Security company owner convicted after unlicensed employee assaulted a customer in Alford

On March 12, at Lincoln Magistrates’ Court, Trevor Frater - trading as ‘Elite Door Staff’ - was found guilty of supplying an unlicensed door supervisor on six occasions in Alford and Louth.

The Security Industry Authority (SIA) began investigating Frater in May 2017 when Lincolnshire Police brought the matter to their attention. This was following the conviction of Carl Pettit, a door supervisor who had been working for Elite, for assault and working without an SIA licence.

The SIA’s criminal investigation team followed up on the intelligence supplied by Lincolnshire Police, and discovered that Pettit had worked for Frater under contract to a hotel in Alford.

Pete Easterbrook, SIA Criminal Investigations Manager, said:“In supplying Carl Pettit as an unlicensed door supervisor, Trevor Frater was entirely reckless and gave no thought whatsoever to the risk he was exposing members of the public to.

“Unfortunately, this risk was realised, and resulted in Carl Pettit assaulting a member of the public.

“It is my view that those who supply unlicensed security operatives bear equal responsibility when those individuals cause harm, and the seriousness of this matter was reflected in the sentence imposed by the court.

“I would like to thank Lincolnshire Police for their assistance in this investigation. The outcome of this case serves as a reminder that similar offending is likely to result in a criminal conviction and the revocation of any SIA licences held.”

In July 2017, SIA investigators requested information concerning Elite Door Staff’s contracts. However, Frater failed to comply. He was then formally interviewed in September 2017 and only gave limited details. As a result, the SIA decided to prosecute Frater.

In mitigation, Frater admitted that he had not checked Pettit’s licensing status. He explained that as they had known each other for a number of years, and Pettit had previously produced a licence, he trusted that he was licensed.

Frater was fined £1,000 and ordered to pay £4,372 in costs and a victim surcharge of £100.

The court noted that this was, in their view, a serious matter, as the security operative that Frater had supplied had assaulted a member of the public.

The court also stressed the importance of security businesses complying with the regulations, and the need for security operatives to be licensed.