Brian Sims
Editor
Brian Sims
Editor
TWO MEN have been prosecuted at Lincoln Magistrates’ Court for supplying illegal security. Trevor Frater, who pleaded not guilty to the charges levied against him on 25 September (ie supplying unlicensed security and acting as a manager while being unlicensed himself), changed his plea to guilty on the day of the trial.
This is, in fact, the third time that Frater, from Lincoln, has been prosecuted by the Security Industry Authority for both supplying illegal security and working illegally in the sector himself. The SIA will pursue Frater in relation to confiscation proceedings under the Proceeds of Crime Act.
The other male, Richard Coleman from Grimsby, pleaded guilty to working illegally on 6 November this year having changed his earlier not guilty plea, which he made back in July. He was sentenced to a £270 fine, ordered to pay £3,158.40 in prosecution costs and also a £108 victim surcharge.
Trevor Frater operated under the company name of Elite Door Staff and deployed Richard Coleman to a Louth bar between April and November last year. Coleman was formerly a Security Industry Authority licence holder, but his licence had expired on 13 January 2019. Previously, in a hearing at Boston Magistrates’ Court, Coleman stated that he had not worked as a door supervisor.
On 22 November 2022, a routine licensing inspection was conducted by the Security Industry Authority’s regional investigation team alongside officers from Lincolnshire Police. They visited a number of bars, pubs and venues in Louth.
One of the venues visited had deployed Elite Door Staff and had done so since September 2021. Frater’s business was dissolved on 1 February last year.
Criminal investigation
Following on from the inspection process, the Security Industry Authority began a criminal investigation and, in February this year, investigators requested both Frater and Coleman to submit further information to them and to join Security Industry Authority investigators for an interview under caution.
Frater did not respond with the required information, and neither of the duo met with the Security Industry Authority’s criminal investigators.
Jenny Hart, one of the regulator’s criminal investigations managers, stated: “The purpose of the Security Industry Authority licence is to protect members of the public. We await the outcome of Trevor Frater’s sentencing. He has now pleaded guilty to his offences. He’s a prolific offender who recruited Coleman to perform an unlicensed role. Coleman now has a criminal record.”
The offences relating to the Private Security Industry Act 2001 noted above are as follows: Trevor Frater (Section 3: Engaging in licensable conduct without a licence, Section 5: Employing unlicensed persons in licensable conduct and Section 19: Obstructing Security Industry Authority officials or those with delegated authority, or failing to respond to a request for information).
Richard Coleman committed a Section 3 offence by engaging in licensable conduct without a licence.
