Banks’ compliance level to police guidelines
LAHORE
THE public and private banks have failed to comply with security instruction given by the police department to tackle bank robberies in the provincial capital despite the fact that these financial institutions have been told how they can avoid robberies by taking various security measures.
Shariq Kamal, SSP Internal Accountability Division (IAD) talking to Daily The Pak Banker said, “police had told banks high ups to appoint young and trained security guards who do know weapon handling, examine their weapons periodically, increase guards strength at each branch to three, install vantage points outside the banks, don’t let the guards stand inside the branch, ensure guards were not using 12 Bore gun but 222 Bore rifle but sadly banks were not paying attention to these instructions of the police department,” Kamal said.
“Instead the banks are appointing old and untrained guards who even don’t know how to operate weapons and ignoring weapons scrutiny. Their guards are habitual of standing aimlessly inside the bank branches to avoid weather impact, holding pump actions instead of single short gun or 222 bore rifle,” he said.
He said that the banks have been hiring security companies services to secure their banks; however, it is impossible for the companies to provide foolproof security to the banks as they were just minting money by hiring laymen as security guards on very nominal wages.
He said, “The bank managers had, time and again, been advised to inform these companies management to write letters to them for professional security guards. The police spokesman said that all the companies claimed that they have been appointing retired army-men but investigations had made it clear that most of the companies were hiring the people who even did not know to operate weapons.
He disclosed that the bank security guards had been strictly forbidden to retaliate during robbery attempts and this is evident from the various bank robberies footage that showed security guards surrendering their weapons without resistance.
To a question as to as how the banks could be forced to comply with the police department’s secu- rity guidelines, the SSP Internal Accountability Division said that the police should be allowed to directly register FIR against the indifferent attitude of the banks.
He said, “Currently the interior ministry is being contacted to