Supporting Safer Summers: All Time Security Pictured on Duty as Daily Mail Looks at London Lido Safety

12 Aug 2026

Supporting Safer Summers: All Time Security Pictured on Duty as Daily Mail Looks at London Lido Safety

Recent Daily Mail coverage has highlighted the pressures faced by some of London’s busiest outdoor swimming pools during periods of high summer demand. With an All Time Security officer pictured on duty at Tooting Bec Lido, we look at the positive role professional security can play in supporting staff, safeguarding visitors and keeping these much-loved community facilities welcoming and safe.

London’s outdoor swimming pools are an important part of summer in the capital.

From early-morning swimmers completing their daily lengths to families enjoying a hot afternoon together, the city’s lidos bring thousands of people into shared public spaces throughout the warmer months.

For the overwhelming majority of visitors, the experience is exactly what it should be: relaxed, enjoyable and safe.

However, as visitor numbers rise during exceptionally warm weather, the demands placed on venue staff can increase considerably.

A recent Daily Mail report looked at some of the challenges faced by outdoor swimming facilities, including incidents of antisocial behaviour and the additional measures being introduced by venues to help protect staff and visitors.

Among the photographs accompanying the report was an All Time Security officer carrying out his duties at Tooting Bec Lido.

For us, the photograph represents something important.

Behind the scenes at busy leisure facilities, professional security officers work alongside lifeguards, reception teams and venue management to help make sure thousands of people can continue enjoying these spaces safely.

The objective is not to change the atmosphere of a lido.

It is to help protect it.

Keeping London’s Lidos Welcoming and Safe

Outdoor swimming pools present a very particular security environment.

Unlike many commercial premises, they are open, social and family-oriented spaces.

Security therefore needs to be proportionate.

Nobody wants to visit their local lido and feel as though they are entering a high-security building.

A successful leisure security operation should be visible enough to provide reassurance but subtle enough that most visitors simply get on with enjoying their day.

That requires officers who understand both security and customer service.

On a normal day, much of the role may involve providing directions, helping manage entrances or supporting venue staff.

During periods of high demand, however, circumstances can change quickly.

Longer queues, capacity restrictions, groups arriving together and increased visitor numbers can place additional pressure on the people running the facility.

Having trained security personnel available means these situations can be managed professionally while other staff remain focused on their own responsibilities.

Allowing Lifeguards to Concentrate on Water Safety

One of the strongest reasons for providing professional security at outdoor swimming pools is simple:

Lifeguards need to be able to concentrate on the water.

Their primary responsibility is protecting swimmers.

They need to remain alert to people who may be struggling, enforce water-safety rules, recognise emergencies and react immediately if somebody needs help.

It is therefore beneficial for venues to have other trained personnel available to deal with situations such as:

entrance disputes;
queue management;
inappropriate behaviour;
access-control issues;
people refusing to follow venue policies;
safeguarding concerns; and
incidents requiring additional support.

This creates a clearer division of responsibility.

Security officers manage security-related situations while lifeguards remain focused on their specialist role.

Ultimately, both teams are working towards the same objective:

keeping people safe.

What Does Professional Lido Security Involve?

Security at a swimming facility is very different from guarding a warehouse or construction site.

The environment requires patience, communication skills and good judgement.

A professional leisure security operation may include several different responsibilities.

Access Control

During warm weather, outdoor swimming pools can become extremely busy.

Some venues operate timed sessions, advance bookings or maximum-capacity restrictions.

Security officers can support venue staff by helping maintain controlled entry and ensuring visitors follow the appropriate admissions process.

Clear and friendly communication is particularly important when a session is full.

A disappointed visitor may simply need somebody to explain the situation calmly and professionally.

Good communication can prevent a minor frustration from becoming a larger problem.

Queue Management

Queues are often unavoidable when demand is high.

What matters is how they are managed.

An organised entrance, clear information and a visible member of staff or security officer can make the experience considerably easier for visitors.

Professional queue management also helps:

maintain emergency access routes;
prevent overcrowding around entrances;
keep pedestrian areas clear; and
reduce frustration among people waiting.

Again, good security often means preventing an issue before it develops.

Supporting Venue Policies

Some outdoor facilities introduce additional safety measures during busy periods.

For example, the City of London’s guidance for Parliament Hill Lido includes measures relating to age verification, bag searches and prohibited items.

Professional security officers can help venues apply policies like these consistently and respectfully.

The intention is not to inconvenience genuine visitors.

It is to make the environment safer for everybody using the facility.

De-escalation Comes Before Intervention

One of the most important skills in public-facing security is the ability to communicate.

Professional security is not about confrontation.

In fact, the best outcome is usually the opposite.

Experienced officers learn to recognise situations that are beginning to escalate and intervene early.

Sometimes a simple conversation is enough.

Someone may have misunderstood a policy.

A visitor may be frustrated because they cannot enter a sold-out session.

Two people may disagree about a place in a queue.

Handled badly, relatively small situations can become unnecessarily confrontational.

Handled professionally, they can often be resolved quickly.

This is why de-escalation, communication and judgement are so important in leisure security.

Physical intervention should never be the starting point.

Protecting the People Who Work at Our Lidos

Visitors are not the only people who benefit from professional security.

The people working at outdoor swimming facilities deserve a safe working environment too.

Lifeguards, reception teams, cleaners and managers interact with large numbers of people every day.

The overwhelming majority of those interactions are positive.

But when somebody becomes abusive or threatening, staff should know that appropriate support is available.

Security personnel can step in where normal customer service ends and a genuine security concern begins.

That provides reassurance to employees and allows them to carry out their work confidently.

Nobody working in a public leisure facility should feel that aggressive behaviour is simply something they have to accept.

Safeguarding in a Family Environment

Outdoor swimming pools attract visitors of all ages.

That makes safeguarding an important part of the security role.

Children can become separated from parents.

Young people may attend in groups.

Vulnerable visitors may require assistance.

Security officers working in these environments therefore need to understand how safeguarding concerns should be recognised, reported and escalated.

At All Time Security, we believe that good security is about protecting people—not simply property.

In a leisure environment, that principle becomes particularly important.

Responding When Something Does Happen

Even with good planning, not every incident can be prevented.

When something does happen, a calm and organised response matters.

Professional security officers can assist with:

protecting people in the immediate area;
supporting venue employees;
controlling access where necessary;
communicating with management;
contacting or assisting emergency services;
preserving relevant information; and
completing accurate incident reports.

Having clear procedures already in place means teams are not trying to decide what to do for the first time in the middle of an incident.

Preparation creates confidence.

All Time Security at Tooting Bec Lido

The All Time Security officer pictured in the Daily Mail report was on duty at Tooting Bec Lido, one of London’s best-known outdoor swimming facilities.

Our work within outdoor leisure environments has given our teams first-hand experience of the unique balance these venues require.

You can read more about our experience at Tooting Bec in our previous article:

All Time Security Protects London’s Largest Outdoor Swimming Pool

We have also explored the wider subject in:

Keeping London’s Lidos Safe: The Importance of Professional Security and Safeguarding at Outdoor Swimming Pools

Our experience has reinforced an important lesson:

the best leisure security fits naturally into the environment it is protecting.

An officer at a lido may be helping a family one minute and responding to a security issue the next.

That requires professionalism, adaptability and excellent people skills.

Security Should Support the Visitor Experience

Security and customer service are sometimes treated as completely separate things.

At public leisure venues, they should work together.

A friendly professional officer can improve the visitor experience simply by being approachable.

People may ask:

“Where do we queue?”

“Where is the entrance?”

“Can I bring this inside?”

“Where do I collect my booking?”

For many visitors, that may be their only interaction with security.

And that is perfectly fine.

A professional security officer should be somebody members of the public feel comfortable approaching.

The objective is not to create fear.

It is to provide reassurance.

Why Prevention Matters

The most successful security work is often invisible.

If an incident is prevented, nobody writes a headline about it.

A security officer might:

reorganise a queue before frustration develops;
identify a prohibited item at the entrance;
notice somebody attempting to enter without authorisation;
calm an argument before voices become raised;
identify a safeguarding concern; or
provide additional support to a member of venue staff.

To the public, very little appears to have happened.

But that is often precisely the point.

Effective security is preventative wherever possible.

A calm day where thousands of visitors enjoy themselves safely is the result everybody wants.

Security During Peak Summer Demand

One of the biggest lessons for any outdoor venue is that security needs can change with demand.

A lido on a cool Tuesday morning is a very different environment from the same facility during a Saturday heatwave.

The physical venue has not changed.

But the risk profile has.

More visitors can mean:

increased pressure on entrances;
longer queues;
higher capacity;
additional safeguarding considerations;
more customer-service interactions; and
a greater possibility of disagreements or incidents.

Security planning should therefore be flexible.

Additional coverage during peak periods can often be more effective than treating every operating day identically.

This type of proportionate planning allows venues to maintain a relaxed atmosphere while ensuring appropriate resources are available when demand increases.

Protecting Community Spaces

London’s lidos have a special place within their communities.

Many have long histories and generations of loyal swimmers.

They are places where people exercise, socialise, relax and spend time with their families.

Professional security should help preserve that.

The behaviour of a small minority should not prevent everybody else from enjoying a public facility.

The aim of good security is therefore not simply enforcement.

It is creating the conditions in which the venue can operate as intended.

Safe. Welcoming. Enjoyable.

What Other Public Venues Can Learn

The issues discussed in recent coverage are not unique to swimming pools.

The same principles apply to many high-footfall environments across London, including:

leisure centres;
parks;
sports facilities;
festivals;
community events;
visitor attractions;
shopping centres;
entertainment venues; and
public buildings.

Whenever large numbers of people gather, organisations benefit from asking some basic questions:

Who manages access when the venue becomes busy?

Who supports employees if somebody becomes aggressive?

What happens if capacity is reached?

How are safeguarding concerns handled?

Who responds during an emergency?

How are incidents recorded?

Answering those questions before they become necessary is one of the foundations of good security planning.

Professional Security Is About Partnership

Security works best when it is integrated into the wider venue team.

Officers should understand the responsibilities of lifeguards.

Lifeguards should know when to call security.

Reception teams should understand escalation procedures.

Managers should have clear communication channels.

Everybody should know what happens if an incident occurs.

That collaborative approach is far more effective than treating security as an isolated service positioned at the entrance.

At All Time Security, we aim to work with our clients rather than simply providing officers to them.

Understanding the venue is an important part of protecting it.

Looking Beyond the Headlines

Recent national reporting has understandably drawn attention to incidents at outdoor swimming facilities.

Those incidents should be taken seriously.

But they should also be viewed constructively.

They give leisure operators an opportunity to review:

current security arrangements;
access procedures;
safeguarding practices;
staffing levels during heatwaves;
incident response procedures;
queue management;
prohibited-item policies; and
communication between security and venue staff.

Strengthening security does not mean fundamentally changing the character of a public leisure venue.

Quite the opposite.

It can help protect the atmosphere that makes these facilities so popular in the first place.

Helping London Enjoy Summer Safely

The Daily Mail’s recent coverage has brought greater attention to the pressures facing some of Britain’s outdoor swimming facilities.

Seeing an All Time Security officer carrying out his duties within that coverage reflects the everyday work being done by professional security personnel alongside leisure staff across London.

Most of that work will never make the news.

And ideally, it shouldn’t.

The best outcome is a venue full of people enjoying themselves while the teams responsible for their safety quietly do their jobs in the background.

At All Time Security, that is what professional leisure security means to us:

supporting staff, safeguarding visitors, preventing problems wherever possible and helping London’s public spaces remain safe, welcoming and enjoyable for everyone.

About All Time Security

All Time Security provides professional security services throughout London and the wider South East.

Our services include security guarding, leisure and venue security, event security, access control, mobile security patrols, key holding and alarm response, construction site security and security risk assessments.

We work with organisations to provide security solutions tailored to the individual environment, its visitors and its operational requirements.