NCJ Number: 182376
Title: Policing for Profit: The Future of South Africa's Private Security Industry
Author(s): Jenny Irish
Date Published: 1999
Page Count: 44
Sponsoring Agency: Institute for Security Studies
Sale Source: Institute for Security Studies
Document: PDF
Type: Issue Overview
Format: Document
Language: English
Country: South Africa
Annotation: The South African private security industry is increasingly
performing functions that used to be the sole preserve of the
police.
Abstract: With feelings of insecurity rapidly rising, an increasing number
of South Africans are using private security companies to protect
themselves and their assets. The broad private security industry
is employing over 200,000 security guards throughout the country,
of which the guarding industry is the largest, with 125,000
guards working for approximately 3,200 security companies.
Although the South African private security industry is
increasingly performing functions traditionally associated with
the police, there are clear differences in the objectives of the
two services. Whereas the police are charged with protecting the
public at large, the private security industry operates for
profit and is accountable only to its clients. Moreover, the
police generally apprehend criminals after they have committed a
crime; whereas, the private security industry seeks to prevent
crimes. There are many "fly-by-night" security companies that
provide a cheap but substandard service, thereby tarnishing the
image and reputation of the industry as a whole. Many of the
larger South African private security companies have expanded
their operations into other countries in Southern Africa. Private
security companies have even involved themselves in political
conflicts that are occurring on the subcontinent. In South
Africa, private companies that make use of guards are regulated
by a statutory body, the Security Officers' Board. The Board
polices the regulations that govern the private security industry
and sets minimum training standards for security guards. 57 notes
Main Term(s): Private police
Index Term(s): Police-private police cooperation; Public/private police comparisons; Trend analysis
Note: Institute for Security Studies Monograph Series, No. 39, August 1999
To cite this abstract, use the following link: http://www.ncjrs.gov/App/publications/abstract.aspx?ID=182376
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