Previously,
the industry had licensing through the Private Security Industry Act 2001,
including Door Supervisors, Wheel Clampers, Security Guards and Private
Investigators.
The SIA are committed to the Government's
principles of good regulation. They intend to be:
Proportionate
Proportionate by getting involved in
regulation only when necessary, issuing verbal and written warnings,
improvement notices, only using criminal prosecution when all else has
failed. SIA’s Enforcement Policy – Code of Practice was published in
2004, making sure that anything to do with compliance is transparent, open
and consistent. The enforcement policy complies with the Hampton
principles;
Accountable
Accountable by coming to decisions in a
clear and sensible manner, while consulting all involved associations,
institutions and with individual stakeholders ensuring they are involved
in any decisions;
Consistent
Consistent by working closely with others
involved over the production of ideas and proposals. The SIA work with
partners such as the Police, and carry out combined operations as part of
their compliance. To discourage non-compliance with licensing, the
outcomes of these combined operations will be published for all
stakeholders. The SIA are not trying to regulate parts of the private
security industry where suitable arrangements are already in place. The
SIA intend to make sure that stakeholders aren't going to end up
duplicating their effort in order to demonstrate competency for licensing.
If other suitable experience or qualifications can be shown, the SIA
accredit prior learning (APL) through our endorsed awarding bodies;
Transparent
Transparent by advice on policies, services
and strategies and by making sure that the public know what to expect,
working with the Home Office where necessary;
Targeted
Targeted by concentrating on resources for
tackling situations and solving problems and by using the National
Intelligence Model (NIM) to concentrate on the activities that have the
most serious risks, rather than carrying out routine audits on those
stakeholders who are compliant with licensing.
To show their commitment to always
improving things and to working closely with industry stakeholders, the
SIA has developed a better regulation action plan.
In August
2006, the Better Regulation Executive (BRE) went to five groups of licence
holders, with the aim of these visits being to discuss their regulatory
approach up until now. The SIA put together an action plan based on the
BRE's findings and their in-house review processes.
The SIA realises how important it is for
those in the security industry to be professional and adept at their work
and therefore it is vital for a structured programme of training to be in
place. Increasingly, industry stakeholders also recognise that
individuals with enforcement responsibilities must have a broad range of
skills and a clear understanding of their role. As the scope, diversity
and importance of their work continue to grow, so the degree of
professionalism expected from those involved in the security industry will
increase.
The SIA has talked to service suppliers,
customers, training organisations, awarding bodies, trade associations,
local government and the police to achieve a broad agreement on the
approach to be taken in developing and delivering training and
qualifications leading to licensing.
All
Millennium Security staff are legitimate qualified professionals - SIA
licensed and recognised. All clients have the option to check and validate
licenses themselves direct via the SIA
website.
