On Thursday, [2 October] at Bridgend Magistrates’ Court, an ex-security director was sentenced to 18 months imprisonment for failing to pay £80,000 under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA). In October 2013, Dean Campisi, 52, was convicted at Cardiff Crown Court, after falsely claiming that his company, Secure Serve Facilities Management Services Ltd (Secure Serve) was part of the Security Industry Authority’s Approved Contractor Scheme. Campisi used fake documentation to pass Secure Serve off as an Approved Contractor. He secured and maintained security contacts with the Lidl superma...

The global transportation of goods is getting tougher. Organizations operating in high risk countries face daily threats of theft, terrorism, smuggling and product safety in their supply chain. In response, BSI, the business standards company, has launched an independent assessment scheme to assist companies of all sizes to achieve and demonstrate competence in their supply chain security. ISO 28000, the international standard for supply chain security management, has been developed to help organizations to better assess security risks in their supply chain, manage new threats as they emerge ...

Identifying new threats and trends and tracking cybercriminals online to bring them to justice in the real world are among the key areas to be addressed during the 2nd INTERPOL-Europol cybercrime conference. Bringing together some 230 specialists from law enforcement, the private sector and academia from 55 countries, the three-day conference (1-3 October) which has the theme 'Cybercrime investigations - the full cycle', will also look at ways all involved sectors can work more closely together to maximize cooperation through their respective areas of expertise. "To help build the...

With European Health and safety week taking place in October, Director of Manpower and Membership Services, Trevor Elliott, discusses the British Security Industry Association’s (BSIA) strong commitment to promoting the importance of health and safety, both relating to security personnel and to our industry’s valued customers. "Health and safety of front line workers has been thrown into the forefront of public discussion recently, with a report [1] from the Greater London Authority Conservatives (GLAC) indicating that a chilling sixty-six thousand frontline workers have been punched, ...

Irish soft services provider, Noonan, has acquired its Northern rival, Resource in a deal with the administrators Kieron Wallace and Eamon Richardson of KPMG. Resource who operated in Great Britain as well as Ireland employed over 6000 workers. The combined businesses with a combined workforce of 13000 are now believed to be the largest soft services provider in Ireland as well as a significant player in the UK Market. The Resource Group delivers strategically outsourced services including cleaning, security services, front of house services and car park management across the private and pu...

Yesterday [24 September], three security directors and a security company were sentenced at Exeter Magistrates' Court for offences against the Private Security Industry Act 2001. The three were found guilty of offences at the same court in August 2014. Altin Laska, 26, and Jetmir Luli, 29, ran security company Night Owl (Exeter) Security Ltd and were sub-contracted to provide security guards to energy supplier EDF. Following an investigation by the Security Industry Authority, the directors were asked to provide information about security operatives they had supplied to EDF. Both Laska and ...

The Chair of the Security Industry Authority, Elizabeth France CBE, has announced that Bill Butler, SIA Chief Executive, has decided to retire next year. The process to appoint his replacement is being handled by Gatenby Sanderson and, allowing for the requirements for ministerial and security clearance, it is expected that the new Chief Executive will be in place by summer 2015. Elizabeth France said: “This is an important appointment and I want to ensure that we find an excellent replacement for Bill. We have the time and opportunity to make sure this change happens with the min...

Doug Hewitson, the Managing Director of G4S Secure Solutions (UK) discusses incorporating technology. Doug writes: "With the number of recent advances in the field of security technology, it’s an incredibly exciting time for the industry as a whole. New platforms and tools are allowing security officers to operate in a more efficient manner, automating such routine duties as logging patrols, reporting incidents and collating data into an actionable form. By automating tasks of this nature, security officers will be able to broaden the range of services they can offer clients, delivering ...

Jason Towse, Managing Director, people services, Mitie’s total security management business discusses workplace violence. Jason writes: "Each year in the UK, an average of 323,000 workers experience work-related violence including threats and physical assault against them. This shocking figure represents 1.6% of the total UK workforce and has done so for the last four years. This is not pretty reading, especially when there have been 649,000 reported incidents, suggesting that some workers are the target of more than one incident. "Employees at most risk work are within the protective ...

Renown Protection Limited, Stopfordian and West Valley are the first three companies to achieve Product Certification to British Security Standards from BSI, the business standards company, to help them meet proposed Security lndustry Authority (SIA) business licensing requirements. The SIA, the organization responsible for regulating the private security industry in the UK, currently requires that all security staff are licensed. From 6 April 2015, in addition to individuals, proposed new regulation will require that all private security businesses also hold an SIA business licence, in order...