How important is it to select the right private security service vendor?
Private security is an absolute necessity for maintaining order, decorum, and safety in any large commercial or residential property. As it is virtually unfeasible or impossible to seek any other security measures like involving law enforcement agencies like the Police or any other government agency, private security has become a way of life for us. It is no more an eyesore and thus it is an integral part of facility management services provided by any agency or company in question. We are accustomed to seeing and interacting with this private security personnel on a day to day basis, yet have we ever considered or thought of how this personnel is trained and what is their background? In the city of Kolkata, there are several such registered security service companies or agencies operating and the fact that our lives are difficult without their services. There is a top security company in Kolkata who have created a definite mark as one of the finest security guard agency in Kolkata. The name of the company is Darks Security Consultants Pvt Ltd. They are in the business of providing complete facility management services in this city, with security services forming an important part and parcel of the service portfolio which they offer as an organization. In case of hiring security personnel, every such security agency should conduct an absolute meticulous background search of the man or the woman they are intending to hire as security personnel in their organization. Then they are put under some compulsory professional training and grooming to make them adaptable for services. But the question that arises is that are these training facilities certified and equipped to make the personnel equally adaptable to the complexity of the changing scenario as per today’s world? The operation of private security agencies is governed by the Private Security Agencies Regulation Act, 2005(PSARA) and West Bengal Security Agencies (Regulation) Rules 2007. Private security services are increasing with an increase in concerns about crime and terrorism. Thus private security agencies are also increasing. The concerned state government, in which private security agency is located will have the power to regulate their affairs and may also formulate rules in respect of it. No private security agency can commence a business or provide a security guard without holding a license under PSARA. Darks Security Consultants Pvt Ltd has established a fully-fledged residential Security Guards Training Academy by the name Ms Surya Skills Development Pvt Ltd at Baruipur, South 24 Paragons, near Kolkata. The Academy is a complete residential training facility, established on November 2014 amidst a campus which is set in natural surroundings and has accreditation from NSDC, thereby adding immense value to the certification provided to all the candidates who pass out of that Academy or the Institute. The paraphernalia required in handling the complex security issues have increased manifold. The threats have risen and so are the adaptations using advanced technology and gadgets. It is unrealistic and unbelievable to consider a modern commercial asset without the coverage of CCTV as the same captures every bit of the incidents and stores the same in the hard drive of the secure servers of that establishment. Why, talk about only commercial establishments, when we have security cameras installed in all major traffic intersections for the Police to catch the law-breaking people? To operate this integrated system security personnel should be properly trained and skilled and most importantly they need to have at least basic education. Here also before training such people to man the security system, each and every candidate needs to be thoroughly checked regarding his or her background. This is where Darks Security Consultants Pvt Ltd, scores over the rest of the other players making them one of the top security companies in Kolkata. Years of domain knowledge, experience, expertise, and a strong sense of intuition are driving forces for the company’s senior management who have effectively grown from a single office from Bhubaneswar to Kolkata, Siliguri, Ranchi, and Patna. They are also in the process of identifying and establishing other location offices across the country. Security arrangements require elaborate planning, deployment, execution, and supervision in guarding a large commercial as well as a residential asset. As it is a 24×7 job, the element of surveillance, and quick response in case of a breach, private security now forms a formidable force to reckon with. And given the complexity of the job, there is a whole set of protocols and established rules and patterns which in turn becomes important. Any private security cannot have the same set of personnel manning their posts round the clock, thus the resultant dependency comes in the form of a change or roster every 12 hours, in engaging personnel who are not only clear about the scope and ambit of their job profile without any ambiguity. Such personnel not only need to know about the system in place, are capable of handling technology, gadgets and equipment for effective surveillance and security, they should also be of good moral standards, highly trained, and equally trustworthy of purpose. Professional training for such personnel comes in handy and is considered a necessity at the same time to ensure that these personnel performs their jobs in the best capacity. In most of the major offices, there is the requirement of scanning people who enter and leave the premises. For the staff, there are smart gates, retina scans, and even palm scans, where the timings and staff details are automatically registered at the entrance of the premise. There are visitors whose details are required to be kept, records maintained and in some cases issuance of visitor’s passes after making an entry of the visiting person’s name, telephone number, from where they have come, the purpose of his or her visit and checking with the company person with whom the outsider has a meeting. All these details and data collection forms a considerable part of the job portfolio of private security personnel, who are specially trained to