Industry News Archives

SGC Security Services Turns Green

Paul Macarthur

For a greener, more respected business ISO 14001 is the internationally-recognised system for environmental management. It’s one of the best ways to demonstrate your commitment to the environment and take sustainable measures to reduce your impact on the world around you. You’ll be able to identify, manage, monitor and control environmental issues holistically, with practical tools that will impact your use of resources and the waste you produce. Reduce your environmental impact

Protecting People in Crowded Places Special Interest Group launched

Paul Macarthur

THE SECURITY Institute and the UK Crowd Management Association (UKCMA) have announced the launch of a new Protecting People in Crowded Places Special Interest Group in tandem with forming a dedicated committee of industry professionals who will drive its work going forward. This is a pivotal time for those with the responsibility of protecting crowded places such as parks, sports stadiums, the High Street or transport hubs. There’s now a growing realisation

Disorder at football is on the rise

Paul Macarthur

Cocaine abuse – Kids running drugs – 50% increase in arrests Disorder at football is on the rise. The Times’ chief sports correspondent Matt Lawton spoke to Jim White and Simon Jordan about the issues that have seen a 50 per cent increase in arrests and children being used to carry drugs and weapons. The scenes of chaos at Wembley Stadium in July 2021 prior to the Euro 2020 final between England

It’s #TimeToTalk Day!

Paul Macarthur

It’s #TimeToTalk Day! We support this new campaign by Acas for small businesses and organisations to start the conversation on mental health. Click here for guidance on how you can support your organisation with wellbeing at work www.acas.org.uk/supporting-mental-health-workplace #timetotalkday #strongertogether #mentalhealth #wellbeing

Changes to the training you need for an SIA licence

Paul Macarthur

We have made some changes to the training you need to take before you can get a front line SIA licence. The changes are: we have introduced new, updated qualifications for all sectors except close protection and vehicle immobilisation you must have a first aid qualification before you can take the training required for a door supervisor or security guard licence you must have one of the new qualifications or take top-up

As part of our continuous development and improvement of standards, SGC Security Services has now joined the Good Business Charter.

Paul Macarthur

As part of our continuous development and improvement of standards, SGC Security Services has now joined the Good Business Charter. What is the Good Business Charter? The Good Business Charter is a simple accreditation which organisations in the UK can sign up to in recognition of responsible business practices. It measures behaviour over 10 components: real living wage, fairer hours and contracts, employee well-being, employee representation, diversity and inclusion, environmental responsibility, paying

Venues must have anti-terror measures under government plans

Paul Macarthur

Venues would have a legal duty to put in place security measures to protect the public from terror attacks under government plans. There is currently no legal requirement for venues to employ security measures at the vast majority of public places, but the Home Office said about 70% of those responding to the proposed Protect Duty consultation agreed those locations should take such measures. The senior management team at SGC Security Services

Martyn’s Law and the private security sector

Paul Macarthur

Martyn’s Law and its impact on the security of public places has been much anticipated. The private security sector will play an important part in its implementation. Martyn’s Law, otherwise known as the ‘Protect Duty’, has been a prominent feature across the security industry over the past few months, with the proposed legislation gathering significant government, public and private sector support. Despite the consultation process being dampened by the ongoing pandemic, officials

While the Manchester Arena Inquiry, that began in September 2020, has yet to finish and public a final report, in the summer its wide-ranging first report covered security at the Arena on and before the night of May 22, 2017. The report took in the Arena itself, its crowd management and stewarding contractor Showsec, and police (British Transport and Greater Manchester forces), and the regulator the Security Industry Authority. The SIA has published an interim update on its work on the points raised by that first report. Consec, the annual conference of the Association of Security Consultants (coincidentally hosted by a retired SIA chief, Bill Butler), is due to devote its afternoon to the Inquiry, and the Protect duty that is likely to become law after the Inquiry ends, as the Home Office’s response. Consec on Thursday will hear from Paul Greaney QC, counsel to the Inquiry. As for the SIA’s update; after the Inquiry heard criticism of delivery of some training towards the SIA licence, the SIA reports that it looked into two (unnamed) training companies: one ‘training centre has had their accreditation withdrawn by the relevant awarding organisation after a loss of confidence in the centre’s management and administration. The training centre has since closed.’ The SIA adds that last year, it ’employed consultants to spot checked approximately 15 to 20 per cent of training centres. These efforts have uncovered some areas for improvement, but no serious malpractice of the type described in the evidence given at the Inquiry’. The Inquiry in June queried whether SIA badging for public space CCTV monitoring should only be for contract operatives. The updates says: “The SIA has reviewed this and agrees in principle that the requirement that only those monitoring CCTV under a contract for services need to hold an SIA licence should be changed to include directly employed CCTV operatives.” As the SIA adds, it would be for the UK Government (covering England and Wales), and the governments in Scotland and Northern Ireland, to decide politically whether to pass laws to make such a change to bring in-house CCTV monitoring under the SIA badging regime. Also raised by the Inquiry was whether security businesses should be licensed by the SIA; or in particular to ensure that only those ‘fit and proper companies’ are carrying out counter-terror work. As the SIA points out, this would relate to the Protect Duty, which the Home Office is ‘finalising’; and ‘it is difficult to see how mandatory business and individual licensing can be mutually exclusive’. On training for stewards and security officers, which has also cropped up in the Inquiry and its first report, the SIA says that it expects that employers and business train their staff for specific deployments (besides, that is, the now five day basic training before applying for an SIA badge). The regulator points out that as from October 1, it’s requiring that all door supervision and security guarding licence holders take extra licence linked training (a new departure for the 15-year-old Authority; previously, once you got your badge, you only had to pay to renew it every three years). This top-up training includes first aid and counter-terrorism. For the SIA’s document in full visit the SIA website, or the Inquiry website.

SIA on Arena Inquiry

Paul Macarthur

While the Manchester Arena Inquiry, that began in September 2020, has yet to finish and public a final report, in the summer its wide-ranging first report covered security at the Arena on and before the night of May 22, 2017. The report took in the Arena itself, its crowd management and stewarding contractor Showsec, and police (British Transport and Greater Manchester forces), and the regulator the Security Industry Authority. The SIA has published an interim

Door staff shortages ‘becoming critical’

Paul Macarthur

Door security staff shortages in the night time economy are becoming critical, says Michael Kill, CEO of the trade body the Night Time Industries Association (NTIA). He said that the association carried out a survey a few months ago which found that security resource in the sector was only at 70 per cent, ‘and I am afraid that the situation has only deteriorated further’. He said: “Whether it is through acting as