Regulator to host Belfast Open Day

25 Jul 09

The Security Industry Authority is running a Belfast Open Day to update everyone who works within the private security sector in Northern Ireland on the latest regulation news. Brian Sims reports.

By Brian Sims

The event takes place on Thursday 20 August at The Midtown Center, 25 Talbot Street, Cathedral Quarter, Belfast BT1 2LD (telephone 028 9033 0212) from 10.00 am through until 5.00 pm.

As well as an update on current news relating to licensing, all attendees will have the chance to meet with experts from the Regulator who’ll provide guidance on key aspects of the licensing process for both companies and individuals. Support and advice will be offered on the Approved Contractor Scheme (ACS).

The intention is to offer one-to-one assistance, but this will depend upon the number of people attending.

To register your interest in this special event, click on the dedicated web link provided on the right hand panel of this page.

Licensing in Northern Ireland

The idea behind extending the remit of the SIA to Northern Ireland later on this year is to create a single regulatory scheme for the private security industry throughout the United Kingdom.

The proposal was put out for public consultation by the Northern Ireland Office in August 2006. The results showed an overwhelming desire within the industry for regulation, and that this should be in line with Best Practice in Great Britain.

Those who have been keeping a close eye on developments will know that a Project Board to manage the delivery of the project was initiated under the chairmanship of Andy Drane, the SIA’s deputy chief executive who’s currently in a handover period with new chief executive Bill Butler. That Project Board includes senior representatives from the Northern Ireland Office as well as the Police Service of Northern Ireland. There’s also a senior observer from the Private Security Authority which regulates security provision across the Republic of Ireland.

Come 1 December this year, all those working in designated sectors of the private security industry in Northern Ireland will need to hold a valid SIA licence. Legislation is in place to license all of the designated sectors, except in-house door supervisors. Northern Ireland security minister Paul Goggins MP announced on 15 June that in-house door supervisors will have until 1 April 2010 to obtain a licence from the SIA.

The date by which every other sector of the private security industry needs a licence remains unchanged.

In Northern Ireland, an SIA licence will be required for each different licensable activity undertaken. These are:

• Cash and Valuables in Transit

• Close Protection

• Door Supervision

• Public Space Surveillance (CCTV)

• Security Guarding

• Key Holding

• Immobilisation, Restriction and Removal of Vehicles

Security Supplier and Security Buyer Roadshows

The forthcoming Open Day follows on from last February when the Regulator hosted a series of briefings throughout Northern Ireland to ensure that individuals and security providers fully understand the requirements of licensing, how it will affect them, the implications and benefits, what needs to be done and by when.

These events provided an excellent opportunity for those in the industry to hear representatives from the SIA, the Northern Ireland Office and private security companies already licensed talk about the purpose, process, risks and benefits of licensing.

On 16 March, the SIA hosted a briefing in Belfast to ensure that buyers of security who rely on private security services to protect their people and their property also fully understand the requirements of SIA licensing.

This event was buoyed by speakers from the SIA, the Northern Ireland Office, the British Security Industry Association and a private security company. The main objective was to ensure that organisations who use private security services are aware of their responsibilities, and can achieve the transition without disruption to service provision, insurance cover or business continuity.

Why early preparation is so important

Why is it so important that security companies and clients in Northern Ireland begin to prepare NOW for licensing? A few weeks ago, I wrote an article on that very topic for the SIA’s Stakeholder promotion stream. Here’s what was said:

For many years, the UK guarding sector drifted along minus any kind of checking procedure save for the quasi-regulatory work of the British Security Industry Association. Tendering wars were commonplace, and the opportunist clients would take advantage of security companies’ insatiable desire to satisfy shareholders by bidding down (and down again) on contract prices.

Not surprisingly, training levels began to suffer, while security officers were forced to work ridiculously long hours – sometimes between 75 and 85 hours each week – just to make ends meet. Dickensian, I know, but those are the facts of the matter.

Here was an industry crying out to be professional in terms of its outlook and service delivery, and yet high staff turnover – with people viewing security work as a stepping stone to something better – and poor results ‘on the ground’ merely led to the police service (and other potential law enforcement partners) believing wholeheartedly in the negative image of private security so often played out in the national media.

Taking account of the Government's agenda

Then along came the Security Industry Authority (SIA). Launched amid great fanfare in April 2003, the Home Office appointed Regulator had much work to do in licensing thousands of wheel clampers, door supervisors and security staff across England, Wales and Scotland.

There was also the not-inconsequential task of launching an Approved Contractor Scheme (ACS) by which security firms could, if they pressed all the right buttons, pass voluntary muster to sit on the Register of Approved Companies and thus be in pole position for work.

All the while, the Regulator had to bear in mind the Government’s agenda, focused as it is on the Wider Policing Family, combating terrorism and protecting the nation’s Critical National Infrastructure. A tall order, then.

Fast forward to June 2009 and change for the better has certainly been effected. 600-plus contractors have passed the Regulator’s tests for entry, thousands of security personnel have gained a nationally-recognised qualification (many of them for the first time) and the police service is beginning to view the private security sector as a trustworthy partner in the fight against criminality.

I’ve always maintained that a licence is meaningless without rigorous enforcement. The SIA has been true to its word in this regard, and is stamping down hard on those who break the Terms and Conditions of the Private Security Industry Act 2001. Major companies and big names have already been taken to Court and punished.

One Regulator, one licensing scheme

From 1 December this year, when regulation is introduced for Northern Ireland, members of the public across the UK will benefit from one Regulator and one licensing scheme which then allows them to have confidence in a regulated and trusted industry. It’s the last piece of the jigsaw. December may appear to be some time away, but it’s not. The need for clients and contractors to start their preparations early is paramount.

Proper security provision costs good money. Buying on the cheap is no longer an option, but guarding companies must impart that message today such that enhanced prices later this year don’t come as a complete shock to the solutions buyers.

Licence applications from individuals working in the private security industry in Northern Ireland are being accepted NOW by the Regulator. So too applications to join the ACS. It’s time to climb on board.

Working alongside the SIA

Consultative regulation is what the SIA has been – and will continue to be – all about. I would urge ALL contractors and customers in Northern Ireland to work alongside the Regulator every step of the way between now and December (and, of course, thereafter).

Don't think about registering for the SIA's Belfast Open Day. Do it. You will learn plenty that'll be to your advantage in the short and long term.