MANY security firms believe regulation of the sector has failed to weed out ‘cowboy’ operators, while companies are also unhappy with delays in the garda vetting system, according to a new survey.

New research commissioned by the Irish Security Industry Association (ISIA) has indicated that while regulating the security industry has been welcomed, there are still unlicensed operators trading and not enough is being done to police them.

Security staff across the country are to be trained to an accredited and standardised level, it emerged today.