The man and woman given the top jobs in the Security Industry Authority – who will be in charge of industry regulation until at least 2005 – have come from outside the industry.
Molly Meacher and John Saunders are the Chairman and Chief Executive respectively of the new SIA. Announcing the appointments on March 15, Home Office Minister John Denham said: ‘The establishment of the Security Industry Authority is an important part of the crime reduction agenda, as the Authority will have responsibility for the licensing of private security industry operatives and the raising and maintaining of standards within the industry. Mr Denham added his belief that under their skilled and experienced leadership, the SIA will become effective as soon as possible once it is operational in 2003. The SIA, set up by the Private Security Industry Act passed just before the 2001 election, is to licence an estimated 300,000 privately-employed security staff, from night-club doormen and security guards to wheel-clampers, security consultants, private investigators and keyholders. The government expects the new SIA to be operational by 2003. Molly Meacher’s experience in the public sector includes most recently work as Deputy Chair of the Police Complaints Authority, which she will not give up until mid-May. Her previous experience includes working as non-executive director of the Tower Hamlets Healthcare Trust and as advisor to the Head of the Russian Ministry of Employment. John Saunders was awarded the OBE in 1998 for services to the National Business Link Network, which he helped to set up. He has experience of public/private sector partnerships; worked with the DTI and national partners to help deliver government backed support services to business. He has a background in commercial banking. Both appointments run from April 1 2002 for three years.
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The Home Office states that responsibilities of the Security Industry Authority, (a non-departmental public body, or quango) will include: licensing contract staff in sectors of the industry (such as manned guarding, including door supervisors and wheel-clampers; security consultants; private investigators and keyholders); door supervisors and wheel-clampers who work in house as well as under contract; supervisors, managers and directors of security companies in designated sectors; and running a voluntary ‘inspected companies scheme’ for all firms in the security industry and ‘quality mark’ – a voluntary accreditation scheme for companies who meet specific standards; and setting professional standards in the industry, for example by ensuring that wheel-clamping companies follow a detailed code of practice.
