Investigation into the private security industry

THE Australian Crime Commission has launched a special investigation into the private security industry amid fears organised crime rings are using it to infiltrate businesses, sell drugs and launder money.Criminals no longer just use private security jobs to sell drugs and steal guns; they are now using it as a cover to get access to lucrative sectors such as insurance, finance and telecommunications, it warns."We're seeing criminal infiltration across a broad range of areas," commission chief executive Alastair Milroy said.
"The potential is (for) quite a broad range of criminal activity — access to business, business information, facilitating theft for others and access to things that business might be involved in."The jobs now carried out by security guards — such as surveillance, property protection and even fraud investigation — involve trust from the community, but some people might exploit that, Mr Milroy said.The commission began an investigation into the industry last September, after an intelligence assessment found that different job types and the kind of access they allowed provided opportunities for criminals.Intelligence gathered by the commission on organised crime suggests criminals are moving into business sectors with high profits and less risk of scrutiny from law enforcement, such as insurance and transport.Security licence holders have access to businesses such as banks, airports, hotels, shopping centres and government services.
"Security plays a significant part in those industries, to (get access to them) they would need to infiltrate within the security," Mr Milroy said.
"It's an issue of access to sensitive information.
"We are taking a very open mind to really look at the extent of criminal infiltration and the risks associated with that brings to all business.
"(It) increases the risk to business and it also raises the issue of the credibility of the agencies involved."
The Australian Crime Commission was using its coercive powers "quite extensively", Mr Milroy said. Intelligence was being passed on to state police. The investigation is expected to be finished by the end of the year.

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