Full Regulatory Impact Assessment for Manned Guards & Keyholders

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that the vetting procedures to which the individual is subject are a properly validalternative to those undertaken by the Authority.4 BENEFITS4.1 Benefits, although very real, are nonetheless difficult to quantify. One of theintended benefits of the legislation is to reduce offending in the private security industryand to give the public greater confidence in the industry. Quite often it is those morevulnerable elements of society that are more likely to be at risk from unscrupulousoperators. An attempt has been made to assess the economic and social benefits.There is no environmental impact.Option 1 - Apply a very low criminality threshold and make no competencyrequirements.4.2 Economic - this option would have some, though low levels of benefit, andtherefore a continuing cost to the public or the police. There would be some benefit tobusinesses in that few employees would be excluded from continued employment andso regulation would not inherently give rise to significant additional recruitment costs.However, this must be balanced by the fact that by leaving undisturbed the current lowstandards within the industry, current high levels of staff turnover (estimated at 24% forthe manned guard sector, no data are available for turnover in the keyholder sector)would be likely to persist.4.3 Social - there would be little improvement over current levels of criminalityand competency in these industry sectors and the public and police confidence wouldremain low.Option 2 - Refuse a licence to anyone with any criminal record other than forminor offences.4.4 Economic - Benefits would exist for those individuals and companies that wereable to meet the very demanding criteria. They would be in a very strong position in asubstantially reduced market, but would have had to meet significant training andrecruitment costs.4.5 Social - there would also be a benefit to the police and public who would havehigh levels of confidence in the quality of individuals and companies providing doorsupervisor and vehicle immobilising services. However, if the effect of the licensingcriteria was such that the industry was unable to recruit sufficient licensed staff, then ashortage of manned guards or keyholders would have a significant negative impact onthe confidence and safety of customers.12
• Option 3 - Establish a set of criteria which seek to balance the need to make areal difference to criminality and professional standards in the industry, with the need forthe criteria to be proportionate to the risks faced, place no additional burdens onbusiness, and allow bona fide businesses to continue to be viable.4.6 Economic - There is likely to be a particular benefit for those more vulnerablemembers of society, often the elderly and children, who rely on security guards for theirsafety in public places. Security guards with higher levels of skill in first aid, drugawareness and conflict management would make their environment a much saferplace. For licensed individuals and their companies, the achievement of worthwhilerecognition of their professional standards should lead to greater job satisfaction. As aresult, there could be lower levels of staff turnover, lower recruitment costs and higherskill levels. Licensed individuals and their employers would be able to charge more fordemonstrably higher standards of service, and these increased fee levels could coverthe costs of additional training.4.7 Social - Achieving an appropriate balance between the need to raise standardsin the industry and the need to do so in a manner that allows genuine businesses tothrive, carries a wide range of benefits. Standards would be raised to a degree thatincreased the level of public confidence in the regulated sectors. Similarly, increasedpolice confidence could lead to progressive levels of partnership within the wider policefamily. A reduction in crime and distress to members of the public should also beachieved.5. COSTS5.1 The term “costs” can be misleading in that some will be economic costs tothe individuals requiring an SIA licence, some will be applicable to companies providingthe services, and a third kind may be passed on to the users of such services.Typically, the individual applicant would meet the SIA licence fee, but in some casesthis cost might be borne by contracting companies. Similarly, the cost of the time takento apply for a licence would initially fall on the individual applicant. In both cases,however, it would be reasonable to expect that these costs would feed through to wagelevels and thereby be passed on to service users.5.2 If regulation fails to make a positive difference to levels of criminality, there willbe social costs. The harm caused by the fear of crime and low professional standardswas identified in the initial RIA and recognised by Parliament in the Act, and this wouldnot be addressed. Social costs are extremely difficult to estimate. In “The economicand social costs of crime” by Sam Brand and Richard Price (Home Office ResearchStudy 217, 2000), it is calculated that violent crimes make up nearly a quarter of thevolume of offences but account for nearly three-quarters of the total cost to society.The same report stated that it was not possible to calculate the cost of fear of crimewhich would persist if the criminality levels remained at current perceived levels.5.3 In analysing the costs of each of the optional approaches to regulation, it isassumed that the cost of the licence fee set by the Security Industry Authority wouldremain the same in each case. It is government policy that regulatory bodies such as13
Page 1 and 2: FULL REGULATORY IMPACT ASSESSMENT25
Page 3 and 4: FOREWORDDear RecipientPRIVATE SECUR
Page 6 and 7: • the application process;• the
Page 8 and 9: From its knowledge of the industry,
Page 10 and 11: ‣ guarding property against destr
Page 14 and 15: the SIA should be self-financing an
Page 16 and 17: Option 25.17 Option 2 sets the crim
Page 18 and 19: • will affect organisations diffe
Page 20 and 21: 9.8 It is also important to assess
Page 22 and 23: 2. Refuse a licence toanyone with a
Page 24 and 25: Appendix 1This Consultation Follows
Page 26 and 27: If the role involves no operative o
Page 28 and 29: Appendix 3CORE COMPETENCY TRAININGI
Page 30 and 31: Professional Guard Part 2Part 2 Par
Page 32 and 33: • Unit 9••••••••
Page 34 and 35: • Understand UK and relevant EU t
Page 36 and 37: • takes account of the culpabilit
Page 38 and 39: BASIC COST MODEL FOR A ‘TYPICAL
Page 40 and 41: • Management costs• Communicati
Page 42 and 43: Nov 03Nov 03Nov 03Nov 03Feb 04Mar 0
Page 44 and 45: Aug-Dec 04Sept 0440 Adverts in 12 i
Page 46: Appendix 8Industry Consultation on

Full Regulatory Impact Assessment for Manned Guards & Keyholders

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