SIR – FORGIVE ME FOR BEING SOMEWHAT cynical about The Security Watchdog’s apparent stance as the self-proclaimed arbiter for the security industry (‘Raising the bar beyond BS 7858’, Opinion, SMT, December 2004, p11).

Indeed, The Watchdog may well undermine current progress being made by the Security Industry Authority (SIA) towards a regulated security sector simply because of an inherent political desire to promote its own position.

In its current role as the Inspectorate for recognised British Standards, the National Security Inspectorate (NSI) has taken its work very seriously indeed. As the quality manager for an NSI ‘Guarding Gold Award’ company, my experience of the rigours of qualification and inspection has been both exacting and disciplined. I also believe that BS 7499 and BS 7858 should not be eroded in any way, as the high standards they set ultimately reward my company and its customers.

We recognise that the processes needed to fulfil the SIA’s regulatory regime represent an arduous task. As participants in those procedures, we should all feel free to present a constructive argument by way of contributing to the very best possible outcome. By the same token, we should not allow ‘loose canons’ to lead us down the road of throwing away the baby with the bath water, purely for the sake of what is very often unreasonable dissent.

The NSI should continue to receive our total support in completing what is always a very professional job.

Source

SMT

Postscript

Dave Kent, Quality Manager, Elite Contract Security