Security company Sabrewatch Limited and its directors have been ordered to pay total fines in excess of £215,000 for deploying unlicensed security operatives, despite being well aware of the law. Sabrewatch Ltd was fined £140,000 at Southwark Crown Court on Friday [26 Feb], after being found guilty on Monday last week [22 Feb] on seven of nine sample counts – many other guards were unlawfully deployed around the country. Director and 94%shareholder Luke Lucas, 61, of Charters Towers, Felcourt Road, East Grinstead (the company address), was fined £70,000. Directors George Charalambous, 46...

Door supervisors checked in clubs and bars in Hackney and Croydon on Thursday and Friday night [11-12 Feb] were all found to be working legally. The Metropolitan Police, with support from the Security Industry Authority, mounted the multi-agency operation. Over the two evenings the teams visited 12 bars and clubs, inspecting 54 door staff – all operatives held and displayed valid SIA licences. The intelligence-led operation was part of a wider police initiative to control gun and knife crime in London boroughs and to provide a visible deterrent, particularly to young people (aged 13 – 24)...

Justin Bentley, the CEO of the International Professional Security Association (IPSA), believes that the long running prosecution of Sabrewatch highlights some inconsistencies in the SIA’s approach to enforcement. IPSA represents 49 member companies who are eligible to be ACS accredited, of which 30 companies have joined the scheme. Justin Bentley sets out his thesis … “When the Security Industry Authority (SIA) first arrived on the scene, they expressed the view that the cost of licensing would be recouped by security companies, with customers happy to pay for a more professional servic...

Public spending on CCTV is worthwhile to secure public safety, is the response of the British Security Industry Association (BSIA) to a recent online report highlighting concerns over the rise in the number of CCTV cameras controlled by local councils over the past decade. In its report, published in December, Big Brother Watch - an offshoot of the Taxpayers' Alliance - questions the effectiveness of CCTV in deterring or solving crimes, an inaccurate assessment according to Pauline Norstrom, BSIA CCTV Section Chairman. Pauline comments: "Thankfully the reality of CCTV in Britain is not the ...

A security boss has been ordered to pay £1000 after pleading guilty to supplying unlicensed security guards. William Boyd, 56, of Port Glasgow, Renfrewshire, was director of Greenock-based MHM (Scotland). The company deployed security staff to various construction sites in the area. At Greenock Sheriff Court on 1 February, Boyd pleaded guilty to supplying unlicensed security guards to sites and was ordered to pay £1000 by 1 March. By law, contracted security guards must hold and display a valid Security Industry Authority licence. Those who manage supervise and/or employ individuals who eng...

Dave Humphries has joined the SIA as Director of Compliance and Enforcement. Dave takes over from Acting Director Dianne Tranmer who took on the role after the departure of Andy Drane last year. Dave has 25 years experience working at HM Revenue & Customs (and previously at both HM Customs and Excise and the Inland Revenue).He was most recently Head of Criminal and Enforcement Policy tackling serious non-compliance against HMRC, and was responsible for policies concerning criminal justice, proceeds of crime, fraud and the links to wider criminality. Dave was also on the Oversight Group...

The SIA has today launched its new website, which has been developed following current best practice for websites and the findings of extensive user research. The aim of the new site is to make it easier and quicker for users to find the information they need. Included in the new look contemporary website are some of the key improvements, which are; A complete update to the look and feel, An updated user interface and site structure that is built around the way the SIA’s customers use the site, A new step-by-step guide that walks potential applicants through all of the steps involved in o...

Over 160 directors and managers from security companies in the British Security Industry Association (BSIA) enjoyed a series of industry briefings organised by the Government’s Office for Security & Counter-Terrorism (OSCT) in London on Wednesday 10 February 2010. The briefings were attended by representatives from the BSIA’s Security Guarding, Cash and Valuables in Transit (CVIT) and Police & Public Services sections and were arranged exclusively for security companies providing frontline security staff to guard crowded places and protect the critical national infrastructure.Foll...

A director of a security company has been fined for failing to provide information about his company to the Security Industry Authority. At Edinburgh Sheriff Court on 8 February 2010 Prinz Patrick Ukonga, 44, pleaded guilty to failing to provide information to the SIA when requested – an offence under the Private Security Industry Act 2001. Ukonga, of Tranet, East Lothian, was director of Znrip Top Security Limited based in Edinburgh, which supplied door staff to pubs and clubs in the area. It is no longer operating.The SIA received intelligence that Ukonga was supplying unlicensed door ...

Globalisation, and particularly cheaper electronic goods from China and the Far East, has altered behaviour among Britain’s burglars according research in progress at the University of Leicester. James Treadwell, a lecturer in Criminology from the University of Leicester’s Department of Criminology suggests that the incredible rise of the new superpower has made burglars ‘redundant’ due to the decline in cost of household goods traditionally targeted by thieves. Treadwell is currently researching how crime has changed over time. He commented: “The last decade has been a remarkable o...