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The SIA has been asked by ministers to work with the private security industry and key stakeholders to lead the phased transition to the new regulatory regime announced by Government.

An initial meeting took place yesterday, calling together a number of industry representatives and stakeholders. During this session, the SIA's initial framework for phased transition, reflecting the proposals first set out by Ruth Henig in June this year, was discussed. James Kelly gave an industry view from the Security Alliance.

A framework for the future and a delivery plan will be developed with industry and other stakeholders in the coming months, for presentation to ministers early next year. A further stakeholder meeting will be held in the New Year.

SIA chief executive Bill Butler said:

"Currently, the existing regulatory regime - licensing and the Approved Contractor Scheme, remain in place and existing laws will continue to be enforced. All individuals undertaking licensable activity must ensure they have the required SIA licence.
Work and planning will be underway immediately, but it is not expected that any significant changes will take place before the Olympics in 2012. The phased transition to the new regime will then take place. Subject to agreement, the transition could then be completed by 2014. Any changes will be implemented so as not to disrupt the Glasgow Commonwealth Games in 2014.
There is now much to be done, and the next step will be for the SIA to establish initial arrangements to work with the industry and stakeholders, including the devolved governments in Scotland and Northern Ireland."
Following the meeting, SIA chairman Ruth Henig said:

"We welcome the efforts made so far by the industry to inform the debate and to come together with the SIA to develop and ensure a smooth transition to the new regulatory regime."
Notes to Editors:

On 14 October the Cabinet Office made an announcement on the future of public bodies following its review. Its intention for the SIA was stated as: 'Security Industry Authority - No Longer an NDPB - Phased transition to new regulatory regime'.
The governments in Scotland and Northern Ireland wish to ensure that regulation of the private security industry continues in their countries. How this will work will be a policy decision for the devolved administrations.
The Security Alliance is an industry group formed after the announcement of plans for a transition to a new regulatory regime. James Kelly is chief executive of the BSIA and spoke on behalf of the Security Alliance.
The Security Industry Authority regulates the private security industry in the United Kingdom under the Private Security Industry Act 2001, reporting to the Home Secretary. Its main duties are: the compulsory licensing of individuals undertaking designated activities; managing the voluntary Approved Contractor Scheme approving private security suppliers.
We are committed to the Regulators' Compliance Code, a statutory code of practice for regulators that promotes a risk-based, proportionate and targeted approach.

They can then print the form themselves or request that we print it and post it to them.

E-Fill has been designed to make it easier and quicker for applicants to complete their application form. It also has built-in verification to reduce the likelihood of the form being completed incorrectly and returned. 

 
To use e-fill you first need to register on our website and then log in to use the service. If you have previously submitted an application, the online form pre-populates information such as your name, date of birth, town of birth, email address, postcode and national insurance number.

The system also allows security providers to complete the form on behalf of their staff.

More about e-fill go to More about e-Fill
 

Rea is deaf, so he didn't hear the alarm or the shouts from a security guard ordering him to stop. The 28-year-old kept walking out of the Forever 21 until he was tackled and placed in a choke-hold by the guard.
 
It was a drama that played out in front of dozens of tourists gathered on Hollywood's Walk of Fame and near Grauman's Chinese Theatre.

Pablo Rea, also hearing-impaired as are other members of the family, said it was frustrating watching the guard wrestle his brother for several minutes.

"I can see my brother saying he couldn't communicate," Pablo Rea said Thursday, speaking through an interpreter. "It was like an immediate attack and my brother went limp and then he got in a choke-hold and became purple."

Rea's lawyer, John Henrichs, is threatening to sue the store for using excessive force and causing injuries to Rea, something Forever 21 acknowledged in a statement.

"We recognize that the security guard used excessive force, which is against our store policy and have suspended him indefinitely," the store said in a news release.

An advocacy group for the deaf wants the clothing store chain to train workers to be more sensitive to hearing-impaired customers.

"We're making sure that it won't happen again," said Patricia Hughes, CEO of the Greater Los Angeles Agency on Deafness (GLAD).

Video of the incident, shot by Joshua Fountain using his cell phone, has been viewed hundreds of thousands of times since it was uploaded to YouTube.

"His eyes were watery," Fountain, from Long Beach, California, said. "He was practically purplish, reddish, so he was suffering, and he was continuing tapping on the security guard's arm, telling him 'I've had enough, I am submitting.'"

Alejandro Rea has not seen the video, since he has been held in a Los Angeles jail since his August 7 arrest. His court date is August 24, and he hasn't been able to pay his $56,000 bond.

Instead of a misdemeanor shoplifting charge, he faces felony second-degree robbery. His alleged violent resistance to the security guard and his prior arrest record apparently played a role in the more serious charge, the lawyer said.

Rea was convicted twice before on misdemeanor petty theft charges, in 2002 and 2008, according to the Los Angeles District Attorney's office said.

Henrichs said it doesn't matter in the civil case if he was shoplifting, since it did not justify the brutal treatment by the guards.

"The security guard, the same one, when they took him back in the office, threw him against the wall twice and so he has injuries from that and he is entitled to be compensated for that," Henrichs said.

Forever 21 could avoid a lawsuit with a settlement, Henrichs said, that should include a donation to Patricia Hughes' organization.

"Maybe they can turn a negative into a positive with donation to GLAD for sensitivity training for security workers," he said.

Pablo Rea has simple advice for security guards.

"They should have tapped him on the shoulder to get his attention," Rea said.

Over 200 Security Industry Authority (SIA) licences have been suspended following alleged malpractice at London-based training centre Tristar. Brian Sims reports.

Awarding body Edexcel has withdrawn the Level 2 BTEC Award in Door Supervision certificates issued by Tristar, and removed the operation from its list of accredited training centres.

The licence holders all held door supervision qualifications from Leyton-based centre Tristar but, because their qualifications have now been withdrawn, 211 licence holders no longer meet the SIA’s licensing criteria which clearly states that a specified qualification must be passed.

Therefore, the Regulator has suspended these licences.

These suspensions will be reviewed in 90 days’ time and, if the individuals do not have a valid qualification by this juncture, their licences will be revoked. Any person found to have been complicit in malpractice will have their licence revoked.

Comment from the Regulator
Hazel Russell, the SIA’s director of strategy and corporate services, commented: “We take allegations of training malpractice very seriously indeed and, in this case, have taken prompt action to suspend licences after receiving information from Edexcel."

Russell went on to state: "Training is an essential part of the licensing process, ensuring that all those working in the security industry are properly equipped to carry out their role. Reassuringly, we have relatively few reports of misconduct, and we work closely with the awarding bodies to ascertain that licence-linked qualifications meet the necessary standards."

A spokesperson for Edexcel added: "Edexcel takes any abuse of our qualifications very seriously. We received allegations of malpractice within Tristar and carried out a thorough investigation, including the forensic analysis of test papers. We found substantiated evidence of malpractice, and consequently withdrew over 200 Level 2 BTEC Awards in Door Supervision and removed the centre’s accreditation."

The spokesperson concluded: "BTECs are rigorous qualifications and, wherever necessary, we will always take action to protect their value."

Protea Security Ltd has recently invested in the Active Guard system to enable us to be more Robust and to pass some control to our customers to monitor our officers performance on site in real time.

Guard Tour — the ActiveGuard Patrol System enables monitoring of mobile worker time and attendance in Real Time. All data is transmitted through GSM Phone networks allowing second by second updates on a web based live patrol monitoring system.

Lone Worker — the PANIC button allows immediate communication with a control room in case of emergency - tremendously improving the safety and security of your employees.

Contact Phone — a control room can call an employee in order to reassure them that assistance is at hand or advise them of missed or unfinished patrols.

SMS Exceptions – live web system automatically flags late or missed patrols by email/SMS to supervisors and on screen via a live data monitor.

Web Software Platform – access to reports Anytime and Anywhere. Fully secure with remote automated data backups.
ActiveGuard has secure 2 way voice communication - so why use an expensive and fragile mobile phone?

ActiveGuard users cannot make calls although they can let supervisors know they need a call by pressing “Call Me” button.
The monitoring station operator can call ActiveGuard anytime in the same way as a mobile phone.
Each ActiveGuard unit is programmed to answer calls ONLY from authorised numbers.
No need for Check Calls - ActiveGuard acts as a check call system to verify the staff member is on-site.

Steven Watson, 30, fell 30 feet to the concrete floor below as he worked to dismantle a hanger at Bristol International Airport on 16 December 2006. He died instantly of multiple injuries.

His employer, Rubb Buildings, of Gateshead, was fined £100,000 and ordered to pay £48,795.36 in costs after pleading guilty to s2(1) of the HSWA 1974.

Investigating HSE inspector Steve Frain said that a couple of days before the accident, high winds prompted the workers’ decision to work from the top of the hangar, where Watson cut the PVC with a Stanley knife.

There had apparently been concerns about metal parts of the structure flying off in the wind. The site supervisor, from groundwork construction firm Fitzpatrick, allowed him to do it with the proviso he wore a harness.

“That’s where the failings began,” Frain said. “They could have done it from underneath” working from a mobile platform.

The next day, the Rubb workers decided to carry on working on the roof, but “for whatever reason” Watson did not wear a harness.

Within minutes of starting work, he fell through the hole he had cut earlier.

The HSE investigation found failings in Rubb’s work plan, method statement and supervision. The company was also unable to produce inspection and maintenance records for the harnesses.

“Fundamentally, they didn’t avoid work at height; they didn’t follow the hierarchy of risk control... he [Watson] should never have been up there, and even when he was he should have had the right equipment and training, none of which he had,” said Frain. In mitigation the firm said it had no previous convictions and had entered an early guilty plea. It has a new system for managing protective equipment and reviewed its method statement.

Speaking after the hearing, Frain said the fine reflected new sentencing guidelines, which state that for health and safety offences that cause death, fines should “seldom be less than £100,000 and may be measured in hundreds of thousands of pounds or more” (see http://www.sentencing-guidelines.gov.uk/docs/guideline_on_corporate_manslaughter.pdf).

Last year, principal contractors Fitzpatrick Construction were prosecuted under s3 HSWA 1974 for failing to ensure the safety of a non-employee under its supervision.

The tragic thing about this case, Frain said, was that there was no reason for the work to be done from the top of the roof.

“Steven Watson should have been properly protected by Rubb Buildings Ltd, instead he lost his life.

“The company failed in its duty to ensure there was a properly planned and supervised means of working – there should have been no need to work directly on the roof.

“Falls from height can be extremely serious and adequate safety measures must be in place to protect all workers.”

Last updated on 17/05/2010

A recent series of inspections carried out by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has produced very disappointing results, with numerous failures and even the possibility of prosecution in one case.

Inspectors carried out checks at 66 construction sites across Nottinghamshire during two days of intensive inspections.

With almost one in three sites failing, they issued a total of 21 enforcement notices, 10 in Nottingham and 11 in Nottinghamshire, either stopping work immediately or requiring improvements to be made. The majority of the notices covered unsafe work being carried out at height.

A similar exercise in Lincolnshire produced even more depressing results, with two-thirds of the construction sites visited failing their inspection.

Although they issued a total of only five enforcement notices, either stopping work immediately or requiring improvements to be made, one site in the country is still under investigation with a view to being prosecuted.

Richard Lockwood, HSE’s Principal Inspector of Construction for the East Midlands, said: “The majority of the construction sites our inspectors visited had good health and safety procedures in place. But the other sites are letting the rest of the industry down and putting workers’ lives at risk.”

Latest figures from the HSE show that there were 227 serious injuries on construction sites in Nottinghamshire last year and 113 on sites in Lincolnshire.

Brain for business: “There is plenty of scope in the UK for people wishing to start up”
South-African born Gert Nel found that his experience in the South African Police Service came in handy when he started up Protea Security Ltd, a security and guarding company in London. THE SOUTH AFRICAN speaks to Nel about securing a successful business in the UK

Where did you grow up?
I was born and brought up East London in the Eastern Cape and returned to the area  after joining the police [force].

What work experience or educational background did you have to have in order to qualify for your position?
Having matriculated from Hangklip High School in 1987 I decided to join the Police as an alternative to completing two years National Service. Initially I joined for four years; however, I enjoyed the experience so much I ended up completing fourteen years service. As part of my training and development I successfully completed the National Diploma for Police Administration as well as a diploma in Forensic Auditing. In 2002, however, personal circumstances dictated that I resign from the police force having attained the rank of Detective Inspector. As my wife had finished her studies and obtained her law degree and our daughter was one year old, we decided to immigrate to the UK and have a fresh start.

Tell me about your business. What is your role?
Initially, after our arrival in the UK, I was anxious to gain experience in the security industry and, to that end, I was employed at HSBC Head Office at Canary Wharf. After two years I decided to go it alone and formed Protea Security Ltd with my first contract being at the Portuguese Consulate. During this initial period I decided that I would like to become involved in the training aspect of the security industry and obtained the necessary qualifications and offered courses to the Security Industry Authority standard which had become mandatory for all security officers to hold. As time passed I was able to complete training qualifications in other fields of security such as CCTV, Door Supervision, Weapon Awareness and First Aid. Having completed my training objectives, I expanded the guarding portion of the company, gaining all the accreditation necessary, including SIA Approved Contractor, ISO 9000 and ISO1400 status. In order to gain knowledge and experience Protea Security Ltd subcontracted to well-established security companies. This experience was invaluable and we then tendered for our own contracts, with the result that we now employ 200 security officers in the retail, corporate and construction sectors, the majority of whom I myself trained.


You have considerable experience in the police force. How has this helped to improve the service you offer?
There is no doubt whatsoever that my training and experience in the police force has been extremely beneficial in the field of public relations and complaint handling. At Protea we provide a service and that service is based on the simple basis of honesty, respect, politeness and professionalism. We induct new students with the motto “We train to protect and serve”. That may sound like a bit of cliché nowadays; however, it is the standard to which we operate.

Do you find that the security business does better in South Africa than it does in the UK?
The security industry in South Africa and the UK are performing the same functions albeit in completely different ways. In South Africa the industry is involved primarily in combating crime. The guards are armed and are involved in violent confrontations on a regular basis. Despite this they receive poor remuneration – approximately £200 to £300 per month. In contrast, in the UK the guards are well paid and do not become involved in violent confrontation. Their function is primarily access control and dealing with customers. Having said that, guarding in England can be a very demanding and challenging profession, with the approach of the 2012 Olympics setting higher standards for the industry.

Was it difficult to set up an accredited and reputable security service in the UK?
The biggest challenge in starting Protea Security Ltd was undoubtedly in obtaining the required accreditation, which is not only costly but also labour intensive as they require constant upgrading to meet new challenges and changes in the market. As Protea Security Ltd was managed by South Africans we had to work hard to gain the respect, and subsequently the recognition, from industry leaders. We achieved this with our hands-on management approach and I now believe we are known for not only providing the highest levels of customer care but also for good value for money.

What is your vision for your company?
I would like to see Protea Security Ltd grow to play a major role in the security industry in the UK insofar as we would provide the best service and be extremely competitive in all fields.

What is the most important lesson you have learnt about business?
Here again I would like to use a cliché – business and marriage are very similar in that they both require effort on a day-to-day basis and an acceptance that building the enterprise is a long-term commitment and that we have to walk before we can run. I believe in taking expert advice, I do not profess to know everything and most importantly I never forget the people who have helped me achieve my goals.

Do you feel there are more opportunities in London for people starting a business or career than there are in South Africa?
There is plenty of scope in the UK for people wishing to start up. With the support agencies and grants available to assist them, it is definitely easier than in South Africa

Do you have any plans of returning to South Africa to continue your career/business there?
Never say never. However my family and I are settled and very happy here, with plans to return only on visits to family and friends.