About 6,000 active security firms are registered with the Security Officers Board (SOB). According to the SOB, there are about 150,000 active private security officers, compared to 120,000 police officers. In terms of functional crime control, private security officers outnumber the police by 2 to 1. This ratio rises to 3 to 1 if in-house private security officers are included. Several holding companies whose core business is not security own sizable security divisions. Businesses and private individuals are paying substantial sums of money to keep themselves and their property safe. According to the SOB registrar, the private security industry's growth is a direct result of the lack of resources for government police agencies. Further, widespread community frustration with the police has resulted in the reliance on private security. Although private security officers are bound by the law and by a code of conduct, they operate under fewer constraints than government police agencies. Abuses and fraudulent practices of the private security industry in South Africa are considered to include corrupt links between government police agencies and private security companies. 2 photographs