Accrington security boss barred from the industry

A security boss has found himself fined and barred from the industry after failing to do basic checks on his staff.

On 22 September 2020 Muhammad Islam, from Accrington, pleaded guilty to failing to check the SIA licence of his employee Sam Gould.

Islam is the security director of Spartan K9 Ltd.

It is illegal for a door supervisor to work without an SIA licence, as they work in roles that protect the public. However, Islam hired Gould without checking that he was properly licensed.

Towards the end of last year, we were investigating several cases relating to unlicensed security operatives in Accrington​ over the Christmas and New Year period. After receiving a tip-off, our investigators carried out a licensing check and found Sam Gould working without a licence at the Nag’s Head, Accrington.

We discovered that Gould was working for Spartan K9, who held the security contract at the venue. Investigators made a formal request for information from Islam, but he did not respond. Islam was then invited to an interview in January 2020, at which he admitted that he failed to do due diligence and check whether Gould was licensed. He also admitted that he had no excuse for not providing the information we had asked for.

Islam pleaded guilty and the court fined him £120 for supplying an unlicensed door supervisor. He was also ordered to pay costs of £200 and a Victim Surcharge of £32.

One of our Criminal Investigations Managers, Pete Easterbrook said:

There is no excuse for not doing your due diligence. The risk taken by Islam cannot be ignored as Sam Gould was interacting with the public. Security operatives protect the public and the SIA licence gives assurance that someone is “fit and proper” and capable of protecting the public. By failing to check Gould’s licence Islam undermined this public confidence. Although Muhammad Islam did not receive a large fine, he can no longer work in the private security industry.

Further information:

• The Security Industry Authority is the organisation responsible for regulating the private security industry in the United Kingdom, reporting to the Home Secretary under the terms of the Private Security Industry Act 2001. Our main duties are: the compulsory licensing of individuals undertaking designated activities; and managing the voluntary Approved Contractor Scheme.

• For further information about the Security Industry Authority or to sign up for email updates visit www.sia.homeoffice.gov.uk. The SIA is also on Facebook (Security Industry Authority) and Twitter (SIAuk).