Unvetted security staff; Boss quits

K

keegoon

Full Registered User
6:59pm Thursday 6th November 2008
© Press Association 2008
The head of a government agency in charge of vetting bouncers, car clampers and security staff will leave his post, after it emerged it employed dozens of staff without vetting them.
Some 38 temporary staff were cleared to work for the Security Industry Authority before they were given the proper clearance, ministers admitted. They ordered a review of decisions made by the temporary staff, amid fears convicted criminals could have been given permission to work illegally.
The board of the SIA announced chief executive Mike Wilson, who has been in post for only 14 months, would leave next week. In a statement, the chairman of the board, Ruth Henig, said the decision was made by "mutual consent".
The agency was criticised last month after it emerged around 30,000 people working in the industry were doing so without a licence. Auditors also found it overspent by £17 million last year.
The agency was previously attacked after it approved more than 5,000 illegal immigrants to work in Britain. Some illegal workers got jobs in Whitehall, including one employed to guard the Prime Minister's car.
Junior Home Office minister Alan Campbell said not all the decisions made by staff who had not been vetted would be reviewed. Instead a "targeted sample" of licence approvals would be examined.
In a statement to MPs, he said: "We have become aware of some failings in the SIA's compliance with Home Office requirements for security clearance for SIA employees.
"Home Office guidance issued to the SIA stipulates that no person should be employed in a permanent or temporary capacity, without appropriate confirmed security clearance.
"All permanent SIA staff have confirmed security clearance. It became clear, however, that some agency workers had not received appropriate security clearance before commencing employment with the SIA."
Mr Campbell said the 38 agency staff were "removed from SIA premises and had all access to SIA systems withdrawn" while security checks were carried out. As of Thursday, six staff had still not been approved to work
 
Dare say the removal of non vetted staff is going to increase the back log of licence processing until new vetted staff can be put in place. More delays oh my !!!!!
 
Maybe it would have been good if there was some system where they could, oh I don't know, perhaps wear some kind of badge or something to show they've been trained and vetted?

Just because the top chap has gone, doesn't necessarily mean the HR people and anyone else involved in engaging temporary staff will remember what they ought to be doing, once the fuss has died down.
 
why are we / them spending so much time talking about how the SIA have failed yet again. We all know it's a sack of s--- and a way of getting more money to the fat cats and we were an easy target. Lets get the basic sorted, if you don't need a licence to work direct then we will always have people working in all the industries that will never have criminal checks done anyway. Change the above then maybe then we can point fingers and blame someone but not while we have that huge loop hole.

off my soap box now - out !
 
Whats new. I done a bit of work for a well known company in the UK. I lasted a week. FOR 1 Some of the people that where on the secuirty positions could not even speak english. 2. They had no SIA badging 3. The management where depending on the British guys to cover for the mainly Romanian Guards as they just wanted people on the site. 4. The lack of SIA checks when they are informed of illegal guards working in sensitive areas and in some cases employers being pre warned of checks so they can hide none bagded employees. Great idea for the badging but it seems to be the British guys who have to do the courses pay the money and have the criminal checks to get work. If you are east European or some other non uk citizen you can walk into a job without questions being asked. Get a grip SIA and start asking questions about your procedures.
 
i'm with you jim and i hope you told the SIA about the company that you were working for as everybody has a part to play in clearing this whole mess up !
 
What fines or prison terms were issued against the SIA and its representatives for such a flagrant breach of its own rules. Any one know, or was it close ranks and a slap on the wrist.
 
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