On the face of it, the growing demand for such agencies (which has jumped by a neat 20% post Dilsukhnagar blasts), and the rising number of guards, might seem like a perfect step towards a ‘safer’ Hyderabad. But the reality is frightfully different. In many cases, it is these outsourced guards themselves who are found indulging in criminal activities, sometimes in connivance with colleagues from their agency.
A cursory glance at crimes reported over the last one year reveals that these gun-toting men have routinely been caught ransacking ATMs, masterminding robberies, assisting rapes and kidnappings and even stabbing people to death.
“There is no way we can be sure of the guard’s credentials. We rely solely on the agency’s information about the person and his whereabouts,” says Jubilee Hills resident Srinivas Suryadevara. Aware of the rise in number of crimes involving security men, Suryadevara has devised his own ‘selfdefence mechanism’. “I keep changing guards every six-seven months. Beyond this point, the guards tend to get familiar with the house maids and also get a sense of the people frequenting the residence. This is the only way to avoid any untoward incident,” he explains.
This uncertainty is shared by most residents as none of the local security agencies have a foolproof system for checking backgrounds of their employees. When asked, this is what a guard on duty had to say: “When I was recruited about six years ago, all I was asked to do was fill out a form with my details. The agency did not insist on any proof of residence or identity. The same system persists even now.”
“Though we have not been able to establish it all the time, there is always a nagging doubt that thefts and petty crimes happening in housing societies are assisted by security personnel. That’s because they know exactly which family lives where and have a fair sense of their lifestyles. They are also friendly with the domestic helps,” says S Prasad, who lives in an expansive residential complex in Begumpet. While all dwellers here are given an identity card of the guards on duty, they admit there is no way of establishing the genuineness of the same. “How difficult is it to get a fake ID card today?” Prasad asks rhetorically. The society, in the last two years alone, has undergone a change of guard three times.
At offices too, the situation is similar. Those in charge of deputing ‘forces’ at these premises say they go purely by word of mouth while outsourcing the job.
Around 1,000 Pvt Security Agencies Working Sans Monitoring Mechanism. The safety of lakhs of people in Hyderabad are probably being compromised as more than 1,000 private security agencies are operating without any monitoring mechanism in place as the state is yet to implement a mandatory Private Security Agencies Regulation Act (PSAR), introduced in 2005 by the Centre. The PSAR Act specifies that every guard must undergo at least 150 hours of training to tackle all kinds of security threats in high-rises and in offices, apart from bringing the agencies under a regulatory framework.
More than 1.5 lakh private security guards work in the city, most hailing from other parts of the country and experts in the field say it is easy for a subversive element to sneak into an agency, without any sort of tab on his identity.
“The state has to take this issue seriously. They have to take a lead on this,” a senior police officer said. Security guards work in various private and public sectors, including IT and software and banking, shopping malls, educational institutions, factories, etc. Surprisingly, out of the 1,200 odd private security agencies, about 500 do not even have proper offices or possess basic trade licence, which, experts say, poses a grave threat to security. “We have given many representations to the state government in the past to implement this Act, but till now nothing has been done,” said C Bhaskar Reddy, chairman, AP chapter, Central Association of Private Security Industry.
“In other states like Karnataka, where the Act is being strictly implemented, the state police work closely with private security agencies. However, when it comes to AP, the administration cites lack of manpower and infrastructure for failing to implement the Act or monitor the agencies.”
According to Bhaskar Reddy, implementing the Act will not only improve the quality and performance of the private security agencies but check criminal elements entering the field. If the Private Security Agencies (Regulation) Act was to be implemented, it would be mandatory for every private agency to have a training centre of its own, where the personnel would be inducted into service after proper training. If registered, the agencies can be monitored by an officer designated by the state government who is not below the rank of joint secretary of the home department or an equivalent officer.
With just about four private security training academies in AP, which have more than 3 lakh private security guards, many feel that the government can do its bit. “The number of private security guards in the state is three times more than police officials” said N V Satyanandam, director of Suraksha Corporate Services.
“Considering the importance of the industry, the government can allot land for training or at least open up the gates of their institutes for short-term training for private security guards. Such initiatives will benefit both the industry as well as the people.” Some industry experts said since a few institutes do not believe in investing on training, the quality of some private guards is questionable. “Recently at a mall, a dummy explosive was placed to test the alertness of the guards and they failed to even notice it. Similarly, in a post-blast drill, police in plainclothes walked into a mall without anyone realising they were carrying guns,” said an industry insider.
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