Dubai: Security guards will now play a major role in enhancing security in Dubai, thanks to a new initiative announced by the Security Industry Regulatory Agency (SIRA).
The agency has developed a new programme to monitor on-duty security guards on a live interactive map.
The Smart Guard programme will help communicate with guards near any incident for quick response in emergencies like fires, accidents, robberies, lost children or any other situation.
The system is a device or application to be installed on smart phones. The guard will be monitored so he can be contacted in emergency cases for fast response.
The programme will show data of each security guard in the city with their picture, contact information and location. The guards can easily receive notifications about any incident and can be contacted by the concerned authority for quick response.
- Khalifa Salei | SIRA’s director-general
The SIRA said that security guard companies can monitor their guards to make sure they are making the routine checks.
The agency’s platform at Intersec 2017, said to be the world’s largest trade fair for the security, safety, and fire protection industries, showed an interactive map of security guards and how the programme works.
The programme will be implemented this year to cover more than 33,000 security guards operating in Dubai.
SIRA is a governmental body concerned with the regulation of the security industry in Dubai.
Khalifa Ibrahim Saleis, SIRA’s director-general, said SIRA was formed by the Dubai Government with a wider remit than the Department of Protective Systems (DPS) that it replaces, continuing all the licensing and regulatory functions held by DPS, but broadening its work further into research and development.
Saleis said: “SIRA will more actively monitor service providers and set new general policies in Dubai’s security industry. It will also set down the specifications and standards which must be followed, and has the ability to update these as required, without the need to pass fresh legislation on each occasion that a revision is required.”
Other security programmes
Security Path is new programme to track vehicles such as money transfer vehicles and safari cars.
The programme links all vehicles to the programme by using a device to tackle any problems or robberies.
The tracking system will help tackle any problem, like a safari car trapped in the desert, so concerned authorities can identify the location quickly and send a rescue team.
The programme can be used to locate a money transfer vehicle on the map in case of an attempted robbery or any other emergency situation.
Video Guard
SIRA will implement a third initiative called ‘Video Guard’, specialised in monitoring security cameras in buildings in case of a problem or dysfunction.
The new system will monitor security cameras in Dubai for any problem and inform the maintenance company to fix the problem. This programme will make sure that all cameras operating. The programme was implemented at the beginning of this year and it will cover security cameras in about 7,000 buildings and sites.
