Murray Levine of G4S Honored With Watson Award From NASCO

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla., Oct. 1 /PRNewswire/ -- Industry pioneer Murray Levine, who created the Custom Protection Officer® (CPO) program for Wackenhut (now G4S) to promote excellence in recruiting, screening and training of security officers, will receive the Colonel Edgar B. Watson Award this October in Dallas. The award is bestowed on an individual who possesses strong leadership and a commitment to excellence in the industry. The honor will be presented at the National Association of Security Companies (NASCO) 20th Annual Private Security Breakfast at 7 a.m. on October 13 at the Hyatt Regency, Dallas, the same week as the ASIS International 56th Annual Seminar and Exhibits in Dallas.

According to the award nomination, Murray Levine is an industry pioneer who "thought outside the box long before the concept became a … commonly used phrase." Levine's 51-year career has helped to raise the standards of excellence of the contract security industry, to increase levels of service and to facilitate expansion into new markets.

Mr. Levine's creation of the Custom Protection Officer® (CPO) program - and its distinctive tan uniform with a purple pinstripe on the leg - raised the recruiting bar for security officers.  Mr. Levine saw that the success of a security officer is built on background, training, pay levels and incentives. He also understood the importance of a vertical market strategy and targeted industries such as banking, transit, gated communities, nuclear and petrochemical, and local government as opportunities for high-quality security officers.

"I am particularly proud of my father Murray Levine for his many years as a visionary and leader in our industry," said Drew Levine, President, G4S Secure Solutions. "He has been a tremendous positive influence and role model for me, as he has been for many here. His greatest rewards have always come from seeing how his ideas benefit the company and its employees. There is no one in the industry that deserves this honor more, and on behalf of everyone here at G4S, I offer our heartfelt congratulations."

The award is named for Colonel Edgar B. Watson, who served the private security community for 35 years at Security Forces, Inc Charlotte, North Carolina, and served with NASCO for 14 years, including his chairmanship in 1989-90. Established in 1994, the award is given in recognition of an individual's contributions to the private security industry as a whole including their superior leadership, commitment to higher standards, advocacy for increased positive awareness and valor in their duties as a security representative.

There are 11 past winners of the award, including George Wackenhut, who was Murray Levine's mentor. The National Association of Security Companies (NASCO) is the nation's largest contract security trade association, representing private security companies that employ more than 250,000 of the nation's most highly trained security officers servicing every business sector.

For more information visit www.g4s.us or call 800-275-8305.

About G4S Secure Solutions

G4S Secure Solutions is a leading provider of integrated security solutions in the U.S. With 110 offices and approximately 40,000 employees across the country, G4S offers a unique combination of best-in-breed security personnel, monitoring, tracking and response technologies to provide users with customized security solutions uniquely tailored to meet their needs. For more information visit www.g4s.us.

G4S is the world's leading security solutions group, which specialises in outsourcing of business processes in sectors where security and safety risks are considered a strategic threat. G4S is the largest employer quoted on the London Stock Exchange and has a secondary stock exchange listing in Copenhagen. G4S has operations in more than 110 countries and over 595,000 employees. For more information on G4S, visit www.g4s.com.

SOURCE G4S Secure Solutions