Security company director convicted of obstructing SIA investigation

In 2024, Katie O’Neill (director of I-Guard Security Ltd) ignored several requests for information and invitations to interview from the Security Industry Authority (SIA).

The SIA first began investigating I-Guard Security Ltd after receiving intelligence from Merseyside Police that unlicensed security operatives had been deployed to a venue in Liverpool. The SIA requested information from O’Neill in March 2024 regarding security provision for the venue, but received no reply.

On 22 April last year, the SIA sent a further request for information. O’Neill did not respond to this second request. The SIA then invited her to attend an interview under caution in respect of her refusal to provide the information requested. When she did not respond, the SIA began prosecution proceedings.

Those presiding at Manchester Magistrates’ Court on 9 January this year duly sentenced O’Neill to a fine of £1,100 and ordered her to pay a victim surcharge of £440 plus prosecution costs amounting to £2,000.

Mark Chapman, criminal investigations manager at the SIA, said: “As the regulator for the private security sector, our priority is ensuring that security companies operate within the law and that their staff are properly trained and licensed to perform their role. When we suspect wrongdoing and need information for our investigations, we have the statutory powers to request this.”

Chapman added: “Katie O’Neill failed to respond to such a request. It’s an offence to ignore our requests or obstruct our investigations and she has now paid the price for doing so. I hope this case serves as a warning to others that we at the SIA take these matters seriously and will not hesitate to act in order to ensure those who break the law are held accountable for their actions.

Fake licence

A man who tried to use a cloned SIA licence to work in the security industry has been given a Community Order and must pay almost £4,000 in costs.

Luke Donnelly paid an unknown man £300 for a cloned security licence to work illegally without proper training. Active Security Solutions Ltd, the company whom he applied to work for, spotted the deception while conducting routine checks.

The company alerted the SIA, which then launched an investigation into Donnelly. Following the investigation, he was charged and ordered to appear in court for his trial. Donnelly failed to appear at Dudley Magistrates’ Court and was found guilty in his absence on 13 December last year.

A warrant was then issued for Donnelly’s arrest. He was arrested and appeared at Walsall Magistrates’ Court on 9 January this year, at which point he was sentenced for using a cloned licence and for failing to surrender to bail. Donnelly was given a Community Order of 120 hours’ unpaid work. He was also ordered to pay £3,903 prosecution costs and a victim surcharge of £114.

Mark Chapman observed: “When somebody works in the private security industry with a cloned licence, they put members of the public, their colleagues and themselves at risk. In this case, Donnelly thought he could take a shortcut by avoiding the training necessary to safely de-escalate conflict and deal with dangerous situations.”

Chapman added: “He claimed he believed the licence he bought was genuine. However, having held a genuine licence previously, he would have known that this was not the case and that he was breaking the law. This sentence serves as a warning to others who may try to circumvent the legal requirements to hold a valid licence and then avoid being held to account when caught.”