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Wheel-clamping - licensing |
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The Private Security Industry Act 2001 (in force since May 2005)
requires wheel-clampers to be licensed by the Securities Industries
Association. This applies to all wheel-clampers – not just the large
commercial organisations. Accordingly, a private property owner who
decides to do his own clamping or immobilising will need a licence.
The licensing procedure involves criminal record checks, plus a oneweek
compulsory course, with the annual licence costing £190.
Needless to say, all of this is designed to deter cowboy operators.
A property owner who uses an unlicensed operator (or who himself does
the clamping, but without a licence) will commit an offence, unless there
were ‘no reasonable grounds’ for suspecting that the operator was not
licensed. In effect, the property owner/employer must choose a
reputable licensed firm, and then demand regular confirmation that all
personnel are licensed. Failure to do so can result in prosecution. For
more details see article in [2006] 163 Property Law Journal 7 (and the
websites referred to in that article).
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March 2006 |
