Ace Breaking News – Security boss convicted for deploying staff with cloned licences
The boss of a security firm has been given a suspended sentence after he deployed door supervisors with cloned licences to venues across London.
Stephen Oluwadayomi Adebusoye supplied venues across the capital with 26 employees who had fraudulent Security Industry Authority (SIA) licences. Mr Adebusoye deployed these operatives, who were untrained, on 832 separate shifts between June 2020 and October 2021.
SIA investigators first began investigating Mr Adebusoye after they found a man working with a fraudulent licence under another name at Box Park, Wembley on 7 July 2021. Investigators followed up with further checks on venues to which his company, Bright Sight Management, supplied security services. These checks led to the arrest and convictions of Babatunde Kufuli and Ibukun Chiedu Joseph, who were both working with cloned licences.
Southwark Crown Court sentenced Adebusoye to 9 months imprisonment, suspended for 12 months, on 15 November following a guilty plea. He has been disqualified from being a director for 5 years and must complete 80 hours unpaid work.
The court will sentence his company, Bright Sight Management, at a later date.
Nicola Bolton, a Criminal Investigation Manager at the SIA, said:
Our investigators exposed Mr Adebusoye for putting people at risk by deploying security operatives lacking the training to do the job. People should be able to go about their daily lives and enjoy a night out with friends and loved ones, safe in the knowledge that security personnel wearing an SIA badge are trained professionals there to protect them.
Mr Adebusoye should have carried out the proper checks on his employees to make sure they held genuine licences that require operatives to be trained to protect the public. He was negligent in his responsibilities and has now paid the price.
Licensed security operatives undergo robust training to help them protect people and property. Untrained and unvetted security operatives with fake or cloned licences put public safety at risk. Anyone suspected of breaking the law should be reported to the SIA.
The SIA encourages security providers and buyers to check the SIA licences of security operatives to ensure they are genuine.
Information on how to spot fake licences can be found online: how to check SIA licence cards.
Notes to Editors
By law, security operatives working under contract must hold and display a valid SIA licence. Information about SIA enforcement and penalties can be found on GOV.UK/SIA.
The offence relating to the Private Security Industry Act 2001 that is mentioned above is:
- Section 5 – employing unlicensed persons in licensable conduct
Further information
The SIA is the organisation responsible for regulating the private security industry in the UK, reporting to the Home Secretary under the terms of the Private Security Industry Act 2001. The SIA’s main duties are the compulsory licensing of individuals undertaking designated activities and managing the voluntary Approved Contractor Scheme (ACS).
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