By IANS,
New Delhi : Private security guards who keep vigil at banks, malls, hospitals and other places need specialised training and new technology to tackle the threat of terrorism, union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde said here Wednesday. There are an estimated five million such guards in India.
Inaugurating a three-day seminar on ‘Disaster Mitigation and Loss Prevention through Security, Safety and Fire Prevention’ organised by the International Institute of Security and Safety Management (IISSM), the minister described private security guards as value-added assets.
“Police are arm of the government and they are responsible for the internal security and they provide law and order. But private security is a value added asset for the police, and they are present all over the country,” Shinde said.
Emphasising that these private security guards needs specialised training Shinde said: “They provide security to banks, corporate houses, hospitals, malls, they require specialised training, as there are many new security threats including terrorism.”
“Private security industry must derive a strategy that will protect and promote overall security environment. The industry must direct itself and change there strategy, the industry should integrate new technology,” Shinde added.
Overall, there are an estimated five million private security guards in the country and about 15,000 private agencies employ them, an IISSM member said.
Pointing to the problems of the private agencies, a member of IISSM said: “There are no standards for the security industry, whereas there are standards for the fire industry. If anybody wants to install a camera or any other surveillance equipment across the country, there are no common standards maintained. The home ministry should step in and bring in some kind of standardisation.”
“If proactive steps and much required reforms for the private security is not done now… with the low ratio of police it will be very difficult to handle the crime rate,” the member added.