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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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