Notice Board
ATLAS 26 Recognises Development Officer Hazel Goss
A Driving Force in Crime Prevention
» HAZEL IS OUR‘ GO TO’ PERSON, should we have any queries. She has supported new DOCOs( Designing out Crime Officers) she takes the time to explain about the appropriate standards and about the testing of products. She is always on the other end of the phone to support us …
SBD Development Officer, Hazel Goss was surprised to be nominated by one of her Designing out Crime Officers( DOCOs) to receive a Special Commendation award at this year’ s ATLAS conference.
Was it a shock when your name was called out?
I wasn’ t expecting this at all. You can always tell when I’ m surprised as I go bright red! It was really nice to be nominated as I believe I have a very good rapport with a lot of the DOCOs. They are a lovely bunch, and I genuinely enjoy looking after them.
How would you describe the ways in which you help the DOCOs?
There’ s hardly a day when I’ m not on the phone or emailing a DOCO to answer a query or help out. They might need help sourcing a local company for a specialist job, or have a question about certification or concerns about a planning application that has gone in.
Sometimes I feel like a walking encyclopedia of standards and if I can’ t find the answer to a technical question, I know I can always rely on Alfie Hosker( Technical Manager SBD).
I’ m here to help- that’ s my job and I really enjoy it. It’ s all about relationships at the end of the day and I always say my door is always open.
Which regions do you look after?
I’ m responsible for the North West Group- that’ s Cumbria, Lancashire, Cheshire, Merseyside, Greater Manchester( including the Isle of Man).
I also look after the All Wales Group, covering South Wales, North Wales, Dyfed-Powys and Gwent.
On top of that I support Staffordshire and Shropshire.
But really, any DOCO can call me. I’ m happy to help if I can.
Apart from answering queries, how else do you help the DOCOS?
I organise around 8-10‘ Awareness Days’ a year, which I like to describe as a mini- ATLAS. These involve a Secured by Design( SBD) member company hosting a half or full day event, depending on the size of the company, where I visit with a group of DOCOs for one-on-one engagement. It also counts towards the DOCOs Continuing Professional Development( CPD).
Companies often include a presentation about their products with a detailed Q & A session and if it’ s a larger company, they put on a lunch followed by a factory tour. Seeing the products being made and understanding the process is always really engaging. Sometimes the companies really go to town and they even throw in a quiz with some fun prizes at the end!
I usually get excellent feedback from both the companies and the DOCOs. My next Awareness Day is in May where I’ ll be visiting IAE in Staffordshire who design and manufacture a range of perimeter fencing and gate systems.
What about your regional meetings?
These are important too. We meet every quarter with an agenda and it’ s an
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MAY 2026
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