Court convicts doorman for failing to show valid licence

Warren Steele, a head door supervisor, was caught on two occasions failing to display his licence when he was working at a bar near Chester. When Security Industry Authority (SIA) investigators challenged Steele over not displaying his licence, he answered that he didn’t think he should have to. The SIA partnerships and interventions team and the police warned him that failing to display his SIA licence constituted a breach of his licence conditions.

On 23 June, the SIA criminal investigations team were carrying out licence checks again in the Connah’s Quay area. They came across Steele who was still not displaying his licence, despite having been told in February to do so. Consequently, SIA decided to prosecute Steele for ignoring the licensing conditions.

Steele appeared Chester Magistrates Court on 15 September and the court heard that he had held SIA licences for a number of years, and should therefore have been aware of the SIA licensing conditions. As a result, Steele has had his licence revoked and was issued with a conditional discharge for six months. He was also ordered to pay costs of £250.

SIA criminal investigations manager Pete Easterbrook said: "Warren Steele thought that the conditions attached to his SIA licence didn’t apply to him. He didn’t want to listen to our investigators’ advice when we spoke to him, and instead displayed an attitude that was both disappointing and concerning. The vast majority of operatives working within the security industry engage positively with the SIA and our partners. However, the circumstances of this case meant that we considered prosecution to be entirely appropriate.

“SIA licence holders have both a responsibility and a legal obligation to adhere to the conditions of that licence.  These are not optional. In this case, failure to comply has resulted in a criminal conviction and a revocation of the individuals SIA licence. Where appropriate we will try to encourage compliance in the first instance. However, we will not hesitate to prosecute those who display a blatant contempt for regulation, and in doing so undermine the safeguards and assurances that regulation provides.”

Wrexham County chief inspector David Jolly added: "The prosecution of Steele demonstrates the effective partnership between the North Wales Police licensing team, the Local Authority and the SIA. The irresponsible behaviour by Steele undermines all the fantastic work that workers in the night time economy undertake to ensure that the public can enjoy themselves."