Uganda police have announced tougher guidelines for private security firms aimed at tightening the noose on easy access to guns in the wake of a rise in killings in the country recently. Deputy Police Spokesperson Polly Namaye said all security companies must adhere to the new guidelines or risk closure. According to the new guidelines, all guns in the hands of private security companies must be marked or labelled. “Their (private security companies’) guns would be marked with police seal numbers for easy identification in case they are involved in any crime. We are doing this to fight crime in the country,” Namaye said. And all armouries of security companies, she said, will be supervised by police and all fire arms submitted to the DPC, to know the active and non-active guns.
She added that all training centres of private security companies would be licensed by police and recruitment will be supervised by police. Namaye said many private security companies recruit guards randomly without proper documentation. “Many guards have been involved in various crimes ranging from robbery to murder. And many companies leave their guards to move with guns and bullets which is so dangerous to people’s lives,” she said.
Namaye said all private security companies must use approved independent uniforms, unique to that firm for easy identification. Security companies are also required to store all vital information about their workers in electronic form. This will speed up the process of accessing information by the Criminal Investigations and Intelligence Directorate (CIID).
