New guides to protect security van staff

New safety guidelines for cash-in-transit workers launched yesterday will mean criminal gangs are wasting their time trying to steal cash from security vans, according to the chief executive of the Health and Safety Authority.

The guidelines were drawn up by the HSA in co-operation with the cash-in-transit industry. They are aimed at employers, employees and clients involved in the business.

Launched by Minister of State for Trade and Commerce Michael Ahern, the guidelines were designed to promote and protect the health, safety and welfare of people involved in the transportation of cash or valuables, as well as those who service ATM machines.

They include advice on risk assessment, hazard identification, safe operating systems, responsibilities and training, and are based on the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005. They require companies to take measures to protect their workers against violence and advise that bullet-proof and stab-proof vests be provided and staff be vaccinated for hepatitis B to reduce the risk of infection from syringe attacks. The guidelines also give advice for workers on how to handle attackers.

Security systems for cash-in-transit workers were exposed last year when criminal gangs carried out two robberies in Dublin. A family was held hostage at their home in north Dublin as part of a €2 million robbery and a cash-in-transit crew was robbed of €2.5 million when they stopped to get coffee at a service station in Artane.

Tom Beegan, chief executive of the HSA, said that cash-in-transit workers and the public would be safer because of the guidelines. "My message today is: you're wasting your time, criminals, going after this cash because the mechanisms are such that the cash will be destroyed if you try and take it," he said. "The industry itself is doing all it can to reduce the opportunity for criminals to be involved."

He said sectoral health and safety issues could not be divorced from broader community concerns.

Mr Ahern said the new guidelines were a shining example of what could be achieved when employers and employees co-operated. "Proper safety and health procedures in the cash-in-transit industry will bring benefits not just to the industry but also to the general public in terms of safety and security," he said.