SECURITY
Security has always been a priority for the high-stakes Littlewoods Pool’s business. Pools Coupons would arrive at the Edge Lane building from Monday till the start of play at 3 pm on Saturday. These coupons were kept in a large walk-in safe and transported by security in a special coupon van. The coupons arrived in collectors' bags with time locks attached to them which would be released after the game. Once the lock was released then all mail was punched with that week's code. The coupon would then be taken to the main marking room where it would be stamped again by a joey at each station as it moved around the building. The real security would begin if a potential winner was found.
The coupon would be subjected to intense scrutiny and the Winner would immediately be background checked. Security would search through previous records to see if this person had played the pools before. Many members of the security team were ex-police officers and their expertise was valued by the Moores family. Big winners would receive a visit from the Head of Security to ensure their claim was legitimate. A Winner’s Statement was taken and then compared against their pool playing record to establish the validity of the claim. If deemed to be counterfeit, law enforcement would be contacted. Edge Lane employees and their families were not allowed to play the Pools to ensure there was no suspicion of misconduct.
Many aspects of Littlewoods security were standard practice in any job handling money. Punch cards, date stamps, spot checks and supervisor oversight were common practices in other businesses. However, the Moores family were keen to ensure that security measures were as up-to-date as possible with early adoption of scanning. A more invasive practice was the use of unannounced strip searches by female security staff and timed bathroom breaks.
