Tougher supervision recommended for security guards

Beijing's growing army of security guards needs greater supervision to reduce the number of crimes and conflicts guards commit or initiate, prosecutors say.

As the capital's urban area continues to grow, demand for personnel outside residential communities and office buildings has risen steadily.

Yet so too has the number of rogue security operators, judicial records show.

In Shijingshan district, courts prosecuted 38 security guards in 30 cases between 2008 and 2012. More than 40 percent of the suspects were accused of intentional injury as well as other charges including theft, public disorder and rape.

"Many security guards lack supervision and are from unlicensed companies. This often results in conflicts with residents," district prosecutor Cao Liwei said.

In last September, a court in Shijingshan gave Wang Xinyuan a one-year suspended sentence for intentional injury. While working as a guard at Shuangjinyuan community, he hit a man living in the area, fracturing the man's hand and causing injury to his scalp, according to the court verdict.

A regulation issued in 2009 requires that security guards must be older than 18 and have a middle school certificate.

"That's not strict enough," Cao said. "Some companies have even looser requirements."

Although the rules also say public security bureaus should guide and supervise security services, she added that "in reality that doesn't really happen".

Wang Rong, a prosecutor in Beijing's Chaoyang district, agreed and said it is far too easy to set up a security guard agency, especially in large cities where demand is high.

"They hire lots of unqualified guards and seldom do background checks," said the prosecutor, who estimated he has handled 10 cases involving security guards each year since 2008.

Police need to do a better job of regulating illegal security agencies and the industry, he added, while licensed companies should be encouraged to provide more training and perform regular evaluations for employees.

An Shipeng, a manager of Beijing Hengchang Security Shield Security Services, said few companies can afford to invest in training.

The law states that people with a certificate proving they have no criminal record must be trained before starting work as a security guard.

"It's hard to say all companies abide by this," An said. "After all, the salary of a security guard is very low. If we have strict requirements for our employees, we won't find anyone."

Wang Qi, a police officer in Haidian district's Huaqingyuan community, said they help guide security guard companies to ensure agencies can cooperate with the police during emergencies.

But most security guard companies are small, Wang said, while employees are young and uneducated.

"Police don't pay security guards, so most of the time they don't listen to us," he said.

Liu Huaijiang, a security guard in charge of a security guard school in Chaoyang district, said the regulation requires guards to be trained every three months, but he said that has been difficult to accomplish.

"I work 12 hours a day, but can only receive 2,000 yuan ($327) a month," he said. "Most people leave the job within three months."