One of the Gulf's top security organisations has marked its entry into Bahrain, securing as its first client the island's newest landmark, the Geant Hypermarket and Bahrain Mall.

Interforce Security has mobilised a force of more than 100, 50 per cent of whom are Bahraini, to cover all aspects of security at the mall. A core team was deputed from its sister organisation, Dubai's Emirates Security, to set up the Bahrain station and to put in place the security apparatus and force that will serve at the Bahrain Mall.

Emirates Security, formed in 1977, is the security division of Modern Building Maintenance (MBM), a part of the giant Dubai-headquartered ETA-Ascon Group. ETA-Ascon is a multi-dimensional, vastly diversified organisation established in 1973 as a joint venture between the Al Ghurair Group of the UAE and Amana Investments Limited of Hong Kong.

Interforce operations manager K. Venuopal, who headed the team that set up the Bahrain operations, is hopeful the Bahrain Mall will be the first of a long line of establishments Interforce will be asked to mind.

Venugopal will be capitalising on nearly a quarter century of experience gained by Emirates Security in such areas as physical guarding, security audit and investigations, security gadgets and peripherals, professional training and development and risk management and loss prevention consultancy.

Emirates Security is a well-regarded force in the UAE with a client list that includes the Ajman Port Authority, Etisalat, the Abu Dhabi Mall, Shaikh Mohammed's residence, the Twin Towers, the Jimmy Mall, Dubai Internet City, Dubai Media City, Citibank, Higher College of Technology Institutes and the Ajman University for Science and Technology.

With its establishment in Bahrain, Interforce becomes a member of the wider ETA-Ascon group whose business activities cover engineering and construction, trading, shipping, manufacturing and assembling, maintenance and service, retail and distribution and leisure.

"Appreciating the safety requirements of the growing multicultural, multinational cosmopolis of Bahrain, Interforce is all geared up to provide total turnkey security solutions," says Venugopal.

"Interforce has a highly professional management team with extensive experience in security business and has organised an infrastructure consisting of a central control room and mobile patrol vehicles plying all over Bahrain."

But to stress that machines solely may not do the trick in the complicated business of guarding premises, he says: "The best gadgetry and back up of CCTVs and access control systems to cover entry and exit points will never really replace physical guarding. "The best approach as always is prevention rather than cure. The simple fact is that an object, once it is pinched, will be difficult to recover. And even if we do, the cost is just too much to play around with, which is why Interforce Security endorses prevention rather than corrective operations." With that in mind, Interforce, like any professional outfit, concentrates on some key aspects of the job: Surveillance techniques, collection and collation of information, vigilance of suspicious elements and actions, tracking and control of equipment and unattended packages, expert handling of a crisis situation, management of fire safety, administration of first aid and advising management on security and safety matters.

"The nature of our responsibilities forces us to adopt a scientific approach to our profession," says Venugopal.

Interforce Security is also offering advice on overall loss prevention and risk management systems.

Consultancy in security matters makes much business sense when the merchandise or equipment on the premises may be worth a fortune. Says Venugopal: "As an ESP (External Service Provider), we have trimmed numerous waist-lines providing proactive and cost-effective solutions to the vulnerable assets of our prestigious clientele." Venugopal hopes it will not be too long before Interforce Security in Bahrain catches up with the size of Emirates Security operations.