Suspended sentence for Belfast man convicted of lying to the SIA

November 21, 2025

Jonathan Swales was given a 4-month prison sentence suspended 12 months after pleading guilty to making a false statement to the Security Industry Authority.

On 28 October 2025, Jonathan Swales appeared at Laganside Courts and pleaded guilty to one count of making a false statement to the SIA. This is an offence under Section 22 of the Private Security Industry Act 2001.

Alongside his suspended 4-month prison sentence, Mr Swales was ordered to pay a fine of £150 and £56 in court fees, totalling £206.

This came after Mr Swales was refused an SIA licence in October 2024, 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 Mr Swales had been known by a previous name, which he failed to disclose on his SIA licence application form.

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

Jenny Hart, SIA Criminal Investigations Manager said: “By lying to the SIA in his application in an attempt to illegally obtain an SIA licence, Mr 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.”