they can quickly record the incident via Zinc once the situation is resolved. This ensures everything is accurately captured immediately and no detail is overlooked. Over time, this helps us build a clear picture of incident frequency and type, which is vital if we are looking for external partners to provide additional support or intervention.

The platform also operates as a centralised ‘hub and spoke’ system, meaning information captured at site level is immediately visible across our wider network. This allows our control room to share intelligence quickly and effectively. For example in the event of a protest or a wider security concern, nearby sites can be alerted almost instantly via targeted broadcasts and to a radius of our choosing, significantly strengthening situational awareness and enabling a more proactive response.

Beyond real-time operations, Zinc also transforms how we analyse and act on historical data. All incident information is translated into clear dashboards and reports, allowing us to identify trends at site, contract or regional level.  This enables more informed, proactive decision-making. For example, if data shows a recurring increase in anti-social behaviour at a specific time, we can work with our clients to understand root causes and adapt our approach whether that is adjusting resourcing, introducing physical deterrents such as closing off an area near a hotspot or implementing other targeted measures. 

Essentially, having this data at our fingertips allows us to intelligently adapt our service.

Using data to record, demonstrate and evidence what happens for clients is helping us shape what needs to happen next. This is exactly what innovation looks like in practice, bringing together smart technology and skilled people to achieve better outcomes and ultimately elevating the standard of security we deliver.