The Inspection That Was Obstructed
A PSIRA inspector arrives unannounced at a cash-in-transit depot at 21:00 to conduct a compliance inspection. The site manager refuses entry, saying the inspector needs an appointment and that 'client confidentiality' prevents showing the guard deployment register. Two guards on site are polite but say they were told not to speak to inspectors. The manager offers to 'send the documents to the office next week'. The inspector notices one guard's identification card appears expired. The inspector must decide how to proceed on the night and what to document.
1. Is the manager entitled to refuse entry or withhold the deployment register? Explain the inspector's authority.
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No. A PSIRA inspector acting within authority may conduct inspections, including unannounced, to verify compliance. The claims fail:
- 'Needs an appointment' - unannounced inspection is the point; prior warning defeats it. No appointment is required.
- 'Client confidentiality' - the deployment register is a compliance record the inspector is entitled to see. Confidentiality to a client does not override the regulator's statutory inspection power. The inspector can note confidentiality concerns and handle records appropriately, but cannot be refused outright.
- 'Send documents next week' - deferral is not compliance; it also allows records to be altered.
Refusal to admit an inspector and withholding records are themselves compliance failures, separate from whatever the inspection would have found. The inspector should state authority calmly, record the refusal verbatim, and not force a physical confrontation.
2. The expired-looking ID card: how should the inspector handle this on the night, and what is the correct escalation if entry stays refused?
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On the night:
- Record, don't accuse - note the guard's name, card number and apparent expiry, and photograph or note it if permitted. An 'appears expired' observation is a lead, not a finding, until verified against records.
- Verify separately - check the card against PSIRA records after the visit; expiry may be a renewal in progress.
- Protect the guard - the guard is not the problem; the instruction not to speak is. Note that guards were instructed to stay silent, as that suggests direction from management.
Escalation if entry remains refused:
- Complete a contemporaneous record: time, names, exact words of refusal, who gave the instruction.
- Withdraw to avoid confrontation and report to the inspectorate for a formal notice or warrant process as the legislation allows.
- Recommend follow-up inspection and treat obstruction as a standalone charge against the provider.
Do not let the obstruction bury the ID issue - both go in the report, with obstruction flagged as the primary finding of the visit.