British Security Industry Association (BSIA)
British Security Industry Association (BSIA) Overview:
The British Security Industry Association (BSIA) is the professional trade association for the security industry in the UK. Its aim is to help its member companies succeed in an ever-changing and highly competitive business environment. A vitally important element of this is ensuring its members provide the highest possible standard of products and service to their customers.
The BSIA has over 500 members responsible for more than 70% of UK security business, including CCTV, access control, manned security, information destruction, physical security, cash-in-transit and alarm manufacture, distribution and installation.
Vision
The BSIA's vision is to create a climate where the BSIA hallmark is a symbol of quality and professionalism for security buyers and industry partners.
Mission
As the voice of the British private security industry, the BSIA mission is to support members and encourage excellence; educate the marketplace on the value of quality and professional security; and create an atmosphere in which our members can flourish.
Key values
- Dedication - we are committed to serving all our members equally.
- High standards - we promote best practice and excellence to add value.
- Innovation - we push the boundaries, using a positive attitude to lead the industry forward.
- Integrity - we operate ethically to do the right thing.
- Belief - we are passionate about what we do.
Key areas of BSIA activity include:
Information dissemination
The BSIA disseminates information to members, potential members, users of security products/services, related organisations and the general public to raise awareness and understanding of issues relating to security and crime prevention.
Lobbying
The BSIA lobbies key organisations/bodies to form valuable working partnerships and achieve desirable changes e.g. Members of Parliament, the Home Office, Association of Chief Police Officers, Association of British Insurers.
The BSIA is extremely active in liaising with Government to ensure that legislation reflects industry and customer needs. The Association lobbied for regulation of the security industry for over 15 years, culminating in the introduction of the Private Security Industry Act 2001 and the launch of the Security Industry Authority.
Standards
One of the BSIA's top priorities is the maintenance of high standards within the industry, and it places rigorous requirements on companies wishing to become members. BSIA draws up industry codes of practice and technical documents, often then submitting documents for consideration as British Standards. Our representatives work on European standards committees to ensure these will meet the practical needs of the industry and its customers
Skills
In 2006 a skills body for the private security sector was formed. 'Skills for Security' incorporates the Security Industry Training Organisation, the BSIA's training subsidiary, which was divested from the Association to form the new skills body. The BSIA is working with Skills for Security, alongside other key industry stakeholders, to help to establish a stronger skills foundation which will add further benefits for the industry and its people.
British Security Industry Association (BSIA) news
The British Security Industry Association (BSIA) has announced its regional security personnel winners for 2024, recognising frontline security officers across the United Kingdom for their commitment to keeping people, property and places professionally protected. The BSIA’s regional security personnel awards are part of the Association’s British Security Awards, which will be held from 2024 at the Royal Lancaster London. All regional winners will now go forward as national finalists – the full list will be published on 16 May along with the security business finalists. Exhibited by frontline security personnel Regional awards have recognised the talent, dedication, skill and bravery shown by frontline guard For 25 years, the regional awards have recognised the talent, dedication, skill and bravery exhibited by frontline security personnel in their roles. In 2024 the five categories, Best Newcomer, Best Team, Outstanding Act, Service to the Customer and Security Manager of the Year, saw a record number of entries. Mike Reddington, Chief Executive, BSIA said: “It is our honour to be able to recognise through the British Security Awards each year the work of security officers across the United Kingdom for their role in keeping people, property and places professionally protected. This year’s winners should be immensely proud of their achievements, and we wish them the best of luck as they now go forward to the national finals of the British Security Awards on 3 July.” Regional winning companies The 2024 regional winning companies are ABM, Bidvest Noonan, Dyson, G4S, Lodge Service, Land Sheriffs, Ministry of Defence, MAN Commercial Protection, Mitie, NG Bailey, OCS Group, Rockfort Secure, Samsic UK, SecuriGroup, Securitas UK, SGS, STM Group, Vigilance, Westgrove Group. The security personnel categories of the British Security Awards are sponsored by Darwin Clayton.
The British Security Industry Association (BSIA) has updated its manufacturers’ code of practice that recommends on the design, testing and manufacture of safety and security products with cyber exposure, whilst aligning with major new UK legislation. Manufacturers of safety and security systems' Cybersecurity code of practice, is based on international industry best practices regarding cybersecurity and refers to recognised guidance and standards applied to safety and security systems. BSIA manufacturers' cyber assurance Crucially, it aligns with the UK’s consumer connectable product security regime, the UK Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure (PSTI) Act: 2022, which came into effect this week for Relevant Connectable Products. A previous iteration of this code of practice was released in 2021 already encompassing many of the key requirements of the Act and in many aspects going beyond them. The code of practice, which underpins the BSIA manufacturers' cyber assurance registration scheme The code of practice, which underpins the BSIA manufacturers' cyber assurance registration scheme, will assist in providing confidence throughout the supply chain promoting the secure connection of products and services. Its aim is to deliver client assurance regarding connected solutions, assisting the supply chain in their duty of care to other network users, particularly with respect to protecting the integrity of existing cybersecurity countermeasures or the implementation of such countermeasures in new solutions. Latest security standards and legislation Graham Evans, Technical Officer, BSIA, said: "We are pleased to announce the release of our updated issue of the Manufacturers of safety and security systems Cybersecurity code of practice, incorporating the relevant references to the UK Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure (PSTI) Act: 2022." “We are delighted to see the requirements in the Act are aligned to our code of practice and once again demonstrate the forward-thinking of our members to ensure their products and services keep pace with the latest security standards and legislation.” Best practices and recognition for manufacturers Glenn Foot, Chairman, BSIA Cybersecurity Product Assurance Group (CySPAG), said: “The PSTI Act is a welcome addition to the world of cybersecurity, but it must be noted that it only covers the basics, and there are likely to be additional requirements in the future." “Cyber-responsible manufacturers should be striving to exceed these minimum requirements in order to give their customers the highest level of confidence in relation to cyber security. To support manufacturers in exceeding the PSTI requirements, the CySPAG scheme provides guidance on best practices and recognition for manufacturers for going beyond the bare minimum for Cyber Security.” Manufacturers of safety and security systems Cybersecurity code of practice, is available for members via the CySPAG website. Details on how to join the CySPAG registration scheme, which is open to both BSIA and non-BSIA manufacturers are also on the website.
The first ever British Standard code of practice focusing on the ethical use and deployment of facial recognition technology (FRT), developed on recommendations by the British Security Industry Association (BSIA), has been released by the British Standards Institute (BSI). Facial recognition technology The code of practice, Facial recognition technology - Ethical use and deployment in video surveillance-based systems – Code of practice (BS 9347:2024) - has been developed by the BSI, in its role as the UK National Standards Body, to allay concerns by helping organisations build public trust with its proliferation prompting concerns about safe and ethical use. The BSIA’s leadership on the issue began in 2020 with the setting up of a special interest group dedicated to the issue, publishing the industry-first ethical and legal guide on facial recognition, which was acknowledged by the UK Government and was the initial template for developing the new standard. Legal and ethical usage Its foundation is based on six overarching AI principles of ‘trustworthiness’, namely governance and accountability The standard, written for the industry, by the industry, will allow the legal and ethical usage of this technology advancement in improving the safety and security of people, property, and places. Addressing the ethical challenges faced by those using this artificial intelligence(AI) technology, its foundation is based on six overarching AI principles of ‘trustworthiness’, namely governance and accountability, human agency and oversight, privacy and data governance, technical robustness and safety, transparency and explainability, diversity, non-discrimination, and fairness. Building trust The origin of the principles of trustworthiness comes from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), EU, and alignment with UK AI Regulatory principles. The standard sets out to build trust with those who develop, use, and are subject to its use. It applies to the whole supply chain, beginning with an assessment to determine the need to use FRT, for its procurement, installation, and appropriate and continued use of the technology. FRT code of practice To avoid confusion, the standard also provides a clear delineation between the types of FRT deployment. Those being its use for identification (who is it?) purposes where a ‘human-in-the-loop’ is necessary, and for Verification (is it you?) purposes where human intervention is not needed. The standard also provides a clear delineation between the types of FRT deployment Pauline Norstrom, CEO, of Anekanta Consulting and Anekanta AI, also Chair of the BSIA’s AI & Biometrics Special Interest Group, said, “The release of the FRT code of practice is a significant moment in the journey towards the ethical use of this AI biometric technology in the United Kingdom, and as the first of its kind in the world, it shows that British Industry is pioneering the way in this work with a procedural standard written for developers, integrators, deployers and stakeholders of FRT." Ethical AI “It is different from other standards for AI and biometrics, as a non-technical code of practice that operationalises the principles for trustworthy AI (ethical AI) through the entire value chain making it easy for the industry to implement transparently with clear governance and accountability, and arguably with potentially lower impacts, risks, and costs." "Crucially, the standard contains a metaphorical ‘stop button’ to cease use if impacts cannot be mitigated. It also frames FRT as an AI technology which aligns with the definition of AI in international standards and new or pending regulation.” World-first code of practice Dave Wilkinson, Director of Technical Services, BSIA, said, "The BSIA was at the forefront of the creation of this standard, starting the journey over three years ago with the publication of our legal and ethical guide, and we are pleased to see this major world-first code of practice being released." "The use of FRT has not come without its challenges, whether that has been down to the accuracy of the technology, or how and where it is deployed." Aims to instill trustworthiness “Many relevant questions have been asked by privacy groups, industry stakeholders, and other interested parties on the appropriate and proportionate use of such technology." "This code of practice aims to instill trustworthiness in the use of FRT by setting out key principles covering the whole process from assessing the need to use it, to ensuring its continued operation remains fit for purpose and justified.”
