The growing demand for private security
By Mohammad Ali BabakhelPublished: January 21, 2016
Source

In the recent attacks on the Nadra office in Mardan and Bacha Khan University in Charsadda, brave security guards tried to stop and engage the attackers at the entrances of these establishments, thus minimising the casualties. In developed societies, the emergence of professional private security agencies has given birth to the ‘pluralisation of the police’ and a public-private policing partnership. Private security has not only reduced the state’s monopoly on security coverage, it has also distributed the financial burden of the state. Furthermore, private security has also injected a sense of responsibility into private corporate and industrial sectors. In countries where the private security sector has attained professional maturity, such agencies are being integrated into the mainstream security apparatus.

Private security primarily consists of two components: manned security and hardware security. Since the Pakistani private security industry is in its embryonic phase, it is still operating as a human resource-intensive industry, primarily transforming the traditional ‘chowkidar’ (watchman) system into a modern security system. Apart from these two components of private security, in some countries, professionally qualified private companies are also entrusted with the investigation function. While developed societies have outsourced certain policing functions to the private sector, the real challenge of the state here is not to allow such companies to function as private armies.

The increased number of private security guards and agencies has given birth to a number of questions. Does this phenomenon depict growing public insecurity or does it signify the shouldering of security functions by the private sector? Does this amount to the outsourcing of a state function? What about the quality of services and the wages being paid to security guards? The increased involvement of private guards in criminal activities has badly eroded the confidence of clients; hence it is clear that hiring procedures need revision. If the next of kin of private guards are not entitled to any compensation if the latter are killed in the line of duty, how will their meagre salaries keep them motivated?

The growth and liberalisation of the banking and industrial sectors, the expanding role of multinationals and augmented threats in the post-9/11 scenario have provided a conducive environment for the private security industry. However, a majority of private security agencies are focused on profit maximisation; hence quality control and service delivery are often compromised. In Pakistan, 250,000 private guards are performing security duties. There are around 150,000 registered private guards deployed in Sindh. In Karachi alone, there are 55,000 to 80,000 private security guards working in 125 companies.

Since the 1990s, the world has witnessed a remarkable increase in private policing. According to an estimate, private security companies in the US earn annual revenues ranging from $19 billion to $34 billion. In 2011, there were an estimated 20 million security guards working globally. This depicts an increase of between 200 to 300 per cent over the past two to three decades. Such huge growth has outpaced the regulation and oversight apparatus. To ensure respect for human rights, in 2010, 50 leading private security companies signed an international code of conduct in Geneva.

The functions of private security agencies can broadly be divided into three categories, including the traditional security functions (i.e., watch and report), maintenance of order, and law enforcement functions. In Pakistan, private security agencies are still confined to the traditional role. The business community here often feels that since it is paying huge sums in taxes, why should it bear the additional burden of ensuring security. However, owing to intensified onslaught of terrorism, there is a realisation that security is not the exclusive responsibility of the state, but rather of everyone. The growth of private security agencies here is often attributed to the failure of the state to perform important obligations. This perception needs to change as even in the developed world, banks, educational institutions, markets, industrial units and hotels are protected by private security apparatus.

Provinces regulate private security companies under various provincial legislations, including the Sindh Private Security Agencies (Regulation & Control) Ordinance 2000, the Punjab Private Security Companies (Regulation & Control) Ordinance 2002, the NWFP Private Security Agencies Ordinance 2002 and the Procedure For Private Security Companies in Balochistan. After the promulgation of security-related laws recently, the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa police coined the concept of the establishment of ‘security desks’ at the police station level while the Sindh police have announced the establishment of a ‘Chinese desk’ to ensure the security of Chinese workers working on 109 projects in the province.

During the last five years, three provincial home departments cancelled the licences of more than 70 companies. These cancellations were primarily made due to the presence of untrained manpower, employment of aged guards or those who have been hired without police security clearance. Other areas that provinces should ensure is that companies provide ample space for a firing range as well as other important training components and should only hire guards after a proper certification process. In addition, there must be auditing and monitoring of the process that companies employ to verify the credentials of guards. There needs to be oversight regarding the salaries that are being paid to manpower as well as duty hours, leave entitlements, and observance of a uniform dress code and safety standards.

To avoid the infiltration of criminals in the private security apparatus, databanks of the employees at the provincial level must be maintained and shared with the police and special branch. Protection of the rights of employees warrants that wages are paid through banks so it is easy to trace those who are not being paid as per fixed minimum standards. What is also important is to work out the role that private security companies need to play during law and order situations and disasters. Laws and rules regulating private security companies during such times need to be more elaborately laid out in collaboration with the state-run law-enforcement apparatus.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 22nd, 2016.