Security agencies are feeling the heat with Delhi Police cracking down in the wake of a spurt in crimes involving private security guards in Delhi, Noida and Gurgaon.

"We are in the process of issuing guidelines to private security agencies on the lines of the directions given to BPOs and media organizations offering pick-and-drop facilities. We have already studied the Private Security Agency Regulation Act, 2005, which provides guidelines for these companies; but it might take a bit longer before we formulate a policy after talking to various stakeholders," said commissioner of police B K Gupta on Thursday, after the bi-monthly meeting between top crime branch personnel and senior officials of Nasscom and the BPOs located in NCR.

The police official said there was a need for inter-state co-ordination, as several criminals from Haryana and UP have been involved in various big crimes in the city in the recent past.

"We were told that the BPO companies need six months to fix GPS systems in their cabs and we have requested them to finish the process sooner. The BPO officials also sought our help in finishing the verification of guards and drivers at the earliest. They also requested that the condition of security guards accompanying women employees be relaxed during the daytime,” said a senior crime branch officer.

“The problem is complicated since it involves the sensitive issue of allowing gun licences in the city. It is too early to comment,” he said after the meeting attended by Nasscom president Som Mittal and officials of 12 companies.

"We want to instruct agencies not to trust new recruits with huge amounts of money,” said a senior officer. The police have also instructed security agencies to rotate their staff each day. "In both the central and south district incidents, the guards got enough time to plan their crimes. Therefore, we will ask for rotation of duties,” said another officer.