TRAINING
Are South Africa’s security officers properly trained considering the escalation in crime? “Escalating crime figures suggest that the 588,368 security officers deployed by 9,398 registered security businesses are not doing the job for which their clients pay.”
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o says Benedict Weaver, CEO of Zero Foundation Africa, a Pan-African corporate intelligence firm headquartered in South Africa. “Whilst it is admirable that PSiRA (Private Security Industry Regulatory Authority) has developed training standards designed to create a capable and trained private security industry in South Africa, concerns remain about the competency of officers deployed to guard sites. Whether these sites are industrial, commercial, residential, or key points, the question is: are the security officers fit for purpose, and is their current training sufficient for the job at hand?” If they are capable and carry out their duties of protecting a
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company’s key corporate assets (property, people, information and reputation), then South Africans should have absolute confidence in the legitimacy, occupational practises, and transformation of the private security industry, he avers. But police crime statistics, the latest of which were released on 19 November by the country’s Minister of Police, General Bheki Cele, suggest that poor training and inadequate management skills in the sector – in many instances –are part of the problem rather than the solution. Aside from the risk to corporate assets as a result of poor security service delivery, Weaver says that travellers are also increasingly vulnerable as a result of the dramatically changed global threat
SECURITY FOCUS AFRICA NOVEMBER 2021
landscape. “According to well-informed sources in foreign intelligence services and security agencies, the various lockdowns have enabled terrorist groups to plan, communicate and coordinate more mayhem once travel resumes to pre-pandemic levels. The lockdowns also provided unique opportunities to radicalise disaffected individuals via the Internet, and sowed confusion amongst many with the proliferation of fake news and false information on social media platforms. Within this context, all corporate travellers are going to face heightened risks when travelling to countries whose economies have been destroyed by these lockdowns and whose populations have lost jobs and sources of legitimate income,” he warns.
securityfocusafrica.com
