PRIME Minister Andrew Holness says that, in addition to creating jobs for over 23,000 Jamaicans, the private security industry has become an essential component of the national security framework.

“Like the State’s security personnel, private security officers are exposed to high risks and continue to make selfless sacrifices for the nation. The country is, therefore, heavily invested in the private security industry, and likewise the industry is heavily invested in Jamaica,” Holness told last Thursday’s private/public sector partnership programme, ‘Our Nation’s Security’, hosted by the Guardsman Group at the Knutsford Court Hotel in Kingston.He said that the sector has proven its capability to do so in terms of providing value, including protection of access control points, employees, clients, communities, homes, and corporate assets.“As the Government pursues energetic initiatives to improve citizen security and public safety, the partnership with the private security industry is accepted as being a critical part of the process,” Holness said.“Dialogue and exchange in a systematic way will be ongoing to ensure that the partnership results in meaningful discussions regarding the development of a National Counter-Terrorism Policy and, likewise, the development of national contingency plans,” he stated.He added that the role and the responsibilities of all stakeholders will be known, agreed and understood, and therefore input of all stakeholders is essential.“One way in which such dialogue can be streamlined and networks appropriately established is through the establishment of a National Risk Registry (NRR). The National Risk Register will be responsible for the conduct of National Risk Assessments, and will be the primary medium of national risk management in Government, he stated.Holness said that the NRR will aim at informing civil emergency and contingency planning at the national level, based on a process of identification, assessment, and prioritisation of a range of representative risk scenarios considered challenging, but plausible manifestations of the wider risk they represent, which would then be characterised based on both likelihood and impact.He said that another important current pursuit of the Government is convergence of physical security with information technology.“In fact, the new modalities of the current International Monetary Fund (IMF) agreement include both physical and cyber security domain needs, which have been placed in the Stand-By Arrangement. As such, one agreed benchmark for October 2017, is the integration of CCTV cameras into a national network,” he added.However, he pointed out that the success of the project would require input and insight from the private sector experts to bring knowledge of cutting edge technology and invaluable contributions based on their extensive geographic coverage.In addition to ICT, he noted that the Government has pursued a legislative programme which has been setting the foundation for strengthened policy directives towards security and public safety, some of which are likely to have a direct or indirect impact on how the private security industry operate.These include:• The National Identification Registration Authority Act, 2017, which will have significant impact on verification of identity and strengthening recruitment, access control, and other procedures;• The Law Reform (Zones of Special Operations) (Special Security and Community Development Measures) Act 2017; an Act which provides for special measures for upholding and preserving the rule of law, public order, citizen security and public safety within certain geographically defined areas of Jamaica.An understanding of this legislation will be essential for all stakeholders in the national security architecture, he said.He said that the Jamaican National Service Corps proposes a military-based programme for youths and will form a third category of the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF), joining the regular force and the reserves.The JDF has commenced recruitment for the National Service Enlistment (NSE) programme, and has designed a programme which will be a formal way for the State to have those young people prepare to Learn, Earn, as well as give back to society and to Save (LEGS); and, an important underpinning of the Employment aspect of the Housing, Opportunities, Production, Employment Programme.He said that the LEGS Programme is in keeping with a policy direction which dictates that all Jamaicans must be engaged in meaningful and rewarding activities.The JDF segment will see approximately 1,000 individuals (increase from a regular intake of approximately 300), aged 18-23, being enlisted in the JDF annually and trained over a one-year period in military, vocational and broader life skills.At the end of their NSE training period, participants will either be accepted to join the JDF as regular force soldiers or will be eligible candidates for employment in the private and public sectors.Private security companies will have an opportunity to support this national programme through employment and will, likewise, benefit from the creation of a pool of professionals that have received first-class training from one of the country’s premier institutions.