COPIES OF SIA NEWSLETTER AVAILABLE FROM SIA WEB SITE
SIA Update, July 2010 Welcome to the new edition of Update, the SIA's newsletter for people with an interest in the private
security industry. We hope you find it informative and useful. If you have any suggestions on how we could improve it, please let us know.
SIA NEWS
SIA Licence Framework
Security Staff Targeted in Operation Spectrum
New SIA Board Member
The SIA in the Press | LICENSING MATTERS
Using the Correct Licence Application Form
Replaced Licences
Our Commitment To You
| APPROVED CONTRACTOR SCHEME
ACS Annual Review
ACS Forums
| ABOUT THIS NEWSLETTER
Disclaimer
Unsubscribe / Subscribe
Previous Editions
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SIA
News | SIA Licence Framework
In September 2009 we published a consultation paper seeking views on our proposal for a new SIA licence framework. We asked for any responses to be returned to us by 18 December 2009.
The two options proposed in the consultation paper were:
Option 1: to introduce a new framework with a single generic licence covering the licensable activities that the holder is qualified to undertake; or
Option 2: to leave things as they are and continue to issue sector-specific and multiple licences.
Option 1 suggested a way in which SIA licensing could be made simpler and more flexible, and the administrative burdens created by licensing might be reduced.
A narrow majority (55%) chose Option 1. However, we do not feel that this shows clear and widespread support for developing a single generic licence, so we will not be going ahead with this proposal.
Although no changes are proposed at this stage, the responses highlighted some of the unintended constraints created by the current licensing definitions and a strong desire for ongoing reduction of administrative burdens.
In view of this, we will consider how we might revise the definitions of the various manned guarding sectors (Cash and Valuables in Transit,
Close Protection, Door Supervision, Public Space Surveillance (CCTV),
Security Guarding).
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Security Staff Targeted in Operation Spectrum
More than 200
security guards and
door supervisors were inspected during a large-scale operation in Leeds, Bristol and Kingston upon Thames on 1 July 2010.
Operation Spectrum was conducted by our investigators and saw teams deployed to 89
security sites including retail parks, shopping centres and their CCTV suites, pubs, clubs, businesses and trading parks.
The aim of the operation was to test compliance amongst those working in the private
security industry.
In total, 202 individuals were inspected. Investigators found 199 operatives working legally by holding and displaying valid SIA licences. In each of the targeted areas, SIA investigators identified either a venue or business that will require follow up enquiries.
Director of Compliance and Enforcement Dave Humphries said:
"The results of this operation are excellent, in that we found more than 98% compliance with the law. It is clear that awareness of the requirements is high and that the vast majority of people understand the need to be licensed before performing private
security activities.
Operations like this help us gather information to take an intelligence-led approach to enforcement. They can also help to act as a deterrent against future non-compliance of individuals and
security providers working in the targeted areas."
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New SIA Board Member
Edward Weiss has joined the
Security Industry Authority as our new non-executive board member.
Edward will work closely with the chairman, Baroness Ruth Henig, and other board members to contribute to our overall strategic direction and to ensure that we carry out our duties effectively.
Edward was appointed by the Home Office after open competition to find a new board member who had particular financial expertise. He joins Robin Dahlberg (Vice-Chair), Wendy Towers, Bill Matthews and Linda Sharpe on the SIA board and has been appointed for a three-year term.
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The SIA in the Press
This month we announced details of our customer service commitment, tougher licensing targets, feedback from the informal licensing framework consultation and our new board, all of which were carried by trade media.
Our Compliance and Investigation teams conducted several joint operations with our enforcement partners. Local newspapers picked up some of these operations.
Spot-checks were carried out on
security guards and CCTV operatives on duty at Loughborough town centre’s high street stores as well as the Charnwood Borough Council CCTV centre. Working with officers from Loughborough Police, all
security staff checked were SIA licensed.
We supported officers from Fife Constabulary to carry out checks on those providing private
security during the Open Golf Championship, which was being held in St Andrews. Those checked included 12
security guards involved with the infrastructure of the Open itself, and 10
door supervisors working at licensed premises around the town. All held SIA licences.
Working with Licensing Team officers from Norfolk Constabulary and a Licensing Enforcement officer from the Borough Council of Kings Lynn, a two-part operation to ensure holiday parks in Kings Lynn and West Norfolk was hailed a success – all operatives were complaint with the law.
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Approved Contractor Scheme | ACS Annual Review
The Approved Contractor Scheme conditions for approval are subject to annual, independent review. The purpose of the reviews is to ensure that the scheme continues to serve the needs of
security suppliers and buyers, and to identify any ways in which it may be improved.
The 2010 annual review is well underway and its first report is now available.
More about the ACS annual reviews
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ACS Forums
In May and June we ran six regional forums in Belfast, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Leeds, London and South Derbyshire. Presentations included research from Sheffield University on the impact of regulation, material on CCTV and data
protection and fraudulent identity and travel documentation. We would like to thank all those who attended for contributing to some very interesting discussions.
List of Approved Contractors represented at the forums (download size: 71kb)
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Licensing Matters
Using the Correct Licence Application Form
We understand that it is important for licence applicants to get their licence as quickly as possible. With this in mind, we aim to process correctly completed applications within six weeks from the date we receive them.
To help us meet this commitment licence applicants should ensure that they use the correct application form.
Licence applications must only be submitted on the new LAF04 form with the RED identifier. Any stocks of the old LAF02 with the GREEN identifier should be discarded immediately.
Application packs can be requested by filling in our online form or calling 0844 892 1025 (lines open 8am until 8pm Mon-Fri).
Please note: clicking the link to our online form will transfer you to our secure server, which will open in a new window. You must be using Internet Explorer 6 (service pack 1) or above, or Netscape 7.02 for the new site to display properly. You can return to this update by closing the new window.
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Replaced Licences
If we replace a licence because it has been reported lost, stolen or damaged, the licence number will show as 'replaced' on our public Register of Licence Holders. Licences marked as 'replaced' are no longer valid.
When we replace a licence we send the licence holder a new licence with a different number. If you are checking the validity of a licence (for example, if you are an employer, a police officer or a local authority licensing officer) you will need to check the number of the new, replacement licence. If we have replaced an individual's licence and then subsequently suspended or revoked that licence, the information will be shown against the number of the new licence, not that of the original licence.
If you don't check the validity of the new licence, it might mean that you are allowing an unlicensed operative to work in the
security industry.
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Our Commitment To You
In July, we published our very first customer service commitment. The commitment is designed to ensure licence applicants are fully informed about the standard of service they can expect from us.
We based the commitment on two long-term objectives that shape everything we want to achieve: delivering a service that meets the needs of customers; and delivering value.
The commitment sets out service levels that applicants can expect. We aim to:
Process correctly completed applications within six weeks from the date received.
Answer all calls to the contact centre within 30 seconds.
Answer written enquiries (letters, e-mails and faxes) within three working days.
Respond to written complaints (letters, e-mails and faxes) within 12 working days.
The commitment also explains why a small number of applications may take longer than six weeks.
We will regularly review our commitment to make sure we continue to meet, if not exceed, the needs of our customers.
More information on our customer service commitment
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About This Newsletter
Disclaimer
All reasonable efforts have been made to ensure that the information contained in this communication is accurate at time of release.
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If you do not wish to receive further mailings please unsubscribe here. Please note that your email address has been taken from our own mailing lists and your details are not shared with any organisations outside the
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Previous Editions
Previous editions of this newsletter can be viewed on our website.
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Security Industry Authority, PO Box 1293, Liverpool, L69 1AX
Phone 0844 892 1025 Fax 0844 892 0975 E-mail
info@the-sia.org.ukwww.sia.homeoffice.gov.ukSIA Update, June 2010
Welcome to the new edition of Update, the SIA's newsletter for people with an interest in the private
security industry. We hope you find it informative and useful. If you have any suggestions on how we could improve it, please let us know.
SIA
NEWSSIA Stakeholder Conference
Police and SIA Check Newry’s Door Staff
SIA Update Evaluation Survey
The SIA in the Press
LICENSING MATTERS
Tougher Processing Targets
Change to our Bulk Application Service
APPROVED CONTRACTOR SCHEME
ACS Scores Demonstrate Improvement
ABOUT THIS NEWSLETTER
Disclaimer
Unsubscribe / Subscribe
Previous Editions
SIA
News SIA Stakeholder Conference
The SIA's annual conference, entitled 'A Common Purpose: Raising Standards in the Private
Security Industry', was held on 15 June in London. The event aimed to encourage further development within the industry, and featured examples of business best practice as well as the latest
news from the SIA.
Conference delegates included police,
security providers and buyers of
security. There were presentations on:
•Working in the private
security industry - from SecuriGroup (ACS Champion of the Year 2009)
•Buying private
security services - from Mitchells & Butlers and Tesco
•An international view of private
security - from the Confederation of European
Security Services (CoESS)
The day also featured case studies from Durham Police and Nottingham Businesses Against Crime (NBAC), focusing on how the private
security industry can work in partnership with law enforcement and city authorities.
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Police and SIA Check Newry’s Door Staff
Officers from the Police Service of Northern Ireland and
Security Industry Authority investigators conducted two Saturday night checks at licensed premises in Warrenpoint and Newry town centre [5 and 12 June] to ensure that door staff held and were displaying valid SIA licences, now a legal requirement for all door staff in Northern Ireland.
During the night time checks, 44 door staff were inspected and 37 operatives held and displayed valid SIA licences. Seven individuals were found working without an SIA licence and action may be taken.
Jacquie Parker, SIA Head of Investigation said:
"Overall, the majority of door staff inspected were working legally but I am disappointed to have found some unlicensed activity as by law, all door staff working in Northern Ireland now need to hold an SIA licence. We will work with the police and we will undertake further visits in Newry and other towns and cities across Northern Ireland to ensure door staff working in positions of trust are working legally."
Inspector Hutchinson of Newry Neighbourhood Policing Team added:
"Officers from the Neighbourhood Policing Team in Newry also assisted the SIA. Our primary aim was to ensure compliance with SIA legislation designed to protect the public and the licensees. We will assist the SIA and will also be conducting our own checks on door staff and licensees in the future. I am glad to say the majority of those individuals checked have the required accreditation and
training."
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SIA Update Evaluation Survey
In the March 2010 edition of SIA Update we featured a questionnaire asking what you thought of our newsletter and how we could improve it. A full report on the results of the survey can now be downloaded from our website.
Overall, the findings of the report are very positive. In addition, we received a wealth of suggestions for articles that we can include in future issues. We are very grateful for the feedback we received, and would like to thank everyone who responded.
Download the report (download size: 112kb)
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The SIA in the Press
On 1 June, new licence-linked qualifications for
door supervisors were introduced by
training providers across the UK. The qualifications bring the
training up to date and introduce a modular structure.
The BBC showed particular interest in the new ‘physical intervention skills’ element of the
training. Our Chief Executive Bill Butler was interviewed and the story was featured on television, online and on many of the BBC’s radio stations, as well as in trade press and local media. Overall coverage was supportive and positive.
Our Compliance and Investigation teams have been working with enforcement partners conducting checks on door staff in across Great Britain. Local papers covered our checks in Wrexham and Torbay, which found the majority of door staff working legally.
Our enforcement checks in Northern Ireland (such as the ones in Newry mentioned above) also received coverage in local press.
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Approved Contractor Scheme
ACS Scores Demonstrate Improvement
Continual improvement is central to the Approved Contractor Scheme: the scheme is underpinned by a progressive quality standard that aims to raise the bar (and so to raise standards) over time.
Each year every approved contractor - except for those on certain Passport schemes - assesses its performance against 89 individual indicators of achievement. At assessment these scores are verified by an independent assessor.
The median score for an ACS assessment during 2008-2009 was 18; the median score for an assessment during 2009-2010 is now 30 - an increase of 12 points.
These results demonstrate that not only are approved contractors meeting the required standard each year, they are also implementing continual improvement within their organisations, with standards being raised as a result.
More about approved contractor scoring
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Licensing Matters
Tougher Processing Targets
In April of this year we changed our licence processing target.
Previously we aimed to process 85% of licence applications from UK and EEA nationals within 33 working days, and 80% of all licence applications (UK, EEA and other) within 40 working days.
We now aim to process a minimum of 80% of all correctly completed applications within 30 working days.
We've made this change for two reasons:
•We've made the target harder - 30 working days (6 weeks) is a tougher target which reflects the improvement we've made to our processes and the fact that we want to improve the service we provide.
•We have one target regardless of nationality - different targets for different nationalities were confusing and did not accurately reflect the reasons that make an application quicker or slower
In May 2010, 95% of all applications were processed within 30 working days.
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Change to our Bulk Application Service
We no longer accept bulk submissions from anyone who is not registered with us as a company sponsor.
If you provide a single payment for the submission of more than one licence application, you will need to be registered as a company sponsor and supply a completed bulk application cover sheet. If you aren’t a registered company sponsor or you fail to supply a completed cover sheet, any applications you submit will be rejected.
If you submit a single licence application on behalf of someone else, the application will not be rejected. However, we will not be able to discuss the application with you or provide you with details on its progress unless you are a registered company sponsor and you have supplied a completed bulk application cover sheet.
This process has changed because we can only discuss the details of an application with you if we can identify you as a company sponsor from the organisation that submitted the application. We have previously accepted bulk applications from individuals who weren't nominated company sponsors and have then been unable to answer queries relating to those applications. This change will prevent this situation from occurring.
Read more about our bulk application service
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About This Newsletter
Disclaimer
All reasonable efforts have been made to ensure that the information contained in this communication is accurate at time of release.
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Unsubscribe / Subscribe
If you do not wish to receive further mailings please unsubscribe here. Please note that your email address has been taken from our own mailing lists and your details are not shared with any organisations outside the
Security Industry Authority.
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Previous Editions
Previous editions of this newsletter can be viewed on our website.
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Security Industry Authority, PO Box 1293, Liverpool, L69 1AX
Phone 0844 892 1025 Fax 0844 892 0975 E-mail
info@the-sia.org.ukwww.sia.homeoffice.gov.ukSIA Update, May 2010 Welcome to the new edition of Update, the SIA's newsletter for people with an interest in the private
security industry. We hope you find it informative and useful. If you have any suggestions on how we could improve it, please let us know.
SIA
NEWSSIA Update Evaluation Survey
New
Door Supervisor TrainingLICENSING MATTERS
New Get Licensed Booklet Published
Checking the Validity of SIA Licences
Common Mistakes on Applications
APPROVED CONTRACTOR SCHEME
ACS Champion of the Year
Approved Contractor Forums
ABOUT THIS NEWSLETTER
Disclaimer
Unsubscribe / Subscribe
Copyright
SIA
News SIA Update Evaluation Survey
In the March 2010 edition of SIA Update we featured a questionnaire asking what you thought of our newsletter and how we could improve it. We received over 400 responses, so thank you to those of you who took the time to complete it. We are still analysing the data and we will publish the full survey results in the next edition.
We will be acting on two pieces of your feedback right away. Firstly we will be switching to monthly editions, which 71% of you asked for. Also, many of you wanted to see more articles on the Approved Contractor Scheme, so we have now added a new section to incorporate this.
The
training has been updated to reflect changes in
door supervisor working practices. It now includes a practical assessment of physical intervention skills, ensuring that learners will know how to safely escort violent customers from the premises. The
training also includes units on first aid, how to spot terrorist threats and the specific considerations that must be taken into account when dealing with people aged 14 to 18.
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Approved Contractor Scheme
ACS Champion of the Year
We continue to support the ACS Champion of the Year award at the
Security Excellence Awards. The award honours the approved contractor who has taken exceptional steps to further the spirit of the scheme. Last year's ACS Champion was Securigroup Services Limited, based in Glasgow.
The deadline for entries for this year's award is Friday 9 July. The judges will be looking for active promotion of the ACS and its benefits, the creation of a safer environment for the public and participation in new opportunities for the private
security industry.
More information about the awards
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Approved Contractor Forums
Since the launch of the Approved Contractor Scheme in 2006, we have arranged regular regional forums for approved contractors to meet with us and with each other.
The latest round of forums is running now, with events in South Derbyshire, Belfast, Edinburgh, Cardiff, Leeds and London. Over the course of these events we will meet representatives from 125 approved contractors. Attendees will benefit from:
•a presentation from the UK Border Agency about forged documents;
•the findings of research conducted by the Sheffield University Research Unit into the UK's private
security industry, and;
•an update on CCTV from Camerawatch.
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Licensing Matters
New Get Licensed Booklet Published
If you work in the UK
security industry or you employ someone who does, you may need an SIA licence. Our Get Licensed booklet explains what kind of licence is required and how to apply. We recently published a revised version of the booklet, which includes the following changes:
•References to Northern Ireland have been amended to reflect the fact that SIA licensing is now in force.
•New offences have been added (for example, offences relating to the Sexual Offences (Scotland) Act 2009) and the way we treat sexual offences has been amended.
•The explanation of how we treat multiple offences has been re-written in order to make it clearer.
•Changes have been made to the section on other (non-conviction) information. The new text more accurately reflects how we use this information in practice.
Download the booklet from our website
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Checking the Validity of SIA Licences
The Private
Security Industry Act 2001 makes it an offence for private
security employers to deploy unlicensed operatives in licensable activities. If you are an employer you can reduce your legal liability by regularly checking your employees' licences through our Register of Licence Holders or our Company Licence checker.
Ideally this should be done in conjunction with a check against the licence itself. If an employee is not in possession of their licence (because it has been lost, stolen or they are yet to receive it) you should confirm that the licence number they provide is actually theirs. This can be can done by searching the Register of Licence Holders using the individual's name and date of birth.
It is a condition of the SIA licence that a licence holder must tell us as soon as practical if their licence is lost or stolen, and when they do we issue a replacement. We also advise anyone who has recently been granted a licence to
contact us if they have not received it within 10 days of our decision: again, if this happens we issue a replacement. No licence holder should be without a licence for an extended period of time.
More information about the Register of Licence Holders
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Common Mistakes on Applications
When someone applies to us for a licence we must confirm that they are who they say they are and that they hold the required qualifications. The initial information we have on an applicant is what they tell us in their application, which is why it is important that the form is completed correctly and submitted with the required supporting documentation. If it isn't we will reject the application.
We want to reduce the likelihood of this happening. Below is a list of five mistakes that applicants commonly make when applying for a licence. If you are about to apply for a licence please check your application against this list. It might help avoid delays or possible rejection of your application.
Common Mistakes:
1.Not submitting the correct number and type of documents in support of your application. We will only accept documents listed on our approved supporting documentation list, which can be found on our website and in the How to fill in your SIA licence application form booklet..
2.Failing to select either 'Yes' or 'No' to 'Have you ever been issued with an application or licence number not listed above?' (Question B2). This is a mandatory field.
3.Counter-signatories not providing all mandatory information for questions C1 - C8 and not signing and dating both the back of your photograph and question C9 and C10. Guidance on how to complete this section can be found in How to fill in your SIA licence application form.
4.Failing to select either 'Yes' or 'No' to 'Do you have a current valid overseas passport?' (Question D7). This is a mandatory field.
5.Not detailing your address history for the past five years (with no time gaps between the different addresses) when completing section E. Guidance on this can be found in the How to fill in your SIA licence application form booklet.
The How to fill in your SIA licence application form booklet can be downloaded from our website. We also provide an example of a correctly completed application form.
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About This Newsletter
Disclaimer
All reasonable efforts have been made to ensure that the information contained in this communication is accurate at time of release.
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Your email address has been taken from our own mailing lists. Please be aware that your information is not shared with any organisations outside the
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Security Industry Authority and may not be used without express permission from the SIA.
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Security Industry Authority, PO Box 1293, Liverpool, L69 1AX
Phone 0844 892 1025 Fax 0844 892 0975 E-mail
info@the-sia.org.ukwww.sia.homeoffice.gov.uk