Any individual can be elected to Membership of the Company, provided that he or she is a security practitioner by profession, or has a very strong interest in the objectives of the Company. No person shall be accepted as a Member of the Company unless:

• they satisfy a requirement for obtaining Freedom of the Company (see this website);

• they have applied in writing for membership, using and signing a form obtained from the Clerk, and have attached a short CV;

• they have agreed to be bound by the Constitution & Ordinances and the Bye Laws of the Company;

• they have paid an appropriate joining fee;

• their application has been proposed and seconded in writing by a Liveryman, Freeman or Member of the Company; and

• their application has been considered and supported by the Membership Committee and approved by the Court.

Where potential applicants do not have a Sponsor they should contact the Clerk of the Company, whose details can be found below.

Understanding the Company
Applicants should have a reasonable understanding of the objectives, organisation and customs of the Company. In particular they should understand that:

• the objectives include promoting standards of excellence, integrity and honourable practice in the profession, education and the encouragement of communications between those who practice and those who benefit from security;

• an aim is the dispensation of charitable aid for purposes connected with the security profession, and for other appropriate causes; the Company was formed because it was felt to be in the best interests of the City of London that the importance of the conduct of security business should be recognised and promoted;

• the Worshipful Company of Security Professionals is a Livery Company of the City of London, incoporated under Royal Charter, and its Constitution & Ordinances conform to the law and custom of the City of London.

Committment and conduct
Applicants should show that they regard admission as a significant lifetime personal commitment to the Livery, and the aims and objectives of this Worshipful Company. It is a very different from joining a club.

Applicants must declare on the application form that they are not an undischarged bankrupt and that they have no criminal convictions. This does not include minor traffic offences and any previous convictions which are spent under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974. Successful applicants are reminded that they have a duty to inform the Clerk if subsequently they become an undischarged bankrupt or are convicted of a criminal offence.

Applicants must understand that the Constitution & Ordinances require all Liverymen, Freemen and Members to conduct themselves in a manner which is not injurious to the character and interests of the Company. Any deemed to have acted in such a manner may be subject to a process for exclusion from the Company.

Responsibility of the Sponsor
It is the duty and responsibility of the Sponsor to ensure that an applicant:

• understands and appreciates the nature of the City of London Livery Companies;
• understands the objectives of the Worshipful Company of Security Professionals;
• understands the structure of the Company and the manner in which it conducts its affairs;
• satisfies the requirement for Freedom of the Company as laid down in the Constitution & Ordinances;
• is a suitable person for admission to the Company;
• is willing to abide by the requirements of the Constitution & Ordinances and the Bye Laws (see this website);
• has properly completed and signed the application form;
• has attached a short CV to the application form;
• has paid the application fee.


NOTES ON MEMBERSHIP

Membership of the Company
Any individual shall be eligible to be nominated and elected to the Membership of the Company provided he or she is a security practitioner by profession, or a person adjudged by the Court to have a strong interest in the objectives of the Company as the Court in its absolute discretion shall approve.

Freedom of the Company
Any Member shall be eligible to be nominated, elected and admitted a Freeman of the Company provided that he/she: (a) is of the full age of twenty-one years; and (b) meets the membership requirements set out above.

Admission to the Livery
The Court shall and may call, nominate, choose, elect and shall then admit into Livery of the Company such and so many persons being Freemen of the Company and of the City of London as it shall think meet and able to be of the same Livery, subject nevertheless to the Order of the Court of the Mayor and Aldermen dated the 19th day of February 2008, and to such other Orders of the said Court of the Mayor and Aldermen as may hereafter be made.

Governance and Management of the Company
The affairs of the Company are managed by a Court of Assistants, (‘the Court’). All such members of the Court shall be Liverymen of the Company and shall consist of the Master, Immediate Past Master, Senior Warden, Middle Warden, Junior Warden, Past Masters, Treasurer, Honorary Court Assistants, and elected Court Assistants.

For details of how to apply for membership of the Worshipful Company of Security Professionals, please contact the Clerk, Tricia Boswell:

WCoSP - Membership

34 Tye Green

Glemsford

Sudbury

Suffolk CO10 7RG

Tel: +44 (0)1787 282777

E mail: clerk@wcosp.org