services.sia.homeoffice.gov.uk
Sign in with Google or quickly create a reviewer account to share your experience with Security Industry Authority.
Created 1 year ago
Updated 1 year ago
Let’s be honest – the current licensing system is outdated and flawed. It’s too easy to forge, and the verification site doesn’t even display photos. Licenses should incorporate a biometric chip, allowing for both authenticity verification and confirmation that the holder is genuinely who they claim to be. A simple portable handheld reader could be used to verify licenses on the spot and, if needed, securely store the details in a cloud-based system.
On another note, the current process overly relies on companies to manually check whether licenses have been revoked. In this digital age, there’s no reason why a centralized tracking system couldn’t handle this more efficiently. Companies could input license details into a tracker—many already do—and if a license is revoked, the SIA system should automatically notify them. As it stands, if a company checks a license at the start of the month and it’s suspended or revoked the next day, the guard could still be deployed for weeks or even months before the next routine check, assuming the company checks regularly at all.