Women In Industry #1: Dawn Dines

Diversity and inclusivity are vital for the industry's growth, acknowledging the crucial importance of promoting gender diversity and inclusivity.

Hosted by Marie Tyler and powered by OrangeDoor, in partnership with IPSA and DARE - the Women In Industry series shines a spotlight on the journeys, perspectives and impact of women across the industry.

Episode 1: Dawn Dines – Stamp Out Spiking

£1 to Change a Life: Why Are We Not Doing More?

A powerful call to action challenging organisations to step up with minimal barriers.

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Welcome to the Women in Industry Podcast. I'm Marie Diane Tyler, and this series was recorded live at the security event in partnership with Ipsa and Dare, powered by Orange Door, an unbridled company. Let's get into it. Well, the first of the day, one of my favourites. I can't call you my favourite because everyone else is listening. The lovely Dawn Dines. Thank you for being here.

SPEAKER_00 0:25

Oh, Marie Tyler, thank you so much for having me on with you this morning.

SPEAKER_01 0:29

So, women in industry, um, you and a lot of my colleagues, I would say, would know you, but not everybody may be aware of what you've been doing, what the mission has been all about, who's Stamp Out Spike in, and then of course the big one pound challenge that we'll tuck into a min into a minute. So, over to you. Tell me about you and Stamp Out Spike in.

SPEAKER_00 0:48

So I've been campaigning for over two decades to try and make the law to be a specific criminal offence, and I'm so pleased to announce that I'm that close. It is gone back to the House of Lords, so we're just waiting for royal assent. So, yeah, so excited. And Stamphope Spiking are here to educate, protect, and safeguard against all spiking-related crimes. And honestly, Maria, I can't tell you how many men and women I have had breaking down in my arms over this past two decades. They're not gaining any sort of justice for these crimes, and you know, something had to be done. So I feel like a bit like a superwoman thing going on that I have taken it upon myself, and the security industry really have welcomed me with open arms, which is fantastic.

SPEAKER_01 1:37

I think that's testament though to your personality and how open you are, like seeing how I've had the privilege of working with you on things, so but I see how you do it with others as well. You you listen to people. If there's an opportunity to do something, it's not all that sounds complicated, it's like, okay, so how do I do that then? Yeah. Yeah, always just like looking past any barriers. It's like, okay, well then if I don't understand that thing, let's find someone else who does understand it. Like never being afraid to just challenge the norm or go, because you're not necessarily actually like a lot of people here, starting out in a security industry. It's sort of a journey you've been on to get you here, isn't it?

SPEAKER_00 2:10

It is, yeah, it really is. And I think I started off really with the hospitality industry because I felt that that was where most of these crimes were taking place, and then that quickly led me onto the security industry, and these are the people that you know that are there looking after us. That these people are going to be the eyes and ears on the ground doing the work for me. And I'm I'm pleased to announce that last week I actually done my security door license. So now yeah, so now I'm actually door security, and uh, and do you know what? They've got spike in awareness in the training. So that was just yeah, I I nearly cried. You know what an emotional kid I am. So I like I was I was like, like what I'm doing is working.

SPEAKER_01 2:52

Yeah, and it's so important because everything you want, you say I'll be in emotional. I fucking love emotion. Oh, stir my first F-bomb. We were talking about this, like, am I gonna do that? It's just the way I am, sorry, I'm a bit of a potty mouth. But genuinely, I think because it is like you're seeing the real impact of it because you're actually doing the training that those people will be doing and seeing where this is actually gonna make a difference.

SPEAKER_00 3:14

It's gonna make a huge difference, and you know, every time when I go around the country and I train people, at the end of my training they'll say, Oh, I never realised that. If I'd known that, then I wouldn't have put the woman outside and you know, oh my god, we had a man that would that had all of those symptoms and we just thought he was really drunk. So this is gonna make a huge difference to future public safety.

SPEAKER_01 3:35

Another thing I thought that was interesting recently was that awareness around spiking doesn't just go into a drink, right?

SPEAKER_00 3:41

No, there's many forms. Yeah, there's many forms, and you know, when I go and hand out like the protective drink covers, and when I go around pubs and clubs and festivals, so many men are like, oh no, and I'm like, oh, these crimes happen, you know, 60-40, obviously 60% being women. But after that, what really makes a difference for me is that people will say, Oh, but I don't drink alcohol, and I'm like, Well, water can be spiked. They're like, Oh, I didn't think of that. Now we've got people going around with vapes saying, Do you want to try a bit of my blueberry flavour? You know, boom, they've got you. Spiking can happen in food, and luckily the injection spikings were minimal. So thank goodness, because that was a major extra worry.

SPEAKER_01 4:23

The other one that um intrigued me was your campaign around um maybe not knowing that technically you're spiking someone when maybe you get them a double or a stronger drink without their permission or not or knowledge.

SPEAKER_00 4:36

Yes, that's the most common form of spiking, I'm afraid, and you know, and some CEOs of some really high-up companies have come to me and they've said, Dawn, I just thought I was being generous, yeah. Yeah. I always thought that you know, by giving somebody a double, that they would just didn't want me to spend extra money, so I was being kind. So that education piece has been huge because sticking extra alcohol into somebody's drink, they might be on have to operate machinery later, they might be driving, you know, they might be pregnant. Yeah, there could be a multitude of reasons. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 5:09

So you're giving us a nice bit of background, but I know today here, and we'll obviously be having the privilege of the moment with 19 Group, by the way, everybody obviously background noises, the joys being in a trade show. Um, but with 19 Group embracing your one pound challenge was a pretty powerful moment and will be even more powerful with a little signature on an MOU at your session tomorrow across all 35 of their shows around the world for three years. Happy days.

SPEAKER_00 5:36

Happy days. I just cannot believe how they've embraced this. It's like it's music to high ears because now that awareness is going to be shared with some brilliant security companies, and who better for us to train, for us to give resources to? And you know, this one pound challenge, it's all about getting everybody involved because you know, you could get last year we had somebody who donated to our charity that kept us going for a few months. But I've got um a really clever gentleman who's joined on my board, Richard Fogelman, the NSI, and he gave me some great advice and said to me, Look, Dawn, the only way you're gonna make a good, sustainable, charitable model is by getting regular donations. So everybody's struggling at the moment, prices of fuel are heart, you know, everything's going up. So I thought, if I'd just say, just pledge a pound a month or a pound a year, then that leaves it open to everybody, and then they can choose where they want their money to go to. Do they want to educate someone? I can train somebody online for a pound. Do they want drink protectors? Because we've got the company, we can give them cost price, so I can actually put 10 drink protectors into the hands of partygoers for one pound. Or do you want that one pound to go towards frontline? Me being at a festival, being on public transport, right when it's needed, so that if we do get, unfortunately, somebody who's been spiked, we can suss it out when we can then put that education into our training to help the security industry even more.

SPEAKER_01 7:14

100%. And it doesn't need to stop at one pound, of course. It can be any donation you like. You've got these great QR codes, we've got uh table talkers. If you don't know what that is, by the way, it's a stand-up flyer. We learnt about this, didn't we? Your guys are putting this together. Um, and they're all around the shows, and there'll be all of the other shows that 19 Group are doing. But very simple concept: scan the QR code, go on. As you say, you can choose which of those three pockets that you want your money to go towards. Um, also, although it's standardised on the one pound, you can change the amount. We obviously also standardise it as a monthly, we would love that. But again, you can make a one-off donation or you can make an annual, however it fits for you. Um, and also there's a little bit in there to say whereabouts you did the donation from, because of course the 19 group is super excited about the fact that a lot of that's going to happen here. Another part to all this as well is a gigantic check that we're gonna be flying around this show with, aren't we, later on tonight? Um, any uh companies that perhaps want to donate pounds for every member of staff, much like 19 Group doing for theirs. Yeah. Yes, please, we'll take some of that. Um, people will see some of those posts coming out as well, so they'll um see all the great support that you're getting. But what sort of feedback have you had so far? We've obviously know how 19 are in race in it, but what's everyone else saying?

SPEAKER_00 8:27

Well, numerous support services, they've just joined, um, which is fantastic. I've just bumped into Mike Reddington and he said that the BSIA big pays to join. Man commercial, I spoke to Ian McAllister yesterday, he said he's gonna join. I'm just like, wow, I've had um uh C2C Railway, they're gonna join, Great Western Railway, they're gonna join. So I'm just like I'm a bit overwrought, to be honest. Do you know what? I've got myself into this stage that I've I've been here fighting for that law change because I'm all about being the voice for the victims for all of these people that have suffered from spiking. And I thought once I get that law change, I can tip my hat and say, Right, I've done what I have to do. But I've been saying this to a few people, and they're like, Dawn, once that happens, that's when the real work starts. I'm like, oh my god. So uh perhaps my 20 years fighting, so now I'm putting it out to the public. If they still want me here, I will stay. So if people want to donate, and that money doesn't go to core running costs, that goes to direct frontline action. And then because we've got gift aid attached to it, if people tick that gift aid box, then tick the box, then that 25p goes to core running costs. So that will keep us going, keep all our social media going, all our messaging. That you know, whenever we learn recently we learned that spiking was being done through chewing gap. They're like, what? Wow. So and then we found out that you know the bits of perfume, the little bits of carping we give you that we sniff.

SPEAKER_01 10:02

Yeah, some people in so it's anything that you can smell or taste, it's it's going into your system, isn't it?

SPEAKER_00 10:08

It is. So I think you know, the awareness is there, we really need to keep on going, we need to be sharing these messages, getting these drink protectors into the hands of party goers when they're out and about. And those wonderful, I call them like our fourth emergency service, and the street pastors and the street angels, they're the people that are out on the streets.

SPEAKER_01 10:31

Love that. Oh my god. I love that. And I um you mentioned a few of those companies earlier, by the way. We need to nail how much they're giving, and we've we better get them at this show, we'll get them checks written up, get them in the pictures. Yes. Um oh mine just went blank. I was gonna say something. Oh, the website. So for anyone who's listening or or watching, um, so the QR code, the destination that takes you to is stampoutspiking.org forward slash pledge. So that is the link, that's where you can go to to make the donation. So obviously, encourage everybody to do that. Stampoutspiking.org forward slash pledge. Show us the money. Um, before we wrap it up though, Dawn, is there anything else that you want to say to I suppose our overarching mission with this podcast is to attract more women into the security industry? Like, how have you found it being here? And you've you've been immersed in it for quite some time of us now.

SPEAKER_00 11:22

I have, and do you know what? I know that there's not that many women in security, and to be honest with you, doing that SIA badge last week, there were three women that were there, and there was probably about 15 men. So it just goes to show what the ratio is like. But you know, women can diffuse situations, so they've got a different way of looking at things, and I would recommend that women do get into the security industry because there's great opportunities for you to further your career, so and to have women there, they're the ones that reproduce, they're the ones that maybe I mean we need a little bit of help from the other side, but yeah, we do a lot of help. We just grow it, we grow our lashes. So um, I just think that getting women in security is gonna give that different outlook, that's different. Yeah, yeah, we need both, and of course that's gonna safeguard so many more people. But just on that flip side of that, I want to say that when I was doing my security, security, you know, and going over doing a bit of control and restraint, and you do need the men there because they are bigger and stronger. But I think the men for the brawn and the women to come in to help diffuse. So I think it would work really nice double acts, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 12:36

Well, you heard it here first. Very excited that we were able to be part of this launch of the One Pound Challenge BNS event. I can't wait to see you on stage tomorrow as well. Thank you so much for being here.

SPEAKER_00 12:46

Hey Marie Tyler, can I just say a little something to you? Oh, Jesus, there she goes to you for everything you do because you honestly go above and beyond. You have for me, and I've seen you do it with so many other people.

SPEAKER_01 12:59

Only for the good ones.

SPEAKER_00 13:00

Only for the good ones. Thanks, love.

SPEAKER_01 13:02

Thank you for having me, and thank you for being a lovely.

SPEAKER_00 13:04

Thank you.