Five private security companies grabbed for unlawful conduct

A taskforce comprising the Police and personnel of the Private Security Operations Unit of the Ministry of Interior has arrested five Security companies in Accra for unlawful conduct.

The companies are Megaforce Security, Golden Expression Security, 3rd-Eye Security, Tema Metropolitan Assembly’s (TMA) Security and the Internal Security Unit of the Dampong Healthcare Group.

Personnel of the Megaforce Security, Dampong Healthcare Group as well as the Golden Expression Security were arrested for operating without licence.

They were also charged for unlawfully posing as police officers by wearing uniforms that had resemblance with that of the Police.

The Chief Security Officer of the Dampong Healthcare Group, a leading healthcare services provider at Spintex, was grabbed for having handcuff and pepper spray.

Similarly, two persons who worked with the 3rd-Eye Security and the TMA were also arrested for wearing unapproved uniforms.

The move formed part of the measures by the Ministry of the Interior and the Ghana Police Service to sanitise the operations of private security institutions to tighten national security.

DCOP Paul Awini, the Director General of the Private Security Operations Directorate of the Ghana Police Service, said it was unlawful for private security companies to operate with uniforms and other tools that resembled that of the Police or any other state security institution.

“Operating with such materials is a gross disregard to the laws of the land and this had been entrenched by the LI.1571 of 1992 as well as the Amended Regulations 1994 (LI.1579) section 12 (1) of the Ghana Police Service Act.”

The section 12 (1) states: “No employee of an organisation licenced under the Regulation 1 shall wear, carry or bear any uniform, cap, badge, accoutrements or other identification marks unless the uniform, cap, badge, accoutrement or the other identification mark has been approved for use by the Inspector-General of Police in writing.”

He said the police continued to clamp down on security companies that operated illegally and had since arrested perpetrators of such acts.

“We want to ensure that the right things are done, so that we can work together with private security agencies to deepen security in Ghana,” DCOP Awini said.

He said on Tuesday, the Private Security Operations Directorate impounded three boxes of stun guns, popularly known as “shocker,” which was being sold by China Mall, a retail shop in Accra.

He said the leadership of the Mall would be dealt with in accordance with the Law adding that the three-day inspection exercise would ensure that perpetrators of illegal activities that threatened public security were prosecuted.

ASP Kwaku Dompreh, a staff of the Directorate, who led the Taskforce to execute the arrest, said there were only 221 private security companies who had valid licence to operate.

“Some have registered but have not renewed their licence. This disqualifies them to operate,” he added.

The exercise ended on Friday and ASP Dompreh expressed confidence that it would bring perpetrators of illegal security operations to book.