On Tuesday [12], at Cardiff Crown Court, a security company director and consultant to a security business were found guilty of falsely claiming to be part of the Security Industry Authority run Approved Contractor Scheme.
Dean Campisi, 32, of Alpha Place, Port Talbot and Stephen Bosher, 51, of Longford Road, Neath, claimed security company Secure Serve Facilities Management Services Limited (Secure Serve) was an accredited security company to maintain a lucrative security contract with supermarket chain Lidl.
The security company, formerly based in Llewellyns Quay, Port Talbot, held a regional contract worth in excess of £800k with Lidl to supply security operatives to their stores across South Wales and the South West of England.
Lidl made it a requirement of their security contracts that security companies held the SIA’s coveted Approved Contractor status. Secure Serve sent false documentation to Lidl which purported to show that an SIA assessment had been undertaken on the company and they had passed.
Lidl were initially convinced of the security company’s Approved Company status, but further enquiries by Lidl showed that Secure Serve did not appear on the SIA’s website as an approved contractor. Campisi and Bosher claimed administrative problems with the omission.
After making further enquires with ACS assessors, Lidl terminated Secure Serve’s contract.
Campisi and Bosher are due to be sentenced in July.
Nathan Salmon, Head of Investigation said “The SIA is very pleased with the outcome of this trial. Together, Mr Campisi and Mr Bosher contrived to mislead their customer into believing Secure Serve was a well-run and organised business. In reality it was not and had not achieved the necessary accreditation to continue servicing this customer.
“Members of the SIA Approved Contractor Scheme achieve standards which recognise them among the best providers of private security services. This prosecution seeks to uphold those standards; the SIA will investigate businesses who seek to claim approval when they have not met the standards.”
Secure Serve Facilities Management Services Limited no longer operates and neither defendant currently works within the security industry.