As violent crime spirals out of control, security guards, the first line of defense for many South Africans, are also under increasing attack, with up to 300 security guards killed in the line of duty each year. The Private Security Guards Association of South Africa (Taptosa) believes the number could be as high as 600, as many additional cases were not recorded as on-duty deaths. Industry role players also complained that although the private security industry was the largest after mining, it was not given much attention, which mushroomed with exploitative…
As violent crime spirals out of control, security guards, the first line of defense for many South Africans, are also under increasing attack, with up to 300 security guards killed in the line of duty each year.
The Private Security Guards Association of South Africa (Taptosa) believes the number could be as high as 600, as many additional cases were not recorded as on-duty deaths.
Industry players also complained that although the private security industry was the largest after mining, it was not given much attention, mushrooming with exploitative and unscrupulous companies.
Security guards are also targeted during protests and strikes against service delivery. Among the first people killed in 2012 in Marikana, North West, in the run-up to the August 16 massacre, were two Lonmin security guards who were hacked to death.
According to Taptos, the industry regulator, the Private Security Regulatory Authority (PSIRA), relied on private security companies for information about employees killed in the line of duty, but said the data was first doctored to cover up the discrepancy.
Cases of non-compliance included the hiring of foreign nationals and the arming of security guards with firearms without certificates.
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While PSIRA is yet to respond to questions, the Security Association of South Africa (SASA) said it doubts whether the regulator will be able to provide statistics to back it up.
Unreliable data
National administrator Tony Botes said this was because PSIRA’s security businesses only received monthly notifications online that a security officer was active, retired or had died.
He said, for example, there were about 2 million security personnel registered in the PSIRA database, but the fact was that only about 550,000 were registered and active.
“…and that doesn’t include the many thousands of undocumented that we believe are active in the industry, many – certainly – possibly undocumented aliens,” Botes said.
He said the statutory industry Private Security Sector Provident Fund (PSSPF), which has been hit by financial abuses, mismanagement and tender irregularities, will handle all death and burial claims.
But Botes said the problem is that only about 25% of security businesses were actually registered with the fund.
“It is also doubtful whether they will be able to obtain statistics to show whether the death claim was due to natural or unnatural causes and, if the latter, whether it occurred as part of his job,” he added.
Deadly business
Lebo Nare, vice president of Taptosa, said that despite beingthe largest industry after mining, the private security industry was probably also the most unscrupulous and exploitative due to the lack of focus in the industry.
He said the industry was twice the size of the South African National Defense Force and the South African Police Service combined, with the government being the largest consumer of private security services, but said it was the most overlooked.
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“This allows business owners to get away with a lot, including hiding the fact that a security guard died in the line of duty because that security guard is a foreign national who should not have been hired, let alone carry a firearm.” Nare said. said.
He said official figures showed at least 250 to 300 security guards were killed each year, but said the number was much higher.
According to Nare, in many cases of such deaths, honesty would not benefit the owner of the security company, meaning that it is in the company’s best interest to be economical with the truth.
Terrible working conditions
A private security sector forum told a story of a case where two security guards were ambushed and killed while on duty, but their employer refused to know about them.
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“In March, we had two cases where people were shot on duty, when the company was called, they denied knowing these people,” said secretary Pavlos Mafokeng.
The Private Security Sector Forum also shared the same sentiments about the industry, saying the regulator is failing security guards and that the government has little respect for the industry.
And this despite the fact that in June the prosecutor’s office said that over the past five years government departments have spent 11 billion rand on private security.
Mofokeng said some companies have not even issued firearms to security guards who are expected to be armed responders, making them sitting ducks for violent criminals.
He said that in some cases the guards are stationed at the sites and there is no one to vouch for them or back them up in the event of an attack.
“Most companies have one radio installed in the car and when you get out of the car to check the alarm, there is no backup radio,” Mafokeng said.
“Our officers are dying and some are not even getting benefits from the companies and some are not even getting their insurance fund because the companies are corrupt. Some members do not know their pension fund trustees because if they ask they are threatened with dismissal.’
SA Transport and Allied Workers Union president Hamilton Ntonga said companies would go to great lengths to protect themselves from liability by sacrificing their employees.
“The security industry is rotten to the core and nobody cares. For example, there is a grueling twelve-hour shift and it takes you about two hours to get to work, with a meager monthly salary of 5,500 Rand. Many do not even have guard rooms,” said Ntonga.
