JOIN USDo private establishments that employ security guards insist on background checks? Do the rising crimes involving private guards of dubious backgrounds worry them? Here are some stake-holder voices...
Ayyappa Samy, Senior Manager at Museum Inn Hotel on Church Street, says credible private security agencies conduct background checks on their employees apart from collecting valid government ID proofs and school or college certificates. He does trust private agencies to conduct the necessary background checks, but will not rely on them entirely. “We have our own security guards as well whom we hire directly. Even when we hire through agencies, we independently verify their address proof and photo ID.”
On the issue of police verification of the guards, he said that barring a few exceptions, it is not required.
Bigger establishments seem to conduct independent checks on security guards before hiring them. “The zonal office is responsible for hiring the guards from accredited private agencies. We also verify the documents and ensure a police verification,” says Vasudev Udupa, branch manager of Indian Bank.
But the police verification takes time. Abdul Haq, the security guard at the ATM kiosk adjoining the bank, says that although he had submitted his PAN card and address proof of his residence in Assam, only recently was the police verification process initiated.
A customer at the ATM kiosk, Sajid Hussein, was however, not convinced by the entire process. “These security guards are usually asleep. I have seen very old men employed as guards. What can they possibly do in case of an attack?” He does not trust security guards and their presence does not add to his sense of safety.
Some prefer to hire only people with whom they have had a long acquaintance, to a position of such responsibility. “Our security guard had already been with us for five to six years in a different department before we gave him this role,” says Aravindakshan, the manager of Coconut Grove.
“We have not done a police verification because we have known him for a long time. But we did check his ID proof and we have details of his residence in his native place and in Bengaluru.” he adds.
Mir Tariq, who has had the same security guard for the past 10 years is not aware of the process of verification followed by private agencies. Owner of Miraco Cottage Industries emporium, Tariq says if he were to hire a guard through such an agency, he would ensure that the company was well-known and would have verified the employee’s address and ID proofs on his own as well.
“The uniforms we wear give an assurance of safety to the public. Guards should understand the value of the uniform and the responsibility that comes along with it”, says Irudayaraj G P, a Security Supervisor at Triumph Towers, a commercial building. He had to submit his PAN card, Aadhaar card, Voter ID to the agency which hired him, after which there was a verification by the local police. “After certain incidents involving security guards, I think verification by the police is a necessity.”
Whether employed directly or through an agency, verified or not, the safety that guards provide is questionable. “Though our building has a security guard living here with his family, I don’t feel very safe. Most of the time he isn’t around to ensure that outsiders coming into the building make an entry in the register. At night he is usually fast asleep,” says Nisha Shetty, a second year BE student who lives in an apartment in the city with three other girls.