Security-rated fencing, gates and barriers are essential in Calais if the UK Government’s latest multi-million-pound investment isn’t to be wasted.
That’s the view of Jacksons Fencing, which offers LPS1175 certified fencing and gate systems from SR1 through to SR5 ratings.
LPS1175 certification as tested by the Buildings Research Establishment (BRE) was introduced by the Loss Prevention Certification Board (LPCB) at the BRE in the mid-1990s.
The LPCB works closely with UK government security agencies, police services, risk consultants and architects to determine standards for fire and security products and services and independently tests and certifies systems to LPS1175 SRs.
British Prime Minister Theresa May committed the UK to an additional £44.5m in government funding to reinforce security at the UK border, which will be spent on fencing, CCTV and detection technology in Calais and other ports along the Channel.
French President Emmanuel Macron and the UK government share an aim to prevent the creation of additional refugee camps in the Channel port.
Jacksons’ security consultant Cris Francis said: “Busy crossing points such as the ferry port and EuroTunnel terminal at Calais need to be treated like any other high-risk commercial site. With the high volumes of vehicle traffic and heavy machinery operating within these areas, it’s important to reduce risk by eliminating unauthorised access, as the consequences could result in serious injury or death.
“Investing in threat-specific, certified and proven high security products is of critical importance in these scenarios and, at a minimum, we would advise installing products that have been certified to an LPS1175 SR from the LPCB.
“While our SR4 and SR5 rated products would be over-specified for the majority of the sites in and around the Calais terminals, they would certainly come into play in areas where surveillance coverage and manned response is difficult or where breach would lead to loss of life or cause catastrophic disruption to services.”
In 2017 alone, The Times reports that there were around 115,000 attempts to illegally cross the Anglo-French border from Calais, resulting in five recorded fatalities from crossing related incidents. The planned security enhancements will help to keep people safe and deter dangerous and illegal crossing attempts.
Jacksons won a government tender to supply and install an earlier upgrade of security fencing and access control systems at the EuroTunnel terminal in Calais in 2015. The project was successfully completed in 2017, contributing to reducing fatalities which had amounted to 23 deaths in 2016.
