SIA grants made available for UK charities and community groups

Through the fund, the UK’s private security industry regulator distributes money recovered through proceeds of crime confiscation orders to good causes in the UK. Since 2019, the SIA has awarded nearly £180,000 to organisations including Young Enterprise, The EY Foundation and The Prince’s Trust.

Confiscating ill-gotten cash helps to deter others from committing crime, ensures that individuals do not financially benefit from criminal acts and makes it harder for convicted criminals to re-enter the private security industry.

Ronnie Megaughin, head of compliance and inspections at the SIA, said: “I’m delighted to announce the opening of the SIA grant for good causes fund for this financial year. I encourage eligible registered charities and community interest companies in the UK to apply before the deadline.”

Megaughin added: “We believe that crime should not pay. It’s fitting that the illegally acquired money we recover through confiscation orders is used to the benefit of the wider private security industry and to help protect the public.”

Information about how to apply can be found by accessing the SIA grant for good causes page on GOV.UK

There is no guarantee that organisations making an application will receive funding. The SIA will inform successful applicants by 22 March.

Proceeds of Crime Act

The Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 enables the SIA to investigate the financial activity of individuals who have committed a criminal offence and confiscate the proceeds of crime through a court-issued confiscation order.

The SIA has been a designated body under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 since 2015.

The SIA receives a portion of the money it recovers through confiscation orders under the Asset Recovery Incentivisation Scheme. This money can only be used to fund its financial investigation capability or is otherwise distributed to good causes.

The SIA’s core purpose is to protect members of the public through effective regulation of the private security industry and working with partners to raise standards across the sector. The organisation is directly responsible for licensing individuals who transact certain jobs in the private security industry and for approving private security companies who wish to be part of the voluntary Approved Contractor Scheme. The first SIA licences were issued in April 2004.

The SIA is an executive non-departmental public body sponsored by the Home Office. Further information is available by visiting www.gov.uk/sia