The February 14^th attack, followed by the bombings in New Jdeideh, Kaslik, Sad al-Boushrieh and Broumana have seen in increased demand for private security services among banks, shops, hotels, malls and large institutions as well as ongoing real estate projects.

Demand has mainly focused on electronic surveillance, monitoring systems, and security guards. Youssef Mohamed Beydoun, vice-president of the Syndicate of Security and Safety Professionals in Lebanon and general manager of Beydoun Fire and Security, estimates that business has spurted by 30-35%.

 “Banks are our main source of increased demand,” said Beydoun. “It has now become a priority for everyone to increase their security coverage, but banks in general are especially afraid thefts and hold-ups might occur due to the current political and economic climate.”

Demand for security guards has equally been boosted, most notably due to the fact that they are the most rapidly deployable form of security service, yet they still trail behind electronic surveillance systems in terms of what the market wants. Security firm, Protectron, has estimated the hike in demand at 25%, although, tight budgets force many companies to employ their won staff in a security role. The increase in human security has been deployed to check all cars entering premises or parking in the vicinity of the building, as well as inspect all clients entering the locales.

And maybe this is why the industry sees the employment of extra security guards as a stopgap measure. At around $500 per security guard per shift, the service is not cheap. “We can already see a drop in demand,” says Lotfallah Yazigi, president of Securitas in the Middle East. “It was a reaction to panic. People in residences would get together and chip-in for a guard to watch the premises for two weeks to a month, but contracts wouldn’t go much longer than that. It was a quick-fix for peace of mind but most people can’t afford this type of service in the long-run.”

Many banks, hotels, institutions and large companies, such as the Phoenicia InterContinental, which has incurred minimal costs in upgrading security, already have adequate security systems in place as part of their commitment to comply with international standards and regulations issued by headquarters. They have consultants come in to do regular check ups to ensure compliance with corporate norms.

 “We haven’t hired more people,” says Jana Sleen of the Safir Heliopolitan hotel. “What we have done is increase the number of security guard shifts and tightened security measures, especially with regards to all cars coming in. Half of our staff is from Protectron and the other half is our own staff. But otherwise, we already had cameras in place everywhere.”

The Beryte Hotel reported to have increased security staff by four, at an additional cost of $3,000 per month, to which will be added the installation of surveillance cameras, at $2,000-3,000.

“It’s an additional cost, but one that everybody has to incur right now,” says Jihad Shoughari, operations manager for the hotel. “After the attack, the army and the police went around to all the hotels in the surrounding area and asked for the films of the surveillance cameras. We have now in the process of ordering 3 or 4.”

Banks and large retailers have also reported an increase in security guards for the most part. Byblos bank is now also switching to the international security company Group 4 Total Security.

“We used to have four different local companies, but now we are switching to Group 4, because it’s a more professional, English company,” says Antoine Keldany, head of administration at Byblos bank. “Our security budget has increased, although not by much.”

ABC Mall in Achrafieh has hired 20 new security guards, at an estimated $7,000 a month, and is reportedly in the process of installing a camera surveillance system.

Universities, embassies and international organizations have for their part made few requests for additional security services. Virtually all embassies have their security equipment sent to them from their respective countries and are prohibited from purchasing any local products.

The UN, whose offices in central Beirut were reinforced with cement blocks and sandbags following the attacks, claims this was a measure that had long been in the pipeline.

“We asked the government two years ago to make this arrangement around the building, because the UN building in Beirut was non-compliant with international regulations that have been established for the institution – it had nothing to do with the attacks,” says Elias Daoud, head of security for the UN building. “Otherwise, nothing has changed.”

Despite the recent hike in demand for security services, some industry insiders are not convinced that it will necessarily entail an overall increase in the quality and profitability of the sector. According to Khlaed Jaber, general manager for Security Engineering, there are no rules in Lebanon governing security services. “We tried to push for this through the creation of a syndicate, but it turned into a forum for social events. Every company now has its own standards. We now have a lot of security providers in Lebanon, probably some 100-150, but out of these, I would say there are only 10 which are really professional, offering high quality services and products.”

“Right now the market is booming, but it’s not really profitable,” says a manager of a security company offering human guarding. “Salaries remain low, contracts are offered on a short-term basis. A lot of people working as guards view it as temporary employment, it’s not one they invest in to make a career out of.”

Despite relatively few additional security measures being added over the course of the past two months, industry insiders believe there might be a gradual shift towards a more preventive-oriented approach to security.

“The measures we are taking are not temporary, they are permanent,” says Shoughari. “It’s a trend happening throughout the Middle East – just look at the last bomb attack which hit Cairo. We are now faced with a new environment, locally, as well as internationally. The enhanced security measures are here to stay.”

Yazigi believes it is too early to tell whether the panic attack which hit the Lebanese will result in any long-term changes, but does detect a trend in the region towards greater security awareness.

Partly in response to this, Securitas will be opening the Swiss Academy for Security in Lebanon in May – a first in the region – to train professional security guards at every level.