Security boss must pay fine for supplying unlicensed service or go to jail
A Blackpool man, who provided unlicensed security to a school, has been ordered to pay a four-figure sum or face a 60-day jail term.
Last Tuesday (April 20) Martin Coe, of Blackpool, was handed a £6,548 Confiscation Order at Preston Crown Court, payable within three months.
If he fails to pay he will face a 60-day jail sentence.
He was also ordered to pay court costs of £5,000 to the Security Industry Authority (SIA) within 12 months.
Tuesday’s decision follows the SIA’s prosecution of Martin Coe last October.
Coe was the former director of Evolution Security Services NW Limited, which is now dissolved.
He was found guilty of two counts of providing unlicensed security to Baines School in Poulton and the Wyre Light pub in Fleetwood.
He was handed a 32-week jail term suspended for 12 months at Preston Magistrates’ Court on January 27, 2021.
The Proceeds of Crime Act order that was given to Coe in the latest court appearance marks the end of a lengthy series of hearings.
The investigation started in May 2019, when Neil Reddington and Gavin Macaskill were found working illegally at the Wyre Light.
They were discovered by licensing officers from Lancashire Constabulary who referred the case to the SIA. Both men were employed by Evolution Security.
Nathan Salmon, the SIA’s criminal investigation manager, said: “It’s satisfying to see the outcome of last Tuesday’s proceeds of crime order against Coe.
“The £6,548 order illustrates that courts will remove criminal benefit where it can be associated to breaches of security regulation.
“His business practices would have distorted the market for legitimate businesses providing high quality security to customers in the North West.
“Supplying unlicensed people puts the public at risk, and Coe profited from knowingly doing so. He has a criminal record which will prevent him from working in the private security industry.”
