The Scottish private security industry and Scottish business need to start getting ready now for the regulation of the guarding industry, expected in 2007.
That was the message from Kaye Law, Director of Strategic Development for the Security Industry Authority, the industry regulator, at a recent Reliance Security Services conference in Scotland.
“The offence date of 20th March 2006 for security guard licensing in England and Wales will stand,” she told the 150-strong audience of Scottish security industry executives, security customers and government officials. “England and Wales has had 15 months to get ready for regulation which is plenty of time.” And although it is up to the individual to get licensed, Ms Law said employers had a moral obligation to help their workers. “There will undoubtedly be a bottleneck of applications between now and March and after March some companies will be criminalising their employees if they are late in submitting applications on their behalf,” she said.
Regulation has been brought in, she said, because the reputation of the industry had become slightly tarnished by some within it. Applicants for licences have to undergo criminal record and other checks and pass a competency requirement. Some forecasts have suggested that up to a third of applicants could fail.
David Dickinson, Chief Executive of the British Security Industry Association, forecast that the regulation of the industry would be nothing short of revolutionary. “This will remove the convicted element, give a base level of competence, bring in a certainty about qualifications and raise the industry off the ground,” he said, adding “we can’t carry on recruiting from the same bottom quartile of the labour market.”
The industry has had some of the worst pay and conditions in the UK, with Scotland among the poorest. However, with regulation, these issues will begin to be tackled. Industry workers will have more pride in their jobs, with more focused career development and in return, more confidence and respect from the police and other bodies they interact with.
However, these reforms would come at a price, Mr Dickinson said, with staff shortages in the short-term through a fallout of employees who fail to become licensed and companies who don’t want to be regulated leaving the industry. He forecast that pay rates would rise by around 20% over the next 18 months, while the number of private security firms might well fall from 2,000 to 200.
With fewer suppliers and higher costs, both sides will be looking for value under the new arrangements. He predicted a greater use of technology alongside security officers and a closer relationship between security staff and their customers at all levels. A greater bond of trust would lead to more creative solutions in the provision of private security, he added.
“These regulations will deliver a more skilled, settled and valued workforce which has to be good for everybody.”
David Donnelly, Regulation Project Director for Reliance Security, said the company was helping all of its security personnel in England and Wales to get licensed. Another 800 would be assisted in Scotland. Reliance was paying the £190 fee and undertaking all education and training requirements. The application process takes up to six weeks for the 3-year licence.
The new rules had meant huge administrative requirements, he said. New contracts of employment for staff have been needed, while contracts with customers have also needed amending in some cases. In addition, Reliance is communicating with all its customers about the impact of regulation. “It has been an enormous task”, said Mr Donnelly.
John Neilson, Assistant Chief Constable for Community Safety for Strathclyde Police, welcomed the forthcoming regulation of the Scottish security industry as “a huge step in the right direction.” He pointed out that the complex issue of policing deprived urban areas was something that could only be undertaken by bringing together a wide variety of agencies.
This was already taking place in Glasgow, part of Mr Neilson’s beat, where the police were just one part of a fabric of parties that were working together to reduce crime and poor behaviour.
“It is all about community planning and I look forward to a reformed private security industry taking its role in that.”
