New SIA problems as deadlines draw closer

The Security Industry Authority (SIA) is continuing to struggle in its efforts to get door supervisors to sign up for its new licence.

Police in most regions where the SIA licence has now been rolled out have had to delay prosecuting supervisors because there are so few qualified - providing a new discretionary waiver date after the legal deadline has passed.

In December the SIA announced that in the North West only 355 out of a possible 6,622 doorstaff were licence holders, with police opting to delay prosecutions past the November deadline to December and then again to February.

But the SIA has also stated that 73 per cent of the application forms received in the North West were returned for being incomplete. Supervisors have since argued the mistakes have been as simple as abbreviating "United Kingdom" to "UK".

The Door Supervisor Training Organisation (DSTO) has provided training across the country, including in towns in Hampshire where the licence was first rolled out.

"The response hasn't been as great as we had expected," said Jan Riding, manager at DSTO. "We believe that those who weren't happy with the training and the cost have left the industry and what we have is a lot of new people coming through. They are completely new to the industry and it takes time to track them."

The SIA refutes the claim that the process is overly-bureaucratic.

"We have used local authority records to determine how many people work as door supervisors in a region. That was wrong and so held things up," said Robert Buxton of the SIA. "The application process is no more difficult than one for a passport or driving licence."

The deadline for the licence becoming law in the South East is February 28 and for the final region Greater London on April 11. The SIA stressed that where it is law supervisors can be prosecuted and sent home immediately, any extensions to this date are at the discretion of police.

• Concerned that your doorstaff are not yet qualified? More information is available at www.the-sia.org.uk or on 0870 2430 100
• Before supervisors apply for a licence they must have Level 2 National Certificate in Door Supervision, BTEC Award in Level 2 Door Supervision or NOCN Level 2 Award in Door Supervision
• The SIA has a list of endorsed training providers on its site.