Private Security Guards
December 14, 2005
By
Abner Masanda
Edward Atsiaya
TITLE:- A Research on the opinion of the public on arming
of private security guards in Kenya.
SUMMARY:- More than half of the respondents agree (54%) that the security guards should be armed to help in curbing the ever escalating insecurity. However, there is a strong feeling that they should be well trained and vetted before arming them. Forty two percent of the respondents said that they should not be armed because they said firearms could be misused by the guards to collude with criminals.
Those opposing the arming of security guards also argued that since the guards are poorly remunerated they could engage in crime part-time with the guns being handy tools.
Nine percent of the people polled did not have any opinion and 4 percent said they were not well informed about the issues.
Background
Kenya’s President Honorable Mwai Kibaki recently intended to table a bill in Parliament that aims at legalizing the arming of private security guards.
As a result there was a flurry of debates across the public with many Kenyans questioning whether it was a wise decision.
The survey therefore sought to gauge the mood of the public on the issue
The president’s intention to table this bill was indeed timely due to the deteriorating security situation around the country.
Private security guards play an important role in helping the police in the maintenance of law and order. Today’s security guard is however ill equipped to even fight the simplest crimes.
More often than not they are just armed with batons and clubs making them helpless in the face of criminals armed with sophisticated firearms. This situation can be likened to going to a war armed with stones.
For security guards to be issued with firearms they should be individuals of high integrity and be well trained. The issue of their remuneration should also be looked into since giving them guns with poor pay would inspire them into crime hence create a bigger monster. Training and better remuneration, will however cause the costs of security services by these companies to hike. This will in turn make the services exclusive to a few who can afford.
Method
A sample of 100 people was drawn from Alma Training Institute, Ocean freight Limited, Jocham Hospital in Mombasa town and nearby communities.
A questionnaire was designed and distributed among the respondents. The human resources department of Oceanfreight Limited and Jocham Hospital distributed the questionnaires to their staff on our behalf. Each questionnaire had four types of questions namely census, attitude, behaviour and open-ended in that order. The respondents were assured of anonymity and completed questionnaires did not include their names.
The survey took one week Respondents ranged from the young, old, women, men, single, married, divorced, employed and students.
Research Results
1. About three quarters of the respondents , 69 percent, were men; 27 percent were women and four percent did not indicate their gender on the questionnaires.
2. Fifty four percent were aged between 20 and 30 years; five percent between 13 and 19; 37 percent between 30 and 50 years; and two percent over 50 years. According to the national statistics 60 percent of the Kenya population is aged between 13 and 35 years.
3. Over half, or 54 percent, said they were married; 41 percent were single and two percent were divorced.
4. The majority of women supported the arming of private security guards. This is a clear indication that women, who have been victims of increasing incidences of rape were very concerned about their security.
5. Seventy five percent of the respondents said they were employed; and 22 percent said they were unemployed. The relatively high number of employed and women in support of arming security guards further indicates security concerns among people who travel in busses to work. Many robberies have been reported at homes and on busses and other public transportation. National unemployment in Kenya is about 40 percent, indicating that the survey was carried out in an area of relatively high employment.
6. Thirty four percent of respondents who said were parents had two children; 22 percent had four children and four percent had more than four children and 40 percent had no children. A significant number said they reached home from work or school at about 7 p.m. Most of the college student said security was not a major concern for them. But they were concerned with incidences of crime and rape.
7. Twenty nine percent of respondents said they listened to radio always; 60 percent said sometimes while nine percent said they rarely listened to radio.. With 75 percent of respondents in gainful employment it would appear they did not have enough time to listen to radio always./ We can, however, still conclude that this is an indication that most of the people kept abreast with current affairs and hence can make informed decisions..
8. Thirty three percent reported reading newspaper always while 61 percent read the newspaper sometimes; three percent said they rarely read newspapers. Newspapers are a bit costly for most people. It is therefore possible that people obtained or shared newspapers from friends, library or their place of employment. Or they may have heard newspaper stories from friends Statistics for Africa generally show more people listen to radio than read newspapers.
9. Television came out as the most relied upon medium for keeping up with the current affairs. Seventy five percent of the respondents said they watch TV often. Twelve percent said they watched TV at least three time a week; six percent said they watch TV at least once per week. The advent on several TV stations in Kenya has generated a TV viewing population especially among the students and workers.
10. Thirty three percent said they get home before 7 pm; 55 percent between 7 and 9 pm; five percent after 9 pm while two percent said after midnight.
11. The increasing levels of crime in the country have created mixed reactions among the public about the ability of the police to effectively combat crime. Forty five percent rated the ability of the police to combat crime in their area as average.; nine percent rated the police as good but 34 percent rated the police poor and six percent did not offer any opinions.
12. Twenty percent felt the security guards are adequately equipped to combat crime; 16 percent thought they are somewhat equipped. The majority, 51 percent, strongly felt that the security guards are not well equipped
13. Thirty three percent thought the security guards do help in fighting crime while 48 percent felt they are a little helpful.
14. There are very many security companies with others entering the sector each day. It has become a get- rich- quick scheme for some businessmen with little capital to start.. This is due to the government’s laxity in regulating this industry
15. Thirty four percent strongly agreed that government should regulate the private security industry; 32 percentage agreed ; 15 percent somewhat agreed. And 15 percent disagreed with the idea. An overwhelming majority , 81 percent said government needs to regulate the sector.
In conclusion, the mood of the public on the surveyed issued is that the security guards need to be adequately trained before being armed.
Before parliament passes this bill the government should regulate the private security services sector to weed out the undesirables.
Acknowledgment :
We thank the management and students of Alma Training Institute for participating in this survey.
The Human resources managers of Oceanfreight Limited and Jocham hospital for helping us with the distribution of the Questionnaires.