STRICT VIGIL: It is important to ensure that the safety arrangements made by private security agencies suit your purpose photo: rashbehari das

The three-storey building on Lee Road seemed impenetrable. A legion of security guards from a private agency formed a ring around it. They were posted at the main gate and at every conceivable nook and corner of the building. Each visitor signed the log book at the time of entry and exit. Quite often, visitors were even frisked and made to pass through the metal detector gate. No one was allowed inside without the flat owner’s permission.

Yet, last month an elderly woman living alone in one of the apartments was found dead, her head smashed with a blunt weapon. The incident showed that despite the ring of security, the building was vulnerable after all. In the last few months there have been several such cases where private security guards were foxed or given the slip throwing a question mark on their efficiency.

Just having a posse of security guards isn’t enough, say experts. It is important to ensure that their safety arrangements suit your purpose. Be it a highrise or an office, a residential house or a departmental store, the security net has to vary as per the requirements.

Guards to be deployed at a hospital are supposed to be trained differently from those to be posted at a factory. “But unfortunately, very few agencies have provisions for training. They just draw up a contract with the client and supply a few men who have no idea about the job they are doing,” says Chandan Banerjee, CEO of Krebs Securitas. Ideally, an agency should be training its guards to scan each visitor, frisk people, use metal detectors and firearms. To ensure that they have been properly trained, clients should be looking at the credentials of the agency.

More importantly, clients should ensure that their requirements are being fulfilled. For instance, guards posted at a factory must know how to intercept vehicles and check invoice and other papers. While those at a school must ensure that each student gets into the bus or leaves only with an escort. “Security has to be tailor-made,” says S.C. Das of National Security Agency.

But first ensure that your agency is going by the rules. It must have a trade licence, registration with the Employees’ Provident Fund, Employees’ State Insurance, Service Tax Department and it must follow the Minimum Wages Act as applicable to security personnel in the state. Most agencies do not conform to these regulations. The consequence could be disastrous. There have been instances of guards calling a strike because their dues were not cleared.

Apart from these, you can ask for a certificate of credential from the agency confirming their list of clients. While the contract is being drawn up, make sure to include the clauses that will guarantee better service. For instance, you can specify the height, age and academic qualification of the security personnel you would like to be posted. Police verification is, of course, essential. Finally, the contract must have a theft clause that allows the client to seek compensation in case of a burglary. Even if you don’t claim compensation, the clause is useful. The money can be deducted straightaway from the charges payable to the agency or damages sought. Usually, agencies pay up without protest. But it can contest the claim in court. “And if it does, the client has to prove beyond reasonable doubt that there was a security lapse,” says Banerjee. “Just paying them with your eyes closed is not a good idea. You’ve got to be vigilant and ensure that they are doing their job properly. We always keep our options open and terminate contracts if necessary,” says Brig. Jagmohan Singh, regional head of security, ONGC.

And security services do not come very cheap. Leading agencies like Group 4 Securitas and Topsgroup charge Rs 4,000-5,000 per guard every month. For middle-ranking ones like Eagle Eye Security or Bengal Security Guards Pvt. Ltd, the range would be from Rs 2,500 to Rs 3,000. If your agency is charging you less than that, they must be violating some rule and jeopardising your security.

Till recently, there was no law to regulate the quality of service. So the only remedy for a client was a provision for penalty. Things are going to change with the introduction of the Private Security Agencies (Regulation) Bill. Among other things, it seeks to introduce a retirement age of 65 for private security guards and ban the use of uniforms that resemble those of the police or armed forces.

“This is a positive move for employees’ antecedents are hardly ever checked. Even those who do, take a short-cut method which could be dangerous,” says Capt. K.L. Das of Security Management Systems that only employs ex-army people. Others like Banerjee agree that a regulatory enactment will help to straighten things out. “I know of cases where the guards have been directly involved in burglaries. This can be prevented if you maintain their proper records and pass them on to the police if necessary,” he says.

But a new law alone will not be enough, say the agencies. Clients, according to them, need to be educated about the importance of security. “You can’t protect a huge complex with just four guards. But clients are often more concerned about saving money than about making sure that the security is foolproof,” adds Banerjee.

Not all clients are willing to accept this. The IBP building on Nirmal Chandra Street, for instance, has just seven guards and the authorities believe that’s enough. “We have sophisticated instruments, closed-circuit cameras. So we don’t need more,” says a senior security officer. They do, argue the agencies. “You need enough people to operate these machines. Just having them is not enough. Otherwise we wouldn’t have so many robberies in the heart of the city,” says Banerjee.

The debate, it seems, will go on until the Bill is enacted.

RULES OF THE GAME

• The soon-to-be enacted Private Security Agencies (Regulation) Bill, 2005, will ensure that nobody is allowed to carry on the business of running private security agencies without a licence issued by the controlling authority. The licences would be valid for five years and can be renewed.

• The prime target of the Bill are the small-time agencies that often pass off untrained personnel — often with a criminal record — as security guards.

• The new law will hold the companies responsible for negligence or involvement of their guards in crimes.

• Agencies could provide guards with or without arms. Any existing private security agency, operating before the Act came into existence, could also obtain a licence within a year.

• The new law will hold the companies responsible for negligence. New firms seeking a licence will have to train their personnel in line with rules that will be drafted once the law is enacted. A positive antecedent report will also be made mandatory for hiring guards