En:Links between private security companies and public police(European territory)
Links between PSCs and public police can be problematic for various reasons. A first reason for is the conflict of interests that can be found in the accumulation of public-private jobs by PSC and police employees. In an attempt to avoid this type of conflict, various EU states have adopted legislation restricting the undue accumulation of activities. For example, in Belgium, Greece and Portugal, PSCs are not permitted to be involved in arms production and distribution or other activities that may endanger public safety. PSC employees may not, during the last 5 years, have been a member of the police or secret services (e.g., Belgium , France and Portugal), or may not currently be a member of the police (e.g in Sweden ) or criminal investigation officers (e.g., in the Netherlands ) or any public service position (e.g., Spain, Lithuania and Malta). In some states, PSC employees are not allowed to be an advocate or a notary, an example being Lithuania. In France, PSCs may not be active in any other economic activity.
In Russia, the law allows that 'military personnel of the organs of the Federal Security Service (FSB), while remaining in service, can be assigned to work at enterprises and organisations with the consent of their directors and irrespective of the nature of the property'. This provision allowed thousands of FSB officers to have jobs in private companies and banks as 'law consultants'. According to Vadim Volkov, in the mid 1990s up to 20% of FSB staff had a double function in both the FSB and the private sector. Recent amendments to laws covering private security companies have made being a PSC manager incompatible with any public position. As previously mentioned, in Ukraine, the DSO has a monopoly in providing armed protection. Banks, as well as the Ukrainian Federation of Non- State Security Services, have complained about this position of monopoly which, by preventing banks from turning to competitors leads to overcharged services.
Another area of possible conflict between public police and PSCs exists if they are in competition for the same contract, or if they are working in the same area or during the same event. In Croatia, Kosovo and Bulgaria, for example, concerns exist that PSCs are clearly in competition with the public police. For example, in Kosovo, during public events (football matches, concerts etc.) PSCs are responsible for site security and the police for controlling possible riots. In Croatia and Bulgaria, PSCs and police are allowed to compete side-by-side for the same contract, leading to the danger of PSCs offering policing on the cheap. In Albania, on the contrary, competition is ruled out in favour of public police because of a law that prescribes that the total PSCs workforce cannot exceed 5% of the size of the local police . The problem of competition and conflict between police and PSCs is aggravated if the police is the oversight institution which issues licences to PSC operators and which controls whether PSCs comply with the law (see next section). This may lead to conflicts of interest in instances where the police and PSCs are competitors.
A third area of conflict arises when many former police or military personnel work for PSCs. Provided that PSCs are well managed and functioning on the basis of a clear legal framework, this is not necessarily a problem. Indeed, in those countries involved in post-conflict demobilisation and security sector reform, PSCs are an interesting and – due to high unemployment rates – sometimes the only job opportunity available to former military and police men. However, if the PSC sector is not strongly regulated or if laws are not enforced, there is a risk that the high incidence of former police and military personnel working for PSCs may lead to undue influence, favours and obligations between current policemen and their former colleagues working for PSCs.
WebSite:
Facebook page :
Official E-mail
info@europecloseprotectioncompany.com
Nessun commento:
Posta un commento