Licence 'muddle' is threat to CCTV operators

Centres now face the choice of either acting illegally or closing down, making it "a field day" for burglars, according to Ray LeMonde, director of Active Security Group based in Harlow, Essex.

"This ridiculous situation comes about because the government's Security Industry Authority suddenly changed its mind and said all CCTV operators need to be licensed."

He said that last September the SIA assured leading security services by email that licensing security response related CCTV operations was not necessary. "Then on the 6th February, just six weeks before the 20th March deadline for security industry mandatory licensing, SIA officials telephoned round security services saying yes it was. So the services had no time to prepare.

"They don't object to being licensed; they object to the SIA's muddle giving them no time to comply." Only in the last few days of March, a week after the March 20 deadline, did the SIA change its website.

The SIA's older web page had said the individual is "not licensable as a CCTV operative" but "may mean the individual may be licensable as a security guard". The new web page says "these operators would not require a CCTV licence. They will, however, need to have a security guarding licence." However, LeMonde says neither the security guard licence or the public space surveillance licence have relevance to their work.

"So according to the SIA, since 20th March all existing remote alarm monitoring staff using CCTV to verify alarms have been operating illegally. Services are seriously considering shutting down this part of their work for fear of prosecution leaving burglars a field day", says LeMonde.

A spokesman for the SIA said they did their best to put as much information on their web site as they could but if there were any uncertainties the ARCs should have sought definitions under the Private Security Industry Act or sought their own legal advice at the time.

"The word 'may' implies there is a doubt. They should have sought legal advice then. They had better start sorting these things out now. They have left it very late." He advised any ARCs in doubt to now look at their employees' roles as defined in the Act and, if necessary, seek legal advice.