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OPP clamps down on unlicensed security firms, guards

The Ontario Provincial Police's anti-rackets branch is laying 18 charges after an investigation into several Greater Sudbury's licensed liquor-selling venues.
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Highway 69 is now open to one lane in both directions an incident where a tractor trailer carrying nitric acid caught fire at around 5:30 a.m. Sept. 24. File photo.

The Ontario Provincial Police's anti-rackets branch is laying 18 charges after an investigation into several Greater Sudbury's licensed liquor-selling venues.

The charges are being laid under the private security and investigative services act (PSISA). The initiative is the fifth in a series of proactive enforcement efforts, a press release from the OPP stated.

Charges include four counts of working as an unlicensed security guard, four counts of employing an unlicensed security guard, two counts of being an unregistered business and uniform violations.

Under the PSISA, businesses providing security guard services are required to be licensed by the ministry and are responsible for ensuring its security guards are licensed.

Security guard training requires a minimum of 40 hours of classroom training, and classes must comply with ministry standards. Guards caught working without a license can be fined up to $25,000 and spend a year in jail.

Businesses convicted of PSISA offenses can see fines as high as $250,000 under PSISA, and officers and directors of offending companies can also be sentenced to a year in custody.

Police say the investigation is continuing, and more charges may be laid.