Grading exercise for security firms made optional in 2020 due to Covid-19: MHA
The MHA also announced that it will, in the longer term, do away with the current grading system. Instead, security firms will be assessed on a pass or fail basis.
SINGAPORE — Given the unfolding Covid-19 pandemic, the authorities have made it optional for security agencies to participate in what is supposed to be a mandatory annual grading exercise that determines if firms get to renew their licences.
In a press release issued on Friday (March 27), the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said: “This year, in light of the Covid-19 situation, the police will dispense with the requirement for all security agencies to participate in Sage (Security Agencies Grading Exercise) 2020.”
This will alleviate the administrative load on security agencies, it added.
The MHA also announced that it will, in the longer term, do away with the current grading system. Instead, security firms will be assessed on a pass or fail basis.
When the results of the last Sage exercise were released by the police last December, the security industry had decried that the assessment’s “shifting goalposts” gave the wrong impression that the more than 200 firms operating here have not improved.
By “shifting goalposts”, they were referring to how the cut-off for an A grade had gone up from 86 per cent in 2017 to 96 in 2019, and the cut-off for a B similarly inflated from 73 in 2017 to 88 in 2019.
Also, a score of 50 would have guaranteed firms a C in 2017 and 2018, but those scoring lower than 55 were slapped with a D grade in 2019, certifying the firm’s standard as “unsatisfactory”.
Firms with two consecutive Ds will not get their licences renewed.
Among those who spoke up then was Security Association Singapore’s (SAS) then executive director Ikhsan Suri who said: “The (grading exercise has significant commercial implications for security agencies because security buyers look to it to differentiate the market.
“In this regard, it is essential that we get the assessment and grading methodology right.”
MHA’s latest announcement came on the back of findings of a tripartite taskforce, which was formed last November to review the grading exercise so that it continues to be relevant while it supports industry transformation.
Besides the doing away of grades, the ministry said the taskforce has agreed to make three other “broad shifts”.
They are in:
Implementing a new framework that assesses security agencies by their “actual competencies”. Agencies will need to demonstrate substantive security capabilities and outcomes, said the MHA
Tying the assessment to each security agency’s annual licence renewal, instead of having all agencies undergo assessments at the same time
Introducing “voluntary elective modules” for agencies to further demonstrate their capabilities in return for a two-year licence. As such, these agencies will need to undergo their Sage assessments only on a biennial basis rather than a yearly basis
MHA said it will announce more details on the revised assessment by early 2021.
For now, Sage 2020, which will be conducted on a voluntary basis, should only be of concern to security agencies that scored poorly in the last assessment.
This is because the cut-off points from Sage 2019 will be used for grading purposes, and agencies that choose not to undergo Sage 2020 will have their 2019 grade extended by one year to the end of 2021.
In addition, to enhance protection for security officers from harassment or abuse, MHA said it is looking to institute new offences through amendments to the Private Security Industry Act in 2021.
Changes to Sage and the Private Security Industry Act were made following engagement with security associations, unions and industry leaders, which have “expressed their support”, it added.
“We will continue to work closely with them to sustain industry transformation, raise standards, and uplift workers and their welfare.”
In response, the Security Industry Council (SIC), comprising SAS, the Union of Security Employees and the Association of Certified Security Agencies, said it is “heartened” by the decision to extend the grades of security agencies until the end of 2021.
“As the Sage is a rigorous and involved process, making it voluntary will allow agencies to focus their resources on dealing with the current difficult business environment, which has presented us with unprecedented challenges like disruptions to manpower supply,” it said.
