A Look into Private Security Service in Nicaragua

Oct 24, 2016 | English Blog

Even though Nicaragua is ranked as the safest country in the region, citizens are not exempt of being victims of crime either in the streets, offices, and business or in their own homes.

Therefore many of us turn to companies that provide security service to ensure the safety of our employees, customers, family and ourselves.

In the case of Nicaragua, the private security service to date is regulated by the law number 903, entitled Law of Private Security Services, which was published in La Gaceta Diario Oficial No. 141 of July 29, 2015.

This Law aims to regulate the private security services provided by natural or legal persons, whether for commercial purposes or for personal gain, including the facilities of the companies that provide the service, control of their personnel, equipment and performance.

It should be noted that to provide such service it is required that companies/individuals providing such service obtain an operating license issued by the enforcement authority of Law 903, i.e. the National Police. This License is classified by law as a nontransferable public document, nominal and is granted for a term of five years, subject to the prior compliance of all the requirements established by Law 903 for each type of service and the payment of the fee according to the type of security service provided.

In addition, the law also created the National Registry of Private Security Services, which is responsible for registering the people and companies providing the service, their staff, uniforms, control the type of service and licenses, control the location of firearms (guns); which should be placed in warehouses, among other functions.

Law 903 defines the security services that can be provided, these being: 1. Physical and personal protection monitoring, which refers to the protection of people, industries, facilities, establishments, movable and immovable property and property values of others or themselves, including customers or visitors of users of the service of Private security. 2. Protection of values i.e. administration, transport in its modality and custody; 3. Nonlethal Electronic Security controlled by responsive services that includes monitoring and GPS tracking, monitoring centers and alarm monitoring and response electric fences; and 4. Education and training of private security service.

The law also expressly prohibits natural or legal persons to pursuit the searching for information or data that violate the constitutional rights of individuals their intimacy and privacy, or on matters pertaining exclusively to the national police.

Providers of private security services are required to ensure the training of staff according to their functions, especially the ones requiring constant learning in the field.

As mentioned above to provide the service prior license is required, which according to the law can be canceled for the following reasons: 1. Final ruling that prove the link of the administration or Board of Directors of the companies that provide the security services or the owner of the business is affiliated to organized crime and narcotrafficking; 2. For committing proven corporate crimes; 3. Use the private security services for the commission of criminal offenses; 4. When the administration of the company that provide security services orders security guards to be involved in activities that disrupt public order or attempt against citizen and human security; 5. When private security providers do not comply with labor and social security legislation; 6. termination of operations.

This cancellation must be recorded in the corresponding registry and license holder must return it within five days and deliver weapons and ammunition that are registered. The owner of the private security company cannot constitute a new private security company or join any other company with the same or similar objective.

As we can see, the services of private security and surveillance are properly regulated by law and it´s important that when we hire these type of services we must make sure that the company or individual has the corresponding operating license which must be in compliance with the requirements of the law and therefore giving the customers legal certainty of their services.