Displaying your SIA licence in line with legislation

When carrying out Silver Fox Audits testing on-site security teams, we include a number of checks on the Security Officers on duty including their alertness, understanding of required duties, training, uniform presentation and SIA licence.

One of the most common breaches found is the Security Officer failing to display their SIA licence in accordance with legislation.  This has increased considerably recently, with many premises having very low occupancy, some front-line staff have believed it unnecessary to be displaying their SIA licence and not realising what the consequences of their actions could be.

If you hold a front-line SIA licence, the conditions of the licence are:

‘You must wear your licence where it can be seen at all times when engaging in designated licensable activity unless:

• It has been reported lost or stolen
• It is in the possession of the SIA
• You are engaged in Covert Activity and the work you are doing requires that you are not identifiable as a licensed operative.
• You work for an Approved Contractor Scheme (ACS) accredited company and you are in possession of a Licence Dispensation Notice (LDN) whilst your SIA licence application is being processed – subject to the SIA Terms and Conditions.’

We see many examples of failing to display a front-line licence and often it is the Security Officer has simply forgotten that it is still in their bag or office drawer, however, we have also found Officers displaying a paper copy of their licence as they do not want to lose the original.

When carrying out Silver Fox Audits, an Officer’s failure to display an SIA licence will automatically result in an overall grade of ‘Fail’ despite all other aspects of the audit being in order. A simple check on the security team displaying their SIA licences in accordance with legislation at the start of the shift will prevent this – or even an automated reminder when they book on duty.