The City of London Corporation and City of London Police have today launched new ‘Hotel Toolkit’ guidance to help the Square Mile’s hoteliers deal with crime and emergencies on their premises.

The toolkit is designed to give hotel staff directions on actions that can be taken at the earliest stages of an incident. It will be used primarily by staff working on front desks, duty managers and other employees who are often the first point of contact when dealing with incidents of crime.

Superintendent Helen Isaac, City of London Police, said:

“Although hotel crime in the Square Mile is rare, this advice will give staff confidence, reassurance and support on how to deal with a wide variety of situations, including terrorism, drugs, fraud and abuse. We want to empower hotels to respond to criminal activity in the safest and most appropriate way.”

Henry Pollard, Chairman of the City of London Corporation’s Police Committee, said:

“Following feedback from hotel staff, we recognise that they are not always confident on what action to take in a range of situations that may occur on their premises. This toolkit will provide clear guidance in one place to improve both their service to customers and the City of London Police’s response to any incident that may occur. The security and protection of residents, workers and visitors alike is paramount and this initiative will help the Square Mile become even safer than it is today.”

Tony Matharu, Manager Director of Grange Hotels, said:

“Giving good customer service includes responding appropriately to incidents of crime, to help when a person is distress and showing our duty of care. Anyone coming into one of our hotels should feel safe not only because it is a secure place to be - but also because if anything were to happen we are there to help and give an appropriate response. Working in partnership with the City Corporation and City of London Police enhances the services that we provide and this toolkit will help all hotels to have a more coordinated response to crime.”

The City of London is the first London council to provide this type of industry safety guidance, which is complemented by hands-on training of hotel staff by the City of London Police.

The Square Mile continues to be one of the safest areas in the country with crime falling in eleven of the past twelve years – and in a recent survey 87.7% of the population of the City of London felt the City of London Police were doing a good or excellent job. This compares to the national average of 61%.

83.9% of victims of crime felt satisfied with the service they received from the City of London Police, compared to a national average of 74%.