The Private Security Authority (PSA) in the Republic of Ireland has prosecuted a door supervisor at a sitting of Athlone District Court in March.
The individual, Paul Cronin with an address in Tullamore, County Offaly was fined 800 euros for breach of the Private Security Services Act, 2004 after he provided door supervisor (licensed premises) services without a PSA licence. Judge Reilly convicted Mr Cronin on four counts of working as a Door Supervisor and imposed a total Fine of €800 (€200 for each conviction) on Mr Cronin. Judge Reilly stated that "the licensing of Door Supervisor (licensed premises) personnel is ultimately for the public good".
Geraldine Larkin, CEO of the Authority welcomed the court decision: ‘This is the second prosecution against an individual Door Supervisor and follows from investigations undertaken by the authority’s inspectors in the Midland region last year. The investigations are part of an ongoing campaign to ensure that door supervisors are licensed by the PSA and those who are licensed are wearing identity badges while on duty. The authority is currently preparing further prosecutions against individuals and I expect to see these cases before the courts in the coming weeks."
Paul Cronin was prosecuted for providing unlicensed security services at Club S Night Club in Moate, Co Westmeath. Door supervisors are required to hold a licence issued by the PSA and must display an identity badge while on duty. Licensed premises must ensure that all their door staff are PSA licensed. The PSA has the authority to prosecute individuals and contractors who provide unlicensed security services as well as licensed premises who use unlicensed door staff.
‘‘The PSA is committed to removing unlicensed individuals from licensed premises throughout the country. I want to send a clear message to those who work as door supervisors without a current licence, that the PSA will actively pursue and prosecute them, if they continue to work without a licence,’’ says Ms Larkin.
Meanwhile on February 26, inspectors from the Private Security Authority (PSA) carried out a number of inspections of door supervisor (licensed premises) services in Cavan Town. The purpose of these inspections is to ensure that only those licensed by the PSA are operating and that individuals are wearing a clearly visible identity badge as legally required.
The PSA found that all contractors providing door supervisor (licensed premises) services were licensed. All individuals working as door supervisor (licensed premises) were licensed and all of those licensed were wearing an identity badge as legally required.
The compliance figures found during these recent inspections are the PSA reports an improvement from the figures found during two previous inspections carried out in Cavan Town in 2010. In February 2010, the corresponding figures were 96pc for individual licensing compliance and 20pc for ID badge compliance. In March 2010, the corresponding figures were 96 per cent for individual licensing compliance and 96 per cent for ID Badge compliance.
In total there are 317 individuals in County Cavan licensed to provide security services. Some 81 are licensed to provide door supervision with 152 licensed to provide security guarding. A further 84 individuals are licensed to work in both sectors. Nationally there are almost 26,000 individuals licensed to operate in the security industry. This comprises of 6,198 for door supervisors, 16,734 security guards and 3,004 who are licensed to work in both sectors. Geraldine Larkin, Chief Executive of the PSA welcomed the findings in Cavan Town.
Background
The Private Security Authority is the statutory body with responsibility for licensing and regulating the private security industry in Ireland. The extension of licensing to other sectors will take place on a phased basis with CCTV, access control and event security the next areas identified for regulation. The licensing of individuals working in the Door Supervisor (Licensed Premises) and Security Guard (Static) sectors commenced in April 2007 and there are 25,458 individuals licensed to operate in these sectors.
The authority is an independent body under the aegis of the Department of Justice and Law Reform. Two types of licence are issued by the authority:
Contractor Licences are required by companies, partnerships and sole traders providing security services in the Republic.
Individual Licences are required by all those working in the security sector within the state whether employed by a licensed contractor or directly by a business as in house security personnel.
The Authority currently licences contractors operating in the Door Supervisor (Licensed Premises), Installer (Intruder Alarm), Security Guard (Static), Security Guard (Monitoring) and Cash In Transit sectors.
