A Bedfordshire door supervisor has been sent to prison after being found working with a forged SIA (Security Industry Authority) licence.

Norris Dennis, 60, was sentenced at Luton Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday 24 April to 20 weeks immediate imprisonment.  He had pleaded guilty to two counts of fraud and one of working without a valid SIA licence.

Nathan Salmon, of the SIA’s Criminal Investigation Team, said:

“The SIA regulates the private security industry, and licenses individuals, in order to protect the public.  Trying to get around the licensing regime by creating a fake licence is a particularly serious offence. The judge in this case shared this view, which is why Mr Dennis was immediately sent to prison.  The SIA’s regional teams conduct regular random licence checks right across the UK.  We will prosecute in cases of this nature, and courts are able to utilise the full penalties available under the law.”

Dennis was caught by SIA investigators in September 2018 in a joint operation with Bedfordshire Police in Dunstable. Dennis was found wearing a photocopy of a genuine licence, which had been altered to include his name and photograph.

The SIA investigators had just checked one of Dennis’s co-workers, who was correctly licensed.  Dennis himself appeared wearing what appeared to be an SIA licence on an armband.  The investigators checked the licence number against the SIA’s register of licence holders, and discovered that the number belonged to a different person. Dennis was cautioned, and the counterfeit licence was seized.

The SIA’s Criminal Investigation Team spoke to the genuine licence holder, who was able to confirm that he still had the real licence in his possession, and that he had not given permission to anyone to copy it in any way.

The SIA invited Dennis for interview to continue their investigations.  Dennis did not reply to the invitation, or respond in any way despite repeated attempts to contact him.

Nathan Salmon said:

“Ignoring requests for information from the SIA is an offence in itself.  Our investigation teams will inevitably pursue non-respondents, and they could well end up with additional charges being brought against them.  It’s always best in the long run to engage with the SIA from the beginning and help with our enquiries.”

Dennis was also ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £115.​​