Ing. Václav Jahodář is professionally involved in security issues provided by public administration and commercial agencies. He is the Director of Sales and Strategy at ABAS IPS Management, a multinational company. He was also re-elected President of the Chamber of Commercial Security Companies of the Czech Republic in 2021.
Can you please tell us about the mission of your Chamber?
As the oldest trade association in the field of private security services, it was founded at the instigation of the Defence and Security Committee of the Parliament of the Czech Republic on 22 January 1993 in the interest of raising the professional level in the fi eld of private security services and self-protection as well as to protect the interests and ensure the needs of entrepreneurs. I would like to stress here that the Chamber has become an important platform for the formulation of the activities of the private security sector over the last few years, especially in the area of its legislative anchoring. Most of the prominent providers of these services, not excluding our company Abas, have an extensive portfolio of activities ranging from so-called physical security and the installation and operation of various security and CCTV systems, to the transport of valuables, and sometimes even detective services and security consultancy. Therefore, it is our priority to endeavour to create legislation that reflects the current needs of both the providers of security activities and, logically, the interests of customers. However, last but not least, we cannot forget the societal impact.
What are the Chamber’s ambitions?
Our Chamber has become a respected organiser of very positively perceived and appreciated professional conferences in the last four years. Under the title of Soft Targets, Current Threats and Possibilities of Cooperation between the State or the Public Sector and the Private Security Sector, these conferences started a certain change in thinking and attitudes on both sides. Our ambition, of course, while respecting the given criteria and parameters, especially in terms of quality, expertise and reliability, is to become a self-evident partner for the Integrated Rescue System of the Czech Republic. In addition to the undoubted economic benefit for the state, there is also a nonnegligible society-wide benefit.
What demands are placed on your members regarding cyber protection and the implementation of new technologies?
It is necessary to realise and take into consideration that what a few years ago seemed like space science fiction, such as detection and differentiation of people, objects, vehicles, etc., is part of our work. It is obvious that there are no foreseeable limits or boundaries when it should stop. The deployment of artifi cial intelligence in our industry is proof of this as well, and we witnessed it at our professional conference this year. However, what we realised years ago with the advent of the internet — good servant, bad master — is fi guratively true here. We need to have enough skilled professionals and secure processes in place to ensure that we do not fall prey to the new forms of terrorism and piracy that are represented, for example, by various forms of cyber threats, whether they are directed against the interests of individuals, companies or states.
Thank you for the interview.
