Lancashire security boss must pay £6,548 for supplying unlicensed security or go to jail

Last Tuesday (20 April 2021) Martin Coe of Blackpool was handed a £6,548 Confiscation Order at Preston Crown Court, payable within three months. If he fails to pay he will face a 60-day jail sentence. He was also ordered to pay court costs of £5,000 to the Security Industry Authority (SIA) within 12 months.

Tuesday’s decision follows the SIA’s prosecution of Martin Coe last October. Coe was the former director of Evolution Security Services NW Limited (now dissolved). He was found guilty of two counts of providing unlicensed security to Baines School in Poulton and the Wyre Light pub in Fleetwood.

He was handed a 32-week jail term suspended for 12 months at Preston Magistrates’ Court on 27 January 2021.

The Proceeds of Crime Act order that was given to Coe yesterday marks the end of a lengthy series of hearings.

The investigation started in May 2019 when Neil Reddington and Gavin Macaskill were found working illegally at the Wyre Light. They were discovered by licensing officers from Lancashire Constabulary who referred the case to the SIA. Both men were employed by Evolution Security.

Nathan Salmon, the SIA’s Criminal Investigation Manager said:

It’s satisfying to see the outcome of last Tuesday’s proceeds of crime order against Coe. The £6,548 order illustrates that courts will remove criminal benefit where it can be associated to breaches of security regulation. His business practices would have distorted the market for legitimate businesses providing high-quality security to customers in the North West. Supplying unlicensed people puts the public at risk, and Coe profited from knowingly doing so. He has a criminal record which will prevent him from working in the private security industry.

Notes to Editors:

• The Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA) sets out the legislative scheme for the recovery of criminal assets with criminal confiscation being the most commonly used power (confiscation occurs after a conviction has taken place)
• If a person has a POCA Order against them they have to pay it regardless if they serve a jail sentence
• By law, security operatives working under contract must hold and display a valid SIA licence
• Read about SIA enforcement and penalties
• The offences relating to the Private Security Industry Act 2001 that are mentioned in the above news release are:
  • Section 5 by way of Section 23 (a director deploying unlicensed guards through a company)
  • Section 19 (failing to provide information relating to an investigation)
• Read the Private Security Industry Act 2001
• Martin Coe’s original sentence comprised:
  • Charge 1 (s5 Wyre Light) – 26 weeks custody
  • Charge 2 (s5 Northern Security) – 6 weeks custody consecutive
  • Charge 3 (s19 Evolution NW) – 4 weeks custody concurrent
  • Charge 4 (s19 Evolution) – 4 weeks custody concurrent

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 visit www.gov.uk/sia. The SIA is also on Facebook (Security Industry Authority) and Twitter (SIAuk).