Mike Wilson, Chief Executive of the Security Industry Authority (SIA) addressed a recent meeting of Liverpool Chamber’s Security Forum.
The forum was brought together, to give the industry a coordinated voice in the city and to encourage the sharing of best practice in this sector.
Also at the meeting, Merseyside Police updated on Operation Seahog, the ongoing investigation into non-compliant security firms on Merseyside. Some 670 sites have been visited across Merseyside, as a result 256 people have been summonsed to date, 64 vehicles have been seized and 26 illegal immigrants have been discovered. As a result of this operation, Merseyside Police are working with the Met, who see this operation as best practice, so that they can police the construction sites around the Olympic developments, the meeting heard.
Invite
Mike was invited by Peter Jones, Head of the Chamber’s Business Crime Direct Team, to discuss the security issues facing Merseyside. Members raised issues about re-accredition, illegal workers and the difficulties in start-ups and micro-businesses getting ACS accreditation. He spoke of how the SIA has been investigating the right to work; and has contacted 10,000 people who are not ‘on the books’ of the immigration service as having a right to work in the UK. He reported that from paperwork returned so far, it seems that 75 per cent of those do actually have the right to work in the UK, indicating that the industry is in much better shape than public perception would suggest. Mike went on to outline his plans for the next three years including improving training and documentation. He took on board comments raised at the meeting and praised the good work inn Liverpool. Peter said afterwards: “This was a constructive meeting where members had an opportunity to address their issues directly to their regulatory body. It will help the members to move forward in a number of areas including ACS accreditation, reregistering staff and training and development.”
