المملكة: Older owners obligate commercial activities to provide security guards around the clock

The Ministry of Interior agreed to amend the second article of the executive regulations of the private civil security guard system, in a move aimed at enhancing security and safety requirements in a number of vital and commercial facilities, according to clear controls that include a wide range of activities.
According to the new amendment, any party is prevented from securing a civil security guard, especially without obtaining a license from public security.

Clock guard

The regulations are obligated by a number of commercial facilities to provide security guard around the clock, the most prominent of which are: hotels, banks, exchange stores and money transfer, hospitals, gold shops and jewelry located outside the pre -protected facilities.
Facilities also include markets and malls that contain 30 stores or more, or exceeding 3000 square meters, sheltering sites of workers belonging to human resources companies, centers and exhibitions of selling and maintaining cars and heavy equipment with an area of ​​more than 2000 square meters.
Buildings and towers prepared for commercial or residential rent that exceed 50 units, and residential complexes that contain more than 10 villas or 50 housing units.
The cities of the parks, tourist facilities and civil libraries that exceed an area of ​​3000 or 2000 square meters include activity, factories and warehouses, after providing a security feasibility study from a licensed consulting office, at the estimation of the region’s police director.

Guard during working hours only

The amendment also stipulated that other facilities to provide security guard during working hours, such as: private and international schools, educational and training centers, halls and events halls, clinics and medical complexes, and large restaurants with an area of ​​more than 1000 square meters.
Women’s sports club halls, hypermarkets and major food stores, facilities that hold licensed activities from the Exhibitions Authority or Entertainment Authority, camps and sites prepared to accommodate pilgrims with holy sites during the Hajj season.

Additional powers for police officers

Among the striking items, the new amendment was granted the district police directors the authority to compel new facilities to provide security guarding based on field security studies and submit reports to the Director of Public Security, which gives the regime flexibility in expanding according to the emerging security need.
The amendment also included deleting the text related to the determination of the working hours of the guards by 8 hours per day, which decreases to 6 hours in Ramadan, which was previously stipulated by a decision of the Ministry of Labor, indicating a tendency towards updating the organizations in line with the nature of the facilities and activities concerned.