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Private Security agencies
March 5, 2003
Recently the Delhi commissioner of police issued a circular for regulation and
registration of 3,000 odd private security agencies (PSCs) operating in Delhi.
The problem is not just Delhi based because in the absence of any specific
legislation, about 30,000 such 'rent-a cop' type services are in active business
across the country. Top global PSCs including a dozen British security firms are
already fishing in the Indian private security market, which has an estimated
spending capacity of 300 million pounds with an estimated annual
growth rate of 12 per cent. Group 4, a multinational company employs about
48,000 personnel nation wide. PSCs entered the Indian markets as providers of
benign services like 'cash in transit', manning shopping malls, apartments and
other sundry watchmen duties. Their proliferation in sensitive areas including
the residential complexes of top ranking military personnel and foreign
embassies has largely gone unnoticed. Another area of concern is the handling of
arms by these agencies. PSCs are not authorised to hold arms and
ammunition. Therefore a large chunk of their work force is drawn from the
pool of retired military personnel, who are in possession of arms licences. But
the basic question is - can a person holding an arms licence use it for
commercial activity? Policing and provision of security for its citizens is one
of the primary duties of a state. Yet the state is seeking private cooperation
in managing internal security within its territorial limits. Such a
public-private cooperation could be termed as 'outsourcing', where the
government hands over selective jobs to private agencies while maintaining a
tight control over them. But experience clearly suggests that these PSCs
are mushrooming under no guidance from the government and are largely being
dictated by market forces. PSCs are challenging the concept of collective
security provided by the state by marketing tailor-made security for those who
can pay for it. This means that the poor, who have no means to buy security,
must remain in a perpetual state of insecurity. Such marketisation of security
would only lead to greater inequalities within society leading to creation of
'gated communities', which rely on exclusive facilities for themselves. An
example of this are the various Senas, which have sprung up in UP and Bihar to
protect the rights of landed communities. The functional and pragmatic reason
cited in favour of PSCs is that they are only filling the vacuum created by
misgovernace of security by the government, which lacks the resources to provide
safety for global business. However, the fact is that private security is a
phenomenon, which is registering growth more as a result of 'un-governance'
(reluctance on the part of governments to govern) than due to misgovernace. This
problem of un-governance is directly related to the nature of the privatisation
movement sweeping the global economy. Those who argue that there is no relation
between national-security and globalisation would be surprised to note that the
global security industry, which is slated to rise from $ 55.6 billion in 1990 to
$ 202 billion in 2010, is being marketed as a commercial service. It may not be
far fetched to suggest that in future, PSCs may use the good offices of WTO to
expand their business interests. Although the present GATS regime (General
Agreement on Trade in Services) does not specifically mention private security,
such services could later be included as a part of 'business and professional
services'. The global prison industry, which is privatising and globalising at a
rapid pace, offers a good example of this trend. US-based corporations like
Wackenhunt Correction Corporation (WCC), Correction Corporation of America (CCA)
and its French partner the Sodexho SA operate prison services in 60 countries.
Today, corporatised private security may appear as a necessary evil. But as the
social and political tensions exacerbate, the demand for this industry will
grow. To cater to the ever-burgeoning security needs the 'watchdogs' may convert
themselves into 'dogs of war'. (The writer is a research fellow at the Institute
for Defence Studies and Analyses). (Indian Express)
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