Expected Growth in Private Security Firms Puts Pressure on Haiti to Fix Regulatory Regime, Says New Paper

SSR Issue Papers series says “the demand for private security has been growing, in particular since the January 2010 earthquake.” This might be caused by the “critical lack of public police personnel,” thereby causing an anticipated growth in private security firms by 7 to 8 percent. Security Governance Group, writes in the new report that when systems are functioning accordingly, private security companies contribute to secure public spaces and deter property crime. In the case of Haiti, however, regulations lack “specificity” and have divided oversight responsibilities. Specifically, the country’s 1988 and 1989 decrees “contain an insufficient level of detail to cover many likely eventualities.” Confusion over the acceptable use of force when apprehending a suspect is one such example.

Though Haiti is taking concrete steps through security sector reform (SSR), the report puts forward a number of “at minimum requirements” that a regulatory regime should include:

•     Laws stipulating the roles that private security companies are allowed to assume;
•     Strict guidelines governing the licensing and storage of firearms;
•     Clear procedures to issue and revoke operating licences;
•     Mechanisms allowing the state to oversee the industry, establish benchmarks for training, perform background checks on agents and sanction companies that fail to meet standards.

“In societies undergoing SSR, private security can buttress weak or ineffective public security institutions,” Burt says...Authored by prominent practitioners in the field, policy makers, academics and informed observers, the papers in this series will contribute to ongoing debates and influence policy on issues related to SSR...Jim Balsillie, then co-CEO of Research In Motion, and collaborates with and gratefully acknowledges support from a number of strategic partners, in particular the Government of Canada and the Government of Ontario. For more information, please visit http://www.cigionline.org.

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For the original version on PRWeb visit: http://www.prweb.com/releases/prweb2012/7/prweb9675369.htm