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Autumn is here, and we have a jam-packed September edition for you. In this month’s edition, read all about our updates to training and qualifications, including a clarification on the First-Aid training qualifications we can accept.
In our public protection section, we share Government guidance on working safely during the pandemic, as well as the latest #SIAHeroes story about a Denton door supervisor who saved his friend’s brother in a car park stabbing.
This month’s enforcement update includes the details of a crackdown on unlicensed security at an Accrington club, and an unlicensed Brighton security guard who pleaded guilty to working illegally.
In the ‘Licensing Matters’ section this month, you can download the August licensing report with helpful illustrations of the sectors, demographics, and more. We also want to remind licence applicants NOT to POST us documents but instead to send a scanned copy or a good quality image via your online account.
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Skills and qualifications update
Licence-linked qualifications update
We are pleased to announce the results of our review of qualifications needed for the private security industry. The new licence-linked qualifications will come into effect from 01 April 2021. The review covers the topics included in the licence-linked qualifications:
- The Common Unit
- Door Supervision
- Security Guarding
- Cash and Valuables in Transit
- Public Space Surveillance (CCTV)
- Close Protection
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Thank you for telling us what you think of the proposed top-up training.
We launched a public consultation in early September on top-up training for licensed door supervisors and security guards. This consultation followed the review of the licence-linked qualifications and has now closed.
Thank you to everyone who shared their thoughts and opinions. We will publish the results from the consultation in due course.
The top-up training for door supervisors and security guards includes key elements of the new content that will be introduced as part of the licence-linked qualifications in April 2021.
This top-up training was developed to make sure current Door Supervisor and Security Guarding licence holders have the same basic skills and knowledge as new entrants.
Door supervisors and security guards will need to complete top-up training before they renew their licence.
The proposed top-up training includes the following:
Door Supervisors
- An Emergency First Aid at Work qualification (required to take top-up training)
- Use of equipment
- Updated terror threat awareness
- Physical intervention skills training (knowledge and practical)
Security Guards
- An Emergency First Aid at Work qualification (required to take top-up training)
- Knowledge of physical intervention
- Updated terror threat awareness.
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First Aid qualification clarification
Following our public consultation on top-up training for licensed door supervisors and security guards, please be aware that we will accept a higher-level qualifications. This can be in place of the Emergency First Aid at Work Award (EFAW) which may be a licensing requirement for security operatives from April 2021.
We will accept a higher-level qualification such as the following if it complies with guidance from the Health and Safety Executive:
- First Aid qualification such as First Aid at Work (FAW)
- First Person on Scene (FPOS)
- First Response Emergency Care (FREC)
The Guidance from the Health and Safety Executive states that certificates issued to students assessed as competent must contain:
- the name of the training organisation
- the title of the qualification
- reference to the Health and Safety (First Aid) regulations 1981
- the date of issue
- confirmation that the certificate is valid for three years.
If the training is not First Aid at Work or Emergency First Aid at Work the certificate should also list the learning outcomes of the syllabus on which candidates have been assessed.
A licence-holder needs to complete a First Aid qualification before they can do their top-up training.
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Chief Executive - Ian Todd announces departure
As a result of significant changes in personal circumstances, our Chief Executive Ian Todd has announced his decision to leave the role on 16 October 2020.
Speaking about his departure Ian said:
“It has been an honour and a privilege to lead the SIA over the past 18 months and I am proud of what we have achieved together, particularly rising to the challenges of COVID-19. Whilst I am disappointed that I will not see our Corporate Plan through to completion, I remain positive that the foundations are strong and that I will be able to look back, in future, and see an even stronger organisation as a result. I would like to thank the Authority members and all staff for making my time at the SIA such a positive experience.”
Elizabeth France CBE, our Chair said:
“We are sorry that, for personal reasons, Ian has decided not to continue as our Chief Executive. He is an excellent Chief Executive and has played an important part in the development of the SIA, leading it through a challenging period. We are keen to see the plans he has put in place delivered and shall immediately appoint one of our Directors as acting Chief Executive to ensure that no momentum is lost while we conduct a formal recruitment process.”
Ian will be taking up an interim role at the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority.
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Security dog handler events update
In August, we hosted a series of webinars with Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC) for the private dog security community. More than 50 people joined the webinars to find out how security companies can comply with their tax obligations and improve industry standards.
HMRC specifically wanted to explain the 2014 Agency Law, and its tax implications for the dog handling community. The webinar clarified that when the relevant conditions of the agency legislation apply, a dog handler is treated as holding employment with a dog handling company for tax purposes and the company is required to operate PAYE/National Insurance.
HMRC’s objective is to ensure a level playing field in which security companies pay the right tax at the right time. This includes determining employment status and applying agency legislation correctly.
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Working safely during coronavirus
(COVID-19)
We have collated the Government guidance on working safely during coronavirus (COVID-19) and included priority actions to take that are relevant to the private security industry. These include what businesses need to do to protect staff and customers, and how security operatives can protect themselves.
There are seven actions businesses can take:
- Complete a COVID-19 risk assessment. Share it with all your staff. Find out how to do a risk assessment.
- Clean surfaces more often. Increase how often you clean surfaces, especially those that are being touched a lot. Ask your staff, visitors, or contractors to use hand sanitiser and wash their hands frequently.
- Security operatives, please wear a face covering and ask your customers to wear face coverings where required to do so by law. This is especially important if your customers are likely to be around people they do not normally meet. Check when to wear one, including exemptions, online here.
- Make sure everyone is social distancing. Make it easy for everyone to do so by putting up signs or introducing a one-way system that people can follow.
- Increase ventilation. Keep doors and windows open and run ventilation systems at all times wherever possible.
- Take part in NHS Test and Trace. Businesses can do this by keeping a record of all staff, contractors and visitors for 21 days. Since 18 September, this is now enforceable under the law. Some exemptions apply but more information is available online.
- Turn people with coronavirus symptoms away. If a staff member or someone in their household has a persistent cough, a high temperature or has lost their sense of taste or smell, they should be isolating.
There are five more things both businesses and individuals need to be aware of if you work in the private security industry:
- Let customers know that by law they can only visit in groups of up to 6 people. This applies unless they are visiting as a household or support bubble which is larger than 6. Check with customers who they are with on arrival, and how many people will be attending. Put up signs to remind customers to only interact with their own group.
- Reduce crowding. Consider how many people can be in each space while remaining socially distanced, and how to prevent crowding in busy areas. Consider separating the site into smaller zones to keep groups separate.
- Work with the same team every day. Use fixed teams or shift patterns to reduce the number of people that each person comes into contact with wherever possible.
- Keep groups apart. Space out tables, consider using barriers between groups, and manage the number of customers in the venue.
- Lower music and other background noise. Prevent shouting, singing, and dancing in the venue by making sure music and broadcasts are played at a low volume.
These are the priority actions to make your business safe during coronavirus.
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As in previous editions of this newsletter, we are championing security operatives who go above and beyond the call of duty through our #SIAHeroes campaign. It celebrates and raises awareness of the great work the security sector does to protect the public and national infrastructure.
The private security industry deserves recognition and respect for the critical work it does to keep the country safe and secure. This campaign highlights inspiring stories and the unseen work carried out by security operatives across the UK on a daily basis.
As part of the campaign, we are sharing these stories in our newsletters and via social media using #SIAHeroes.
You can feature in this campaign by sharing your story with us. Email us at media.enquiries@sia.gov.uk or contact us via social media with the following details:
- Full Name
- SIA Licence Number
- Photo
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Denton door supervisor saves friend’s brother in car park stabbing
Door supervisor Connor McMillan saved the life of a man who was stabbed near Crown Point Shopping Car Park in Denton, Greater Manchester.
Connor, 23, from Denton, works for ABM Group Ltd and is also a CCTV specialist. When he was on duty on Tuesday 7 July, he received a radio call from security control telling him that a young man had been stabbed.
Without hesitation, Connor grabbed a first aid kit from the control room and rushed to the scene. The man who had been stabbed was lying on the floor clutching his chest. One of Connor’s colleagues had caught the man who had carried out the stabbing.
Connor starting by checking whether the victim was conscious. He appeared to be in shock from loss of blood. Connor cleaned the wound and began packing it with bandages to stem the blood flow.
While attending to his wounds, Connor realised that the victim was the brother of a friend. He reassured him while keeping pressure on the wound. Crown Point’s Shopping Centre Manager, Alan Barker, and his colleague, Lisa Craig, ran to the scene to help and called the emergency services. Connor continued to reassure the victim while Lisa covered him to keep him warm. Between them they stabilised his condition, and when the ambulance arrived paramedics took over. They told Connor that if he had not carried out emergency first aid the man may well have died at the scene.
Connor’s life-saving efforts were commended by his employer, ABM Ltd, who gave him their ABM Gold Hero Award. Andrew Gwynne, MP for Denton and Reddish also gave him a Community Award.
When we spoke to him, he said:
“I was mentally and physically numb because I’ve never had to deal with an incident like that before. I put my training to good use, and I kept calm and didn’t think of the consequences. I did my best for the man by packing his wound and keeping him talking, and I kept him alive.”
After the incident, Connor discovered that the man had survived his injuries, but he had suffered a punctured lung and damage to his heart.
The man’s family got in touch later to say thank you. His sister said that he had made a recovery and was convalescing in hospital.
When we asked Connor about the incident, he said:
“Security operatives, as first responders, are taught first aid. It has come in handy a few times. In a situation like this, you just have to do what you can. Your training and instinct take over. I think the role of security operatives is changing - the role we play now is not just providing security. We also offer support, give basic first aid, and help people feel safe.”
Ian Todd, our Chief Executive, said:
“We are championing security operatives who go above and beyond the call of duty through our #SIAHeroes campaign. The private security industry deserves recognition and respect for the critical work it does to keep the country safe and secure. Connor’s story highlights the unseen work carried out by security operatives, across the UK, on a daily basis.”
We are promoting the industry’s dedication and commitment through the #SIAHeroes campaign. It involves sharing inspiring stories of security operatives who are keeping the public safe and secure at this critical time.
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Door Supervisor protects customers from a violent attack at a south London bank
A door supervisor has been assaulted while trying to protect customers from a violent attack at a bank in South London.
Mohsin Rahim, from Streatham, is an SIA licensed door supervisor. He was on duty at the Nationwide Building Society in Streatham one afternoon in June, when a man ran past him into the branch.
As he was overseeing social distancing and making sure people queued in separate lines, Mohsin heard raised voices and swearing from inside. The man was shouting aggressively “I want my money”.
Mohsin assessed the situation and realised that the man who was demanding money had mental health issues. He swiftly directed customers out of the way and went to help another security guard who was intervening. The situation escalated, and the man punched Mohsin in the face.
When we asked Mohsin what was going through his mind at the time, he said, “I thought he was going to hit my manager, so I got in between them.”
Mohsin said that he remembered his training and safely restrained the man. As this was happening, the police arrived, arrested the man and escorted him to a waiting police car. The police also confirmed Mohsin’s suspicions that the aggressor had a history of mental health episodes.
The police asked Mohsin whether he would like to press charges. Mohsin said: “As it was Ramadan, I chose to forgive him.” The man was released, after being encouraged by the police to apologise to Mohsin and all the customers in the Nationwide branch.
Several customers thanked Mohsin for protecting them and said how sorry they were that he had been assaulted.
Mohsin’s story is part of our #SIAHeroes campaign. He is one of 400,000 licensed security operatives in the UK who have continued to work as critical workers and keyworkers, guarding hospitals, sheltered accommodation, supporting social distancing in supermarkets, and other essential operation.
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Job Support Scheme
On Thursday 24 September, the Government launched the Job Support Scheme. If you are a security business this scheme could help you and your employees.
The scheme aims to target support for those businesses that are being impacted by Coronavirus and who can support their employees doing some work, but that need more time for demand to recover.
It is designed to protect the jobs in businesses that face lower demand over the winter months due to Covid-19 and to help keep their employees attached to the workforce. The scheme will open on 01 November 2020 and run for 6 months.
The scheme works in that the company will continue to pay its employee for the time worked. The cost of hours not worked will be split between the employer, the Government (through wage support) and the employee (through a wage reduction). Overall, it means the employee will keep their job.
Employers using the Job Support Scheme will also be able to claim the Job Retention Bonus if they meet the eligibility criteria.
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Changes to the coronavirus Job Retention Scheme
The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) will close on 31 October 2020.
From 01 July, employers brought furloughed employees back to work for any amount of time and any shift pattern, and they were still able to claim CJRS grant for the hours not worked.
On 01 August 2020, the level of grant was reduced each month. To be eligible for the grant employers must have paid furloughed employees 80% of their wages, up to a cap of £2,500 per month for the time they were furloughed.
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REMOVE: guidance on removing hazardous substances
Security operatives may be the first responders to an incident where someone has been exposed to a hazardous substance. The REMOVE advice is closely aligned to guidance for the emergency services and provides simple, consistent advice on early actions following:
- A suspected deliberate or accidental exposure to a hazardous substance
- (vapour, powder or liquid) or
- An ‘acid attack’
This guidance is designed to help people respond safely to such incidents.
The REMOVE advice can be implemented without specialist protective equipment and is relevant for any potential hazardous substance incident.
The protocol is endorsed by Public Health England, as well as all three emergency services.
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Crackdown on unlicensed security at Accrington club
A man has been sentenced at Blackburn Magistrates’ Court after he admitted working illegally as a door supervisor at the Berkley Club in Accrington.
Lloyd Irwin, a former director of Hunter Irwin Security Specialists Ltd, appeared before the court via video link on 02 September. He had worked as a door supervisor for the company at The Berkley Club during December 2019 and January 2020 despite not holding an SIA licence.
The district judge sentenced Irwin, who pleaded guilty, to a 12-month community order with an 80-hour unpaid work requirement. He was also ordered to pay a £90 victim surcharge and £760.40 costs.
Our investigators, responding to a report of unlicensed door staff, worked with Lancashire Police and Hyndburn Council’s Licensing Officer to uncover a pattern of illegal working at the club.
Pete Easterbrook, one of our Criminal Investigation managers, said:
“This should serve as a warning for anyone who is tempted to pick up work as a door supervisor without an SIA licence. It should also make unscrupulous bosses think twice about getting unlicensed staff in to cover a shift at a busy time. It’s not worth it. You could find yourself with a criminal record that will end your career in security. Door supervision is a responsible profession that should be left to those who are properly qualified and licensed.”
Daniel Webb, who is also unlicensed, had worked at the club in January 2020. He was employed by Hunter Irwin Security Specialists Ltd, who provided door supervisors to the premises under contract.
Webb, who appeared before the court at the same time as Irwin, has entered a ‘not guilty’ plea. His trial is due to take place at Burnley Magistrates’ Court on 17 December.
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Unlicensed Brighton security guard pleads guilty to working illegally
A Brighton man pleaded guilty to working as an unlicensed security guard at Brighton Magistrates’ Court on Friday 11 September.
Mohammed Ali, 43, worked illegally at the Cheeky Chicken in West Street during the height of Brighton’s summer holiday season. The court gave Ali an unconditional discharge and ordered him to pay £200.
Ali was discovered without a licence during routine licence checks by our investigators and West Sussex Police on 10 August 2019. Working while unlicensed is an offence under the Private Security Industry Act 2001, and as a result we prosecuted him.
The court heard that Ali, who is unemployed, had amassed significant credit card debt. The magistrates considered these circumstances alongside his guilty plea, previous good character, plus a show of remorse before awarding him an unconditional discharge.
Ali formerly had an SIA Security Guard licence that expired on 22 June 2019.
We wrote to Ali in June 2019 advising that his licence was expiring and that he should not accept offers of work in the private security industry.
He had applied to renew his licence in May 2019. After his old licence had expired, he continued to provide unlicensed security services to the owners and management of the Cheeky Chicken and its patrons.
Nathan Salmon, one of our criminal investigation managers, said that Ali’s actions displayed a contempt for our licensing regime:
“The licensing regime is there to protect the public. This is particularly important during the height of the holiday season and at a popular resort like Brighton. By being unlicensed Ali put the public at risk and he was investigated and prosecuted as a result. The sentence on Friday means that Ali now has a criminal record, and it is unlikely that he will be able to work in the UK security industry again.”
Ali committed a section 3 offence – working without a licence.
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SIA licensing report for August
Our licensing statistics for August are now available. They provide a full national picture of SIA licensing for August 2020. The total number of SIA licences in circulation has reached 420,000, and there are 832 approved contractors. The report includes the details of:
- applications over the last 12 months by sector
- demographics
- type of applications
- location of active licences currently in the UK
- qualifications gained
- approved contractors.
The report is updated at the end of each month.
There is a licensing dashboard featuring illustrations depicting the licence variations. These include simple and complex licence applications: the complex licensing application illustration explains why a licence application can sometimes take a few weeks.
The document size is: (Document: PDF, 859 KB)
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Please do NOT post your documents to us
We are still processing licence applications, but we have had to close our office, which means that we cannot receive or process any physical documents sent to us.
If we have asked you to post documents to us, such as your passport or driving licence, please do NOT! Instead, you should send us a digital scan or photograph of the documents we have asked you to provide. How you do this will depend on how we have asked for the information. We explain more about this below.
- Information requests: We may have sent you an ‘Information Request’. These appear on the ‘My Messages’ page of your SIA online account. If we have, then you should send us the document(s) we have asked for 6 by selecting the option that says "I will upload a scanned copy of the document using the Upload section below".
- Any other messages (for example, your ‘Next Steps’ instructions) We may have asked for your documents as part of a longer message – for example, the ‘Next Steps’ instructions that you were given when you submitted your application. If we have, then you should:
- Log into your SIA online account.
- Click on the 'Contact the SIA' tab.
- Select "I want to ask about a new application or make a general enquiry" as your reason for contact.
- Attach the images of your scanned or photographed documents using the 'upload' button.
The quality of any images you send us must be high enough that the documents are clear and can be easily read. If they are not, we will not be able to progress your application until you provide images that are.
Download our COVID19 FAQs to find out more about how we have adapted the licensing process so that we can continue to process licence applications (Document: PDF 308 KB).
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Security Institute Virtual Conference 2020
The Science of Security
The Security Institute's Sarah Austerberry and Rick Mounfield will be hosting a virtual conference in October.
This year they are extending their conference to take place over an entire week, and they have invited reputable speakers from all over the world. Alongside a variety of speakers, the Security Institute will be running a virtual week-long exhibition and a virtual charity auction.
Speakers will present on topics that will consider the importance of science in all aspects of security, through:
- Engineering
- Psychology
- Technology
- The human factor
- The impacts of connectivity via the Internet of Things (IoT)
- Forensic sciences
- Impact of space exploration
Dates: 19 October - 23 October 2020
Time: 9:00am – 3:00pm
Cost: Free
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The OSPAs 2021
The Outstanding Security Performance Awards (OSPAs) are an international initiative recognising and awarding best practice in security. The initiative recognises and rewards companies and individuals across the security sector.
The UK event usually takes place in February and nominations for the 2021 awards are open until 01 October 2020. Our Director of Partnerships and Interventions Michelle Russell is one of the judges.
Please note that it is important that all the entry criteria and information be included in the submission, as judges can only provide their scores against the information that is submitted. External links and attachments are not permitted.
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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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Previous Editions
Previous editions of this newsletter can be viewed on our website. |
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