Suspended sentence for Belfast man convicted of lying to SIA

This development came after Swales was refused an SIA licence in October last year, before reapplying in December of the same year listing a different address and stating that he had lived there since 2005.

The SIA believed that this was done in an attempt to circumvent the eligibility checks that had previously prevented him from obtaining a licence. It was also established that Swales had been known by a previous name, which he failed to disclose on his SIA licence application form.

Swales declined to attend an interview with the SIA on the matter and so was summonsed to appear at Laganside Courts in respect of this offence, where the guilty plea was then entered.

Jenny Hart, criminal investigations manager at the SIA, said: “By lying to the SIA on his application in an attempt to illegally obtain licence, Swales was attempting to put the public’s safety at risk. The SIA’s licensing checks are in place to ensure an applicant is fit and proper to hold a licence and work in the private security industry. We will use the full power of the law to prosecute anyone who seeks to undermine those checks.”