Bournemouth man used fake licence to provide illegal security
On 2 December 2022, Benjamin Peter John Head of Bournemouth was sentenced at Bournemouth Crown Court.
He pleaded guilty at Poole Magistrates’ Court on 17 June 2022 to providing and supplying illegal security at various venues in Bournemouth. The court fined him £500 and ordered him to pay court costs of £1,500 and a victim surcharge of £50.
The case was brought by the Security Industry Authority (SIA) following an investigation by its criminal investigation team. Dorset Police provided intelligence to the SIA that a door supervisor named Ben Allen - also known as Ben Head - was working without a valid SIA licence.
A witness statement, signing-in registers and incident reports for the venues showed entries for Ben Allen as a door supervisor on multiple occasions. They also revealed he worked for a company called Bency Bouncers Ltd. He used a door supervisor licence number ending with the same digits as those of a genuine licence held by a person with a similar name.
The SIA contacted the genuine licence holder, who provided a witness statement confirming that he had held a door supervisor licence since 2017 and that his latest licence was renewed in 2020. He said that he had never worked or visited Bournemouth, and that the entries in the signing-in registers and incident logs at the venues were not made by him.
During an interview under caution in September 2021 Benjamin Head admitted that he had worked at various venues in Bournemouth as a door supervisor. He maintained that he held a genuine door supervisor licence. He also admitted to setting up the company Bency Bouncers Ltd to supply security staff to venues in Bournemouth area.
The SIA’s investigation revealed he worked without a genuine licence and was an unlicensed director of a body corporate providing security services to various venues.
Nicola Bolton, one of the SIA’s criminal investigation managers said:
Benjamin Head pleaded guilty to working without a valid door supervisor licence and to supplying security to his clients when he was not licensed to do so. Moreover, he used someone else’s licence number as his own and knowingly misrepresented the facts about his illegal activities. The SIA’s investigation has resulted in him no longer being able to work as a security operative himself or supply security as a company director. He has been fined and now has a criminal record.
Notes to editors:
- By law, security operatives working under contract must hold and display a valid SIA licence
- Read about SIA enforcement and penalties
- The offences relating to the Private Security Industry Act (2001) that are mentioned above are as follows:
- Section 3(2)(b) – manned guarding without a valid SIA licence
- Section 3(2)(f) – carrying out designated activities for the purposes of a contract for the supply of services of a body corporate without a valid SIA licence.
Further information:
- The Security Industry Authority is the organisation responsible for regulating the private security industry in the United Kingdom, reporting to the Home Secretary under the terms of the Private Security Industry Act 2001. The SIA’s main duties are the compulsory licensing of individuals undertaking designated activities and managing the voluntary Approved Contractor Scheme.
- For further information about the Security Industry Authority or to sign up for email updates visit: www.gov.uk/sia. The SIA is also on LinkedIn Facebook (Security Industry Authority) and Twitter (@SIAuk).