The unexplored opportunities of corporate, industrial security in Ghana

Security has become one of the major development subjects for many countries. Globally, governments are spending billions of dollars every year to keep their citizens and interests safe both at home and abroad. This is due to several overarching threats, which are becoming more complex each day.

These complex threats include terrorism, violent extremism, radicalism, piracy, human trafficking, small arms trafficking, climate change, cybercrime, pandemics, worsening economic situations, youth unemployment, and many others.

But, as it is normally said, problems could be opportunities too, so why are governments, including the government of Ghana, not exploring these opportunities? The complexity of today’s security challenges calls for a comprehensive whole-government approach.

Though on the surface, some of the security challenges are well-known problems, one area that has not been fully explored by Ghana is the private security industry. The private security industry is worth billions of dollars. From security guards to private military companies, the industry employs different categories of people with different skills who work both in the private sector and with the government.

Gradually, some of these companies are taking over security and protection functions that were traditionally performed by state security agencies. Some have argued that the state could benefit in many ways if the industry is well explored and exploited.

In Ghana, the industry is still in its infant stage for many reasons, though some have described it as a goldmine yet to be explored. The purpose of this paper is to examine how Ghana can explore the full potential of the private security industry for the benefit of the country. The paper will discuss Ghana’s private industry, opportunities in the industry, challenges, and how to address them and make some recommendations.

Ghana’s Private Security Industry

According to ASIS International, one of the global security professional bodies in the United States, private security is the private sector practice of protection, which may include people, properties, information, and reputation and could be either proprietary or contractual. Proprietary private security is when a company or an institution has its own in-house security staff.

Contractual security is when an organization outsources its security functions to another company. Ghana’s private security industry has both but is dominated by contractual security. Ghana’s private security industry is regulated by two acts, which were passed in 1970 and 1992.

Unlike other African countries that have independent bodies that regulate the industry, Ghana’s industry is regulated by the Ministry of Interior, with the Ghana Police Service playing a key role. There are many different companies including agencies, and consultants offering different services covering man guarding, executive protection, investigations, consulting, training, and sales and service of physical security products.

Other services include security sector reforms in post-conflict settings, protection of critical infrastructure, and background checks. Data available on the players in the industry and their activities is scanty and that presents a huge challenge. In 2016, there were 1053 private security companies in Ghana, but only 175 had valid operating licenses.

The industry employs many people, but again, there is no reliable data on it. Like any other industry, there are both local and expatriate companies offering these products and services.

Opportunities in the industry

Security is business, and the foundation of any sustainable business is sustainable security. All the work of the private security industry supports businesses, which are the backbone of Ghana’s economy. Security is indispensable to Ghana’s economy and so is the private security industry.

Ghana’s private security industry has been described as "green" because its potential is yet to be fully explored. The industry has the potential to employ thousands of people. Globally, there are more private security guards than law enforcement agencies. As a result of the sophistication of crime and society, the demand for private security services keeps increasing.

Though the demand is very high, the quality of service and the confidence of clients are gradually eroding. Youth unemployment is very high globally and the situation is no different in Ghana. If the industry was well branded and regulated by the government to be more "sexy," it could attract thousands of unemployed youth.

For many young men and women, the image of the private security industry is the poorly dressed security guard helping customers to park cars at shops, supermarkets, and events. However, that is just one function in a chain of thousands of functions in the industry.

This poor image of the industry cannot be blamed on the government alone because the individual owners who have invested in these companies do little to brand their own companies because of the low competition in the industry. The government of Ghana needs money to develop the country in the form of taxation.

People can pay income tax only when they are working and have been captured in the tax net. The government can earn revenues through taxes from the industry.

If the industry is well developed, it will attract more young people into the industry, who can be taxed. So why can't the government explore the industry and create the necessary environment for more people so that it gets more revenue from income tax? Besides income tax, there are many other functions in the industry that can be taxed.

With the current threats of terrorism and other complex crimes, the tourism industry is under threat of suffering because of a lack of assurance of adequate security. Tourist visits to certain tourist sites will be reduced if tourists feel unsafe or they know that Ghana’s tourist sites are not safe. If Ghana’s tourist sector is to be fully exploited, it won't be successful if the corporate and private security industries are not developed.

The tourism industry alone, if well developed, can employ thousands of security professionals. Unfortunately, the potential of the tourism industry itself is yet to be explored. The Ministry of Tourism and the Ghana Tourist Board should invest more in the industry since it will help the private security industry.

The Ghana Police has a huge deficit of police personnel. According to the UN, the ratio of one police personnel to a citizen is 1:500. However, in 2014 Ghana’s ratio was 1:192 when the population of Ghana was 27 million. This presumes that Ghana’s law enforcement agency is thinly deployed nationwide and therefore it will be difficult to curb any likely nationwide unrest and also ensure that the citizenry is safe to go about their routine business.

The private security industry could be a stopgap for law enforcement agencies. To a large extent, the development of an integrated framework of law enforcement agencies and private security company operations can reduce crime in Ghana. There are many high-risk security areas where there are more private security guards deployed than state law enforcement agencies.

Therefore, if there is a common communication platform, law enforcement agencies can be alerted faster by the private security guards than the people in the community calling the police to report the crime. In Ghana, the Ghana Police Service has been traditionally used to protect key state infrastructure, premises, homes, and key personalities.

However, gradually, some private security companies are taking over these functions for many reasons. Besides carrying arms, some private security guards are more professional than personnel of the Ghana Police Service. The police don’t have the available number of personnel to take up the task of protecting government infrastructure and premises.

This is a signal to the government to explore, exploit, and invest in the industry. The begging question is, why would you contract a company known to be unprofessional to protect your critical assets? In any case, it is not the role of the police to conduct man guarding tasks, and this is because man guarding is not a law enforcement task.

There are many critical national infrastructures that are being protected by contractual security companies. Internal oversight is so weak that the contractual companies have virtually no supervision and therefore have a field day. If the industry is explored, the police would be relieved to concentrate on their law enforcement roles.

The government should also consider a national critical infrastructure protection strategy. The strategy will define the role of the private security industry in the protection of those infrastructures. Ghana cannot boast of relative peace and security without acknowledging the effort and work of the players in the private security industry because the industry is an integral part of the national security effort.

Challenges and how to Address them.

The development of any industry depends largely on research. Unfortunately, data on Ghana’s private security industry is non-existent. This is a huge challenge. This has affected government efforts to generate revenue from the sector. Additionally, lack of data on the industry affects government regulatory efforts because how do you regulate when you don’t have information on the players in the industry?

Both the government and the private sector should be encouraged to conduct research into the industry. Ghana’s private security law is outdated and needs to be reviewed. Security has become more complex and it is expected to be even more complex in the future. Therefore, the current law is not robust enough to regulate the industry.

The Ghana Police Service plays a key role in the regulation of the industry. The private security industry is not a police job and the Ghana Police Service does not have the relevant capacity in terms of human and material resources to regulate the private security industry. The industry is complex for the Ghana Police Service to regulate.

This is because policing itself is complex enough and the Service should concentrate on addressing the huge policing challenges Ghana faces. What is needed is an independent body under the Ministry of Interior to regulate the industry.

If the Ghana Education Service can regulate the educational sector for the Ministry of Education, why won’t the Ministry of Interior have an independent body to regulate the industry? A check on the website of the Ministry of Interior indicates that it does not have the correct number of registered private security companies in Ghana.

How do you regulate institutions without data on them? The professionalism of the industry is also doubtful. Professionalism can be demonstrated in many ways. One of them is knowledge of one’s job. There are many professionals in Ghana’s private and industrial security industry, though a lack of data makes it difficult to support this assertion.

However, it is estimated that more than half of the security guards in Ghana have no prior training in corporate security and industrial security. How do you engage a medical doctor who has no training? It sounds outrageous, but unfortunately, it is normal in the private security industry.

Ironically, this is happening not in any industry but in the security industry. The government, industry players, and the clients of the industry can work together to reverse this sad situation. The government should pass a law that will set the minimum body of knowledge one must have to qualify as a security guard. That could be a good beginning.

A poorly trained guard is a liability to the organization he or she works for, so the companies must train the guards. The clients should also insist on quality products and services. The private security industry also suffers from poor image management. The old perception of "watchmanism" persists.

The majority of Ghanaians working in the industry are the unfortunate majority who could not continue their education and had to find solace as private security. This is not the case. There are many professionals in the industry. Therefore, the government and the industry players have to collaborate to change the perception and brand the industry appropriately.

There is a need for an entry-level certificate for all security guards, just as it is being done for teachers. Security affects every industry in the Ghanaian economy, so there is an urgent need to professionalize the industry. This would attract talent and maintain some level of pride and professionalism.

The cooperation between law enforcement agencies and players in the industry is very poor, and this is because most personnel of the Ghana Police Service don’t recognize the important role the private security industry plays in the security architecture of Ghana.

Additionally, most of them don’t know, and the few who know don't understand the functions of the industry. Sadly, some personnel of law enforcement agencies see them as a threat to their job. Low pay and poor working conditions are insufficient to attract the best talent to the industry.

The weak regulatory and enforcement role of the government are some of the reasons that account for low salaries and poor working conditions. A good law, effectively enforced, would change the situation. An illegal, uncontrolled, and unregulated private security industry is a national security threat.

This is because private security guards alone are more than law enforcement personnel in Ghana. Additionally, the industry attracts many expatriate workers who are often not properly screened. The work of some of these expatriate security personnel can jeopardize the security of Ghana. The government should implement stringent measures to control and regulate the industry, including proper screening of expatriate workers.

Recommendations

The following recommendations are made:

The government should review the existing laws governing the industry.

The government, industry players, and clients should collaborate to change the image of the industry.

The government should gather data and encourage research on the industry.

Law enforcement agencies should be educated about the complementary role of the industry in their work.

The government should ensure that expatriate workers in the industry are well screened and monitored.

The government should introduce an entry-level examination for security guards.

The government and industry players should brand the industry.

The government should consider an integrated communication platform for law enforcement and industry players.

The government should develop a national critical infrastructure strategy.

The existing law should be reviewed and should not include the Ghana Police Service in regulating the industry.

The government should establish an independent body under the Ministry of Interior to regulate the industry

Conclusion

The private security industry of Ghana has huge potential but is yet to be fully explored. The potential includes employment, promotion of the tourism sector, assisting law enforcement, and a source of revenue for the government, among others. However, due to many challenges, this has not been achieved.

The potential has not been realized because of some challenges, which include poor data, lack of professionalism and weak regulation, and unfriendly relations between the private security industry and law enforcement agencies. The government will benefit if the industry is fully explored.