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Proctor is recognised by BRE as a route to the exemplary security credit under BREEAM New Construction V7.1 and BREEAM Refurbishment V7. See how it works →

Security Rating Scheme

One Security Needs Assessment. Two BREEAM credits.

Proctor is a structured, independently validated security rating scheme for buildings and assets, recognised by BRE as a route to the exemplary security credit under BREEAM New Construction V7.1 and BREEAM Refurbishment V7.

Defined criteria

Every project is scored against the same defined criteria, so a rating means the same thing on every scheme.

Qualified specialists

The assessment and the rating are carried out by Suitably Qualified Security Specialists (SQSS).

Separation of roles

The specialist who rates the work is never the one who produced it.

Independent validation

Every rating is validated by a separate organisation before a certificate is issued.

Where Proctor applies

The same six criteria, whatever the building type.

Proctor applies wherever BREEAM's security credit does, from city-centre mixed-use to hospitals, hotels, schools and logistics campuses.

A busy landscaped square in a mixed-use development
Mixed-use
Workers arriving at a city office tower
Offices
Staff and visitors at a hospital entrance
Healthcare
Guests arriving at a hotel entrance
Hotels
Students crossing a school or university campus
Education
Students outside purpose-built accommodation
Student accommodation
A logistics campus with lorries at the loading docks
Logistics
A terrace of small industrial and trade units in use
Industrial
A refurbished office building on a city side street
Refurbishments

The proposition

One appointment. Both credits.

BREEAM's security credit has two parts: a standard credit for a site-specific Security Needs Assessment (SNA) carried out by an SQSS, and an exemplary credit for having that security risk management process independently validated against a recognised rating scheme.

Both can be delivered through a single security appointment. One specialist produces the SNA (standard credit). A different specialist applies the Proctor framework to rate the quality of the security risk management (exemplary credit). Every rating is independently validated before a certificate is issued. The BREEAM Assessor uploads one evidence package, and both credits are earned together.

The Proctor assessment can only be conducted by a licensed Proctor Assessor Organisation, and Toren Consulting Ltd is currently the sole licence holder. That makes Toren Consulting Ltd the only consultancy currently able to deliver the SNA, the continuing specialist role and the Proctor assessment under a single appointment.

1. Assess

The Security Needs Assessment.

An SQSS produces the SNA and develops the design recommendations: the basis for the standard credit. Proctor then keeps the specialist engaged beyond the SNA, coordinating the recommendations into the design through the RIBA design stages.

2. Rate

Certified, Commended or Distinguished.

The security risk management process is scored against Proctor's mandatory criteria and given a rating at one of three levels.

3. Validate

An independently validated certificate.

The rating is independently validated, producing a certificate the BREEAM Assessor uploads as evidence for the exemplary credit.

What Proctor assesses

Six criteria, scored the same way every time.

C1

Context and Threat

Whether the site context and the threats relevant to the project have been properly understood and documented.

C2

Risk Assessment

Whether the risks arising from those threats have been systematically identified, assessed and prioritised.

C3

Security Strategy

Whether a coherent, risk-based security strategy has been established and linked to the risk assessment.

C4

Design Integration

Whether security requirements have been integrated into the design and tracked through design coordination.

C5

Implementation

Whether the measures set out at design stage are delivered on site, checked as the building is constructed and handed over.

C6

Innovation

Whether the project goes beyond standard good practice. Optional, and only needed to reach the top rating, Distinguished.

There are no points totals or percentages. The rating follows the weakest mandatory criterion, not an average, so security has to be handled well across the board, not just in the easy places.

Certification

A two-stage certificate.

Proctor follows BREEAM's own two-stage structure. A validated interim certificate is issued at design stage, and a validated final certificate follows at post-construction. The interim certificate is the point at which the exemplary credit is confirmed on track; the final certificate follows once the works are complete.

See the full process →

Timing

Appoint early.

The earlier the security specialist is appointed and the Proctor assessment commissioned, the more certain the credit. BREEAM requires the SNA during or before Concept Design (RIBA Stage 2), and a later appointment can still earn the credit where the specialist confirms the delay has ruled nothing out; Proctor's cut-off is the end of RIBA Stage 3.

Why Proctor

Proportionate, integrated, accountable.

Proportionate

A straightforward, cost-effective route to the exemplary credit, scaled to the project's own risk and complexity.

Integrated

Built into the SNA instruction, so one instruction and one fee carry both credits.

Accountable

One appointment can carry the assessment, the rating and the coordination with the BREEAM Assessor, and every rating is independently validated before certification. The assessor references the scheme and uploads the evidence; there is nothing further for them to manage.

BRE's description of Proctor

“Proctor is a structured security rating scheme for buildings and assets. The scheme provides:”

  • “Independent validation of the security risk management process.”
  • “A three-tier rating system (Certified, Commended, Distinguished) based on mandatory performance criteria.”
  • “Continuous specialist oversight throughout the project lifecycle, supporting exemplary security performance.”

Quoted from BREEAM UK New Construction V7.1, Hea 08, Recognised security rating schemes (SD6074, 26 August 2026). The same entry appears at Rsl 04 in BREEAM Refurbishment V7 (SD6075).

Getting started

Five steps, from enquiry to certificate.

1

Enquiry

Tell us about the development, its design stage and its BREEAM target.

2

Scoping

We confirm scope, timing and the basis of the assessment.

3

Assessment

A qualified specialist scores the security risk management against the defined criteria.

4

Validation

The scores are independently validated by a separate organisation.

5

Certificate

The Proctor Certificate is issued at the awarded rating, interim then final.

See the full process →

Have a project in mind?

Tell us the project address, current design stage and BREEAM target, and we will come back to you within one working day.

Tell us about your project