Security companies in Itauguá: how to pick a licensed one

To hire a security company in Itauguá, ask for its National Police licence (the resolución de habilitación) before you talk price. Then decide what your home or your shop on Route PY02 actually needs (monitored alarm, cameras or a guard) and get at least two written quotes for the same scope.

How do I know a company is licensed?

Private security in Paraguay is overseen by the National Police through its department for private security firms (ABC Color, 2023⁠⁠ (opens in a new tab)⁠). Every company needs a licence issued by resolution of the Police command. Requirements the police listed to La Nación (2023)⁠⁠ (opens in a new tab)⁠ include being a registered company, psychological and firearms tests, its own premises, life insurance for guards, patrol vehicles and an identifiable uniform. That year 135 firms were registered nationwide, after about 200 were cancelled or suspended.

In practice:

• Ask for the licence number and date, and check that the company name matches the contract and the invoice.
• Ask to see the ID cards of the guards assigned to you; the police issue them (Hoy, 2022⁠⁠ (opens in a new tab)⁠).
• Be wary of anyone offering a lone guard: the police say a person who does not work for a licensed company is not a security guard.
• If anything looks off, check with the National Police before you sign.

Alarm, cameras or a guard?

Itauguá is split by Route PY02: shops line the highway, with neighbourhoods and rural compañías to the north and south. What makes sense depends on where you are:

• A house in a neighbourhood: the usual setup is a monitored alarm plus cameras on the gate and the back. In barrio Mboi'y, residents told Última Hora (2022)⁠⁠ (opens in a new tab)⁠ that motorbike thieves had been circling the area before they shot a worker half a block from home on his way to the bus stop. Street-facing cameras help record that kind of movement.
• A shop on the highway: ask for monitoring with response, and consider a guard only at opening and closing, when cash is handled.
• A warehouse, building or large lot: this is where a guard makes sense. Under current law shifts are 12 hours⁠⁠ (opens in a new tab)⁠, so ask how many people cover the post and who fills in when someone is absent.

Who is allowed to install cameras and alarms?

Article 33 of Law 5424/15 says security systems are supplied exclusively by security companies and, where permitted, independent installers who are licensed in that specialty (quoted in a public procurement file⁠⁠ (opens in a new tab)⁠). With an unlicensed installer, the police warn there is no guarantee the alarm will respond to a forced entry or that your footage stays private (Hoy⁠⁠ (opens in a new tab)⁠).

Before you accept the installation:

• Get the admin passwords for the cameras and the app.
• Ask where footage is stored (on a recorder in the house, in the cloud or both) and for how many days.
• Ask what happens in a power or internet cut: backup battery and phone alerts.

What should the quote say?

Paraguay's consumer law, Law 1334/98⁠⁠ (opens in a new tab)⁠, requires a service provider to tell you what the service covers, the equipment, the price including taxes, payment terms, how long the quote is valid and the scope of any warranty (art. 15); a warranty must be in writing (art. 11). Send each company the same list and ask them to separate:

• Equipment and installation from the monthly fee.
• What the control room does when the alarm goes off: calls you, sends a patrol or alerts the police, and how long it takes to reach your street.
• Whether the equipment is yours or on loan, the minimum term and the cancellation cost.
• Whether guards are enrolled in IPS (social security) and have life insurance.

Next step

Walk round your home or shop and note every entry point: gate, doors, windows, back yard and roof. Send that list to two companies, ask for the licence and a written quote, and pick the one that answers everything in writing, not the cheapest verbal offer. In an emergency, call 911.