"There is a market for tips among thieves"

Reporter: Judging by all the incidents which have been happening lately, it would seem criminality is rising in Romania. Is it true?

Gabriel Badea: It would indeed look like it, but this impression is not necessarily confirmed by statistics. Crimes like burglaries, shoplifting are events that have a direct and powerful impact on people, hence the public perception that things have gotten worse.

Reporter: Very recently, thefts from banks' safe deposit boxes have occurred. How has it come to this?

Gabriel Badea: Thefts from safe deposit boxes have always been a controversial topic. In the case of banks, it seems even more surprising, but it needs to be known that this kind of crimes have also happened in other countries, long before they happened here. When it comes to crime, it would seem that Romania is a bit behind the times. Crimes which had a major impact years ago, namely stealing from ATM machines or from the safe deposit boxes of banks, have only recently made their way here. Thieves come from abroad with more experience in this kind of offenses, they have access to modern technology and they find the perfect ground, because Romanians have not taken the appropriate measures to protect themselves, because they have not been exposed to this kind of crimes.

For example, whereas at a certain time there was lots of talk about the Romanian thieves cloning cards in other countries, these thieves are now beginning to focus on the "domestic market" as well.

When it comes to the attacks on banks, it needs to be noted that we have a security deficit in that regard as well. Banks are first of all focused on achieving a profit, and many times this gets done by cutting costs.

Romanian banks have expanded somewhat unsustainably over the last few years - you can't turn anywhere without seeing a bank branch -, and the increase in the number of bank branches also meant increased security costs. But when turnover drops and it comes to cost cutting, the cuts unfortunately start with the security expenses.

Reporter: In other words, can there be situations where the security measures taken by certain banks are not enough?

Gabriel Badea: It's not just about banks, but there have always been talks around the need to provide a sufficient level of security and the costs this involves. It should be known that, according to the legislation in effect, any owner of goods and assets needs to take the most adequate security measures, respectively, to behave responsibly with their property, to avoid having their unsecured property attract criminals, and thus become a factor which generates crime.

In order for the adoption of the security measures to be done based on objectives in line with the latest legislative modifications, the need for conducting risk reviews has arisen. These analyses should be done by risk evaluators that have the necessary competences.

Thus, any institution, company, including banks, must implement security measures based on these evaluations.

Unfortunately, no standard exists for this profession, and as a result, even though the existing risk evaluators, go through a police filtering procedure, and are nevertheless experienced people, we are still in a transitional phase when it comes to the implementation of the legal provisions concerning risk analyses.

Under these circumstances, the police has set up a national registry of evaluators, until the materialization of the professional training centers, which will then train risk evaluators according to the law.

At any rate, subjectivity in estimating the level of security which needs to be implemented at a certain time is not totally removed through this legislative addition, because it still allows the possibility of these risk analyses being conducted not just by independent evaluators, but also by internal evaluators, who can be subjective.

There are also inconsistencies between the core law, namely the amended Law 333/2003 and the norm for the application of Government Decision 301/2012, inconsistencies which can be speculated by those who would want, to at one time, avoid the obligations they have under the law.

Reporter: Speaking of burglaries, what can people do to eliminate that risk?

Gabriel Badea: The security systems need to be complemented by perimeter detection systems, meaning outside the home, not just inside it, and the home and the yards need to be secured with mechanical/physical obstacles, to make it very hard for burglars to get inside, and the alarm will go off as soon as the criminals try to break in the perimeter. For instance, fences could be outfitted with mechanical anti-climbing systems. Even planting along the perimeter various ornamental plants with thorns could help. Home doors should also be chosen based on their security level - level three doors are recommended, ground floor windows should not be left without bars etc. Furthermore, doors can only be equipped with shock detectors and vibration detectors which will detect the burglars' attempts to break open the door, and will start the alarm prior to the break-in actually happening, thus giving the response teams and the police more time to act. The security systems obviously need to be connected to a center for receiving the alarms.

It is well-known that in most cases, home burglars act when people are away for extended periods of time, and that is why it is a good thing to share holiday plans with as few people as possible, and under no circumstances share that information on social networks, except after the holiday is over. It is also recommended that when people are away from home for an extended period of time, to create the appearance of people being present, such as installing systems for the turning lights on and off according to a preset schedule, in order to imitate the daily routines of the residents. We would also recommend having a neighbor you can trust pick up your mail, because mail accumulating in the mailbox is a tell-tale sign to burglars that the owners of the house are absent.

Reporter: Would you advise people whose homes are at risk of burglary to buy a gun?

Gabriel Badea: Guns can generate their own set of problems. Shooting a living person is not an easy thing to do. It generates stress and emotion which at that time can cause mistakes, which means you could miss the shot or hit someone else with it.

It should also be known that the average citizen only has access to non-lethal firearms, and the use of this kind of weapons could feel like a provocation, which could cause the burglar to feel threatened and result in acts which he initially didn't intend to do.

Reporter: What should we know about thieves, generally speaking?

Gabriel Badea: In general, there are two categories of thieves - "the professionals", meaning those who study the homeowners' schedule, they know exactly what is going on in that home, and the "opportunists", namely those that take advantage of the homeowners negligence. Lately, we have faced another category as well - those stealing while under the influence of drugs, but they are still "opportunists", who are predisposed to react irrationally when caught. Unlike them, "professional" burglars, on principle, aren't violent, they don't want to go into confrontation zone, they don't want to make it worse for themselves by adding one type or another of violent offenses to their theft.

Reporter: Does it occur often that a person gets robbed twice?

Gabriel Badea: Thieves usually repeat a successful experience. But if we are dealing with thieves specializing in, for instance, jewelry, stealing a different type of goods would mean finding other networks for selling the stolen goods than the ones they know, and that means taking on new risks. Usually, specialized thieves are already part of a network, of a union, they know who takes over the merchandise, who sells it, who is giving the tips, they already have lawyers, who, if the thieves get caught, come in and give them assistance.

Reporter: How quickly is the police required to respond to a person who has reported a burglary?

Gabriel Badea: The deadlines by which the institutions must respond to enquiries in are stipulated in the legislation. There is a difference between the response time and the time that a case can be solved in.

Reporter: There is a perception that the police has stopped solving crimes...

Gabriel Badea: There are cases which don't get solved, and there are also cases which are extremely successful, we shouldn't generalize. I don't know whether the percentage of cases solved in Romania is higher than it is in other countries.

Reporter: There are well known cases in which policemen have been complaining that they do not have sufficient financing for solving some crimes ...

Gabriel Badea: There is significant pressure on public spending all over the world, due to the recession that we are in. Policemen from many countries are saying the same thing - that their budgets have been cut during this period.

Reporter: There are some claims that some thieves live better in prison than they do at home...

Gabriel Badea: Some do live better in prison than they do at home, and unavoidably, they share their experiences. As far as I know, there has always been a market for tips. Those going to prison tell those who come out what and how is happening "on the outside", concerning potential victims and lots of money gets paid in return. It is also well known that specialized thieves exchange information about the suppliers of specialized burglary "tools" they give each other information about the market suppliers and where they can be found. The toolkits that thieves use are like a surgeon's toolkits, they are actually locksmithing tools made by reputable manufacturers and converted into tools for committing crimes.

Reporter: Are there cases where the security agents are accused by thieves of having harassed them, one way or another?

Gabriel Badea: Thieves will grasp at virtually anything. That is why we are trying to set up an improved framework for the legal protection of security personnel. For example, when a security agent catches a thief, the agent has to make statements, he is called 4-5 times to the police, to describe how it all happened, them the thief's lawyer will come in and ask the guard if he assaulted the thief, then he gets called in court where the all of the thieves and the relatives of the thief threaten the guard, telling him that they will cut his head off, that they will kill his family... these are the kinds of things we are dealing with in real life.

Reporter: What are salaries like in this sector?

Gabriel Badea: Salaries are mostly low in the security sector. There are lots of companies - about 1400 -, far more than there should be and there is a race to the bottom when it comes to prices, especially on the public procurement segment. In the procurement procedure, the authorities use the "lowest price" as the main selection criterion, and due to competition being so great, companies will sometimes provide the service at below the cost. This results in very low salaries, when they actually do get paid, and in the hiring inexperienced personnel.

Furthermore, companies that win this kind of public procurement calls for bids at very low prices, start bending the law.

The big problem is caused by the unfair competition that we are facing in the industry, and which actually harms everybody - the state budget because taxes aren't paid, the beneficiaries, which don't receive the services they should receive, and even the provider of the service, who instead of turning out an honest profit, gets in all kinds of troubles.

Under these circumstances, another concern of ours is to improve the business environment.

Reporter: How honest are security agents?

Gabriel Badea: Security agents are honest people for the most part. Let's not forget that security guards go through a police check-up, they have criminal records, they are not just anybody. Sure, the checks that we are talking about aren't always a guarantee, they can tell you what the man is like, or what he used to be like, not what he is going to be like in the future. Still, every man has his limit and it is very likely that anybody who hires a man for 7 million a month (ed. note: old lei) to guard valuables, worth, let's say, one million dollars, is taking the risk of that man not being able to withstand the temptation, and there is the possibility of finding that million dollars gone the next day.

There have also been cases where people who were security agents paid the minimum wage, found and returned amounts of tens of thousands of Euros. The opposite also happened - very well paid people, not just security guards get caught stealing, even though they may not be put in the situation of actually having to do it. It all depends on the morality of the person.

What people need to realize is that just putting a guard in isn't enough. The security agent is just an element of a security system which needs to be based on the redundancy principle. The security guard must also be complemented by a video camera. Given these circumstances, he will feel far more protected and capable of handling risks. An adequate security level is provided through solutions which combine and integrate the human and technological elements. These can't function effectively on their own. The technical security systems without a guard aren't going to discourage thieves 100%. Thus, we can't separate security technology from the human component. Man can't solve these problems without technology, and technology can't run by itself either.

Reporter: How much does the most expensive security systems cost?

Gabriel Badea: The most expensive security system can cost as much as 40,000 Euros, for example, but it also depends on the size of the home and other specific requirements, but we can secure a home for far less.

Reporter: What is the profile of the beneficiaries of security services?

Gabriel Badea: Generally, we are talking about people that exceed a certain level of personal wealth.

Reporter: Has the market for security services grown lately?

Gabriel Badea: No, it can't be said that the market has grown, but unlike other sectors, no significant drop occurred because of the crisis, which is important. The market has stagnated over the last few years, after growing between 2007 and 2008, when it amounted to about 600 million Euros a year. After the crisis began, there have been some cuts, especially on the security services, but on the other hand, we have seen an increase in the sales of security technologies.

Reporter: How big is the market now?

Gabriel Badea: These aren't audited numbers, but there is talk about 1 billion Euros.

Reporter: What are the problems of the industry?

Gabriel Badea: The security industry is legally regulated and one problem could be the fair and balanced application of the regulatory framework.

We want a clarification and a simplification of the regulations applicable to security firms, so that they can draw up their development plans and their budgets. The regulatory framework that we are working on is very important, because it can directly influence our business.

In order to improve the legislation, a working group has been recently created at the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

Reporter: What are the goals of this working group?

Gabriel Badea: Romanian security services have been legally regulated for a long time now. The first law in this sector appeared in 1996, it was amended once in 1999, the last amendments occurred in 2003, and in 2012 other implementation norms were implemented. But the legislation has always made somebody unhappy - either the providers, the representatives of the police, or the beneficiaries, and that's why there are almost constant talks to make this law better, more encompassing, more effective.

The working group which we were talking about currently comprises the representatives of the Federation of Security Services, of the Romanian Banking Association, of the Association of Betting Shops and of the police. They are debating a draft law paragraph by paragraph, to improve the regulations in the sector. Also, we want security services to get to a higher level of professionalism, so that they can contribute even more to the creation of a public safety climate through their specific activities and to comply with the European regulations, both in terms of the legislation, as well as of the profession.

Reporter: When will you complete the project?

Gabriel Badea: We have September 1st as the deadline, and after that it will enter the normal legislative flow, including the public debate.

Reporter: You were saying that the FSS is concerned with improving the business sector. What are you looking to do, more specifically?

Gabriel Badea: We are trying to promote consumer awareness about how to choose a reliable security service, not signing contracts with suppliers that can't offer quality and professionalism, we are trying to create a code of conduct in the business, and to convince companies to adhere to it and to comply with it. It is in everybody's interest. It is also important to cooperate with the authorities and to notify them whenever necessary the situations where the competition law is violated. We have initiated a working committee at the Federation level to come up with concrete programs that will stop our industry from being associated with black market labor, unfair competition, tax evasion. It is an effort to improve the morality and professionalism of the private security industry.

Reporter: Is there tax evasion among security companies as well?

Gabriel Badea: As it is well known, police has also begun, in the beginning of the year a major audit action at security companies, which has revealed cases of black market labor and cases of tax evasion. Besides, it was already known that private security is an area which has a rather high tax evasion rate.

Reporter: How high is it?

Gabriel Badea: It is estimated at around 30%.

Reporter: What is your relationship with the Police like?

Gabriel Badea: We have a very good relationship, we are now talking to the Romanian General Police Inspectorate about the signing of a collaboration protocol which would lay the foundation of a permanent working mechanism which would allow us to exchange information and good practices with the Police and thus, increase the contribution of social security to public order.

Reporter: How will this protocol work?

Gabriel Badea: For example, the police will inform us about missing persons, criminals which are still at large which could be found by security agents working in various public places (malls, gas stations etc).

Reporter: What are the benefits you expect to have following this protocol?

Gabriel Badea: We will thus be able to better perform our role of contributors to public safety, namely we will make it even better known the fact that private security is a de facto member of the extended family of the community of institutions and structures dealing with public safety. This protocol will also contribute to improving the image of the industry in the eyes of the public.

Also, the fact that we are going to have a structured dialog with the regulatory authority, systematically and constantly, will help us with the notification and fixing of more or less fair situations concerning the application of the legislation.

Reporter: What other concerns exist on a European level, when it comes to the legislation in the sector?

Gabriel Badea: Concern exists at the EU level as well when it comes to the issues of the private security industry. The fact that the public procurement of security services is being done in most countries of the European Union based on the lowest bid criterion, in an industry which relies heavily on people, unavoidably affects the quality of the services provided. Given these circumstances, the European Confederation of Security Services (CoESS) is leading a campaign to have at least the public procurement of private security services be done according to the criterion of the technologically and economically best offer rather than the lowest bid. That is because the lack of quality in the area of private security can have serious implications. We shouldn't forget that private security is also involved in guarding critical structures, such as nuclear plants, water treatment stations, electrical power plants, refineries. A simple mistake in the security of these locations can lead to disasters.

Another concern on a European level concerns the legal framework for private security. In 2007, the European Directive of Services and Domestic Market was passed, which has made it its plan to create a unified market which allow providing services in any EU country, without being subjected to other authorizations or local licensing. This is already happening with part of the private security services, namely the services which concern security technologies. Security services have been exempted from that Directive, for now, because the problem was that in many EU countries, national regulations exist. Meaning that, considering the fact that security companies respond to locally specific threats, there are countries that want to deal only with specialists who know the local conditions. This also allows the protection of the local market.

Reporter: How well regulated is the Romanian market, in this sector?

Gabriel Badea: Romania is one of the countries which has a very extensive regulatory framework. In the European Union, there are still countries where private security is unregulated, such as Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic.

Reporter: How do the EU authorities intend to deal with this problem?

Gabriel Badea: The national regulation of private security services does not necessarily represent an issue for the European Union.

The EU is based on the principle of the unobstructed circulation of capital, of workforce and of services. National regulations which still exist in the field of security services somewhat contradict this fundamental principle of the European Union. That is why there has been a preoccupation from the European Commission to offset this exception from the rule with a legislative framework for private security harmonized on a European level.

This initiative was supposed to be completed in 2010, but this did not happen.

As for regulating private security, opinions are divided. In some countries, some wish that the state would get involved in the strict regulation of private security. Others oppose regulation, because they are against the intrusion into a private sector. Some also oppose regulation based on social criteria. According to these opinions, private security services represent a luxury intended for those who can afford them and for that reason, no public money should be spent on the audit and management of services intended for a specific category of society, namely the most privileged layer. All of these views have an effect on the debates concerning the legislative harmonization of private security on a European level.

Reporter: In the end, please tell us if we can still feel safe in Romania...

Gabriel Badea: Far more so than in other countries. For what it's worth, in Romania extremely violent crimes aren't as frequent, as they are in other countries, there are no networks of organized crime that make their presence cautiously felt in the public life, there are many things happening abroad which aren't present on the same scale in Romania. For now, we can still walk around the street at night without being afraid of being attacked on every corner.

Reporter: On a scale of 1 to 10, where is Romania among the other EU countries, in terms of safety levels?

Gabriel Badea: It is about 30% safer than other countries around it. If Bulgaria were a 4, Hungary - a 5, we would be somewhere around 7-8.

Reporter: Thank you!