Private security guards will be permitted to use pepper spray, canes or handcuffs only if they are trained and licensed to do so under new regulations. A new licensing system to ensure that security guards are properly trained and qualified was announced yesterday by Sheikh Saif bin Zayed, the Minister of Interior, at the first International Conference of the Role of Private Security Sector in Protecting the Community. There are 30,000 security guards working for 404 licensed private security companies in the UAE.
Companies operate in public places such as malls, hospitals, banks and at public events. Sheikh Saif said: "In 2001 we found there were more than 70 security companies in Abu Dhabi. There were negativities because the licences were mixed: the employee used to work as security for one day, and the next day be working in cleaning, and the next day as a driver, which affected the quality of security services."
As a result, the Private Security Section was set up that year to oversee security companies. A federal law organising the operations of security companies was introduced in 2006, leading to this new decree. "In some countries, security companies have inhumane practices and commit violations. There is no doubt that their operations were not organised by the law," Sheikh Saif said. Under the new arrangement, security companies will have to be approved for commercial licences by the ministry's Private Security Companies Section, said Col Ahmed al Hantoubi, the director of the section. Currently, commercial licences are obtained through the concerned commercial party, such as the Chamber of Commerce, and the section only consulted. A company wishing to hire private security staff will now be required to obtain approval from the Private Security Companies Section. Security guards' salaries, working hours and training will be improved under the new decree of implementation, Col al Hantoubi said. Although the new legislation allows guards to use pepper spray, canes and handcuffs if properly trained and licensed, he said there were no new plans to arm security guards. He said crime levels in the country did not require security guards to use firearms. The date at which the decree comes into effect will be announced next week, together with details of registration, licensing and operating methods. Major Gen Mohammed al Darmaki, the director general of facilities preservation in Abu Dhabi Police, said arming security guards was a sensitive issue. Allowing them to use stun guns would require a lot of training and a study would be needed before a decision was made. He said security guards had the right to defend themselves through physical training. Mohammed al Hajeri, the security manager of Spark Security Services, said he disagreed with arming security guards. "Security guards come from various nationalities and backgrounds. If you give them weapons they might use it in seeking revenge ? eight guards live together in each room, it is too dangerous for them to carry weapons," he said. Mr Hajeri, a retired brigadier general who has worked in private security for a year, said he had a good relationship with police. His company consists of 3,000 security guards and covered Shakira's New Year concert. Major Gen Nasser Salem al Nuaimi, the secretary general of the Minister of the Interior's Office, said the biggest challenge would be organising the security companies, training and evaluating them and ensuring that not just any company could obtain a licence through the Ministry of Labour. hdajani@thenational.ae
