Pvt security agencies should invest in manpower training:Delhi Police

In the wake of the recent Rs 22.50 crore cash van heist, senior Delhi Police officials today recommended private security agencies to invest in specialised training for guards.
"Policemen who are on field, keep interacting with private security guards and most of the times they are found to be clueless, which shows that the industry needs effective training mechanism," said Joint Commissioner of Police (East) Sanjay Benniwal.
"Most security guards do receive some training, but it doesn't reflect in the way they ultimately perform. The private security industry should think about investing in an institute which train guards to enhance their skills and performance," said Benniwal.

The Joint Commissioner of Delhi Police was speaking at the Private Security Industry Conclave organised here today.
Citing examples from the investigation of the Rs 22.50 crore cash heist, he said that security agencies should have standard procedures, with minimum scope for subjectivities, which should not be breached at any cost.
"It didn't matter if the cash van guard had a gun, for it always needs proper training to fire a round. But why should the police be under scanner in such cases, when the shortcomings were to be owned up by you (concerned security agency)," said Benniwal.

Special Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Muktesh Chander, who was also a special invitee at the conclave, said that he has no issues outsourcing some traffic management work -- especially prosecution for violations -- to a potential public-private partnership unit, provided the manpower in the private security counterpart is well-trained.

"In a present drive against traffic violation, the police challaned as many as 800 persons at a traffic intersection in two hours. With the help of a security agency, we can conduct such drives at around 100 intersections for about 12 hours," said Chander.
"In that case, the prosecution numbers achieved in 10 days will be equivalent to what we presently achieve in a year," he said.
Regarding training, Chander said that security agency personnel should be trained in several aspects including use of technology.
For instance, in the Rs 22.50 crore heist, the van could be immobilized from a control room when it deviated from the set route, which could be detected through the GPS installed in the vehicle, said Chander.

Additional Secretary (Home) of the Government of NCT of Delhi, O P Mishra, who was also a part of a panel discussion at the conclave, said that security agencies should go for in-house trainings.
"Presently there are only six certified training agencies in the city, and total number of private security guards exceeds 4 lakh," Mishra said.
The training should also be uniform across all states, so that trained guards from Delhi can seek employment elsewhere too and vice-versa, Mishra said.
"This matter has been discussed with the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Delhi Government had written to the Union Ministry regarding this," he added.