Removing clothing when searched by a security operative
Published 18 June 2024
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1. Request
I have a question about the rights of a person subject to a random search in the clothing warehouse. I am not working in the warehouse. Just curious. If the person is subject to a random search and asked by the security officer to remove their clothes, how far should clothes be removed? To underpants? And if the security officer asks to remove the trousers, is that legal, or what should the person do in that case?
2. Response
We note from this request that you are asking for an opinion and not recorded information that we may or may not hold. The SIA is not required to provide opinions on subject matters within our remit.
To assist you, I can confirm that the SIA does hold information about the training delivered to SIA licensed operatives on searches. The following links may be of use to you.
Pearson is one of the approved awarding organisations who offer pre-requisite SIA licence-linked training for door supervisor and security guard qualifications. Please see the training content on searches via these links:
- Pearson BTEC Level 2 Award for Door Supervisors in the Private Security Industry - pages 65 to 71
- L2 Award for Security Officers in the Private Security Industry - pages 79 to 87
The high-level specifications for licence-linked qualifications are developed by the SIA. You can access these on our website here: Read the specifications for SIA licence-linked training. The session on searching can be found on page 5 of the door supervision specification and page 9 of the security guarding specification.
You can find information in respect of when a security operative is required to hold an SIA licence on our website: Find out if you need an SIA licence.
[Ref: FOI 0509]