PRIVATE SECURITY INDUSTRY BILL
Mon, May 21, 2001
Source:
The Private Security Industry Act 2001 has received Royal Assent.
The Act will regulate the private security
industry by requiring those working in the industry to apply for a licence.
Working without a licence will be a criminal offence.
The Act will create a Security Industry
Authority, which will:
- License individuals working
under contract in designated sectors of the industry - manned guarding
(including door supervisors and wheel-clampers), security consultants, private
investigators and key-holders;
- License bouncers and
wheel-clampers who work in-house as well as under contract;
- License the supervisors,
managers and directors of security and wheel-clamping companies;
- Run a voluntary 'Inspected
Companies Scheme' for all companies working in the industry and award a
'quality mark' - a voluntary accreditation scheme for companies who meet
specified standards; and
- Set and raise professional
standards in the industry - for example by ensuring that wheel-clamping
companies follow a detailed code of practice.
The Authority will maintain a national
register of licensed individuals and approved companies.
The Act will be published on the Internet at
www.hmso.gov.uk/acts.
The Act will cover wheel-clamping
on private land - that is, on land other than public roads. Wheel-clamping to
enforce parking controls on public roads is already regulated.
The Home Office will monitor the impact of
the licensing system and formally review it after a period of
operation.
Once the new Authority is set up,
provisions bringing particular sectors of the industry within the scope of the
licensing scheme will come into effect incrementally by order of the Secretary
of State. The manned guarding and wheel-clamping sectors are likely to be
regulated first, with other sectors following. The Government made it clear
during the Commons' passage of the Bill that it does not intend to regulate IT
security consultants under this Act.
The Security Industry Authority will be
self-financing from fees, which are estimated to cost £35-40 for a licence
normally lasting three years. Fees will be levied on individual licence
applicants, and it will be open to employers to reimburse this cost. The
Government estimates that between 100,000 and 130,000 individuals will be
licensed each year by the authority. The authority will publish an annual
report, including statistics on the number of licences issued, refused and
revoked. The voluntary 'Inspected Companies Scheme' will also be
self-financing.
The Home Affairs Committee
concluded in 1995 that the only way to substantially reduce the number of
unsuitable people working in the industry was by introducing a licensing system.
Most other member states in the EU have regulatory systems in place for the
industry. So far, Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK to introduce such
a system, although it is more limited in scope than this
Act.
The Government published a White
Paper on regulating the private security industry in March 1999 ('The
Government's Proposals for Regulation of the Private Security Industry in
England and Wales', CM 4254, Home Office press notice 105/99, www.official-documents.co.uk/document/cm42/4254/4254.htm).
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