Robberies under G4S Security watch

Residents of plush, gated apartments in Cantonments in Accra and some other facilities all under the security protection of G4S Security are witnessing robberies and break-ins, resulting in the stealing of large sums of cash and valuable items.

The situation has alarmed the residents, who are mainly expatriates and investors, because the gated communities have Close Circuit Television (CCTV) cameras managed by G4S Security, and electric fencing, in addition to G4S guards.

Some of the robberies and break-ins have been reported to the Cantonments Police while several of the robberies remain unreported.

Some of the affected victims who spoke to The Finder on condition of anonymity say they fear for their lives as well as the negative impact the situation will have on investor confidence; therefore, the earlier something drastic is done about it the better.

Cantonments District Police Commander, Chief Superintendent of Police Iddi Seidu confirmed to The Finder that four separate gated apartments, all under the security watch of G4S Security, reported various cases of break-ins in the last quarter of last year, but declined to give out the names.

The Finder’s investigations uncovered Linda Court, Egar Court, Aspen Court and Arabella as the four gated apartments that reported cases of robbery to the Cantonments Police.

Chief Superintendent Seidu explained that cases reported are still under investigations.

He said in all the reported cases, security guards on duty were picked up but their fingerprints did not match the ones found at the crime scene, so the police had no choice but to release them.

According to him, investigations conducted by the police so far revealed that during all the robberies, the CCTV cameras controlled by G4S Security were not operational and the electric fencing were also off.

He raised concern about this situation, explaining that it is wrong for the security company providing guards to be the same company controlling CCTV cameras.

The Finder’s investigations also revealed that staff of some foreign missions whose apartments are under the watch of G4S Security have also been burgled.

Information gathered indicates that G4S charges GH?750 per guard a month but pays GH?300 and below to the guards.

Consequently, some of the night guards who do other jobs during the day end up sleeping on the job in the night.

According to residents, some guards do not report to duty, and when it is brought to the attention of their supervisor, he gives flimsy excuses.

For example, the supervisor was bold enough to tell some residents that a security man did not report to duty at one of the apartments this year because of the football match between Ghana and Guinea at the just-ended AFCON 2015.

The residents who suffered robberies expressed worry that their requests to companies managing the facilities to change G4S had not been heeded to.

When contacted, Charles Savior, Head of Corporate Affairs of G4S Security, declined to comment on the issue.

Some of the expatriates said failure to address the poor services delivered by private security companies could affect Ghana’s economic competitiveness in the region and the world since investors would be scared away.

The expatriates and investors suggested the proper and certified training of guards similar to vocational and school qualification.

According to them, guards who complete such training will receive enhanced wages to be determined by the Ministry of Interior.

They explained that security guard companies with 85% of their staff being certified guards should be accorded quality class certification so that clients can pick and choose best companies knowing that they would get good service.

The expatriates and investors noted that the security companies can then export their personnel to other countries just as Napalese Ghurkas is known all over the world.