ICOCA WELCOMES FIRST MEMBER COMPANY FROM BRAZIL – SPARTA CORPORATE SOLUTIONS

ICoCA is also pleased to announce that Sparta Corporate Solutions (Brazil) has been joined the ICoCA as Transitional Member. We took the opportunity to sit down with them to learn more about why they joined and the challenges faced in ensuring responsible security provision in Brazil

First of all, can you tell us about the private security landscape in Brazil?

The Private Security Industry in Brazil has 2,471 companies, 502,318 professionals, and service providers. The sector moves about $7.47 billion.

How is the industry regulated?

Private security companies are regulated by their own set of laws (Law No. 7,102/83, 8,863/94, and 9,017/95) and regulated by decrees and ordinances of the Ministry of Justice and the Federal Police Department.

Who are clients of Private Security Companies in Brazil?

Customers are from several areas, such as Valuable cargo transport companies, banks, shopping malls, supermarkets, residential buildings, corporate buildings, condominiums, universities, hospitals, etc.

What issues do you and them face?

In recent years the leading global challenge has been pandemic, where the private security sector lost almost 40,000 jobs between 2020 and 2021. Added to this is the fact that many companies in segments that hire private security have also ended their activities, significantly reducing demand and the financial crisis faced by the government that cuts costs, including private security.

How did you first hear about ICoCA?

Two years ago, Sparta introduced in its Strategic Planning the objective of being recognized internationally. Still, for this, it was necessary to adapt to the global market, so we started the process of ISO 18788 Certification and ANSI/ASIS PSC.1; today, Sparta is a certified company and ICoCA member.

What was your motivation to become an ICoCA Member? What are your expectations from ICoCA, and from obtaining ICoCA Certification?

The motivation was to demonstrate to our clients the guarantee of respect for Human Rights and compliance with the highest internationally recognized standards through ICoCA and provide services to corporations that have ICoCA requirements for their private security service providers in Brazil. ICoCA is expected to support us in raising awareness and disseminating international human rights laws and policies contributing to the Brazilian private security market. For this reason, we look forward to obtaining the ICoCA certification that will affirm our compliance with the Code, allowing us to share knowledge.

ICoCA, as the name suggests, is an Association in which each member contributes to its evolution. What do you hope to bring to ICoCA?

Sparta is claiming to disseminate ICoCA in Brazil so that the Code is adopted as a form of due diligence for private security providers, increasingly promoting improvement in hiring processes and the execution of services.

What is the most common challenge you face relating to Human Rights Due Diligence? How can ICoCA help?

The main challenge is cultural, especially in some regions of Brazil. ICoCA will contribute significantly to the availability of training and support material so that our employees responsible for implementing human rights principles act as advisors and knowledge multipliers.

Even if the risk of exposure is high, many companies still avoid employing high-quality security providers due to financial reasons. What is your opinion on this practice? Why do you think it benefits Private Security Services Clients to hire Responsible Providers?

Sparta believes that no smaller is the value of hiring low-quality or clandestine companies; the contractor will never have advantages. He can suffer consequences such as poor service delivery, inability to solve customer problems, failure to pay taxes, and workers’ rights as punctuality in paying salaries and requiring training and recycling courses.

Are you seeing ICoCA requirements from clients in Brazil, and what can be done to raise awareness about the Association in Brazil?

Unfortunately, most companies that make ICoCA requirements are international companies; it is necessary to disclose The ICoCA demonstrating the importance of implementing due diligence for continuous improvement for both the contractor and private security providers. Sparta believes that ICoCA’s performance in the Brazilian private security sector will raise the standards and practices of this market.

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