The Security Industry Authority (SIA) has published a summary of the analysis of responses to its consultation on a proposed Code of Conduct, held between 9 January and 23 February 2020.
Seeking views of licence holders and other interested parties on the proposal for a draft Code of Conduct that is expected of licence holders, over 3800 responses were given to the online consultation. 4200 comments were made in response to open questions.
The vast majority of respondents (98%) were existing licence holders, providing a wide range of views about the draft Code of Conduct and the form it might take if introduced.
The SIA believes that introducing a Code of Conduct would be a significant step for the private UK security industry. The Code would “build on the standards of behaviour that are part of the licence-linked training that applicants for most SIA licences are required to successfully complete”.
The consultation asked 14 questions covering the content of the draft Code, examples of unacceptable behaviour in the industry, whether anything else should be included and potential costs and benefits of a Code. Key takeaways included:
The SIA noted that the publication of the analysis took longer than it would have liked due to the volume of responses and the impact resulting from the ongoing situation with COVID-19.
The SIA will now consider in more detail whether a Code of Conduct is a proportionate regulatory approach, and what impact it might have on the private security industry. It will also consider how, if introduced it would work in practice. Ongoing dialogue with the industry will be critical to the thinking on these issues and the SIA will provide an update on its progress in due course.
View the full summary here.
