ST JAMES, Jamaica — The Private Security Regulation Authority (PSRA) has formally launched its Montego Bay, St James operations to serve the Private Security Industry (PSI) on the western side of the island.

The authority said the office will be used to register security personnel as well as companies, and will monitor players in the private security industry to ensure that they are following regulations.

The launch took place last Friday, August 14.

The authority said the new office will support the PSI by increasing access to training, monitoring performance, monitoring compliance, facilitating registrations for both personnel and companies, and providing assistance to industry stakeholders. Its creation was based on the increased demand for support displayed in western Jamaica, it noted.

According to the PSRA, Jamaica’s use of private security and security guards has gradually increased over the past decade, seeing approximately 24,000 private security personnel registered up to December 2019. It said this growth of the industry has required increased monitoring by the PSRA to maintain compliance and standards.

“As the need for private security grows to protect private as well as public property, it is imperative that Jamaica maintains a certain standard not only for performance, but also for tactics used in the private security industry. We are therefore pleased that we have been able to expand to Montego Bay, so we can provide more services to the PSI, and be more efficient in our monitoring of the industry,” said executive director of the PSRA, Rick Harris.

Harris noted that the PSRA has been making strides in its quest to improve its outputs, and explained that the authority has been working to enhance its processes to meet international standards, increase its monitoring and investigation of private security service providers, improve its stakeholder engagement, and encourage training and improvement of training standards in the private sector industry.

“There is a great need for security services, however, it is critical that the sector provides a certain standard of work that is needed in today’s world. With improvements such as the opening of this office, and other internal operational advancements being made by the PSRA, I believe that we will have a transformative impact on the sector. The PSRA Executive and Board of Directors are pleased with this current development, and we anticipate even more positive activities to come,” he said.

The PSRA was created to monitor and regulate the private security industry and is a statutory body under the Ministry of National Security.