What is SIRA Dubai?
SIRA is a governmental body responsible for the regulation and supervision of security industry in Dubai. SIRA is an acronym for “Security Industry Regulatory Agency” and came into existence under Dubai’s Law Number 12 of 2016. The agency took over the responsibilities of Department of Protective Systems (DPS) of Dubai Police. SIRA vested with the power to set general policies for Dubai’s security industry. It also sets the specifications and standards that companies must comply with, to get installation approval.
Similarly, all businesses require approval from SIRA for the license to sell and install security systems in Dubai. SIRA also authorizes the licensing of firms for security system consultancy and auditing. To prevent conflict of interest and corruption, SIRA does not permit the consultancy and audit firms to sell or install security solutions and vice versa.
How to get CCTV installation approval from SIRA?
Before starting construction, property developers in Dubai are required to obtain approval of their building’s security systems design. The design of CCTV and access control solution for the building should be compliant with the guidelines of SIRA. This design approval is in the form of design drawings stamped by one of the Security Consultants authorized by SIRA. Without the submission of approved and stamped design drawings, Dubai Municipality refuses to issue building permits.
Security systems design drawings submitted to Dubai Municipality also typically have the name of the Security Service Provider (SSP) mentioned in the title bar. SSPs are firms that are approved by SIRA for sales and installation of CCTV and other security systems. LNS is one such SSP company.
Security Systems Provider (SSP)
Ideally, you should finalize a Security Systems Provider (SSP) early on before the construction starts. If the SSP is on board since the beginning, he can help you in getting the security systems design drawings approved. The SSP can also provide valuable inputs during the building construction period, in regards to cable containment, camera locations, and other such details.
Once the building is nearing completion, the SSP will complete the access control, and CCTV installation as per the SIRA approved design drawings. Next, the SSP will upload the product and configuration details on the online portal of SIRA and ask for an inspection. SIRA will choose one of its authorized security systems auditing company and inform all the concerned parties by email. SIRA assigns the audit randomly, to prevent corruption.
The auditing company sets a date and time for inspection and confirms it with SSP and uploads the date and time on the online portal. During the inspection, the auditor thoroughly checks the installation and ensures that it meets the guidelines set by SIRA for that category of building. If something is not in compliance, the audit results in a Rejection. The auditing report mentions the reasons for the failure. The SSP has to revise/correct the installation and raise another inspection with the same auditing company. If everything is in compliance with SIRA guidelines the auditor approves the installation, and the SSP receives an approval certificate.