BSIA voices security bill doubts

The British Security Industry Association (BSIA) has formed a working party to lobby government with issues it feels have been overlooked in the long-awaited Private Security Industry Bill introduced in December.

The working party, formed last month and chaired by David Cowden chair of the BSIA overall, is concerned that the bill does not include any form of mandatory inspections for security companies or licensing for in-house officers, CCTV monitoring personnel and alarm installers.

The chairman of the BSIA Manned Security Section, Jane Fraser, which is also part of the BSIA working party, said the association welcomes the bill but feels it does not go far enough.

She said: 'We just want to ensure that we provide the best service possible for our customers. Just going through their records searching for criminal activity is not enough.'

Fraser said the lack of licensing for in-house officers might encourage businesses to keep security services in-house in order to avoid the added cost of providing licences for outsourced security services.

She also said that initial feedback from BSIA members suggests they feel licensing should be expanded to cover areas such as minimum training standards.

The working party aims to lobby the government so that any changes can be introduced to the bill once it has been passed using special enabling powers. This will avoid making any formal amendments to the bill, which would delay even further the introduction of what is otherwise regarded as a positive move for the industry.

Fraser said: 'The aim of the working party is to ensure that our flags are placed firmly in the ground and that we can move towards the bill that we all want.'

The Private Security Industry Bill will see the creation of the Security Industry Authority, which will carry out the licensing of individuals, approval of companies and standards, as well as training and supervision.