Trevor Frater, who on 25 September 2023 had pleaded not guilty, changed his plea to guilty on the day of the trial for supplying unlicensed security and acting as a manager while being unlicensed himself.
This is the third time that Trevor Frater from Lincoln has been prosecuted by the Security Industry Authority (SIA) for supplying and working as illegal security. As a result, Frater has been committed to Lincoln Crown Court for sentencing. The SIA will pursue him for confiscation proceedings under the Proceeds of Crime Act.
The other man, Richard Coleman from Grimsby, pleaded guilty to working illegally on Monday 6 November 2023 having changed his earlier not guilty plea which he made in July. He was sentenced to a £270 fine, ordered to pay £3,158.40 prosecution costs and a £108 victim surcharge.
Trevor Frater operated under the name of Elite Door Staff and he deployed Richard Coleman to a Louth bar between April and November 2022. Coleman was formerly an SIA licence holder, but his licence had expired on 13 January 2019. Previously at Boston Magistrates' Court Coleman stated that he had not worked as a door supervisor.
On 22 November 2022 a routine licensing inspection was carried out by the SIA's regional investigation team with officers from Lincolnshire Police of the bars, pubs and venues in Louth.
One of the venues visited deployed Elite Door Staff and had done so since September 2021. Frater's business was dissolved on 1 February 2022.
Following the inspection, the SIA began a criminal investigation. In February 2023 investigators requested both Frater and Coleman to submit further information to them and to join SIA investigators for an interview under caution.
Frater did not respond with the required information, and neither of them met with SIA criminal investigators.
Jenny Hart, one of the SIA's criminal investigations managers, said:
The purpose of the SIA licence is to protect the public. We await the outcome of Trevor Frater's sentencing. He has now pleaded guilty to his offences. He is a prolific offender who recruited Coleman to perform an unlicensed role. Coleman now has a criminal record for his actions.
Notes:
- By law, security operatives working under contract must hold and display a valid SIA licence
- Read about SIA enforcement and penalties
- The offences relating to the Private Security Industry Act 2001 that are mentioned above are as follows:
- Trevor Frater: section 3 - engaging in licensable conduct without a licence; section 5 - employing unlicensed persons in licensable conduct; section 19 - obstructing SIA officials or those with delegated authority, or failing to respond to a request for information
- Richard Coleman: section 3 - engaging in licensable conduct without a licence
