PRIVATE SECURITY IN EASTERN EUROPE: ROMANIA - A CASE STUDY

PRIVATE SECURITY IN EASTERN EUROPE:
ROMANIA – A CASE STUDY

Keith Haley
Tiffin University

Theodora E. D. Ene
University of Bucharest

Article is copyrighted. All rights pertain.

The article is also a paper presented at the
2007 Annual Meeting of the
Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences
March 13 – 17, 2007
Seattle, Washington


PRIVATE SECURITY IN EASTERN EUROPE:
ROMANIA – A CASE STUDY


INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND


A nation needs to be secure, of course, in order to survive. Security for a nation manifests itself in many ways, especially in light of recent terrorist attacks and attempts in the United States and throughout the world. Security scholars and commentators can reel off a list of particular security concerns: physical; personal; information; cyber; border; transportation; school; homeland and all of the manifestations thereof since the 9/11 tragedy in the United States. At first glance, for the uninformed, the thought is likely to be that the protection of all of the human, physical, information, and border security falls upon the heavily burdened public law enforcement and security agencies. The reality is that private security agencies in the United States and in many nations of the world employ more personnel than public law enforcement. In America, for example, more that 1 million employees now work in private security and about 800,000 work in public law enforcement (Bohm and Haley, 2007). Substantial growth is forecast for private security well into the 21st century (Cunningham, 1990).


Private Security in the United States

Haley, Ene, and Collins (2005) studied the 10 largest private security firms in the United States. Table 1 below identifies those companies along with the size of their workforces and revenue.

Table 1. U. S. Private Security Agencies, Headquarters City, and Number of Employees (Haley, Ene, and Collins, Private Security on the Web. A paper presented at the 2005 Annual Meeting of the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences).

Securitas
Chicago, IL
200,000
$2,701,300,000

Group 4 Securicor
Gatwick, Sussex, UK
340, 000
$1,351,900,000

Allied Barton Security
King of Prussia, PA
37,000
$1,000,090,000

Guardsmark
Memphis, TN
17, 447
$456,500,000

Day and Zimmerman
Philadelphia, PA
3,298
$1,300,000,000

Initial Security
San Antonio, TX
14,000
$312,500,000

U.S. Security Associates
Roswell, GA
17,000
$311,760,000

Transnational Security Group
St. Louis, MO
14,653
$302,392,000

American Commercial Security
Houston, TX
11,000
$247,500,000

MVM. Inc.
Vienna, VA
4,300
$164,228,227

TOTAL = 10

It almost goes without saying that private security is big business in the United States. Even the smallest of the top ten private security companies, MVM, employs 4,300 workers while the largest company, Group 4 Securicor, employs 340,000 worldwide. The mean number of workers for the top ten U.S. private security corporations is 65,872.

The security business in the U.S. and worldwide would indeed seem profitable with Securitas grossing annual revenue of $2,701,300,000, the most of the top ten U.S. security firms. The least amount of revenue collected by a "top-ten" security company was the $164,228,227 attributed to MVM, also the smallest of the corporations. The mean amount of annual revenue collected by the top-ten U.S. security companies was $814,817,022.

Securitas, the largest company operating in the United States employs 200,000 workers worldwide and has an annual revenue of $2,701,300,000. The smallest of the 10 in this study was MVM Inc., employing 4,300 workers with an annual revenue of $164,228,227. Private security in the United States is big business with a workforce now larger than those who work in public law enforcement.

Private Security in Romania

The size of the Romanian private security industry is also impressive given the relatively short period of time the nation has allowed private security agencies. Romania is now the nation of choice for investment in Southeastern Europe. While not all sectors of the free Romanian economy have grown as fast as the leaders and the citizens of the nation would prefer, it is now named as the nation of choice by investors in Europe (Budapest Business Journal, February 13, 2007). The largest company operating in Romania is Group 4 Falk Valahia with a workforce of 2,500 and annual revenue of $5,723,304. Table 2 below identifies 10 largest private security firms in Romania, along with the size of their workforce and annual revenue.

Table 2 below lists the Romanian private security companies included in the study.

Table 2. Romanian Private Security Agencies, Headquarters City, Number of Employees, and Annual Revenue. (Haley, Ene, and Collins. Private Security on the Web. A paper presented at the 2005 Annual Meeting of the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences).

Group 4 Falck Valahia
Bucharest, Romania
2,500
$5,723,304

Cobra Security
Bucharest, Romania
1,500
$3,951,679

Prima Guard Security
Bucharest, Romania
1,200
$1,889,628

Bidepa Security
Bucharest, Romania
750
$2,100,000

Guard One Alarm Systems
Bucharest, Romania
370
Not available

Bartguard Services
Bucharest, Romania
161
$941,454

Roval Group
Bucharest, Romania
100
Not available

International CPI Security
Bucharest, Romania
720
Not available

Bronec Protection
Bucharest, Romania
510
$370,000

Watchman Security
Timisoara, Romania
Not available
Not Available

TOTAL = 10

The size of the top Romanian companies is impressive given the relatively short time they have been in business. While not all sectors of the free Romanian economy have grown as fast as the leaders and people of the nation would have liked after the revolution in 1989, private security seems to have fared well. The smallest company in the study, Bartguard Services, has 161 employees while the largest, Group 4 Falck Valahia, employs 2,500.

The mean number of workers in nine of the top ten Romanian private security companies is 868. Watchman security does not list its number of employees.

Group 4 Falck Valahia collected $5,723,304 as the top revenue generating Romanian private security company. Bronec Protection collected $370,000. The mean amount of revenue collected by the 6 companies that posted that information was $2,496,010.

Given the size of Romania and its only recent ascent into capitalism and a free market economy it is expected that its top security companies gross far less revenue than those in the U.S., some of which have been in existence for more than a century. The prospects look very good, however, for the growth of the private security industry in Romania.

Note that all revenues cited in Tables 1 and 2 are the most recent annual revenue figures available to the public, most being from the year 2003.

The total number of private security companies operating in Romania is 877 as of May 31, 2006. (Bucharest General Police Inspectorate, www.politiaromana.ro ). Of the total number 338(38%) are in Bucharest city and county, the capital of the nation. The better developed a county is economically, of course, the more private security companies it has operating within its jurisdiction. Timisoara, in Timis County, and Constanta City and County are well developed economic centers on opposite sides of the nation and are host to a large number of private security firms.

Romanian private security companies are licensed by the government to offer services based on their ability to demonstrate that they have the assets to successfully fulfill the obligations of those agencies, business, institutions, and people who request them. Of the 877 private security companies in Romania, 791(90.1%) are licensed to transport items of value (to include large some of cash) for private companies and government. The same number and percent offer personal protection services. Consultancy services to private companies, people, and government agencies concerning security and protection matters are offered by 794(90.4%) of the 877 Romanian private security companies.

It should be noted that protection services is a term that is used broadly in Romania. For example, some of the companies in this study offer ambulance, emergency medical care, and other medical services.

The Change in Romania

A number of things make Romania unique among its Southeast European neighbors and in general:
1. Romania is the only non-Catholic Latin nation in the world.

2. Romania is the only Eastern Bloc nation that had a bloody revolution to overthrow communism. They tried and executed their dictator and his wife on Christmas day in 1989.

3. Romania is the only former communist nation that was debt free on the date that communism fell.

4. Romania was the only communist nation during the Cold War that had most favored trade nation status with the United States.

5. Romania was the only Eastern Bloc nation that managed to keep Soviet troops off its soil for most of the period of the Cold War.

6. Romania's people have a very high regard for America with 64% having a fine opinion of the U.S., second only to Albania (Press Review, October 17, 2006, www.pressreview.ro).

One of the most admired Americans in Romania is Microsoft's Bill Gates. He was just awarded Romania's highest national honor, the Star of Romania, at the grand opening of a new Microsoft Technology Center in Bucharest. Gates gets about 75% of his new programmers for Microsoft each year from Romania.

As of January 1, 2007, Romania is one of the 29 nations which comprise the European Union, a move that will allow it to receive millions of dollars in development funds from the EU and to compete in more EU nations' markets on an equitable basis. Investments and business are already booming in Romania, but it still has some work to do in rooting out government corruption and the remaining vestiges of power still held by those who were favored and profited under communism.

The Look in Bucharest: You Can See the Difference

What a difference the demise of a dictator, the inception of democracy and a decade in time can mean in a nation of people that love freedom. As the first author of this paper, I have visited Romania 19 times and every time I return I see progress on so many fronts. The economy is now growing 7% per year, the small utilitarian, B-grade Dacia automobile is slowly vanishing from the streets, and the potholes are filled in Bucharest. In fact, the Romanian government will buy your Dacia so you can purchase a bigger, better, and less polluting car to the tune of 3,000 RON to each of the owners of 16,500 cars (Budapest Business Journal, February 14, 2007).
In July of last year, many times I walked north from the Piata Unirii where there is a shopping mall and the flat where I stayed to Piata Romana a lovely square about 2 miles away. Private security officers and vehicles were very visible, much more so than walking a comparable distance in a large U.S. city. I saw private security officers at the Bank of Romania, the Planet Casino, the Banca Transilvania, Banca Pireus, FinansBank, Sensiblu Pharmacy, Eva Store for Women, Banca Commerciala, Flamingo Computers, Libraria Dalles (a wonderful book store), Zapp Phone Company, McDonald's, KFC, and in the tunnels and on the new trains where Scorseze Security just started watching the rail system and its passengers. It is an understatement to say that private security companies and their staff are virtually everywhere. The Romanian Police are far less visible.

Only optimism can characterize the outlook toward the economy and the concomitant growth of the private security industry in Romania. In an Ernst and Young LLP Survey of 200 companies from mostly West Europe, 58% of the companies said they considered Romania a good place to invest in 2007 and 68% said that it will be a prospective investment location within 3 years. (Budapest Business Journal, February 2, 2007)

METHODOLOGY

The purposes of this study are several:

1. Describe the rapid growth of the private security industry in Romania since the demise of communism in 1989;

2. Describe the major functions that private security companies in Romania perform for government and private enterprise;

3. Discuss the results of three in-depth, structured interviews with the owner-executives of two of Romania's largest private security corporations and the president of that nation's private security professional association.

All of the structured interviews were conducted during the month of June in 2006, in the city of Bucharest, Romania.


RESULTS

Interview with Nicu Stefan (June 26, 2006)

Nicu Stefan is the General Manager of Prima Guard Security Group and the Vice President of the Association of Private Security Companies in Romania (Patronatul Societatilor de Securitate). When we entered his suite of offices in Bucharest it was obvious from surroundings that the company was a very successful competitor in the private security industry. The offices were luxurious and impeccably maintained. We soon came to learn in the interview how hard this professional had worked to reach this position of prominence and the motivation he had to do so.

His background was impressive before he decided to enter the field of private security: graduate of both the Romanian Military Academy and the Romanian Police Academy at the University of Bucharest; 30 years of service in the Romanian military; worked from 1990 to 1997, in the Romanian Presidency Secret Service. In 1997, he was only 44 years old.

Mr. Stefan spent a considerable amount of time explaining why he decided to leave the Romanian Presidency Secret Service and the story represents a look inside of one of the exceptional members of the government services in Romania and the merger of his motivation and courage with burgeoning business opportunity in Romania in the late 1990's.

Two people had considerable influence over his decision to enter the private security business. The first was a Captain in the French Prime Minister's Secret Service that he had worked with and became his friend. Before saying good bye to the French Captain at the airport in Bucharest several years ago, the Captain mentioned to Stefan that he was not paid enough for his talent and all of this work that he did in the Romanian Presidency Secret Service. The thought stuck with him and, in fact, he began to compare the working conditions, salary, and the kind of protection the Romanian Presidency Secret Service in comparison to the French service. He sensed that he was being undervalued given his level and quality of performance in service to Romania.

But more important was his relationship with his 6 year old son. His son would ask him for toys and other items and he would reply that they would need to wait until his government payday on the 25th of each month. His son said that his child friend “always gets what he wants when he wants it.” After hearing that several times, he asked what does the father of his friend do, wondering how he always has money. His son told him that the father did not work but the mother owns two doughnut establishments in Big Berceni, and important marketplace in Bucharest. This caused Mr. Stefan to resign from the Secret Service. His colleagues in the Secret Service were shocked that he would leave the position of prominence that he had achieved in a relatively short period of time. But Stefan was ready to take the risk to make things better for his family.

Mr. Stefan went to work for a private security company. He worked there for about a year and he told us that he learned more in that job working on the streets than he had in both the Police and Military Academies. At the end of a year, he asked the owner of the company to raise his salary as originally promised, but the owner said the finances of the company would not allow that. Hearing that, Stefan resigned again.

Now he was ready to risk the small amount of savings that he had accumulated in order to make a better life for his son and family. In a matter of two weeks, he established Prima Guard Security Company. He became what he said was a “jack of all trades,” hustling to obtain and sign security contracts and supervising his 40 security guards that he furnished and equipped out of his own apartment that doubled as the company’s office.

In less than two years, the company grew to 200 employees. Then he met with his current partner and discussed the possibility of joining private security forces and further advance the development of Prima Guard Security. They did join forces and the company continued to grow.
In 2002, it was Stefan's Prima Guard Security that initiated the formation of the Association of Private Security Companies. Currently 120-130 companies are members of the Association and the companies represent 50,000 private security employees in Romania. Like Mr. Stefan, all of the vice presidents of the Association are executives in Romanian private security companies. The one exception is the President of the Association. Ion Popescu, who was chosen from outside the private security industry in order to maintain impartiality in dealing with all of the Association's members. Mr. Stefan stated that on October 4, 2005, the Association became an associate member of the Confederation for European Security Services (CoESS). Now that Romania is a member state in the European Union and the Association is an active member of the CoEES.

While initially the other larger private security companies did not pay much attention to Prima Guard Services, in time the other companies discovered that Prima Guard Services was indeed a worthy competitor in the private security industry. In time, the company developed into Prima Guard Security Group (a holding company) that consisted of the following companies: Prima Guard International; Prima Guard Security Services; Fire and Private Detective Company.

In time, Prima Guard Security developed partnerships with private security companies in Hungary, Moldova Republic, Greece, Italy, and Israel. Prima Guard Security has partnership contracts with 14 companies and half of those companies have exclusive contracts that allow Prima Guard Security Service to supply security services for a period of two years before the contracts have to be renegotiated.

Mr. Stefan said that one of the Israeli companies he is working with is huge and was responsible for ensuring the security services at the Athens Olympic Games in 2000, by providing security services at the airports. Mr. Stefan emphasized that he is also responsible for the operation of contracts not only in Romania but throughout all of East Europe. Joining forces with larger companies has been a successful strategy that has allowed the company to become more and more profitable over the years. Particularly with the international contracts, Mr. Stefan said that he has become friends with many of those he is working with, no matter what country. He claimed his ability to make friends easily is one reason he is able to establish even strong partnerships and contractual arrangements in other nations.

The authors asked Mr. Stefan if he employs a lot of former police officers in his company. He mentioned that Hungary does this a lot and that it does have some advantages and also identifiable disadvantages. The advantage, of course, is that knowledge and experience the police officers bring to the job, but there are some disadvantages that he did not elaborate on.
In 2005, he met with a former CIA superior officer and an Italian lady for the purpose of setting up an European Institute for Security. One of the things that the Institute was supposed to do was provide a Masters degree in Security Services. The Institute was supposed to work as a shareholding company where each member got a quota of the shares. In this project, the Romanian government was supposed to receive a certain number of shares too. If Romania would have sent 100 private security agents to get their masters degree, their tuition fee would have been covered by the Romanian government. Mr. Stefan came to realize later that the Italian and American were not interested in the program, but only intended to access some funds from the European Union and the Italian government. In short, the project fell through.
We asked him if a newly employed security agent that comes from the police force has any chance of advancing through the hierarchy of Prima Guard Services and becoming a high-ranking manager in the company.

Instead of answering the question directly, he gave us what he called a "real-life" example. He mentioned a woman named Camelia that became employed with the company in 2004. He mentioned that she was shy in the beginning but she proved to be a real asset, becoming one of his most trustworthy employees from the Marketing and Tenders Department. He said that several days ago, he shocked the staff of his company by asking Camelia to become one of the executive directors. He said that she had learned a lot since she joined the company and she has more to learn. He mentioned that she reminds him of what he was like when he was developing Prima Guard Services. Mr. Stefan said that Camelia fights like a lioness for her rights among the other employees and this impresses them.

Mr. Stefan stated that if he has to choose between a police department general that does not perform and a young person that has been trained and educated at Prima Guard Services and does perform, he would rather have the young person.

Since video surveillance technology is so prominent in the field of private security in the United States and in other nations, we asked Stefan what was going on in Romanian private security as it relates to video surveillance technology. He answered that Romanian private security was only in the beginning stages of implementing the video surveillance services.

As closing question, we asked Mr. Stefan what changes need to take place in the private security field in Romania. First, he mentioned that he hoped the 98 amendments the Association sent to the Romanian government concerning the new private security law would be accepted. The overall result of accepting those amendments would be that only the professional private security companies would be able to survive in, the least professional ones would no longer be allowed to stay in business.

One of the government regulations that Mr. Stefan disagreed with had to do with requiring all Romanian private security officers, regardless of the company, to where a uniform with standard and distinctive marks. The Association took this matter to a civilian trial court and the Association won the case thereby blocking the requirement that all private security agents in Romania had to wear essentially the same uniform. He mentioned this as a rare event when a company can win a trial against the government.

Interview with Ion Popescu (June 30, 2006)

Mr. Ion Popescu is President of the Association of Private Security Companies in Romania (Patronatul Societatilor de Securitate). The authors arrived in mid-morning of June 26, 2006, at the office of the Private Security Association. The office suite consisted of a several private offices, a general area for welcoming and common work, and a conference room. Mr. Popescu is a gracious and hospitable man and agreed to give us all of the time that we needed to conduct our interview.

Mr. Popescu began by saying that private security companies started at the beginning of 1990, in Romania. Law number 31\1990 established the grounds for starting and regulating the field of business. There was no such legislation, however, that dealt specifically with private security. The result was that private security companies formed and offered services but there was no regulation concerning what they did or the qualifications of their personnel.

In the early 1990s, Mr. Popescu was promoted to the position of Director at the Public Order Division of Bucharest General Police Department. Almost immediately upon establishing his position as the director, he requested that the original private security companies establish a set of rules to govern themselves. He told the heads of the private security companies at the time that by forming a set of rules for self-governance the private companies and commercial enterprises that would employ their services would look more favorably upon them and it would result in more business. He mentioned that private enterprises, sometimes, would not trust private security companies, thinking that the security personnel would breach their contract and, actually, plunder the same companies that they were hired to protect.

In 1996, Law number 18\1996 established the rules and governing circumstances under which a private security company could operate. Mr. Popescu had been the person who conceived these ideas that ended up in law while he was with his job as the Director of Police in Bucharest.
After his retirement in 2001, Mr. Popescu was contacted by different representatives of private security companies that wanted to establish a professional association. They wanted his assistance in founding and administering such an organization.

The name of the association was the Romanian Association of the Professionals in Guarding and Security Systems. The original membership consisted of 50 private security companies that employed approximately 35,000 private security agents. Currently, there are 102 members in the association that Mr. Popescu heads up. In all of Romania, there are about 900 to 950 private security companies which employ about 60,000 workers. The number of public police officers in Romania is also about 60,000.

In 2003, the Association changed its name to the Association of Private Security Companies in Romania (Patronatul Societatilor de Securitate). Popescu mentioned that this was more than just a name change. The status of the professional body changed and certain advantages began to emerge:

1. The Association was able to take part in the official dialogue with the Romanian government and unions concerning work agreements and contracts;

2. Even more important, the Association was permitted to conceive new regulations in law and could provide amendments to current and new legislation concerning private security. This was indeed a leap forward for the professionalization of private security in Romania. This is a privilege not given to most professional associations.

3. The Association would now act as a single voice for all private security companies that operate in Romania, allowing the industry's requests, issues, and, sometimes, demands to be heard by the national government.

Mr. Popescu noted that it was important to remember that the Romanian police have the main responsibility in supervising the private security industry. That, of course, was the reason a special service was instituted within the national police to oversee private security.
In 2003, the Association became a member of the Council of European Security Services. But Mr. Popescu found out that there was no common legislation concerning private security in Europe. Even though there were some similar services in the private security enterprises in each nation, each country preferred to originate and maintain their own legislation regarding the regulation of the private security field.

Providing an example of the range of private security services that private security companies in Romania offer, he said that some military units in Romania are actually guarded and protected with the support of private security companies. Furthermore, about 80% of cash in the nation of Romania is transported by private security companies. He emphasized that that essentially means that about 80% of the national economy in terms of its wealth is in the hands of private security companies on any given day. The companies have even more responsibility concerning money. They have established currency centers for the counting, sorting, and processing of money before it is transported to its rightful destinations.

On a personal note, Mr. Popescu mentioned that in 2003 his replacement as the Director of Police conceived a new law regarding the operation of private security companies in Romania. He mentioned that his replacement had no experience working in the field of policing with private security and he was trying to make an impression with the government and the private security. The new law 333\2003 was replete with errors and contained too many restraints on the activities of private security companies. The Association submitted a list of over 90 amendments to this new law, but not one of them was considered by the authorities. His point was that his replacement should have been someone who had experience working in and with the private security industry.

Mr. Popescu mentioned that the new law requires that owners and managers that just established a new private security company should undergo a special training program. But there are no training programs designed for the owners and managers, so they have to attend the same training as the future private security personnel who work at the operations level. There have been a couple of examples, he said, where universities have stepped in and provided some training for the owners and managers. One of those programs was provided by Professor Suceava, a former police officer and faculty member at the Police Academy housed in the University of Bucharest.

The authors had mentioned to Mr. Popescu the study they had conducted of the 10 largest private security companies in Romania. That study was presented in a paper at the annual meeting of the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences. He mentioned that seven out of the ten private security companies in our study were members of the Association. One of the companies, BartGuard Services, had to cancel its membership because the fee to join the Association was considered to be too high.

We had asked a question about the kinds of people that head up these private security companies. He mentioned that the owners and investors at the private security companies are former sportsmen, meaning from the field of athletics, and not from the field of police work. He said that the former police and military force members can be found in the positions of Operations Director and Manager in these private security companies, but very seldom are they owners or entrepreneurs of these companies. Popescu mentioned that the thought crossed his mind to start a private security company, but when he seriously considered such an endeavor he concluded that he would not be financially capable of doing this.

Concerning membership in the organization, there are two categories of members. There are association members and affiliate members. Logically, each category of membership has different responsibilities and privileges. The association members have full voting rights and veto rights over matters that the Association proposes. And association membership costs about $860 per year. The affiliate members have many of the same rights as the association members however they do not have veto rights over matters the Association proposes and they cannot be elected to the board of governors of the association. And affiliate membership costs approximately $260 per year. In 2004, the Association developed a professional code of ethics, which new members must subscribe to before joining the Association.

We asked Mr. Popescu about the state of video surveillance technology in private security services in Romania. He said that it was only in the formative stages and is likely to increase.
Before we left the office of the association, Mr. Popescu thanked us for our professional interest in his work and offered his assistance should we need any more information. We told him how grateful we were for this interview and that we would share the results of our study with him.

Interview with Costin Oprea (June 30, 2006)

On the afternoon of June 30, 2006, we interviewed Mr. Costin Oprea, the General Director of BartGuard Services (BGS). Oprea is a tall, well-built private security executive in his 30's. During the Revolution in 1989, he was a teenage boy. He has about one year of experience working as a private security agent at the operations level.

BartGuard Services is a family business and is run by three brothers. One of them is Bogdan Oprea, the President of BGS. Mr. Oprea said that the way his parents raised him and his two brothers at home was a factor in their eventual striking out on their own and becoming security entrepreneurs.

While they worked a short time as private security agents, they soon became dissatisfied with the poor quality of the work done at the company they worked for.

Feeding off of that dissatisfaction, the brothers founded BartGuard Services in 1993, later known as BGS as a result of rebranding. The company has been successful. BGS is the only private security company that offers medical ambulance services. They provide this service in order to answer the urgent medical needs they or their clients may encounter.

According to Oprea, the company has branched out into other areas that are not common among other private security companies. They have established a charity known as BGS Association for Disasters and Calamities. The charity is supported with funds from the private security company and its purpose is to develop various social programs such as training children, students, and professors on how to deal with the circumstances deriving from natural disasters.

We asked Mr. Oprea how developed the practice of police and private security video surveillance was in Romania. He said that BGS is now in the beginning stages of offering this service. Relatively few of his clients at this time were using it. Oprea commented that it would be cheaper if some of his clients used video surveillance rather than employing private security agents on site. The fee for basic video surveillance service offered by BGS is 14-20 Euros per month plus the installation fee. Oprea seemed very interested in expanding the video surveillance business.

It was obvious from the start that BGS was interested in providing the best service possible for their clients in Romania. Oprea had even visited the United States, including Ohio, and worked with American private security companies in various capacities, including patrol work, in order to better understand the private security business.

We asked Oprea about the arming of private security agents in Romania. He stated that firearms were issued only to those private security agents who were assigned to work in banks and in the transporting of high value items and currency. The other private security agents are equipped with batons and pepper spray.

Private security legislation was of interest to Mr. Oprea since it has such an effect on this business. While seeing the value in the legislation to regulate the private security industry, he said that each enactment had some “stupid parts” to it. For example, according to the first law in the early 1990’s, men could not be employed in the private security field unless they had already satisfied their military obligation. But women could work in private security with no previous military experience. He related that out of 700 employees in BGS, only 10 women worked as private security agents.

Mr. Oprea wanted us to understand that BGS is interested in quality private security services, and not offering service just for the sake of making money. To date, Oprea said that none of the BGS contracts had been terminated in regard to not meeting quality standards for service. This level of service comes with a price for the clients and BGS. BGS clients pay more for services than they would from most other private security companies and the BGS private security agents make more than the average market salary for their work. This results in slower growth for the company when compared to some other ones, but the tenure of their clients makes up for that.

DISCUSSION

The differences and similarities in the backgrounds of the three Romanian private security professionals we interviewed alone provides and interesting backdrop for discussion. They came from a military and secret service background; a police officer background; and from a background of only private security operations level experience resulting in owning and managing a successful private security business. All in their own way are leaders in the burgeoning private security industry in Romania.

Already the object of forecasts that make it perhaps the best place in Eastern Europe to invest, Romania may be facing a labor shortage for its more menial jobs. Politicians and business leaders are already talking about bring in workers from the Ukraine, Russia, and Vietnam.

Professionalization of Private Security

It is obvious from the interview responses of all three interviewees that the private security industry in Romania is in the throes of professionalization. It seems that most of the stimuli for that movement are coming from the leaders in private security themselves as they work through the auspices of the Association of Private Security Companies in Romania.
This professionalization movement is not unlike what happened in the U.S. under the leadership of the American Society for Industrial Security (ASIS). We should not forget either that in the late 1980’s in the U.S. there were still only 4 states that had any regulation at all over the private security industry. Romania, in contrast, would seem to be moving faster although
given the multiplicity of political parties and coalitions at the national level, realizing any legislative improvements in the private security industry will require patience.

Growth Potential of the Private Security Industry (video surveillance)

We are confident with the solid and numerous predictions for growth in the Romanian economy that there will be a concomitant increase in the number of private security agencies and personnel. It is virtually impossible to find a pessimistic prediction concerning the Romanian economy for the next several years.

Equally impressive is the character and preparedness of the Romanian workforce. The public education and higher education systems rank high among the other nations of Europe and are at the top of the ladder in Eastern Europe. But one of the serious issues Romania will need to deal with that has already hurt the nation is the loss of about 1 million of its capable young people who have left to work and live in other nations. As mentioned earlier, Bill Gates of Microsoft knows how talented and well educated many in the workforce are and he goes to Romania regularly to recruit IT professionals. The new Microsoft center in Bucharest should stem some of the exodus of talent from the nation.

Given the proliferation of both private and public video surveillance systems in the U.S and in other parts of the developed world, Romania is ripe for implementation of this technology within the private security industry. As was mentioned by our three interviewees, video surveillance technology is just getting started. The technical talent to design and implement these surveillance systems is certainly readily available in this nation that is a leader in producing IT professionals.

One matter in relation to the growth potential of surveillance technology in both the private and public sectors is of interest. Will this nation quietly accept the proliferation of video and audio surveillance to protect its businesses, public, and private property, and the people? Romania is a nation that suffered under one of the most personally intrusive dictators in modern history. Ceausescu established intelligence files on millions of Romanians. These same people and their descendants may resist with vigor the deployment of intrusive video surveillance even when it is to “protect” them and their property.


Women and Private Security

Almost absent in our conversation was the existence and advance of women in the private security industry in Romanian society. BartGuard Services employed only 10 (1.4%) women out of 700 employees. Stefan mentioned his recent promotion of a woman to a managerial position based on her zeal and competence in the business. But is it clear that women do not comprise any sizable portion of the operations or managerial staff of the Romanian private security industry.

We can assume, that like the situation in many other areas of the Romanian economy, women have not strived for private security positions since it was not traditional and the lingering restrictions of the past communist regime have not allowed women to realize their full potential in positions that were once held by virtually all males. We sense that the Romanian government is starting to promote the participation of women in areas that were once reserved for men only, and that membership in the European Union will assist in providing more job opportunities for women in positions once held almost exclusively by men.


SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS

Private security is destined to become a booming enterprise in Romania. The Romanian economy is positioned and forecast for substantial growth over the next decade. Membership in the European Union, visible progress in prosecuting corruption, and a leadership pool of leading private security entrepreneurs backed by a strong and influential Association of Private Security Companies are assets that will advance the private security profession.

Misters Popescu, Stefan, and Oprea, while coming out of different backgrounds and experiences, are more than likely typical of the leaders that will inspire the professionalization of the private security industry in Romania. Their pioneer work already has jumped started an industry that was virtually non-existent a decade ago. Make no mistake about it, there is money to be made in the private security business in Romania since so much of what we would consider public protection agency service lies in the private sector in Romania. That is not likely to change. The rapid growth in the number of private security companies in such a short period of time is evidence enough that there is no indication that this growth has peaked.

Caveats and complications do exist, however. Working with a cumbersome national Parliament that seems to be regularly embroiled in political squabbles makes stability in moving forward on needed legislation and the formulations of necessary government rules dealing with private security standards difficult but the three private security leaders in this study have a record of success in improving the private security industry and are not likely to be deterred in the future either.

If what has happened in Mr. Stefan’s private security company is any hint of what is to come, it even looks as if women may soon break out of their traditional roles in business and industry and start acquiring private security operations level and management positions in private security.

While there seems to be a Yugoslav proverb for about every condition in life, there are just as many proverbs in Romania and this one comes to mind: Ziua buna de dimineata se cunoaste. “You can spot a good day from early morning.” The morning is indeed good in Romania only 17 years out from under communist rule and there is every reason to believe that the rest of the day will be prosperous and rewarding for Romania and its people.





REFERENCES


Bohm, R and K. Haley. Introduction to Criminal Justice. New York:
McGraw-Hill, 2007.

Bucharest General Police Inspectorate. www.politiaromana.ro

Budapest Business Journal, February 2, 2007.

Budapest Business Journal, February 13, 2007.

Budapest Business Journal, February 14, 2007.

Cunningham, W., Strauchs, S., & Van Meter, C. (1990). The Hallcrest Report II: Private Security Trends 1970-2000. MacLean, VA: Hallcrest Systems.

Haley, K, T. Ene, and J. Collins. Private Security on the Web: A Content Analysis of Private Security Corporation Websites in the United States and Romania. A Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences, March 15-19, 2005, Chicago, Illinois.

Personal Interview with Ion Popescu, June 26, 2006.

Personal Interview with Nicu Stefan, June 26, 2006.

Personal Interview with Costin Oprea, June 30, 2006.

Press Review. www.pressreview.ro