What Is Physical Intervention SIA?

Under Security Industry Authority (SIA) guidance, physical intervention is the use of direct physical contact or force to guide, control, or restrain a person. It's a mandatory part of SIA-recognised training for door supervisors and forms one of the core competencies security staff are assessed against - but it's always framed as a last resort, not a first response.

Core SIA principles

• Last resort only: verbal communication and de-escalation must always be attempted first.
• Reasonable and proportionate: force used must be no more than necessary to manage the specific threat.
• Minimum force, minimum time: release as soon as the risk has passed.
• Duty of care: staff must monitor the person's wellbeing throughout and avoid high-risk positions such as prolonged ground restraint.

Where SIA training sets a baseline, not a ceiling

SIA-mandated physical intervention training establishes the legal minimum for door supervisors and security personnel. But baseline SIA compliance and genuinely safe, defensible practice for higher-risk environments - corporate security, civil enforcement, major venues - aren't always the same thing.

SIA guidance also sets clear expectations for what happens after an intervention ends - see responsibilities following a physical intervention for the six duties staff must follow.

Our physical intervention security training is built specifically to go beyond baseline SIA licence training - independently medically reviewed and designed for teams whose risk profile demands more than the minimum standard.