Arming private guards good for tackling insecurity if done well

Security guards and members of the public during a fire drill in Eldoret town on June 28, 2017. PHOTO | JARED NYATAYA | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • We should not be over-optimistic that by arming private guards the crime rate in the country will go down.
  • Ours is a society that needs to be closely supervised by law enforcers.

  • It will be catastrophic to arm guards who are just picked and given haphazard training and thrown in guarding services half-baked, as is common.

  • A proper training curriculum for weapon handling must be designed by the National Police Service and a code of regulations to guide all armed private guards developed.

Kenya will soon allow private guarding companies to arm their guards as a way of addressing insecurity.

The government’s move is welcome — specifically the prioritisation of the security duties that will require armed guards, such as cash escort and guarding of critical installations from terror attacks.

However, we should not be over-optimistic that by arming private guards the crime rate in the country will go down. We must first look at the general crime patterns. To be precise, most of the crimes committed in Kenya don’t require a gun confrontation solution. The few that do include armed robbery, terrorism and active shooters. These are known to have a low frequency but high impact.

PICK-POCKETING

Most crime cases are the reverse, however. For instance, pick-pocketing, mugging and general theft are very frequent in urban areas but will not justify armed private guards to shoot suspects since that would be an unnecessary use of excessive force. Armed guards would also not use their weapons in dealing with vandalism of vehicle driving mirrors.

The use of guns in such cases could backfire as it would most likely be seen as a gross violation of human rights — unless the related laws are changed and made draconian.

The plan also faces implementation challenges. For instance, are the companies prepared or trained to have their guards armed? What will be the criteria of deciding which private company can arm its guards? How will the guns and ammunition be stored? Will this process trigger corruption and shortcuts, seeing as some Kenyans basically like cutting corners to evade bureaucracy?

How will the guns be procured? We also need to consider the social and economic set-up of Kenya. I once suggested to a security expert that Kenya should arm private guards like Uganda and he warned me that our society is different from other East Africans.

THOROUGH VETTING

Ours is a society that needs to be closely supervised by law enforcers. When there is a small accident, for instance, motorists, irrespective of their social status, start overtaking dangerously, creating traffic chaos.

Our society also believes in self-interest rather than community interest. We will need a thorough vetting process of private guards before deciding whether to arm them or not.

It will be catastrophic to arm guards who are just picked and given haphazard training and thrown in guarding services half-baked, as is common.

Most guards are poorly remunerated. This is an area where the government may be forced to intervene b set a strict basic remuneration structure. The government may be forced, through the Private Security Regulatory Authority, to classify guarding companies just the way banks are classified in their financial business.

Guarding companies can be placed in categories based on their annual financial turnover as per their tax returns, size of the workforce and level of training with class ‘A’ being the highest and class ‘E’ the lowest.

CODE OF REGULATIONS

It may then be decided that, for instance, only companies in the top two tiers can arm a certain number of their guards.

A proper training curriculum for weapon handling must be designed by the National Police Service and a code of regulations to guide all armed private guards developed.

Success in the arming of private guards will see police officers, in particular those from the Administration Police (AP), revert to other key duties, relieving them of tasks that can be well performed by armed private guards. Generally, armed private guards can take over many duties that are unnecessarily performed by the police, such as VIP protection.

That will release police officers to concentrate on their core mandate of policing the nation.

 Mr Mbarak is the chairman, Association of Corporate and Industrial Security Management Professional (ACISMP). [email protected]