Mr Kan Dapaah said, in order not to recruit criminals and miscreants into the private security firm, there was the need to institute proper wages and conditions of service to boost the morale of personnel to prevent them from indulging in criminal acts.

Mr Albert Kan Dapaah, the Minister for National Security, has called on Managers and Owners of private security firms to ensure proper screening before recruiting personnel into their agencies to prevent the engagement of unlawful persons.

“Managers and Owners of these firms must endeavour to conduct proper screening to prevent criminals and miscreants from being recruited into the system,” he said.

Mr Edward Kwaku Asumani, the National Security Coordinator made the call on behalf of Mr Dapaah during the ASIS African security conference 2022 in Accra.

The conference was to share experiences with stakeholders within the security industry and to exchange ideas on contemporary issues affecting private security.

The conference was on the theme: “Private Security and its role in business and government in Africa.”

Mr Kan Dapaah said, in order not to recruit criminals and miscreants into the private security firm, there was the need to institute proper wages and conditions of service to boost the morale of personnel to prevent them from indulging in criminal acts.

“Private security firms must endeavour to collaborate with State Security agencies to enhance training regimes for personnel towards improving the general standard of security delivery to the citizen,” he added.

Mr Francis Poku, a Former National Security Minister, called for collaboration between the government and the private security firms to address some of the challenges in the industry.

He said the government must provide up-to-date legislation that would govern the work of these firms, which provide security support in the country.

“It is collaboration in the sense that both government and the private industry have some work to do, on the part of the government they need to provide legislation and guidelines to govern the conduct of people in the industry,” he said.

Mr Poku called on the government to recruit more into the existing security agencies as the number of Police officers was inadequate to meet future challenges.

He said collaborating with the government would also help bring unauthorized security agencies under existing laws and regulations.

Dr Alex Acquaye, Certified Protection Professional (CPP), pointed out some challenges private security operatives were facing, including lack of legislation and proper regulations to cover cases where private security operatives were not allowed to use certain weapons to defend themselves in their operations.

Mr Acquaye also noted that “as long as there is a crime, a crime must be fought.”

“The gravity of the crime will determine the type of countermeasure to use in handling such crimes,” he added.

Mr Acquaye said there was the need for recruitment of more people with careful screening into the private security agencies since almost all “top” organisations in Ghana like the Banks and other corporate institutions engaged them.

Mr Musa Balogun, the Senior Regional Vice President, CPP, said the collaboration would bring a lot of professionalism and opportunities that the government and private security companies in Ghana and Africa could benefit from.

Mr Musa noted that the conference would provide an opportunity to see where the gaps were and what needed to be done as government and security professionals to find ways in bridging the gap.

Mr Musa observed that reintegrating retired military personnel and officers into the private security sector was key as they had in-depth knowledge about safety, security, and peace. He also added that when the regulations are amended, it would give opportunities for all the retired personnel to be reintegrated and work in the private sector. GNA