5,000 illegal immigrants working as security guards in UK?

[Steve M]

News reports today say that around 5,000 illegal immigrants are working as security guards in the UK! Some are actually employed at airports and a few were found guarding the Prime Minister's car.

What is your comment on this situation?

[Gerry]

How can this be? there is a lack in security somewhere. if they are illegal, they should be checked up on! How did they get in the country? Security guards? I thought they had to pass strict tests!

[David P]

This is a fictional figure.

As they haven't done the full check to see if these people were entitled to work, they cannot know the number.

It is upto employers to check that a worker is entitled to work, the vetting agency don't have this remit. They were looking for criminal record etc.

How does someone's immigration status affect any risk or their ability to do the job?

So my comment is so what?

[Pat R]

They are slowly but surely creeping in on all our high profile people and buildings,and all we do is sit and let them,we are so apathetic,the world laughs at us.

[Dawkins Defender]

its a free country!

[jcd]

What????????

[silhouette]

Getting back on track here, the poblem is that the sia is absolute crap. Everybody in the security industry has experienced their incompetence and disregard for the individual. There are too many anecdotes of their fallbility and disorganisation to even begin to go into here.
I will however, make mention of an incident that is relevant to the post. When I was working as a security manager recently, a guard was having trouble getting his SIA license because of the punctuation on a document. The guard as Somalian, the document was an affadavit (oath) that he had no criminal record in his native Somalia. So, while the rest of us have to go through CRB checks... if you come from Somalia, the SIA will just take your word for it. Pathetic.
The SIA has not increased the level of professionalism in security at all. Have wages increased in security for basic guards now that they have the added expense of licensing and training? No!

Have the SIA actually cracked down on unlicensed CP operatives? No! They went along to an AGM and big timed it so they could tick a box and pretend that they were enforcing licensing.

The SIA are a waste of time and money, the industry was better off without them (financially as well as morally)

I actually believe that 5000 illegals may be a conservative figure. Seeing as the government doesnt even know how many illegals there are in the country, who can say?

[rupert]

One of my colleagues, a young guy from Poland had his application refured two days after the illegal imigrant story broke. Got his docs etc back in the post and a letter saying his CRB didn't check out, and what was in the envelope with his docs?? His CRB. And what was on it?? Nothing, squeaky clean, just like the rest of us. Funny how that happend just as the story broke dont you think?

[rupert]

Ref one of the comments above. Yes, it is the employers responsability to check the employee has the entitlement to work in the UK i.e is legally here. and not the sia, BUT........part of the process of getting licensed is having a CRB check done and sent to the SIA with your application. If these guys arenot legal then they can't have a CRB........so, its the SIA's duty to not give them a license.....and, without the license they can't work in security.......

I think the whole SIA think a a real gang fuc*. I like the idea that the industry, prticularly the higher risk/skill side is regulated and licensed with recognition for training etc. It gives those doing the job a tangible "qualification" and tightens up on the Walter Mitty's of this world. Buth the situation we have is all totally arse about face....

[Marian]

How come sia gave licenses to 5000 illegal imigrants, when at the same time they've been processing and double checking my national criminal record certificate, and whole of my door supervisor application for 9 months, from november 2004 to august 2005 LOL!
I'm all scared when I think that in 2008 I'll have to renew it maybe I should apply now?