Private (in)security: In guards we trust — but why?

Most private guards have little training and are underpaid, while some are part of criminal outfits.

ISLAMABAD:

At one point, even the city police planned to hire private security guards to man checkpoints and fill for the dearth of personnel required for picketing to stop car lifting. The plan failed to see the light of day for multiple reasons.

One reason was the question mark over the efficacy of guards in the success of the strategy.

Investigations into several incidents of robberies in recent months revealed that some private security guards are working in liaison with robbers or that they deliberately abstained from putting up a fight with them.

“Why would he (security guard) risk his life for Rs7,000,” said Muhammad Zameer, a retired army man working as a security guard supervisor at a private company. He did not want his employer to be identified.

Apart from a handful of companies, the other security companies (more than 30 are registered) pay nominal salaries to guards in Islamabad. The average salary of a guard is between Rs7,000 and Rs8,000 a month.

In almost all cases where the guards lost their lives in the line of duty, their families were not paid adequate compensation. A police official said that a lack of training and equipment, coupled with low salaries are major demotivating factors.

“We once arrested suspects involved in a big armed robbery and they confessed of committing it. But the only witnesses of the incident-the security guards- refused to identify them in court,” said a police official.

He was referring to a robbery at Fecto Cement Factory in April this year, where more than a dozen armed men barged into the factory, held the six armed security guards hostage, and made away with a large quantity of explosive material.

A few days ago, six of them were arrested by the Golra police. Two of the security guards initially identified them as the robbers but later refused to do the same before a magistrate during the identity parade.

“I just had a bypass operation a few days ago, so I cannot recognise the men now,” was the excuse presented by one of the security guards before the police when asked why they had failed to identify the alleged robbers.

Police said the guards actually feared that the robbers might harm them or their families if they were identified. “They offered no resistance to the robbers, and then they refused to identify them. They were initially fired by their respective companies, but were reemployed soon after,” said a police official.

Most guards are retired soldiers, but in most cases they were found unwilling to take risks. However, on some occasions they do indeed perform their duties, and pay for that in blood.

Security guard Muhammad Bashir saved many lives at Silk Bank in Sector I-8 this June after he intercepted a suicide bomber at the entrance and lost his life. For his selfless act, his family was not compensated well by his employer.

“These things demoralise them,” said Zameer.

In investigations into consecutive incidents of daytime robberies at banks in Sector I-9 and Sihala, the police found that the bank security guards, who offered no resistance to the robbers, were themselves involved.

“Security companies need to be regulated. They should raise the salaries of guards to a reasonable level and also provide them with insurance cover adequate for their families,” said a police official.

He said that employing demoralised and ill-trained security guards could be risky as they are easily lured by the money in criminal conduct and are not very difficult to overpower or scare.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 11^th, 2011.