The Door Supervisor (Event Security) licence is required by all those who provide security services in the Entertainment Area of an event. PSA 39:2014 defines the Entertainment Area as the specific area of a venue where the entertainment or social performance takes place and where the provision of a security service is undertaken by a Door Supervisor (Event Security) provider. The Entertainment Area includes areas where alcohol and food are served.
The Security Guard (Event Security) licence is required by all those who provide security services in the Periphery Area of an event. PSA 39:2014 defines the Periphery Area as the specific area of a venue adjacent to or in the vicinity of the Entertainment Area where the provision of a security service is undertaken by a Security Guard (Event Security) provider. The Periphery Area includes car parks, accommodation areas, venue perimeter and approaches, and any other location not within the Entertainment Area.
PSA31:2014 is the standard required by the PSA for new entrants into the Event Security sector. This standard outlines the procedures and systems which are needed before a company can begin offering services as event security providers. EQA have prepared a checklist for PSA 31 certification (Link) which summarises the requirements of the standard.
The PSA have issued the standard (link) and the guidelines for certification (link) which are available free of charge from the PSA and EQA websites.
PSA 31 is required for all new entrants into the Event Security sector, including companies who already hold a PSA license in another sector (there was an exemption for companies already licensed by the PSA who applied prior to 1st January 2015).
PSA 31 is also the standard used for entry into the Manned Guarding and Door Supervision sectors. An organisation can look for certification to cover 1 or more sectors, the certificate issued by EQA will indicate which sectors were inspected during the audit.
Once all other requirements for licensing have been met (see PSA website), the PSA will issue a 2 year license following successful certification to PSA 31. This is conditional upon having an audit to PSA 39:2014 within 6 Months. The PSA 39 audit includes a visit to an active site, EQA recommend having a PSA 39 audit as soon as a site becomes available.
PSA 39:2014 is the standard required by the PSA in order to retain and renew an Event Security license. It includes sections on the Organisation (including Tax Clearance and Insurance), Staffing (including employee selection and screening), Training (including induction training, refresher training and requirements for trainers) and Operations (including Risk Assessments, Command and Control Systems and site activities).