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Compliance enforcement required

There is a string of advertising clichés that all begin with the words: “You wouldn’t ...”. For example, “You wouldn’t take your Rolls Royce to a bush mechanic for a service” or “You wouldn’t drive to Durban on treadless tyres.” But hackneyed or not, they have a powerful message that outperforms the tired rhetoric, because what they say is simply true. And the logic and common sense often strike home.

So when the South Africa Security Association says, “You wouldn’t trust the safekeeping of your possessions to a convicted felon,” you get the message that the company you engage to secure your home or business can itself be trusted to ensure it employs only screened and reliable staff that are registered and taken care of in terms of the regulations for the security industry.

It is all a matter of compliance with the fundamentals security companies must observe to earn the right to display the SASA logo and to announce that its personnel are beyond reproach. As a consumer of security services you should be asking for a valid SASA gold class membership certificate which ensures that all its documentation has been submitted for independent verification.

Despite the industry association’s best efforts, compliance remains a challenge and big numbers of non-compliant companies and unscreened security personnel permeate the industry. And it is why we constantly urge customers and clients to ensure that the security firms they engage are members of SASA. It is because of a widespread lack of compliance with registration requirements that it becomes difficult to determine the number of actual players in the sector. However, the PSIRA (Private Security Industry Regulatory Authority) makes the point that of the approximate 1,9 million people actually registered, only 421 534 are active, meaning that they are serving in the industry, as of mid-2012.

This muddies the waters and makes it even more important for people needing a security service provider to ensure they talk to one that is an active member of the association.

However, this is not to infer that the system does not work, but it does need some tightening. Recent reports say inspections by PSIRA inspectors were carried out at over 6600 companies and that some 12 000 applications by both companies and individuals between April 2010 and March 2011 were turned down for a number of security related reasons.

The most recent PSIRA report to be tabled in parliament says the number of registered security companies has increased by 61% in the last 10 years and the number of security officers by 111%. The numbers reflect the complexities and demands of the industry illustrating that it operates in one of the most demanding commercial, industrial and residential security environments in the world. Along the way it has proven that it is more than a match for the challenges it faces.

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