Rwanda National Police (RNP), yesterday, held a meeting with Managers of local Private Security Service Providers (PSSPs) in order to forge a path on how to improve professionalism and standards in the industry.

The meeting came on the heels of unprofessional conduct of some private security firms or their personnel, which are contrary to the standard operating procedures set by laws as well as internal rules and regulations.

Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Jean Népomuscène Mbonyumuvunyi, the Commissioner for PSSP in RNP, observed that although the overall services provided by private security companies have greatly improved in terms of professionalism, some of them still violate the set standards.

"Generally, the current operation status of PSSP is good, however, during our inspections we observed issues that need to be addressed, and as a result we have warned eight private security companies that were found to be operating below the set standards to ensure that the specified issues are corrected,” ACP Mbonyumuvunyi said.

According to Police, there are 16 licensed private security companies operating in the country. 24 others have applied for an operational license but pending official approval.

Some of the violated standards as discussed during the meeting include lack of proper training ground and security equipment, ineffective supervision and recklessness in searches.

Other include deploying only one staff to search both male and female, poor welfare of their staff and employing people without going the usual vetting process as a prerequisite.

The license is issued by RNP basing a report submitted by a joint security vetting committee. The same committee is also in charge of inspection on the operations and conduct of the licensed companies. The company has also to be registered in Rwanda Development Board (RDB) or in Rwanda Cooperatives Agencies (RCA).

"To guarantee safety of the people and their property depends on your readiness and professional conduct… people should feel secure wherever you are deployed as a force multiplier,” Mbonyumuvunyi said.

According to Andrew Nkurunziza, the chairman of the of Rwanda Private Security Industry Association (RPSIA), an umbrella for private security companies, most challenges faced by their members are related to limited resources.

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