It’s not commonly known, but all legal entities (rom. unităţi) in Romania which possess goods or other valuables have a legal obligation to carry out a safety risk analysis as to the safety of these assets.
This obligation is already in place for all entities (including companies) established after 16th June 2012. For pre-2012 entities, the safety risk analysis must be done by 1st July 2018 or they risk being heavily fined.
Background
This is based in the legislation1 regarding the security of objects, goods and valuables: each entity which possesses goods or valuables is supposed to guard them. This obligation applies to all entities which possess valuable assets.
The law stipulates that appropriate safety measures will be decided following a safety risk analysis (analiză de risc la securitatea fizică); these include internal and external risks as well as possible consequences relying on the safety of the buildings or spaces in use.
Non-compliance with these provisions will lead to a fine of up to 20,000 RON.
There has been debate in the media about the case of a dental office which was broken into and assets stolen. The dental practice was obliged to pay a considerable fine for failure to hand over the safety risk analysis documents.
Sense and purpose
According to instructions from the Ministry of the Interior3, the safety risk analysis will be performed by an authorized risk expert (evaluator de risc) and will serve as evidence that the entity in question has taken all possible measures to avoid foreseeable losses of its valuable assets. The expert will also determine if an extra security plan (rom. plan de pază) must be drawn up to ensure quick access for police officers if a crime is committed. This plan has to include the number of security guards, the alarm system and a description of assets at risk; the plan must be filed with the Police.
Not enough experts
According to statistics, only around 1,600 authorized risk experts have been authorized by the Romanian Police department so far – not enough to carry out the studies for all entities registered in Romania.
This fact has led to a number of extensions to the deadline for entities established before the 16th of July 2012: the final deadline is 1st July 2018.
The expert’s activities
To do the safety risk analysis, the authorized risk expert has to visit the building to get a complete overview of the existing valuables and their security. It is important that the organization – especially a company – inserts an appropriate confidentiality clause in the contract with the expert.
After the onsite inspection, the expert will assess the risks to the goods or valuables as well as to the people working in the area concerned. On this basis, according to the building type4, the expert will draft an evaluation table: taking into consideration the geographical location of the building, its exterior and technical structure, and other technical or practical aspects which might affect the potential risk of burglary, arson or other means of loss or damage.
If the analysis shows a high risk, the authorized risk expert can issue recommendations for its mitigation. The costs of putting these recommendations in place, and for drafting a more detailed safety plan can be much higher than the costs of assessment.
Conclusion
Due to the small number of experts, the deadline for getting a safety risk analysis done has been extended every year. 1st July 2018 is the current deadline for entities established before 16th June 2012.
Due to the vague wording of the legislation, the safety risk analysis obligation introduced in 2012 is applicable to practically all companies and other entities.
The legal requirement creates an extra bureaucratic burden; in many cases the costs incurred as a result of the safety risk analysis is not limited to the expert’s fees. In practice, putting recommended measures in place will almost certainly involve considerable cost.