Police fail to issue ID cards to licensed security guards

Police have not issued licensed security guards with identity cards for over a year, The Sunday Times has learnt.

The law stipulates that the cards should bear a photograph of the security guard and be worn in a \"conspicuous place\".

However, Khiron Security managing director John Muscat said: \"It is impossible for clients or the public to know who is actually licensed when there is no official document being displayed, as required by law. So we inform our guards to carry photocopies of their paper licence in case anyone asks.\"

The police informed licensed security companies and guards asking for ID cards that the machine which printed the cards had broken down. It would cost an estimated €1,000 to buy a normal card printer as a replacement.

Jean Camilleri of JF security backed the claim that ID cards were not being issued, while Kenneth De Martino, managing director of G4S Security Services, one of the largest guarding agencies in the country, was not even aware guards had to be issued with ID cards by the Police Commissioner.

Calls and e-mails to the police to try and establish if and why ID cards were not being issued to private guards remained unanswered.

The news emerged following an incident in Paceville on Valentine\'s night when two Italian men suffered serious injuries after an altercation with two bouncers. The bouncers are being charged with working as private guards without a licence, attempted murder and seriously injuring the two men.

The incident comes after the death last May of a 28-year-old Sudanese migrant, Suleiman Ismail Abubaker, who succumbed to injuries sustained in an altercation with a bouncer in Paceville.

In the wake of the Valentine\'s night incident, the Justice Ministry last week said a Bill to amend the existing Private Guards and Local Wardens Act, which already establishes that private guards have to be licensed, would be published in the Government Gazette in the coming days.

The Times reported last Thursday that the Bill would mean new licences being issued and a net distinction made between security guards at entertainment establishments and private guards protecting valuables. It was reported the new licences would outline their specific duties and obligations.

Industry sources said some establishments currently avoid using licensed security guards and bypass the law by employing their own security men.

But new legislation will only work if there is proper enforcement, according to Yves De Barro, managing partner of DB Consulting Group, which works in security among other areas.

Reacting to the statement by the Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association, which called for proper legislation to ensure all security personnel were properly trained and licensed, Mr De Barro said: \"Legislation already exists, but enforcement is lacking. The MHRA could start by instructing its members not to employ or commission the services of unlicensed individuals or security companies.\"

Furthermore, he said, if the law which stated the identity card should be worn in a conspicuous place was enforced, the contracting of unlicensed guards would cease.

The employment of unlicensed guards was just one of the problems Mr De Barro identified in the security industry. He said security companies applied different standards when it came to training and there were no spot checks to ensure guards were being adequately prepared for the tasks they carried out.

He also said some tenders were being awarded at questionably low rates to certain security companies. These were effectively rewarding the companies who minimised costs by spending less money on training and not paying their guards adequate wages.

His claims were echoed by Mr Muscat, who said his company recently missed out on a contract by a government-appointed body because they could not cover their costs at the rate offered by the winning bidder.

\"We protested and were eventually informed their board was not competent enough to determine whether companies are offering rates high enough to pay minimum wage and so on,\" he said.

Mr Muscat would welcome the establishment of a Security Industry Authority, similar to the one in the UK whose sole purpose would be the regulation of the industry and the improvement of standards over time. The authority would answer to the minister and report any infringements to the Police Commissioner for further investigation.

The Bill to amend the Private Guards and Local Wardens Act had its first reading in Parliament on February 9, but the clerk of the House said this only amounted to a reading of the title of the Bill and no details were revealed.

The Justice Ministry refused to say if the Bill would establish a security authority similar to the one in Britain.
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