The demand has pushed the growth of the private security sector to the point that around the 110 thousand registered and unregistered guards. Until April 2025, The General Directorate of Private Security Services (DIGESSP) had registered 273 authorized private security companies and 23 thousand 872 guards. In 2023 there were 259 service providers.
The members of the associations that of private security companies commented that there could be between 60 thousand and 90 thousand guards that work irregularly.
Jorge Santizo, in charge of the DIGESSP, said they are not aware of the businesses where these illegal companies could be operating, because their powers do not allow them to carry out investigations, although they have proceeded to sanction and issue complaints for those facts.
He indicated that they currently have 50 people, in different working groups, who carry out the supervisions. During the last two years they have not been able to supervise 100% of those registered companies, according to statistics.
“We act when people issue a complaint to the institution. We carry out the supervision and issue the sanctions,” he acknowledged.
DIGESSP statistics show that in 2023 they carried out 114 ex officio supervisions and 85 for complaints. The following year there were 139 ex officio and 113 because citizens complaints.
During these visits to companies and areas where private security guards were, they issued 60 sanctions in 2023, 65 in 2024 and until April of this year they have been 15.
“The fines can range from 10 to 20 minimum wages, according to the type of fault committed,” he said.
Although companies that operate illegally can be sanctioned with Q100 thousand fine and a sentence of six to 12 years in prison, he explained.
According to article 66 of the law that regulates private security services, any person who provides or acquires the service without authorization or license issued by the DIGESP commits the crime of illegal provision of private security service.
How security companies operate illegally
César Mérida, of the Association of Professionals for Risk Prevention and Integral Protection (Apripri), said that one of the great challenges faced by private security companies is unfair competition, and that this could be related to the process of authorization of licenses by DIGESSP.
He added that this has led to companies already authorized giving the operating license to people without experience or training in security.
“There is a failure from the process of creating the same security companies or the lack of audit that has to be carried out. New security companies are emerging daily, but the operational scope of DIGESSP, who regulates security companies, limits him to taking certain actions such as the cancellation of the company,” said Mérida.
The Private Security Companies union said that Ladigessp should be strengthened to agree a special unit that monitors the complaints and carry out inter -institutional operations with the support of the PNC and MP.
“This would allow illegal services to be attacked at the root, since captures by flagrant actions would be carried out, and this would create awareness of users about the risk involved in hiring this type of services, since Decree-Law 52-2010, in its article 66, stipulates sanctions,” said the union.
More supervisors in the interior of the country
Santizo said that between August 2024 and March 2025, an exercise was done with government institutions, companies and who hire private security to prepare a policy to strengthen DIGESSP.
He explained that the General Directorate of Weapons and Ammunition Control, the Ministry of Labor, the Attorney General’s Rights, the National Civil Police and civil society participated.
It is a 10 -year strategic plan to address the problems through action axes.
The DIGESSP plan is to implement supervision offices in the east and west of the country for which they will hire 20 people to tax private security companies.
“That will allow us to have access, a reaction and more immediate attention. We want to reach the 273 companies in a year, to make an ex officio supervision during that period and advance in the verification processes, which have increased in relation to the complaints, and that is positive,” he explained.
“I always tell the people of the address: they have to be known and aware that a bad job, a bad supervision can end up violating the safety of someone,” he said.