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SINGAPORE : From August, it will be mandatory for all private unarmed security officers to display newly-minted identification cards when on duty.
The card is proof that the officer has been screened, licensed and trained.
The move is part of a string of initiatives - which kicked in after changes to the Private Security Industry Act - to professionalise the private security industry here.
40-year-old Abdul Rasit Hamid is a security officer at one of Singapore's office buildings, located within the financial centre.
Drawn by prospects within the private security industry, Rasit made a career switch from customer service about one and a half years ago.
He said: "...now the demand for security (officers) is very high and with my customer service background, (I am) not just a security officer, but (also) provide good customer service."
Rasit will be one of the 32,000 registered unarmed private security officers in Singapore who will be issued a new Identification Card from August. .
The card does not give these officers legal statutory powers of arrest or search. Instead it is aimed at giving the public assurance that these officers have met national standards of skills qualifications.
From April, all unarmed private security officers will have to be registered before they are hired. They will need to be screened by the Singapore Police Force's Security Industry Regulatory Department, then pass compulsory training modules developed by Singapore's Workforce Development Agency (WDA). Courses offered by the WDA are 90 per cent subsidised by the government.
The issuance of the ID cards will be rolled out in two phases right up till the end of next year. The first phase will cover officers employed by the over 280 security agencies. The second phase will cover in-house security officers like nightclub bouncers and those employed by private establishments.
In fact, since the move to upskill the job of security officers here, wages have gone up by some 75 per cent over the past six years.
Officers now earn an average of S$1,400 a month, up from about S$800 in 2003 and 2004.
And with the global threat of terrorism, private security agencies are seen as another important wall of defence, going beyond guarding and patrolling premises.
Patrick Tay, executive secretary, Union of Security Employees, said: "As you can see through our F1 race, security officers have enlarged roles. They have to do crowd control, they have to manage missing persons, manage criminal incidents on the ground.
"(In addition, with) the introduction of the integrated resorts, I think security officers who work in the Integrated resorts will have a larger role to play."
Some 8,000 job vacancies within the private security industry are expected to be made available over the next three years. - CNA/ms
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