Private security in Ghana and it implications Part I

A security guard, security officer, or protective agent is a private person who is paid to protect an organization's assets (property, people, money, etc.) from a variety of hazards (such as waste, damaged property, unsafe worker behaviour, criminal activity, etc.) by utilizing preventative measures.

They do this by maintaining a high-visibility presence to deter illegal and inappropriate actions, observing (either directly, through patrols, or by watching alarm systems or video cameras) for signs of crime, fire or disorder; then taking action to minimize damage (example: warning and escorting trespassers off property) and reporting any incidents to their client and emergency services as appropriate.

Their international (at least in the United States of America and Canada) symbol of brotherhood is The Thin Green Line. Security officers are generally uniformed to represent their lawful authority on private property. Until the 1990s, the term watchman was more commonly applied to this function.

Having read about what security is about and it functions, the question here is, are they performing the exact function required of them? Private securities in Ghana have become arm rubbery training school instead of protecting their clients and properties. The reasons behind security training school is to provide enough skills and experience to be able to protect people and property.

The reasons behind some of them behaving cruel after their short recruitment into the private security system are; 1. Some of the security companies are only serving as recruiting agents and does not pay attention to the welfare of their employees, their SSNIT contributions are not being paid and most them are not even registered into the SSNIT system.

2. Almost all the private security are the most lower, if not the lowest salary enders in Ghana. Their allowances are not paid to them and some are left to die on hunger.

The above problems are factors that contribute to growing insecurity and societal threat to Ghanaian citizens. A train private security is like a trained military or police officer. After acquiring the official training, he/ she now have the experience to defeat criminals or intruders, therefore using it for rubbery and other criminal activities is advantageous to them and they used it judiciously when times are hard for them. When they go through difficulties, the only option left for them is used the train skills to rub for better leaving.

On the North American continent, in Europe and elsewhere, the dramatic growth in private security in the past several decades has reshaped the structure and function of modern policing. The development of private security has been facilitated by fundamental shifts in the nature of property relations.

These changes have encouraged the development of a preventative mode of policing consistent with the principles and hopes of nineteenth-century police reformers, but they also suggest that we are moving in the direction of a new disciplinary society and raise fundamental questions with respect to sovereignty, justice, and individual liberty now almost entirely unrecognized. In particular, the legal institutions regarding private property operate to enhance the potential threat to individual liberty posed by the development of modern private security.