Strategy in the Field of Private Security

STRATEGY IN THE FIELD OF PRIVATE SECURITY

Ljubljana, March 2010

1. INTRODUCTION

Security is a human need, good and, in particular right, defined also under Article 34 of the Constitution of the Republic of Slovenia.It is a fundamental human value which is a precondition for the existence and development of individual social subsystems and society as a whole, therefore, security shall enjoy an adequate care by the state which endeavours to ensure as high a level of security within the society as possible by its national-security system (defence, internal security, protection and rescue) in an organised and efficient manner.

The same as in other developed countries, the system of ensuring internal security in Slovenia is mostly based on the functioning of classical state authorities and services such as the Police, State Prosecutor's Office, customs, Intelligence and Security Service, Municipal Warden Service, judicial authorities, inspection and other bodies of formal control.IInternal security is also contributed to by non-State, private security mechanisms, the most numerous representatives of which are companies for private security and detectives.A common name for private protection and detective activity is private security, the context of which also includes civil self-protection and security consultancy as typical subjects of non-State security.

Private security is due to the nature of its activity a regulated economic activity.It deals with security services and tasks as well as with collecting and transmitting information.Thus, it directly contributes to common internal security, however, at the same time its procedures and measures encroach on fundamental human rights and freedoms, due to which it belongs to activities for which a strong public interest exists, which is realised in an adequate normative-legal regulation and control of activities by the state.

Private security and detective activity have already been present in Slovenia for two decades, and since 1994, they have also been regulated by two special acts.During this time, they have gone through several normative and systemic amendments.Rapid development of the security sector, the introduction of new supervisory technologies as well as the requirements and expectations of modern society demand us to reflect anew and to achieve a social consensus on the further development of private security which requires a strategic approach.The latter is possible only by defining clear objectives and relations as well as the roles and responsibilities of key players in this field.The strategic approach is aimed at preventing and abolishing certain uncontrolled responses to events in the society which are the result of contemporary security challenges, risks and threats.

2. DEFINITION OF PRIVATE SECURITY

Private security represents the protection of people and property carried out as an economic activity by companies and independent entrepreneurs, namely:

• as a gainful activity for contracting authorities on the basis of a contractual relation (contractual security) or
• as a non-profit activity for one's own needs (internal security).

The tasks and powers of private security, measures and coercive means of private security guards are set out by sector-specific laws.

Detective activity as a liberal profession is performed by detectives who have a licence to collect and transmit information and to carry out other security and consultant tasks for the protection of people, their property and interests.The legal basis for carrying out investigation activity is regulated by sectoral law which sets out the conditions and powers of detectives to encroach on the rights of individuals by the stated operations.

Private security also includes civil self-protection which means a voluntary activity of individuals, groups or interest groups in order to provide a higher level of security than is provided by the state through its authorities.Here, civil self-protection allows everything that is allowed to anyone within the framework of general rights provided to citizens by the Constitution of the Republic of Slovenia, acts and regulations, however, the area is not regulated normatively, in particular.

In order to solve their problems within the local community, the subjects of civil self-protection can also collaborate with private security and investigation activity or engage companies and individuals who deal with security consultancy.

Security consultancy offered as a non-profit activity to contracting authorities by companies, scientific-research institutions and expert individuals has more facets and usually relates to counselling in planning the most adequate form and manner of security, review of contract with the supplier of private-security services, protocols and other acts which are the basis for quality protection, counselling in choosing a direct supplier of private security and control over the implementation of services of the contract supplier of private-security services, in particular, from the viewpoint of expediency and quality.The security consultancy does not include individual forms of performing the private security activities which mean the performing of an activity in accordance with the laws governing private security or investigation activity and for which it is necessary to obtain a licence.

Private security as an economic activity follows the regularities of the global market.Since Slovenia is a member of the European Union, it is, by taking into consideration the common market, understandable that besides domestic security, private security subjects from other EU-Members, EEA and Swiss Confederation also operate within our territory.

The activity of private security shall be adjusted with sectoral policies in the field of national security of the Republic of Slovenia, especially the policy of ensuring internal security.

3. INTERESTS AND OBJECTIVES OF THE REPUBLIC OF SLOVENIA IN THE FIELD OF PRIVATE SECURITY

The supreme interest of the Republic of Slovenia is to ensure a high level of security and quality of life for all citizens.The prerequisite for the foregoing is to consistently respect fundamental human rights and freedoms and systemically prevent illegal interference with human privacy and rights.These are the principles which are also the basis for the policy of ensuring internal security in the Republic of Slovenia which strives to establish and operate an efficient and rational system of internal security.Therefore, the interest of the Republic of Slovenia is to reinforce and promote partnerships between national and private security mechanisms which will additionally reinforce the legitimacy, credibility and optimum functioning of the system.

The Republic of Slovenia will follow the mentioned interests also by pursuing and attaining objectives in the field of private security as follows:

• development of private security activity as:
• a regulated economic branch along with a consistent respect for regularities, human rights and freedoms and the principle of the rule of law;

• system arrangement of the field of private security;

• quality education, training and further training of detectives and security personnel;

• efficient control on the subjects of private security;

• attaining synergy effects in the field of security with the help of facilitated partnerships between national and private security mechanisms.

When performing the tasks of private security or investigation activity, the security personnel and detectives are prohibited from doing anything that is not explicitly allowed by law in relation to the use of their measures and powers.Actions are to be in proportion to the objective pursued.

Following interests and objectives in the field of internal security and private security, the Republic of Slovenia shall continue to set up rigorous entry conditions for the performance of private security and detective activity as well as adequate standards for professional competence.An adequate control on the subjects of private security is to be established and their responsibility is to be ensured.

4. SYSTEM ARRANGEMENT OF THE FIELD OF PRIVATE SECURITY

4.1. Organisation and status forms of private security

The Republic of Slovenia shall determine individual forms of the performance of the activity of private security for which certain conditions have to be met and determine exceptions where it is not necessary to meet special conditions.The Republic of Slovenia shall not inhibit private security as an economic activity and shall allow private security and detectives to carry out their services on the basis of the contractual relation for private contract givers as well as state bodies as far as they have not been implementing this activity by now, including police, army, prisons, courts and other institutions.Private security plays an especially important role in the protection of critical infrastructure, the quality and overall protection of which lies within the public interest.Therefore, the Republic of Slovenia shall provide professional assistance to owners and managers of facilities and processes of critical infrastructure and to those subjects which participate in their protection and security.

4.1.1. Private security

The activity of private security can be performed by companies and independent entrepreneurs which are registered to perform the respective activity and are founded in accordance with the act regulating companies and are in possession of a licence issued in accordance with the act regulating private security by the competent authority in the Republic of Slovenia or in a foreign country, if it requires the meeting of comparable conditions as in the Republic of Slovenia for the performance of the activity in question.The Republic of Slovenia will determine conditions for the performance of the activity by foreign persons in Slovenia.Individuals who directly carry out the activity have to be professionally trained for their work, meet the statutory conditions and hold an official card or licence.

Private security is executed in the form of contractual or internal security, whereby the forms or types of performance of the activity of private security can alter, however, it is necessary to obtain a licence for each of them by the competent authority in accordance with the legislation governing this specific work area.

Companies which would like to organise the protection of people and property in their area (internal protection) on their own will be allowed to employ qualified security personnel.It will not be necessary for the company to obtain a licence and meet special conditions for such internal protection, but registration with the competent authority which will enter the company in the public register will suffice.Registration will be a simple procedure, and the public register will allow an oversight of companies which will be protected by trained security personnel.

A company with organised internal security which would like to perform a form of private security outside its original area of operations (as for example the transport and protection of money and other insured items) for its own need, will have to obtain an adequate licence under equal conditions as licensees who perform contractual security.

Notwithstanding the type of security (contractual or internal) the same criteria will apply to the entire security staff in terms of entry conditions, qualifications, rights, measures and duties.

Individual forms of performing the activities represent a higher level of risk to public security, due to which more rigorous conditions have to be imposed.A specific form of security of people and property is the security of transportation and the protection of money and other valuables as well as the protection of certain public events (night clubs).In this field, the security standards will be determined which will enable the safe operation of the place and the safe transport of money as well as some higher criteria for the competence of the security personnel.More burden of responsibility for the security of guests will have to be taken over in future by the owners and operators of such places as contracting authorities of security services.

The Republic of Slovenia will strive for the activity of private security to be implemented only by qualified individuals employed by the licence holder or registered person or they themselves hold an obtained licence, however, they shall all meet the conditions for the establishment in accordance with laws regulating companies and laws regulating private security.

4.1.2. Detective activity

Detectives will be allowed to perform their activity as a liberal profession.Performance of detective activity within companies will be regulated by law, taking into consideration public interests and international obligations.Investigation activity will be able to be performed only by the detective who will be qualified in this respective and will hold a valid licence.The licence will be issued by the competent authority in the Republic of Slovenia or in a foreign country, where it is necessary to meet comparable conditions as in the Republic of Slovenia to perform investigation activity.The Republic of Slovenia will determine conditions for the performance of the activity by foreign persons in Slovenia.Together with the representatives of investigation activity and other expert members of the public, it will examine the possibility and expediency of the introduction and employment of detective assistants and the introduction of compulsory traineeship for detectives.

The objective of the Republic of Slovenia is to achieve a system whereby the detective activity could only be performed by competent individuals who hold a valid licence for this job.

4.1.3 Security consultancy

Only subjects of private security and detectives who will hold a licence for the performance of this activity will be able to perform security consultancy.

Security consultancy could also be performed by companies, scientific-research institutions, independent entrepreneurs and experts from the field of internal security activity, when this is not the performance of an individual form of private security activity or investigation activity.It will not be necessary to obtain a special licence for such performance of the activity of security consultancy, but the activity will be performed on the basis of general rules.

4.2. Conditions for performing the private security activity

The Republic of Slovenia will promote the development of private security as a regulated economic activity by imposing such conditions which will least inhibit the economic development of the activity.All boundary conditions will be imposed due to the protection of public interests and in accordance with the principle of proportionality.

The Republic of Slovenia will determine such entry criteria for owners, operators and employees within private security that will ensure a high level of ethics and legitimacy of the activity.

The Republic of Slovenia will establish a public register of natural persons and legal entities which perform the activity of private security.It will enable the protection of the contracting authority of security services, protection of public interests and competition in the field of performance of the private security activity.

The objective of the Republic of Slovenia is to ensure the legitimate and professional performance of the activity with the help of clear, non-discriminatory and transparent conditions for the performance of the private security activity.

4.3. Powers

In order to perform the activity of private security efficiently, professionally and in a quality manner, the Republic of Slovenia will confer certain rights, powers and measures on persons who directly perform this activity.

The objective of the Republic of Slovenia is an efficient, quality and professional implementation of the private security activity by persons who will directly perform this activity and will have clear, efficient and unambiguous powers which will implicitly ensure high standards for the protection of human rights and freedoms in the procedures with citizens.

4.3.1. Measures by security guards

A range of measures such as identification, the prevention of entry and exit, suspension and other, including the use of physical force, certain coercive means and weapons which the security guards are allowed to use will be further normatively detailed while taking into consideration the examples of good practice to date, the general internal-security situation and trends as well as the characteristics of criminality in Slovenia.

The reasons for granting additional measures will be examined (gas dispenser, truncheon, service dog) as well as the reasons for the reduction or withdrawal or tightening of the conditions for the use of already granted measures (firearms, handcuffs and other restraining means).

4.3.2. Powers of detectives

A range of powers such as collecting information, acquiring data from official records, processing personal and other data which detectives are allowed to use will be further normatively detailed while taking into consideration the examples of good practice so far, constitutional practices and case law as well as the decisions of the Courts of Justice of the European Union and the characteristics of criminality in Slovenia.

Together with the representatives of detectives and expert members of the public, the needs and possibilities for the conferment of additional powers to monitor, document and trace certain persons will be examined within the framework of the performance of investigation activity in collecting information, access to further records and conferment of additional powers in the field of investigation of criminal offences prosecuted on the proposal of the injured party and ex officio.

4.4 Performing the activity of private security within the single European economic market

In accordance with Directive 2006/123/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on services in the internal market, it will be necessary to ensure also in the field of private security, in particular the right to the freedom to provide services within the entire EU area, the competitiveness of the market, non-discriminatory system of permit issuance, further to define important reasons for the protection of the public interest and to eliminate complicated administrative procedures by the enforcement of the silence of the authority.Thus, the circumstances will be created which will enable competitive work on the common European market also to Slovenian companies and individuals from the field of private security.In addition, Slovenian private security companies can perform their activity in third countries under the condition of reciprocity and pursuant to legislation regulating the functioning of private security in these countries.

The Republic of Slovenia will pursue objectives of the European Union in the field of the single internal market for the area of services in order to enable companies and consumers within the private security sector to take full advantage of opportunities offered by the internal market while respecting the achievement of comparable professional standards and quality with those laid down in Slovenia.