Category: Safeguarding

Supporting Public Safety during the Freshers season

Kirsty Tagg – SIA lead on preventing violence against women and girls reflects on the industry’s role in supporting a safe and enjoyable Freshers season.

We are now several weeks into the Freshers season. For many students “Freshers week” will mark a first in their lives. For younger students it will be the first time being away from home, their first experience of visiting a bar or club in an unfamiliar area. It’s an exciting time that should be enjoyed safely.

Over the past year along with my colleagues at the SIA, we have run a full-scale programme of engagement across the private security industry in support of strategies initiated by the UK Government and the devolved nations to tackle violence against women and girls. We have published and promoted materials and advice to the wider security sector, that raises awareness of the safety of women and girls in all environments.

The role that private security operatives will play in keeping the student population safe during Freshers season will be critical.
We are currently running a campaign to share and promote best practice guidance to help reduce incidents of violence and harm such as predatory behaviour, sexual assault, and spiking.

As I write this piece, across the country my colleagues are on the ground meeting with security operatives who will often be dealing with vulnerable people who are on a night out. The reassuring thing we are hearing from the industry is “we know what we are doing”. People should be able to enjoy a night out assured of their safety.

We are also speaking with venue owners and buyers of security; they have a responsibility to ensure they are using good companies with licensed operatives. At the end of the day this is about a holistic approach involving a range of actors such as the police, local authorities, educational establishments, street pastors, pub watch and many others.

Our aim is to remind operatives of their training. We also want to remind all those engaged in security that security operatives can proactively protect people in vulnerable situations.
Please read our advice on the contribution that security operatives can make to help keep themselves safe whilst also protecting others.

If you employ or provide security, you and your staff can access this information by clicking on the link below.

Supporting women and girls’ safety: SIA email campaign – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

How to protect yourself and others: guidance for door supervisors – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

To all our licence holders on the frontline, we ask that you please continue to fulfil your role to the highest standards. Thank you for your dedication and professionalism in keeping the public safe.

Kirsty Tagg

SIA Lead – Tackling Violence Towards Women and Girls

Parklife Festival 2022, Manchester

Lucia Howland – SIA Regional Investigation Manager and Tactical Events Lead highlights SIA activity during the Parklife Festival in Manchester this year.

The weekend of 11/12 June saw the Parklife Festival return to Heaton Park in Manchester with an extensive array of acts and an 80,000 capacity.  A large private security presence helped to deliver a safe event and ensure public protection.  As part of routine compliance and enforcement work, SIA investigators engaged extensively in advance with the event organisers, partner agencies and security companies involved as well as being present during the festival to undertake compliance-related activity. 

Our approach at the festival, which was agreed in advance, was to focus on the identification and prevention of any attempted use of counterfeit SIA licences, alongside ensuring general compliance with SIA rules.  Counterfeit licences show genuine SIA licence number and name details and show up as “active” on the SIA’s Public Register of Licence Holders.  However, the photo on the licence is of the fraudulent holder rather than the genuine applicant.

A large private security presence helped to deliver a safe event and ensure public protection at the Parklife Festival

On the weekend itself, four SIA investigators attended Parklife with assistance from Greater Manchester Police.  In total we checked over 650 SIA licences, mostly at the accreditation stage prior to deployment.  Whilst the vast majority of the SIA licences we checked were genuine, we found one that was a counterfeit.  Whilst the name and SIA licence number showed as “active” on the SIA Register, the photo on the licence did not match with SIA records.  The counterfeit licence was seized immediately and the individual in question was arrested by Greater Manchester Police officers for suspected fraud and immigration offences.  Related enquires and follow-up work are underway.              

The protection of the public at high-profile festivals is paramount and we were pleased that the majority of those deployed were correctly licensed. Our inspection activity was vital to mitigate against the risk of individuals trying to work in the private security industry using counterfeit licences. Festival goers need the assurance that they will be safe when they are out enjoying themselves.

Platinum Jubilee Weekend investigators out in force in Central London

The four-day Platinum Jubilee Weekend in early June featured significant high-profile, national events in Central London. To ensure that the public were kept safe during the events there was a substantial security and stewarding presence. Security operatives were in attendance well in advance of the Platinum Jubilee Weekend to ensure the safety of the build and the event infrastructure were protected.

Prior to the Platinum Jubilee Weekend our compliance and inspections London team worked with Arcadis, the event organiser, plus the main and other security suppliers clocking up around 164 hours of work. We gave proactive advice around due diligence measures to mitigate against the risk of individuals trying to work in the private security industry using counterfeit licences. Inspection activity, supported by our south-east regional investigators took place on Tuesday 31 May, at the Trooping of the Colour event on Thursday 02 June, and during the Pageant event on Sunday 05 June. Some operatives said that they wanted to work at these prestigious events because they were significant occasions. Our investigators undertook 150 licence checks finding two people with counterfeit licences. No other unlicensed activity was identified.

John Sandlin, our London Regional Manager said:

“It was pleasing that security providers prevented two people working with counterfeit licences identifying them at the  sign-in stage prior to any of our inspections. We wish to extend a big thank you to those who gave up part of their Bank Holiday Weekend to work at the Platinum Jubilee keeping the public safe.”

The size of the Platinum Jubilee Weekend did create significant challenges for security providers. Sourcing sufficient numbers of licensed individuals required support from a number of other security providers, with peak demand being the deployment of 2,500 licensed operatives.

Further work is taking place in relation to counterfeit licences and newly identified companies.

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We have published updated guidance to ensure that people providing security services at events are compliant with the law.

You can read our recent blog about safety at events here.

Safety at Events

Lucia Howland – SIA Regional Investigation Manager and Tactical Events Lead highlights SIA guidance on industry compliance and public safety at events.

This summer looks set to be one of the busiest times we have seen in a while, with many high-profile events already booked in the national and local calendar. In addition, the potential of some promising weather, suggests that across the UK people can look forward to a summer packed with great festivals for music, food, and the arts.

With the air filled with anticipation and excitement, public safety at these events will be paramount.

I and my colleagues at the SIA have spent the last few months watching all of the planning that goes on behind the scenes. We’ve seen the security industry and the events sector working together to ensure that people can safely enjoy themselves.

The role that private security operatives will play in keeping the public safe at these events will be critical.

Most, although not all, events will require some professional security. Some or all of these security staff may require a licence issued by the SIA.

This week we have published updated guidance to ensure that people providing security services at events are compliant with the law. This means ensuring that security operatives are properly licensed where necessary. If you are providing a security service, this guidance will help you to identify the roles at your event that will by law require an SIA licence.

Our guidance also includes advice on the due diligence checks you should complete when supplying security. It’s important to understand who is legally responsible for conducting those checks, and what evidence to keep.

Throughout the summer we will also be issuing further information and guidance to support security operatives as they carry out their duties at these events.

We will cover a range of issues from how to identify people who may be vulnerable – to information from the government’s “Enough” campaign to end violence against women and girls. Watch out for information on counter-terrorism and best practice on ensuring public safety in crowded places. You can find this information on our GOV.UK pages and via our social media posts.

It looks like it going to be amazing summer. Let’s do everything we can to make it a safe one!