South Africa’s police force is facing a personnel crisis, while private security guards continue to grow in number.
The latest annual performance plans from the South African Police Service (SAPS) and the Private Security Industry Regulatory Authority (PSIRA) have presented the latest situational analysis on security in the country.
According to PSIRA, demand for security and guarding services from the private sector have grown significantly over the last decade.
As of the end of 2022, there are close to 2.7 million registered security guards in the country, with 586,042 currently employed (active).
For the SAPS, meanwhile, the demand for policing has also increased, but the number of officers on the job has gone in the opposite direction, with only 140,048 SAPS members in 2022.
This means that there are four private security guards for every police officer in the country.
The department said that the demand for policing services is growing on an annual basis, as the population increases, however, the personnel strength of the SAPS has decreased. This is something that should be factored into any assessment of the police department’s operations, it said.
The downward trend started in 2012 when the SAPS’ personnel strength stood at 157,518 members appointed in terms of the South Africa Police Service Act – reducing to 140,048 in 2022.
This is despite the population growing from an estimated 52.32 million to an estimated 60.6 million over the same period, it said.
The department said the trend will be alleviated by the allocation of additional funding to the SAPS by the National Treasury, which enabled the recruitment of 9,800 SAPS Act members during 2022/23 and an additional 5,000 members during 2023/24.
However, it stressed that “the additions will only marginally increase the SAPS’ overall personnel strength as the SAPS loses approximately 6,000 members annually due to natural attrition”.
In addition to the impact of the population growth on the policing demand, the existing SAPS infrastructure and the allocation of resources is also affected by changes in the demographic profile of the country, as people migrate from rural to urban areas and from certain provinces to others, it said.
According to PSIRA the growing demand for private security is as a direct result of the constraints experienced within the SAPS. This has also resulted in private security guards taking up more roles and tasks that are typically the mandate of the SAPS.
The nature of security services rendered by security businesses and employee security officers is vast, as defined in the PSIR Act, with the majority falling within what is generally described as the guarding sector. However, inadequate policing has resulted in private security acting beyond their mandate.
“In general, the increased demand for private security and the resource constraints within SAPS results in private security service providers entering functional areas of policing, which are normally exclusively the domain of the SAPS,” it said.
“In addition, security service providers are not peace officers and only enjoy the same powers as ordinary citizens in rendering security services. There have been several cases where the private security industry has overstepped their mandate and exercised powers that they do not officially have.
“This includes infringing on the rights of clients, as well as the public at large,” the authority said.
The group said that improved training and the industry’s professionalisation is needed to ensure that the industry can become and remain a valuable partner to the SAPS in the fight against crime.
The increased demand for private security is also attributable, in some instances, to the tougher economic conditions which result in high levels of economic crimes being experienced by households and businesses, and which drives the need for more personal security arrangements to safeguard and protect persons and property, PSIRA said.
The government is already in the process of professionalising the private security sector, with draft regulations having already been published to this effect.
PSIRA noted that the number of active employed security officers has increased by 20% since 2014, while the number of active security businesses has increased by 42%.
Most security businesses operate in Gauteng (40%), followed by KwaZulu-Natal (18%) and the Western Cape (10%). The number of security businesses is also increasing in Limpopo with 9% of all registered businesses, followed closely by the Eastern Cape at 7%.
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Artmotion S.Africa
