Marketplace Equality
Fairness is embedded in many of the Ligue’s initiatives. In promoting professional development, for example, the Ligue advocates for a living wage, fair working hours, and believes in the right of frontline security personnel to decide whether to join a union or not. And as part of our “responsible tendering” initiative, we support objective and unbiased decision criteria to ensure that quality — not cost or corruption — lies at the heart of security partnerships. Central to the Ligue’s pursuit of fairness relates to the security marketplace by promoting fair competition and open markets.
The International Security Ligue is committed to creating a level playing field by ensuring fair terms and conditions in all the markets we operate in.
The importance of this work was dramatically highlighted in a poll of attendees at a recent General Assembly and Leadership Forum. Out of 11 potential financial risks that the poll asked about, unscrupulous security companies were cited as the gravest. Thirty-five percent of respondents to the Ligue’s Survey on Industry Challenges said that bad actors within the security industry are an “extreme” risk to the industry’s financial prospects. Another 28.6% believe such companies pose a “significant” risk.
Pursuit of fairness and equality is a key driver in the Ligue’s support of responsible legislation. Through responsibly crafted and fairly enforced standards and licensing, countries can ensure that unscrupulous security firms don’t benefit from cutting corners.
Responsible regulation of private security, and especially investigating and removing bad actors from the industry, is critical to enhancing public trust in private security and improving its ability to enhance States’ security governance, a fact observed in a review by the United Nations ("State Regulation Concerning Civilian Private Security Services and their Contribution to Crime Prevention and Community Safety").
“Experience shows that civilian private security services present States with a resource, which, if properly regulated, can contribute significantly to reducing crime and enhancing community safety." — United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime
Marketplace equality also requires open markets. Countries must not only open up markets and trade but also remove restrictions on financial participation in domestic companies. Many countries still limit foreign ownership of private security services companies, which severely restricts the market and keeps out the players who have international expertise and who can consequently offer better solutions and added resources. Such restrictions not only remove choice and hurt the ability of organizations to protect themselves, but it is also not in the larger interest of the country.
