On Friday [17 Oct] at Sheffield Crown Court, two security directors were sentenced for committing 29 private security offences.
Under company names Dragon Security Solutions and Goodfellas Nightspot Barnsley, the two supplied unlicensed security guards to unsuspecting customers across South Yorkshire over a nine month period. Neither of the directors held Security Industry Authority licences to work in private security.
Ian Lindsay of Market Street, Rotherham, and Martyn Cook of Philip Avenue Nuthall, Nottingham, had pleaded guilty to the offences at Rotherham Magistrates’ Court on 15 July.
On Friday, Lindsay was sentenced to 4 months imprisonment for supplying unlicensed guards, and 4 months imprisonment for working as an unlicensed director. Both sentences were suspended for 2 years. He was also disqualified as a company director for 3 ½ years.
Cook was sentenced to 2 months imprisonment for supplying unlicensed guards, and 2 months imprisonment for working as an unlicensed director. Both sentences were suspended for 2 years. Cook was ordered to undertake 100 hours unpaid work, and he was disqualified as a company director for 3 ½ years.
The Court set out a timetable for proceedings against the pair and the companies under the Proceeds of Crime Act.
In sentencing Lindsay and Cook, Recorder Wilby QC said:
“The purpose of the regulations is that there is a second line of security to ensure [frontline operatives] who deal with the public are safe to do so.
“Mr Lindsay, following his release from prison, started providing security (through Dragon Security). It is inconceivable he could not have recognised the regulatory regime and that he needed a licence.
“In relation to Cook, [once he became a director of Dragon Security] he cannot have been ignorant and should have made enquiries into whether he needed a licence.
“The pubic are entitled to have safety and assurance that those operating such businesses are properly licenced and that they operate the company in respect of the regulatory framework.”
SIA Investigations Manager, Nathan Salmon, said:
“These strong sentences reflect the seriousness of the offending by these two directors. I am pleased the Court recognises the SIA’s role in protecting the public.
“Lindsay has been proven to be an unsuitable individual to work within the security industry because of his serious criminal history. His disqualification as a company director now precludes him from controlling any company.
“The SIA will now continue to work with our enforcement partners to ensure any financial benefit from the offending can be identified and confiscated.”