A door supervisor caught working illegally at a wine bar faces a hefty bill after being convicted by magistrates.

At a court hearing on May 18, David James pleaded guilty to the offences between between September and November last year in Cardigan, Wales.

James was sentenced at Haverfordwest Magistrates’ Court where he was handed a £360 fine, ordered to pay £250 prosecution costs and a £144 victim surcharge. He now has a criminal record.

Dyfed Powys police officers carried out inspections of a wine bar in Cardigan between 23 and 25 September 2022 and they found that the bar was deploying unlicensed security.

On Friday 23 September, police officers noted David James was working while wearing a black t-shirt with the word “security” written on it but he was not wearing a valid Security Industry Authority (SIA) licence.

The SIA claimed unlicensed security workers put members of the public at risk.

There was a similar sighting on Saturday 01 October.

On the same night, a Dyfed Powys police officer on patrol spoke to James to establish the whereabouts of his licence.

SIA licence

James replied that he had done the training but was yet to receive his SIA licence. The police officer watched Mr James eject a patron from the venue using reasonable force.

On 19 October, James again worked at the wine bar and this was recorded on CCTV. On Friday 25 November 2022, a joint inspection by the SIA’s investigators and a Dyfed Powys police officer took place at the venue. The venue manager shared CCTV footage with the investigators of James at work.

Police officers were concerned about the risk to the public following reported disturbances at the venue in April and August last year when they discovered that unlicensed security had been injured at fights there.

Mr James participated in an interview-under-caution on 28 February 2023 at Dyfed Powys Police Station where he admitted to working illegally. He was formerly licensed until 10 January 2021 and despite reminders by the SIA to renew his licence, he failed to do so.

Nicola Bolton, one of the SIA’s criminal investigations managers, said: “James’ prosecution follows the recent case whereby Tristan Edwards and Daniel Cope were also prosecuted for working illegally at the same wine bar. James has now incurred a fine and is required to pay court costs and has a criminal record.”

She added: “His actions put the public at risk particularly in a busy venue in Cardigan’s night-time economy. Some of the public incurred injuries from the violence that occurred.

“Had the defendants renewed their licences they would also have received refresher training which would probably have equipped them to deal with these incidents more effectively.

“The main feature of the case is that the defendant had previously held and was therefore aware of the licensing regime and the need to have a licence but chose to deliberately circumvent it.

“I’d like to pay tribute to colleagues in our law enforcement partner, Dyfed Powys Police, they were exemplary in helping the SIA to bring these cases to court.

“Their efficient handling of this and the previous two cases has saved resources and ensured that unsuitable people are now not working in the Cardigan night-time economy and the venue’s patrons are safer as a result.”

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Further information:

The SIA is the organisation responsible for regulating the private security industry in the UK, reporting to the Home Secretary under the terms of the Private Security Industry Act 2001. The SIA’s main duties are: the compulsory licensing of individuals undertaking designated activities; and managing the voluntary Approved Contractor Scheme (ACS).