The following is a message from the SIA, the organisation responsible for regulating the private security industry in the United Kingdom. "Changes to investigatory powers under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA) "The following sets out proposed changes to investigatory powers under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA) for the Security Industry Authority (SIA). There is one issue: Change to the grade of the Senior Appropriate Officers for financial investigations. "The majority of the Private Security Industry (PSI) industry are compliant with regulation under the Private Se...

The Security Industry Authority, the organisation responsible for regulating the private security industry in the United Kingdom, has today announced that the director of Mark Pursglove Security Limited and two members of staff have been sentenced. "On Tuesday 2 February 2016, Mark Pursglove (director), Peter Smith and Simon Lane of Caernarfon based Mark Pursglove Security Limited (MPS), pled guilty to offences under the Private Security Industry Act (PSIA) 2001 at Holyhead Magistrates Court. "It was heard that MPS, who provide security guarding and door supervision, had provided an unli...

The following is an update from the SIA: "We lead this month with the ‘Review of the SIA’; all private security industry stakeholders have the opportunity to contribute to the review and shape the future by completing an online survey. Please take the time to complete it, the deadline for responses is 18 February 2016. "We have updated the Changes to Licensing section of the website with further guidance that will help inform and prepare you for the forthcoming changes to our licensing services. "HMRC has recently produced new sets of e-learning guidance for the self-employed. Revie...

On the 11th of January 2016, the Home Office announced a Periodic Substantive Review (PSR) of the Security Industry Authority (SIA) titled simply: Review of the Security Industry Authority. Many will have the view, as a result of constant inaction on the part of the Government, that the current PSR is merely a box-ticking exercise and not worth participation. Infologue.com believes that it is important to treat this review with the same importance as the security services industry treated review when the Con-Lib Government threatened to abolish the SIA as part of the so-called "Bonfire of t...

“The key challenges for 2016; increased threat of terrorism creating mass disruption increasing street level fear, cyber/IT attacks highlighting gaps in understanding and adoption of converged approach, and continued commoditised purchasing combined with labour shortages and the National Living Wage will force industry to think and buy differently” responded Jason Towse of Mitie Total Security when asked for his views by Infologue.com on the challenges for the Security Industry in 2016. Infologue.com believes 2016 is going to be both interesting and challenging for the UK private secur...

Europe is currently facing the most significant terrorist threat in over 10 years. The Paris attacks on 13 November 2015 indicate a shift towards a clear international dimension of Islamic State to carry out special forces style attacks in the international environment. This and the growing number of foreign fighters are posing new challenges for EU Member States. More attacks in the EU may happen in the future. Therefore there is a great need within the European Union to strengthen our response to terror, to suspected terrorist networks and foreign fighters, and have an improved strategic ...

All non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs), like the SIA, are subject to periodic substantive reviews (known until recently as Triennial Reviews). The review of the SIA begins this week and is being undertaken as part of the Government's commitment to regular and rigorous reviews of the function and form of public bodies, to improve transparency, accountability and to maximise value for money for the taxpayer. In the case of the SIA, the review will be carried out on behalf of the Secretary of State by a senior Home Office official who is independent of both the SIA and its sponsorship unit...

Lord Alex Carlile has been announced as the new Patron of The Security Institute when his tenure as President comes to an end at April's AGM of the organisation. Announcing the change of role, Institute Chairman Garry Evanson said: "Lord Carlile told me some time ago that he felt it was time for someone else to step into the breach as our President after 8 years in the role. I have to say that I can understand that wish after the hard work he has put into this organisation throughout his tenure. "Neither party wished to break entirely the strong bond Lord Alex feels for the Security Insti...

The Security Institute has started 2016 by announcing a new President. Succeeding Lord Alex Carlile at the head of the organisation from the 2016 AGM in April is former Security Industry Authority Chair, Baroness Ruth Henig. Whilst at the SIA Baroness Henig was instrumental in overseeing a regulatory overhaul and the introduction of a new and modern, fit-for-purpose regulatory regime. Previous high profile roles Baroness Henig has held in the security sector include Chair of the Association of Police Authorities from 1997 to 2005, after which she became the Association's president. She was a...

On 15 and 16 December, law enforcement agencies from Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Germany and the United Kingdom joined forces with Europol in the framework of an operation against the cybercriminal group DD4BC (Distributed Denial of Service – DDoS - for Bitcoin). The action was initiated as part of a global law enforcement response against the criminal organisation. Key members of the organised network were identified in Bosnia and Herzegovina by the UK Metropolitan Police Cyber Crime Unit (MPCCU) which provided vital information to the investigation. Police authorities from Australi...