Right now, in the UK, anyone can call themselves a security consultant — no matter their background, experience, or qualifications.
There are:
- No legal requirements
- No minimum standards
- No checks
That means someone with no proper training, no up-to-date knowledge, and no accountability can give security advice on matters that affect public safety, property, or even national infrastructure.
Some of that advice can be outdated, poor quality — or just plain dangerous. Of course, we’d all like to think that security buyers would carry out their due diligence, but those of us with experience in the industry have seen enough to know this is not a safe assumption.
Time for a big change?
Other Security Roles Are Protected by Law — So Why Not This One?
Here’s the current situation:
The UK legally protects several front-line security roles through licensing by the Security Industry Authority (SIA). These include:
- Cash and Valuables in Transit Operative
- Close Protection Operative
- Door Supervisor
- Public Surveillance Operative
- Security Guard
- Vehicle Immobiliser
To carry out any of these roles, you must pass checks, hold the correct licence, and meet minimum training requirements. But there’s no such protection for those calling themselves security consultants — despite the fact they may be advising on complex threats, large-scale events, or critical national infrastructure.
There is more regulatory oversight for someone unlocking a wheel clamp than for someone potentially planning your entire security strategy.
What Might Legal Protection Involve?
Minimum Qualifications and Experience
To legally use the job title, a person should have:
- A recognised qualification – to be decided following a major consultation between stake holders
- At least five years of industry experience or relevant experience transferable from previous occupations or specialisms
- Evidence of regular CPD (Continuing Professional Development)
This would stop people with outdated knowledge or no real experience trading on the title.
Compulsory Registration or Licensing
A central register — managed by the SIA or a new professional body — would:
- Allow clients to check a consultant’s credentials
- Give regulators powers to investigate complaints and enforce standards
Mandatory Membership of a Recognised Professional Body
Consultants should be required to belong to a recognised organisation responsible for enforcing a code of ethics, monitoring CPD, and all other matters involved in running a statutory mandated membership body.
Public Protection First
This isn’t just about professional pride. It’s about safety.
Legal regulation would:
- Give clients a way to complain and seek redress
- Improve the quality of advice on physical, cyber, and counterterrorism risks
- Make it easier to deal with negligent or rogue consultants
Common Objections — And Why They Don’t Stack Up
“It’s too much red tape”
No. This is about protecting lives and livelihoods. There must be minimum standards when public safety is at stake.
“Security consulting is too broad to regulate”
It is a broad field, but that’s not an excuse for no standards at all. Specialisms can be covered under a single framework with appropriate criteria.
“The government won’t support this”
Not unless the industry speaks up. It’s time for professional bodies, officers, clients and campaigners to push for change. Public safety demands it. If the public had any real idea about the state of the industry whose main job is protecting them, I think they would become our biggest allies!
How a Regulatory Framework Could Work
Protect the Job Title
Only those who meet national standards can legally use the title Security Consultant
- Misuse would be a criminal offence
- Enforced by a statutory registration body
National Register of Security Consultants
- Public database of verified professionals
- Annual renewal with evidence of CPD
- Run by the SIA or a dedicated new body
Code of Conduct
All registered consultants must:
- Follow a national code of ethics
- Be transparent about qualifications and conflicts
- Avoid exaggerating backgrounds (e.g. military/police claims)
- Hold professional indemnity insurance
Complaint and Disciplinary Procedures
- Clients and peers can raise complaints
- Investigations with powers to suspend/remove consultants
- Built-in right to appeal
Minimum Entry Requirements
To be decided following consultation
Enforcement: Supporting the Regulator
Regulation only works if backed by proper enforcement. To support that:
- The SIA should be granted new powers to oversee consultants
- Collaboration with HMRC and DWP should be strengthened to:
- Tackle tax evasion
- Stop benefit fraud
- Identify hidden cash-in-hand operators
Why This Matters
Without regulation, anyone can claim to be a security consultant – but you can be taken to court if you claim to be a Security Guard without meeting the relevant criteria.
That:
- Puts lives and property at risk
- Damages the credibility of the industry
- Undermines the work of the many genuine professionals who do us proud!
We already regulate those doing front-line roles. It’s time to hold consultants — who often shape those front-line strategies — to the recognised professional standards.
Security is not a second-class service.
External link: Gov.uk – Professions Regulated by Law in the UK: www.gov.uk/government/publications/professions-regulated-by-law-in-the-uk-and-their-regulators (Accessed April 2025)
