A doorman cleared of the unlawful killing of a Norwich father outside a nightclub in the city centre has told how he wants to rebuild his life and continue working in the same role.

Steven Hopkins, 28, of Woodward Road, Norwich, was tried at Norwich Crown Court after pleading not guilty to the charge of manslaughter which related to the death of Phillip Ward after he was pushed over outside the Chicago Rock Café in Prince of Wales Road in May last year.

But yesterday, the jury of six men and six women returned a verdict of not guilty, bringing an end Mr Hopkins’ ordeal.

The verdict was met with gasps of disbelief and tears from Mr Ward’s family, who said they had been “totally let down” by the decision.

Although the fact that Mr Ward had died as a result of Mr Hopkins’ actions was never in question, it was a matter of debate as to whether or not Mr Hopkins was acting in self defence and whether he used reasonable force in ejecting Mr Ward from the club.

The court had head that Mr Hopkins pushed Mr Ward, 46, as he was leaving the Chicago Rock Café in Prince of Wales Road, after a night out with his wife and friends.

Mr Ward fell backwards and hit his head, suffering a fatal head injury from which he never regained consciousness.

The jury heard the incident lasted no more than two or three minutes but the end result was the death of Mr Ward, from Drayton, near Norwich.

Solicitor Simon Nicholls said: “On behalf of Steven Hopkins I would like to express his grateful thanks to the jury for finding him not guilty in what was a very difficult case.

“Someone lost their life as a result of Steven’s actions and that is something he is going to have to live with for the rest of his life.

“Anyone who understands the difficult job door supervisors have must appreciate how terrible the last five months have been for Steven. He was married only two weeks before this happened. It has been a nightmare for him.

“The decision of the jury to find him not guilty has gone a little way to giving him some sort of closure on the matter and both him and his wife Rachael are incredibly relieved.

“It is understandable that Mr Ward’s family feel anger and bitterness towards him. But 12 ordinary people have heard the evidence against him and found him not guilty.”

Mr Hopkins confirmed his intention to continue working as a door supervisor.

But Mr Ward’s wife Mandy said: “How do you tell a four and six year old that their dad’s killer got away with it?  We feel totally let down,” and her eldest brother Bob Connor added: “We are devastated at the outcome of today’s trial.  Phillip’s family and friends have been dealt a life sentence from which they can never be released.

“In respect of Phillip’s memory we would like to have it emphasised that never, at any time, did he show any aggression to another person and we would like to thank both the police and the family liaison officers for all their hard work to bring this case to conclusion.

“Mandy and the rest of Phillip’s family and friends would like their privacy to be respected to continue to grieve and rebuild their shattered lives.”

The trial has thrown the amount of force used by door staff when ejecting revellers into the spotlight.

During the trial, Christopher Morgan, prosecuting, showed a Norwich Crown Court jury CCTV footage of the incident and said: “There is no dispute in this case that Steven Hopkins killed Mr Ward.” He said that Hopkins had “no right” to eject Mr Ward in the manner he did, and said that Mr Hopkins was a registered doorman and would have been trained in the correct way to eject people.

Steve Barber, owner of Norwich Security Specialists Ltd, which provides door supervisors to some of the clubs on Prince of Wales Road, said that door staff had changed their attitude since Mr Hopkins was charged and were now being more careful about the amount of force they used, regardless of the outcome of the trial.

He said: “If he had been found guilty, it would have opened up a massive can of worms and meant that door staff would have been worried about touching anyone, so might as well not be there. Although I am sad for Phillip’s family, it is the best outcome for the profession.”

Peter says…

I must agree with Steve Barber.  Whilst respecting the family must feel bitter and cheated about the outcome of the trial, it is really the best outcome for the profession.  The current door supervisor training does not teach “how to eject or evict customers”, it just teaches that door supervisors should use only “reasonable and necessary force”.  Later this year, however, the door supervisor training will be updated to include a physical intervention unit which will offer non-violent, non-aggressive way to eject from premises.  This unit will also probably be one of the options for future compulsory renewal training for currently licensed door supervisors.

beSmart Training currently offers the BIIAB Maybo Physical Intervention training course for door supervisors and security guards, as well as other Security Industry Authority approved training and personal licence courses.

For further information on all our courses go to our website at www.besmart-training.co.uk or call Sue on 0207237 6007.

A new consultation released by the Government outlines proposals for Door Supervisors to undertake compulsory top-up training in order to renew their SIA licences.

Government estimates put the annual cost of the proposed extra training between £10.1m and £25.9m.

The top-up training would be compulsory when Security Industry Authority (SIA) licences are renewed every three years. On-going refresher training in physical skills would also be needed.

This is the Home Office’s preferred option outlined in a new consultation, released today.

A statement from the department said the aim is “to protect the public by raising standards of training across the industry”.

Additional training will include physical intervention, first aid, special considerations when dealing with young people and awareness of the threat of terrorism.

Bill Butler, SIA chief executive, said: “We welcome these proposals, many of which were suggested by the Industry.

“They understand the challenges faced by door supervisors and the skills needed to carry out their duties professionally, whilst protecting the public.

“We are encouraging those working in the door supervision sector, training providers and stakeholders to contribute to this important piece of work.”

If the decision is made to implement the proposals, top-up training will be compulsory for all door supervisors from May 2011.

The SIA said it would work with awarding bodies to ensure training is available from October 2010.

The 14-week public consultation can be viewed here: www.homeoffice.gov.uk.

beSmart already offers a range of continued professional development courses for door supervisor such as physical intervention and first aid.  If you want to be ahead of the game give us a call on 020 7237 6007 or visit our website at www.besmart-training.co.uk.

A security boss has been found guilty of working as a security director without holding an SIA licence. Mark David Livingston, 47, was the director of Hallmarc Security Ltd based in Grantham and supplied door staff in the area. Livingston initially held a licence but failed to renew it on expiry.

At Grantham Magistrates’ Court, he pleaded guilty to two offences of working as a director without an SIA licence and was fined £500 for each. He was also found guilty of one offence of failing to provide information to the SIA and fined £300 – failing to comply with the SIA’s power to require information was not merely a technical offence, the court heard. The offences are set out in the Private Security Industry Act 2001.

As well as the fines, Livingston was ordered to pay prosecution costs of £12,000, total fines and costs of £13,300.

The SIA’s Formal Investigation Team investigated and took the case forward for prosecution after a referral from the SIA’s East Regional Team. This followed a joint compliance operation with Lincolnshire Police in April 2008.

Sara Brennan, an SIA Head of Investigation, said: “This has been a challenging case but SIA licensing must be adhered to. Livingston ignored the law and this is a clear warning to others that non-compliance will not be tolerated.”

Directors, managers and supervisors of security companies are required to hold at least a non-front line SIA licence.  It is also illegal to work as a door supervisor without an SIA front-line door supervisor licence.

beSmart regularly run courses offering SIA approved security courses.  Check-out our website at www.besmart-training.co.uk for more information.

As promised the SIA have now announced the new training criteria that will be introduced for licensing next year.

The new modular qualification structure:

A full certificate for the relevant sector is still required. The new modular format means those undergoing the training (for most sectors) will take common units – core security, and conflict management – followed by a specific unit for each security sector.

A licensed operative who has already passed the two common units will therefore only need to sit the relevant additional specialist unit if they wish to gain a licence for another sector.

The qualifications are taken by applicants for front line licences. Applicants for non-front line licences do not require a qualification because they do not carry out front line activities. Those applying for a Key Holding licence will not need to take a qualification.

As there is a different qualifications system in Scotland, the new regime will be introduced there later. The new door supervision qualification will be introduced from June 2010, and the other unitised qualifications from September 2010.

Several different types of organisation are involved in the creation and delivery of the licence-linked qualifications.

beSmart will be able to offer all sectors of the door supervisor course, security guarding course and vehicle immobiliser course.  For more information visit out website at www.besmart-training.co.uk

The laws regarding training for first aid at work change on Thursday (1st October 2009).

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) have introduced the biggest change to The Health and Safety (First Aid) at Regulations laws since they were introduced in 1982.

The update could save UK businesses millions of pounds.

The biggest change is to the mandatory four day course, now reduced to three days, and the introduction the  Emergency First Aid at Work course, a new one day course option designed for small businesses .

The new guidelines were produced on the back of consultation with employers across the UK, who understood the need for first-aid training but found it difficult to release employees for the four days needed.

You can read more about the new First Aid legislation and employers legal duties on the HSE website.

Peter says…

This is an excellent change that will save businesses (especially small businesses) time and money without compromising on health and safety.

More importantly, this new guidance could even lead to safer workplaces, as it recommends that trained first aiders undertake a three hour refresher training session every year. 

The new three day FAW (First Aid at Work) training course will have less impact on businesses, but will still deliver the same key skills taught under the old system.

An excellent idea for ensuring those skills are retained.
beSmart Training offer both the three-day First Aid at Work course and the one-day Emergency First Aid at Work course. 

Click here for the latest course dates or call on 020 7237 6007 and speak to Sue.