Standards Development

Scope

This British Standard gives recommendations for the organization, staffing, operation, and management of companies providing a Cash and Valuables-in-Transit (CViT) service (collection and delivery) on a contractual basis.

NOTE:  It is recognized that CViT companies might provide a wide range of services that are not specifically covered by this standard (e.g. ATM replenishment, cash processing).

Purpose

CViT is Cash-in-transit (CIT) or cash/valuables-in-transit (CVIT) is the physical transfer of banknotes, coins, credit cards and items of value from one location to another and it is a dangerous job for the operatives.

Many cash in transit operators are private security companies who operate in several security sectors, such as G4S, but there are organisations, such as Loomis, who are dedicated to CViT, and others who undertake the activity in-house, such as the Post Office.

In recent years the CViT industry has invested in new technology to increase security and combat potential robberies and to stay one step ahead of the criminals. Nevertheless, when an attack happens it is usually violent due to the high reward if successful.

To reduce the number of attacks on cash-in-transit operatives a shared intelligence service was created between the Police and industry stakeholder, BSIA’s SaferCash. The service collates details of reported crime and suspicious incidents from partners onto a secure intelligence database which is accessible to UK Law Enforcement and SaferCash industry members. This information enables members and the Police to identify high risk CViT routes and pin-point areas of crime where there is a higher risk and increased offending rates.

This revision will help to support SaferCash, increase awareness of current good practice in the sector and will provide several benefits to both service providers, enforcement services and service procurers, including:

• Improvements to safety and welfare of those employed in the CViT sector
• Prevention and detection of crime to decrease vulnerability of staff
• Provide assurance to all stakeholders within the CViT supply chain when a supplier can demonstrate conformance to this standard
• As other static targets become increasingly hardened an updated BS 7872 is crucial for mitigating the risk of vulnerability during transport, and cross pavement activity, when CViT operatives are away from the protection of a vehicle
• Addresses the issue of the risk of an insider threat for the purposes of terrorism, organised crime or a lone wolf, members of staff and their families may also be vulnerable
• Securing valuable customer assets
• Risk assessment will be better covered to assist the user in determining the security profile, where additional equipment such as body armour and body worn video is required as well as determining the type of transit vehicle necessary
• Informative annexes will be considered, providing examples of the risk assessment and example contracts

The use of new technology has greatly assisted in reducing successful attacks and rendering much of the money stolen unusable.