CISF moves towards hybrid port security, trains private guards

The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) has begun training private security personnel deployed at ports, rolling out a pilot programme to standardise practices across India’s vast and varied coastline.

A senior CISF officer told The Tribune that the initiative was designed to give shape to a hybrid port security model, in which the force's expertise and supervision were combined with trained private manpower to cover cargo zones, warehouses, access gates and installations at smaller ports that often remain outside the direct ambit of central protection.

India today operates 13 major ports, all of which are guarded by the CISF, but nearly 200 smaller and intermediate ports depend heavily on private security.

"Only about sixty-five of these smaller facilities are active in cargo operations, yet they handle significant volumes of trade. Security officials have long acknowledged that uneven standards at these facilities create vulnerabilities," the officer said.

As per the officer, the new training initiative is expected to close these gaps by providing private guards with uniform skills and procedures.

The two-week “Port Facility Security Course” developed by CISF covers everything from threat identification and emergency response to the use of modern surveillance equipment and the legal frameworks governing port operations. So far 40 private guards from Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority in Mumbai and 26 guards from New Mangalore have enrolled themselves in Mumbai and Chennai.

The official further said the programme will be expanded to other ports along both coasts in the coming months. "The eventual goal is to create a national pool of trained private port security personnel working under the CISF’s overarching supervision," he added.