SIA publishes response to consultation on code of conduct

The proposal is that the code would set out the behaviour that is expected of licence holders and applicants.

The consultation was held between 09 January and 23 February 2020. It sought views of licence holders and other interested parties on the content of the draft, and on the potential impacts of introducing it.

The SIA received 3,853 responses to the online consultation, with over 4,200 comments made in response to the free text (i.e., open) questions. A vast majority of responses (98%) were made by existing SIA licence holders.

The responses provided a wide range of views and comments about the draft code of conduct and the form it might take if introduced.

The SIA would like to thank everyone who took the time to participate in this consultation. Introducing a code of conduct would be a significant step for both the industry and the SIA. The publication of the analysis has taken the SIA longer than it would have liked due to the volume of responses and the impact resulting from the ongoing situation with Covid-19.

The SIA will now consider in more detail whether a code of conduct is a proportionate regulatory approach, and what impact it might have on the private security industry. It will also consider how, if introduced it would work in practice. Ongoing dialogue with the industry will be critical to the thinking on these issues and the SIA will provide an update on its progress in due course.

View the summary.

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. Its main duties are: the compulsory licensing of individuals undertaking designated activities; 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).