Better Secuirty
Published by: Chartered Quality Institute Journal Quality World Oct 2010.
Since
the end of the Cold War, private security companies have played an ever more
important part in supporting defence and reconstruction activities in countries
all over the world. These companies have become vital in maintaining security
in unstable areas of the world, particularly in the aftermath of the September
11 attacks in New York.
Increasingly, these companies are also being employed to support missions
against organisations involved in drug trafficking and organised crime.
Over
the last decade, amidst the growing demand for resources for the “war on
terror”, the use of a private security company by organisations to provide
specialised services related to or containing expertise previously associated
exclusively with state defence and security, has become even more frequently
reported. Meanwhile in the literary world, PSC books are fast becoming as
sought after as those about the SAS were in the previous decade.
The
sudden growth of PSCs was noted back in 2004 by David
Isenberg in his report A Fistful of Contractors. He wrote: “The increase in the use of PSCs has grown
dramatically over the last ten years. During the first Gulf War in 1991, for
every one contractor there were 50 military personnel involved. In the 2003
conflict, the ratio was one to ten.”
This
growth in demand for PSCs has been driven mainly by the US government
in response to a number of elements, including:
·
The break-up of
traditional Cold War factions
·
Mass reduction and
scaling down of military forces in both the East and West
·
Reduction of funding to
security services in the US
and the UK
·
Reduction of funding to
military powers
·
Outsourcing of military
activities – this is especially prevalent in the US.
These
elements have contributed to the unprecedented growth of a new security
industry, resulting in the emergence of PSC entrepreneurs who have entered and
developed this rapidly expanding market of military specialists. In addition, this
trend looks set to continue, as David Isenberg confirms: “Probably the single most important lesson that will be taken from the
experience in Iraq
is that other countries will conclude that despite whatever imperfections there
are in privatising military functions, overall it works. One should expect to
see continued military outsourcing by western countries in the future.”
Alongside this continued growth of PSCs have come ongoing
concerns relating to the control and management of their activities. Certain
events have brought into question the ethical and legal qualities of the PSC “product”
within the marketplace, highlighted
in events such as the death of four Blackwater contractors in Fallujah, the
battle of Najaf, the Abu Ghraib prison incidents, the crash of Blackwater 61
and the Nisoor Square Shootings.
Rolf
Uesseler also highlights an example of this lack of regulation in his book, Servant of War. “It is impossible to
tell from either a uniform or a passport whether a Croatian, Pakistani,
Colombian, Irish or Ukrainian fighter is a former soldier in a regular army, a
mercenary, a rebel or a terrorist.”
Of
course, there could be a potential control and credibility solution to these issues
through the tool of standardisation. PSCs which are not being sufficiently
controlled or monitored could have a seriously detrimental effect on countries
and governments and cause unnecessary risk to their clients, members of the
public and their own personnel.
On
the other hand, there is evidence to illustrate that competent and qualified
PSC operatives have often performed above and beyond the requirements of their
contract and in some instances led and outperformed regular troops to ensure a
successful outcome. This is primarily due to the fact that a large percentage
of PSC personnel are ex-members of special forces, the regular army, or
ex-police force members with a wide range of military and counter-terrorist
experience. So how do we ensure that all PSCs employ competent and qualified
people who operate to a consistent high standard?
The drive for acceptability
PSCs
are involved in a two-front engagement, one being fought in various fields of
operations around the world such as Afghanistan
and Iraq, the other being
carried out in the boardrooms of London and Washington DC.
PSCs, to ensure acceptance and credibility, must demonstrate that they are not
mercenaries but that their companies are professional, their employees
competent and, most importantly, they have been trained and qualified by
legally authorised sources.
PSCs
need to demonstrate through a structured, agreed method that they aim to assist
in bringing conflicts to an end and do not have an interest in keeping them
going for their own financial gain. This need has already been identified by UK
PSCs, who have responded with the creation of their own organised official UK trade body, the British Association of
Private Security Companies, a UK
version of the US International Peace Operations Association. The BAPSC website
states its aims are to: “raise the
standard of operation of its members and this emergent industry, and ensure
compliance with the rules and principles of international humanitarian law and
human rights’ standards.
“The BAPSC will work towards:
·
The
promotion of transparent relations with UK government departments and
international organisations
·
The
promotion of UK
values and interests, and compliance with the laws of countries in which its
members operate
·
The
provision of guidance on the substance and requirements of international
statutes
·
Understanding
the need to balance the provision of security services with the legitimate
concerns of those affected by the delivery of those services.”
The
level of support that PSCs currently provide for allied forces confirms the
US/UK standing on the use of PSCs is set to continue, especially with the level
of public sector cuts planned by the UK government. Some might even say
that the more you come to rely on PSCs, the harder it will be to operate
without them. However, the use of PSCs and their current processes of
selection, recruitment and training raises concerns such as:
·
Employment strain on
regular armed forces
·
Level of qualification
and competency of PSC personnel
·
Legality of personnel, eg
do they have a criminal a terrorist record?
·
Legal standing of PSCs
and their personnel
·
Identification of PSC
personnel on the ground
·
Management and awarding
of contracts
·
Traceability of personnel
for complaints’ procedures.
PSC
entrepreneurs recognise that control and accountability of PSCs is vital for
the continued success and existence of the PSC marketplace. However, it will be
only through acceptance and contractual requirements by the clients and
stakeholders that a practical and productive basis can be agreed and
implemented.
Standardisation has long
been influenced by the military with the successful use of military standards
such as Mil-Q-9858A, as used by the US military, and AQAP, as employed by NATO. From these and
other frameworks, the ISO 9000 series was developed. Due to the nature of the
management systems specification standard ISO 9001, other standards have also
been created to meet market-specific needs based on the successful plan-do-check-act cycle. Standards
such as ISO 14001 for environmental management systems, ISO 27001 for
information security management systems and OHSAS 18001 for occupational health
and safety are similar to ISO 9001 in structure and purpose and all are
recognised international standards commonly used in the civilian marketplace
for the management of systems within organisations.
Many
of the requirements in management systems are contractual and regulatory
requirements necessary for an organisation’s existence within various markets
in order to meet the needs and pressures of clients or governments. But standards do take
time to produce. Compared to regulation, the creation of standards can also be
more efficient in terms of time and the involvement of relevant parties.
That
there is an urgent need in the PSC marketplace for regulation is clear, but
that need should not distract from ensuring that an equal, effective and
efficient system is developed via standardisation. The need for a standard
which is managed by an independent body through certification within the
marketplace will be vital to ensure transparency and independence.
Regulations
can refer to and demand compliance with specific standards to enforce uniform
activities and both regulation and standardization can then be used as a
harmonised tool. As a result, the use of standards ensures that all relevant
parties have an input, enhancing buy-in and commitment, but also making the
regulation more effective and meaningful to a wider audience.
The
need for employing standards and regulations in this area is not new. Although
a number of UK PSCs within the marketplace already hold certifications to a number
of standards and frameworks, ISO 9001 certification
being the most common, and the UK government having produced a green paper in
2002 for regulating PSCs, no significant changes being made have been evident.
There
is now significant cause for concern that no regulation is in place, with the British American Security Information Council fearing
further repercussions resulting from the lack of effective regulation: “Any attempt to ban this sector
will simply drive companies overseas, where they will be able to avoid
regulation.”
A standard for PSCs
Due to the unique activities and needs of the PSC industry,
and unlike regulation, which takes time to draft, approve and implement, a possible solution for immediate development
would be a specific standard for PSCs focused
on PSC companies and the clients such as governments that they represent. The direction
and drive for this standard needs to come from both the PSCs and the government
with guidance from an independent body to help ensure confidence and
independence in the content of the new standard, and thus the protection of any
future market.
The development of this specific standard through a
joint coordinated effort under the direction of an independent body and driven
and supported by government, clients and PSCs should enable a framework for all
to work to, with internal and external monitoring of the systems used by each
company. Like all standards, leadership, support and commitment will
need to be shown by top management for the standard to be successfully
accepted, implemented and managed within organisations.
The
proposed development of a PSC standard in the UK will require commitment, support
and leadership from the following parties:
·
UK
government – ensuring that certification to the standard is a
pre-requisite to being able to operate and be classified as a PSC.
·
Client
base – UK government, Ministry of Defence, non-governmental organizations
to ensure that only PSC companies certificated to the PSC standard can tender
for contracts.
·
PSC
top management and infrastructure – ensuring that the
standard is given the required support and resources for it to be successfully
implemented and thus provide the potential
for continual improvement.
·
Interested
parties – ensuring that cooperation and joint development of the PSC
standard is used as driving tool for addressing current issues.
The
contractual requirement by clients for PSCs to have certification to this new
standard will be the critical starting point for the enforcement of it within
the market, similar to how ISO 9001, OHSAS 18001 and are being used in civilian markets today. As PSCs have emerged through the
activities of state government outsourcing, governments have an economic and
ethical requirement to their citizens and their armed services to ensure that
companies hired to support their personnel on the battlefield are companies
that are assessed, regulated, certificated and competent in their operation and
the support of their own personnel. The development of a standard will be a
major step towards achieving this aim.
No comments:
Post a Comment