What lies ahead for guarding?

Using individuals who are licensed will not change the status quo too much. Those licenses need to be combined with an acceptance and application of the Working Time Directive, in addition to a rigorous inspection system that effectively penalises security companies (of whatever size) that flagrantly abuse the rules.

There must also be an Approved Companies scheme which really does give the industry's client base comfort that they are indeed engaging only quality security companies.

It's not going to be an easy ride for the SIA. We need to create an inspection system which holds the same sort of authority as that engendered by a visit from the Inland Revenue or HM Customs and Excise. In other words, if companies deliberately try to sidestep either BS 7499 or BS 7858 – or both – then they should be held to account. The manned guarding industry has a history of taking the soft option, such that the Inspectorate of the Security Industry (ISI) – and more recently the National Security Inspectorate (NSI) – has been forced to inherit the legacy of the wholly inadequate Manned Services Inspectorate.

We would wish to see the following in place: inspections without any prior warning and at any time of the day or night, a suspension from the Approved Companies scheme for a period of time for serious breaches of the rules and much greater publicity afforded to those organisations which have achieved exceptionally high standards or fallen badly.

At The Security Watchdog, we hope that the ISI element of the NSI will form the core of the SIA's inspectorate, but it needs to be very much larger than it is at present and enjoy significantly greater powers.

We would also like to see the International Professional Security Association (IPSA) inspectorate included within this body. So too some of the other expertise which has recently retired from mainstream manned guarding – and which could still play an effective role in the development of the Authority's inspectorate.

Trade Associations: a new role
The role of the Trade Associations will change dramatically. In recent years, the British Security Industry Association (BSIA) has carried the responsibility of trying to maintain and enhance standards within the manned guarding industry, and with some success.

It has been convenient for companies to blame the BSIA for all the misdemeanours of the past. It isn't necessarily the Association's fault that the industry has deliberately sidestepped the provisions of the Working Time Directive, or that it has had to tread carefully when member companies – in particular the majors – have occasionally broken the rules. Nor is it necessarily the BSIA's fault that it has allowed certain companies to join its ranks even though long-term members feel such firms should have been disbarred.

We should wholeheartedly congratulate the BSIA for what it has achieved over the years in a non-regulated industry. Without the Association's input, there's no doubt that the industry would have been in a parlous state.

Using individuals who are licensed will not change the status quo too much. Those licenses need to be combined with an acceptance and application of the Working Time Directive, in addition to a rigorous inspection system

As soon as the SIA is fully established, the BSIA can then revert to the role which, arguably, it should have held in the first place – namely that of the foremost Trade Association in the industry. It makes sense for any reputable company in the industry to seek membership of such an Association and to pay for the privilege. It will almost certainly mean an end to the substantial rates which have been charged to contract companies in respect of annual membership fees, but correspondingly it should mean a marked increase in membership applications as more and more companies realise the benefits of joining.

We also see distinct possibilities in the BSIA developing a forum for educated debate, much the same way as the American Society for Industrial Security (ASIS) has done over the years in courting end users to join its ranks.

The IPSA is the oldest Trade Association in the industry, but corporate membership has dwindled to fewer than 100. As such, the organisation is in urgent need of an injection of energy and enthusiasm.

The new chairman, Patrick Somerville, is the man to supply the necessary impetus, and IPSA may well find its feet in the future by taking fledgling contractors and bringing them to Approved Companies status.

The safety net for end users
For its part, The Security Watchdog is not a Trade Association, nor a UKAS inspectorate, but it does fill a need in the market by supplying a safety net to end users who contract with bona fide manned security companies but don't always receive the professional service they'd expected. Despite any sales hype, the standard terms and conditions of employment in the guarding industry will always ensure that staff turnover – or 'churn' – rates are much higher than any of us would want. Necessarily, the impact of this is felt out on site, such that the service promised does not always match that which is delivered.

By means of its independent auditing and contract monitoring services, The Security Watchdog gives comfort to all parties on the actual quality of service being provided and how, if applicable, it can be improved. The advent of the SIA shouldn't impact upon this service – at least not until the Working Time Directive is fully implemented.

Over the next few years individuals who would not have considered a career in contract manned guarding will now do so in what is becoming known as the 'extended police family'. In line with this, there'll be a high level of expectation from the client base that the overall service will dramatically improve. In our view that will not happen until the Working Time Directive is embraced.

Nothing really changes with the issue of a licence, in particular if BS 7858 has been working effectively.

Whether it's examining licenses or measuring performance against an agreed standard, the inspectorate of the SIA must enjoy sufficient power to penalise those organisations which choose to flout the law.