Working alongside officers from Sussex Police and the UK’s Border Agency, SIA investigators visited 146 licensed premises across the counties. 336 door staff were checked. 314 held valid SIA licences, but 22 individuals were found to be working illegally (including a doorman working illegally with a fake SIA licence and two doormen arrested for immigration offences). 93% of door staff were found to be licensed.
Jennifer Pattinson – one of the SIA’s head of investigations – told info4security: “We all share the same concern for maintaining public safety and SIA licensing of door staff contributes to that. Together, we can all tackle illegal activity in the private security industry. Door supervisors working illegally, and those deploying them, could face prosecution.”
For more information please refer to Sussex Police: www.sussex.police.uk
SIA investigators have also begun Operation Lollipop, targeting security provision at popular family spots along Lincolnshire’s East Coast. Investigators visited Skegness, Mablethorpe, Louth and Ingoldmells as part of the intelligence gathering exercise and, over two days, visited five holiday parks, one theme park and 27 licensed premises.
Commenting on the project, Jacqueline Parker – an SIA head of investigations – said: “Lincolnshire’s East Coast is an attractive destination for family holidays. With school holidays coming up shortly, we want to ensure that security operatives working in positions of trust are doing so legally and hold SIA licences. I was pleased that all the holiday park managers and licensees we visited were legally deploying SIA licensed staff at their security sites. We’ll be back on the East Coast to check that security operatives are observing licence conditions such as displaying their SIA licence.”
