Third party certification


Inspection and licensing of defined manned guarding service providers is required for security industry regulation, with those involved in public space surveillance, security guarding (except for in house staff), and cash and valuables in transit all included. On top of individuals being licensed, a voluntary Approved Contractor Scheme (ACS) is run by the Security Industry Authority which allows organisations that meet agreed standards to be registered as approved. Despite being voluntary, this scheme still assists in the raising of performance standards. SSAIB is approved by the SIA to assess


the scheme, which sees providers inspected against criteria such as the British Standard codes of practice. Once approval on this scheme has been achieved, providers can advertise themselves as such to customers. By doing so, potential end user customers will gain an additional layer of reassurance, as this scheme helps providers to demonstrate their obligation to deliver a quality service.


Private investigations


Commercial, domestic and professional investigative services have also come under UKAS certification in recent times, under the BS 102000 code of practice. Recommendations regarding conduct, management, staffing and operational accountability in the provision of investigative services are all provided through this standard, which assists providers in demonstrating their accountability ahead of any potential government licensing of services such as these in the future. This is great news for financial institutions, local authorities, law firms and other businesses that require the tracing of individuals, and background and pre employment checks to be undertaken; the completion of tenancy fraud examinations; or the serving of court documents. Other occasions for frequent investigations include: beneficiary tracing, credit card recovery, DVLA searches, vehicle insurance claims validation, injury and sickness investigations, property attendance reports, DVLA searches, vehicle insurance claims validation and housing tenancy fraud services. Under the surveillance camera commissioner’s (SCC’s) code of practice, public sector camera schemes now also require third party certification. Set in the context of a draft national surveillance camera strategy for England and Wales, the aim of this is to give system operators the


opportunity to demonstrate compliance with the surveillance camera code of practice and other guidance. SCC Tony Porter has ambitious plans for the


code, describing it as a ‘universally accepted example of good practice’. However, he has also warned those operating the scheme that they must comply with the 12 guiding principles of the code, in accordance with the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012. Furthermore, Mr Porter has stated that his aim is to ‘achieve local authority compliance by the end of 2018’. Working as the SCC, Mr Porter also has


to make sure that ‘relevant authorities’, including local authorities and the police, comply with the surveillance camera code. His work, in that respect, is helped by the fact that a number of organisations have already taken the decision to adopt it voluntarily. One such organisation that does this


is the operations centre of Community Safety Glasgow; however, the centre’s public space CCTV activities aren’t covered, as Scotland is not officially covered by the commissioner’s remit. Even so, Community Safety Glasgow believed that it could show a strong commitment to best practice with voluntary assessment, along with the ability to demonstrate its alignment with the commissioner’s drive to use the certification scheme to raise standards across the industry. And it’s not just small and medium sized


enterprises that are adopting this; nationwide retailer Marks & Spencer also achieved certification with SSAIB back in 2016, after realising that it could provide transparency and consistency throughout their operations by adopting the code. As the first UK retailer to comply with


the code, M&S has found that by providing a safe and secure shopping and working environment, in addition to protecting its customers and staff, its decision has already led to many other extra benefits, including cost reductions through value management and rationalisation of CCTV systems against their need and purpose, while a reduction in the installation programme has saved costs and has minimised retail disruption


Keith Strugnell is fire systems scheme manager at SSAIB. For more information, view page 5


To find out more information about SSAIB and the schemes it offers, visit www.ssaib.org


www.frmjournal.com MARCH 2018 45


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