Unlicensed officers realise fines for guarding bosses

17 Aug 09

Security company leaders Francis Preston and Thomas Bannister have been ordered to pay £45,000 in fines and costs after sending officers without SIA licences to businesses across Merseyside.

By Brian Sims

According to a report by Vicki Kellaway published in The Liverpool Echo, the officers placed on duty had not passed the stringent Security Industry Authority (SIA) checks which include criminal record checks conducted by the Criminal Record Bureau.

Liverpool Crown Court was told that 39-year-old company director Preston and manager Bannister, 35, worked for St Helens-based Preston Security and Services when they were caught out back in 2007. Police visited several of their customers as part of Operation Seahog, which has been reported on extensively both in Security Management Today and Security Management Today online (see the web links provided on the right hand panel of this page).

Operation Seahog makes its mark

The Court heard that Operation Seahog investigators found unlicensed operatives deployed by the company to guard sites including the Bluestone Construction in Prescot, TE Evans in Anfield and Cleanline, the latter based in Rockferry. Officers were found to be wearing high visibility jackets bearing the company’s PSS logo.

Preston - of Park Road, St Helens - admitted nine counts of providing unlicensed operatives, a procedure not in accordance with the Private Security Industry Act 2001. The firm was also prosecuted for the offences between January 2007 and January 2008.

Donal Maguire, who was acting on behalf of the defence, said the company received dispensations in December 2007 which allowed it to issue licenses to officers while applications were pending.

One offence was committed after this time, apparently because paperwork was incorrect.