Calls to arm guards spark push for law to streamline operations

By JOE KIARIE

The proposal to arm private security guards continues to face sustained resistance from the police force.

This is despite intensified lobbying by representatives in the private security sector to have the proposal ratified.

Murshid Mohammed of the National Police Service Commission (NPSC) argues that while the Westgate terror attack in September brought reinvigorated debate on the need to arm private guards as well as individual citizens, having guns in more hands alone will not improve the security situation.

“The guns could actually make the situation worse if they end up in the wrong hands. Arming private guards is the wrong way to go,” he opines.

“The private security sector must first prove it has the capacity to responsibly handle guns within its ranks. This will require a lot of input and we have a long way to go.”

Murshid says there is urgent need for the sector to regulate itself and have this entrenched in an Act of Parliament.

“There exists various gaps in private security and this can only be rectified through a proper security framework rooted in the law,” he argues. He urges the sector to champion the formulation of proper policies to enable cooperation with the public security system, and also heavily invest in diverse equipment.

 “Private security should be a highly sought after service but when you are laid back, you become invisible,” he warns. The comments come as the Kenya National Private Security Workers’ Union (KNPSWU) continue to lobby for the passing of the Private Security Regulation Bill, 2013, which if passed, could positively change the face of the private security sector.

 The Bill proposes stringent measures to be used to vet individuals before they are registered as service providers in the private security sector, which has in the past been infiltrated by persons with questionable characters. The proposed law also spells out a raft of rules and regulations that will govern the sector as well as stiff penalties for those who do not comply.

Murshid says that with the state having no control whatsoever on the hiring of private guards as well as the general conduct of firms, the passage of such a law would help overcome the numerous shortcomings in the private security sector.

These, he notes, include poor working conditions, poor training and education, poor regulation and accountability, poor equipment and the prioritisation of profits at the expense of social responsibility.

According to the official, a professional private security sector would greatly help complement the work of the already overstretched police force. The force currently has a ratio of one officer per every 600 people, way below the recommended UN ratio of one officer per every 450 people.

“As per the UN ratio, we are talking of highly professional and well equipped officers who can perform their duties properly,” he says.

Challenges

“In the Kenya police force, we have so many challenges among them poor remuneration, poor training and even corruption which make the situation worse”.

Mr Isaac Andabwa, the KNPSWU secretary general, calls on parliamentarians to expedite debate on the Bill. Ironically, the Bill was originally drafted in 2004 and but has yet to be passed despite amid numerous amendments made by its proponents over the years.

But Andabwa exudes confidence that the environment is now ripe for the Bill to eventually go through.

“Unlike in the past, we now have a strong union that has made a major step forward by bringing all the major private security firms under one shop. This new-found unity will convince the skeptics that we are maturing and ready to take collective responsibility as a sector,” he states.

The secretary general avers that interlinking a professional private security sector and the disciplined forces will heavily boost the security situation in the country. “If the police want to succeed in their work, let them work hand in hand with the private security sector,” he urges.

Deen Sohail, chairman of Citizens Neighbourhood Network, calls on the government to legally appreciate the importance of private security and community policing in general, which he says will be the ultimate solution to Kenya’s security problems.