News & Features ...

Established in 1994, the BCI has over 6000 members in 100 countries and, by happy coincidence, is based in Reading, just a few yards from our own headquarters.

Although CLIO, our crisis management software system, was developed primarily in collaboration with the police and emergency services and is used by over 60 police forces and law enforcement agencies worldwide, it is finding increasing applications in commercial organisations to manage exceptional incidents that may threaten staff, property and business continuity.

The BCI is the world’s most eminent business continuity management institute and its name is instantly recognised as standing for good practice and professionalism. Membership provides internationally recognised status as a company with competence to carry out (BCM) to a consistently high standard.

Badger Software is proud to join the BCI as a Bronze Sponsor, which gives us access to a wealth of resources and a network of continuity minded professionals and experts. Look out for more news in the future on events we will be attending.

The 2011 UK Law Enforcement CLIO User Group conference is an excellent opportunity to network with fellow CLIO users across all spectrums of policing and share ideas and experiences and develop best practice. Along with welcoming a large number of new forces to the fold, we hope to update you on the more varied uses people are finding for CLIO and also to continue the theme of interoperability and cross border collaboration.

We constantly listen to our users and work on their ideas and suggestions - and this is our opportunity to put those ideas, often in the form of prototypes or screenshots, to the community for their input. This allows you to keep in touch with future developments and help shape those developments by voicing your opinion.

We always focus on practitioners providing input with case studies and by showcasing interesting uses of CLIO, and these are always well received. This year is no exception, with some really exciting talks from managing marches and demonstrations, to olympic planning, Interoperability and Cross Border Operations and much more.

The conference is planned as a one day event, but many delegates meet up the night before and this is an excellent opportunity to meet fellow officers and share experiences.

If you would like to attend and have not already seen an invite please get in touch.

During the Olympic Games 2012, the number of people in London alone is expected to rise by approximately 2 million people at any one time. UK wide, there will be a huge effect on business; there will be major disruptions to public transport, increased threats to security, road closures, terrorism fears and reduced mobile phone reception.

Companies are putting alot of effort into business continuity and safety of their data-centres, but how will you keep track of key staff, manage disruption to your business, respond to security threats and make sure your business can cope with whatever fate throws your way?

Leading experts in Critical Incident Management at Badger Software are happy to come and speak with you and can offer a computer system to help ensure you can put your plans into action and demonstrate your corporate governance if later required.

There have always been security threats to be considered when travelling or working abroad. In the past, the type and degree of threat could, to a certain extent, be pre-determined with little or minimal research. However, in recent years, areas of political unrest, terrorist activity and growing sophistication and boldness of criminal groups have meant an increase. Criminal groups now operate in areas previously considered low risk. These activities have resulted in bombings, shootings, kidnaps, hostage taking and violent robbery / mugging, especially against western and/or western-associated personnel and organisations.

Kidnapping of company employees is a very real risk and generates millions a year in ransom payments. The UK government policy is not to pay ransoms. Employers should seriously consider specialist advice and Kidnap and Ransom insurance cover when sending staff to volatile regions, particularly areas of Latin America, Asia and the Middle East.

Common sense and compassion for a fellow colleague will drive you to look after your staff and do you best for their welfare, but you should be aware of new laws related to corporate governance and corporate manslaughter, which not only insist that you take appropriate steps, but which may require extra measures to document and prove that you have fulfilled your duty of care. These laws may make CEOs and directors personally responsible and do not allow this responsibility to be passed onto managers within the organisation. You should thoroughly understand your responsibilities before you start sending staff overseas, especially if sending them to risky areas of the world.

See our feature here for more advice on what Employers and Employees alike can do to be prepared.

Badger Software will be exhibiting at this year's HOSDB exibition.

The Home Office Scientific Development Branch (HOSDB) exhibition is the UK’s premier platform for showcasing world leading technologies and solutions for law enforcement and public security applications. In partnership with UK Trade & Investment Defence & Security Organisation this exhibition is the UK’s only secure event for the engagement of UK and international police and security professionals with the pinnacle of the UK security industry.

Focusing on the Home Office priority areas:

• Security and Counter Terrorism
• Crime and Policing
• Border Security and Immigration Control

The unique Government Zone at the exhibition brings together government agencies from the policing and security sphere creating a forum at the event to tackle the unique threats posed by today’s security environment against a background of increasing financial pressure. This secure government event provides a world class opportunity to meet, network and discuss the latest advances in delivering national security and resilience with UK suppliers colleagues and government officials from across the world.

Now in its 31st year, the HOSDB 2011 exhibition provides a unique opportunity to source technology and solutions from more than 400 companies showcasing the latest specialist security products, technology and services.

Badger Software launches an incentive scheme for Agents that provide sales leads for our systems or services.

Many risk consultants or responders are providing their services to customers that would benefit from better management systems, particularly when dealing with critical incidents.

You have the expertise from years of experience and will have seen, first hand, the ensuing problems with communication and co-ordination that Crisis Management Teams may face. Whether it be problems liaising with external parties such as yourselves, insurers or police agencies, or difficulties keeping the management team up to speed and in-touch with the incident or problems around informed decision making and recording - you know the problems and we know you will see the benefits of the solutions we provide.

If you can help put us in touch with the right people in organisations you work with, then all parties can benefit - the customer benefits from better management and control, we benefit from a new customer and you can benefit too.

Not just through the kudos of having helped the customer, you know the organisations well enough to help them fit our systems around their procedures and enhance and develop their plans.

We also offer a reward scheme with incentives for referrals - please contact us for more information.

With 38 of the 43 Police forces in England and Wales already using CLIO, Scotland and Ireland join the community with Strathclyde and PSNI leading the Way.

In Scotland, now that ACPOS have approved CLIO as the recongnised tool for Crimes in Action, Tayside, Central Scotland, Lothian and Borders and Fife have been hot on their heels and others are following.

At Badger Software, we still hope that one day soon, we will have complete coverage of the United Kingdom. This would be a significant step forward, not only for us as a company, but for law enforcement and British security as a whole.

Together this means that CLIO now truly has National coverage and will increase its ability to join up the police efforts in tackling crime which no longer just involves a single police are but has connections across the country.

Already, Police Forces and law enforcement agencies are starting to work together by sharing CLIO over the Police National Network and working on cross border crime.

And now that more and more Strategic Co-ordinating Groups are opting to use CLIO for any response to critical incidents or civil emergencies such as flooding, other blue light services, Local Authorities, utility companies and agencies are being given the opportunity to connect through the government networks to also join in.

Ashok Vaidya has 30 years of successful international business and technology commercialisation experience in the electronics, security and information technology sectors. He has a proven track record of managing intellectual property (IP) to create tangible value through product sales and licensing and is an advisor to university and entrepreneurial spin-out and commercialisation enterprises. He has been a hands-on operational managing director and executive chairman of high technology, early stage companies and has experience of MBO and IPO on main and AIM markets. His specialties are in the areas of IP licensing and profitable business management, combining his technical and commercial skills.

Ashok has been appointed as a Non-Executive Director to help Badger drive forward with its ambitious plans for expansion both in the UK and overseas.

In January 2011, Badger releases Version 2.2 of the CLIO system to both Law Enforcement and Commercial customers.

This new release of the leading Critical Incident Management Software package follows an extensive consultation with the current users and some visionary decisions by the project team at Badger.

The Software now reaches its full potential with a revamp to many of the existing features and full support for mobile devices, mapping, newsgroups, status boards etc. Everything our customers have been asking for has been discussed and the result is a slicker, more powerful and more complete product.

At its heart, the software still retains all of the simplicity, user friendliness and reliability that its users know and love.

Contact us to find out more.

Any crisis has the potential not only to seriously disrupt or affect business continuity but also poses a significant threat to the organisation’s reputation, both with customers and within their field of business. A poorly handled crisis will no doubt attract considerable adverse media attention and could even jeopardise the safety of individuals, either staff or, in the case of product contamination, members of the public.

The role of a Crisis Management Team (CMT) is to coordinate the response to the crisis and, where appropriate, provide liaison with the police investigation.

Depending upon the nature and magnitude of the incident, a tiered response by the company or organisation may be appropriate and it is important that appropriate representatives are involved at each tier of responses. This may include a corporate CMT operating at head office level, working in conjunction with a Forward Management Team and a Tactical Management Team in close collaboration with those directly affected by the crisis.

For a CMT to be effective during a crisis, it is suggested that the group meets and trains together regularly. Crisis scenarios can be worked through in a measured fashion without the additional time pressures and demands that a real life crisis will bring.

See our feature here for more advice on how to establish and run an effective Crisis Management Team.

Our customer focus and support has always been the pride of everyone at Badger Software. We are revamping our delivery of these services and the drive will be co-ordinated by Shelley, working with the existing team - to set up regional and industry specific user groups and ensure our systems for customer support are ready to meet the challenge of our expansion programmes.

Shelley Laker worked for the UK Police Service for more than 18 years, including 4 years as a Special Constable. Shelley worked for a number of Police forces, including Northamptonshire, Leicestershire and The Metropolitan Police – carrying out various roles from Control Rooms to Custody to Crime Prevention and many more.

Most recently, Shelley worked for the HOLMES Team within the Major Crime Unit at Leicestershire. Her role included managing HOLMES Indexers, HOLMES Training, CLIO Training Force Lead and production of NCALT (National Centre for Applied Learning Technology) training packages. Shelley became an accredited Police Trainer by successfully completing the Development Programme with the NPIA (National Police Improvement Agency).

Shelley regularly assisted in live incidents and was responsible for the setting up of the East Midlands Regional CLIO User group – a model which Badger now looks to promote within the other Police Regions within the UK.

Shelley’s wealth of experience, training background and her organisation skills to bring together and run user groups and liaise with end users, were key to her move to Badger in order to drive forward our customer support.

We welcome Shelley on-board and look forward to the exciting future her appointment promises for us and for our customers.

Imagine the scenario… ’It is 0300hrs and you have just been contacted as the manager to respond to a critical incident. It is four months since you attended the incident management course and you are frantically trying to recall what your initial response and actions should be….’

As you arrive at your operations room, you log on to CLIO which your organisation has purchased for the management of critical incidents. It is at this stage that you may welcome a little assistance and guidance.

The Central Logging of Intelligence Operations (CLIO) system provides users with a facility to template operations.

These templates can help you provide a faster and better response by automatically generating checklists or actions and providing you with sample strategies, aide-memoirs and information on resources and contacts that you are able to draw on.

This could be the difference between sitting there wondering what to do next, or possibly missing an important step in the heat of battle, or hopefully smooth running as quickly and painlessly as possible, with a deomostrable record that you followed standard procedures.

See our feature here for more advice on why templates are so powerful and how to make the most of them.

Colin joins Badger Software after retiring from a 30 year career as a Police Officer with the West Midlands Police.

During this career, Colin worked in both Crime Support and CID, undertaking a variety of roles including Detective Inspector on the Serious & Organised Crime Unit. with specific responsibility for the Force’s capability and capacity around the response to kidnap and extortion incidents.

Colin was a trained Senior Investigating Officer for both Murder and Kidnap & Extortion and has been involved in a number of critical incidents, overseas kidnaps, product contamination and blackmail investigations. He received the Police Long Service and Good Conduct Medal together with a number of commendations and awards.

Colin was responsible for the roll out and training of CLIO across West Midlands Police and saw it introduced for the management of kidnap and extortion investigations, serious crime and disaster victim identification operations.

Colin’s takes on an exciting role as part of the training and advisory team at Badger Software. We are sure that his wealth of experience will be invaluable to not only UK Police forces but also to international Law Enforcement and commercial companies.

Badger Software was one of a select group of companies selected by The Association of Chief Police Officers to feature in a video for the 2010 ACPO/APA Conference.

ACPO commissioned ITN to make a feature for each of the 10 companies, selected to demonstrate the real success stories of their work with the UK Police. This feature showcases our work and will be shown at the national conference in Manchester in June.

Badger Software was delighted to be involved in the project and the results can be seen on the ACPO APA website - in their TV channel. Go to the ACPO/APA 2010 website or scroll down to find the Badger Software link in the video window here.

There are some interesting stories about the situation facing the UK Public Sector and Police Forces in the ACPO/APA channel too!

We have completed an overhaul of the CLIO system for both Commercial and Law Enforcement which makes it possible to quickly 'plug-in' screen text in any language, simply by getting a translator to edit a spreadsheet with the text to be translated into that language.

"This will allow organisations across The World to benefit from our Critical Incident Management software in their own language" says John Langley - Sales & Marketing Director, Badger Software

When disaster strikes overseas and there are UK interests, CLIO can be a valuable tool for co-ordinating information and activity, as well as communicating between information gathering and investigations at home and officers deployed in theatre.

When there are UK citizens or Foreign nationals resident in the UK, information on those people needs to be gathered by a number of agencies in a number of geographical areas. To make this simpler, at any time a single UK Police Force is on call to deal with the international liaison and co-ordinate the UK response.

CLIO has been used for this co-ordination and information gathering in a number of high profile incidents such as plane crashes, and has proved to be a valuable tool - from family liaison to gathering an Ante-Mortem package of information to transmit to the country where the incident took place.

CLIO can transmit and share data via the Internet across the world in an encrypted environment which is both safe and secure.

CLIO provides an opportunity for inter-police, inter-agency, national and international cooperation.

DVI Commanders working in Theatre can log in to CLIO, access the investigation and communicate with the team at home.

Read more here for information.

John served as a Police Officer for 32 years, retiring in the rank of Detective Superintendent.

For the last 7 years of his service, John was a Senior Investigating Officer responsible for the management and investigation of serious crimes including many murder, major fraud and police corruption investigations. He was appointed Director of Forensic Services with Derbyshire Constabulary in 2002.

In 2003 John set up his own Consultancy firm and was responsible for a number of National projects, including formulating policing policy and guidance in relation to the management and investigation of missing people and the implementation of national protocols on behalf of the Home Office and ACPO. He was also the Police Advisor to the charity Missing People for 4 years.

John also undertook a number of reviews of major crimes on behalf of Centrex (now NPIA) and advised numerous police forces across the United Kingdom on a variety of issues.

John has worked for the BBC commenting on major crime issues and has presented television documentaries on a variety of police related subjects.

In 2006 John was introduced to Badger Software and worked with us as a Consultant for 3 ½ years before joining the board of Directors and officially taking up the role that he has been doing successfully for some time.

Gu Puds joins the family of consumer services departments who put their customers first by investing in the UK's leading customer care system in the Food and Drink industry.

SmartResponse™ allows its users to focus on what is important to them – making sure that they can respond to enquiries and complaints in a timely and professional manner, keeping on top of issues or trends that that are quickly identified by the software, and allowing them to tailor reports or data extracts to suit their analysis needs.

Designed from the ground up to maximise ease of use and minimise the learning curve, it provides Consumer Care departments with a one-stop data management solution.

Our customers frequently tell us that SmartResponse™ is a pleasure to use. This is because we have taken great care with the design and layout to make sure that users see the information they need to see, when they need it.

The events of 11 September 2001 and 7 July 2005 have underlined the necessity for law enforcement organisations and other agencies to work together across organisational, regional and national borders in order to combat terrorism and organised crime.

Collaboration provides real opportunities for police forces in terms of increasing their ability to tackle crime, both locally and cross-border, as well as looking at how technology can be best used to support frontline policing.

No longer can crime be viewed on an isolated local level, as criminals travel further and have connections across ever larger areas.

As criminals become more mobile and exploit technology, organisations need to work together to utilise technology and specialist skills and to share expertise and knowledge effectively.

CLIO is helping those organisations to adapt to the challenges this brings and improve inter-agency co-operation in combating crime and criminals.

Missing People is the UK’s only charity that works with young runaways, missing and unidentified people, their families and others who care for them. As well as actively searching for missing people and supporting those who are trying to find them, the charity offers three other services:

• Runaway Helpline (for young runaways)
• Message Home (for missing adults)
• Identification (helping to resolve cases of unidentified people)

Missing People work in partnership with police forces in England and Wales under the terms of the National Protocol Agreement. This creates a single, national mechanism for exchange of data, and its subsequent processing and monitoring by police and Missing People. The agreement creates a gateway through which to access the range of services that Missing People offers to support police, at no charge. These services include emotional support to the families or carers of the missing, publicity, poster production and distribution and enquiries to support the investigation.

In order to cope with this work and as part of the same ‘Invest to Save’ Missing Persons Project, Badger Software was initially commissioned to review the existing systems and databases in place at Missing People and propose a solution which would improve the case management process and data flow. Following this study, Badger developed HERMES, an integrated solution which brought several “legacy” database applications together into one, single, easy to manage system which also fulfilled the requirements for information sharing with police.

HERMES was developed with ease of use and performance in mind, using industry standard Microsoft development tools and database technologies. The entire project, from initial specification to live operation, was completed within one year. It features a modern, friendly user-interface, sophisticated search and matching facilities and is capable of receiving data in an open XML format from other Missing Persons systems in use by UK Police Forces.

The combination of a Microsoft .Net “Smart Client” application and a well-tuned SQL Server database has provided Missing People with a robust and future-proof platform for their case management needs.

Badger Software Ltd was commissioned to develop HERMES in partnership with the Mott MacDonald Group