{"id":927,"date":"2020-09-15T19:13:23","date_gmt":"2020-09-15T18:13:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/abokussecurity.com\/?p=927"},"modified":"2024-03-29T08:08:38","modified_gmt":"2024-03-29T07:08:38","slug":"private-security-in-africa-time-to-regulate-the-bad-and-harness-the-good-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/abokussecurity.com\/private-security-in-africa-time-to-regulate-the-bad-and-harness-the-good-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Private security in Africa: time to regulate the bad and harness the good"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
A familiar scene plays itself out daily whenever I visit my local 24-hour convenience store in the northern suburbs of Cape Town. Despite the early hour, there is a flurry of activity. A fleet of blue and white-striped cars parked in the lot tell me that the city\u2019s traffic officials are also in the vicinity. The South African Police Service make an appearance \u2013 two officers furtively dart in and out of the convenience store for their discounted coffee and leave in their brightly marked white pickup truck.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And last, private security \u2013 a fleet of them. A couple of them weave through the crowds in their bulletproof vests, their handguns strapped to their cargo pants, while the rest sit in their bright vehicles across the road. They do this every morning. They never seem to be off duty, always visible, always present.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Seeing this over and over has made me reflect on what \u201cpolicing\u201d actually means in Africa, and in particular the role of private security which, in many respects, provides more of a foundational order of safety than any forms of public policing on the continent<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Very few countries on the continent keep consistent and reliable tabs on the size and nature of the private security industry. But it can safely be argued that the industry is deeply embedded in policing Africa \u2013 and that it is on the rise<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But private security is highly contested and beset by a number of problems. These include poorly paid guards with few or no benefits, skills or training who operate in conditions which are substandard and even dangerous<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The industry has been linked to criminal entities and accused of human rights abuses<\/a>. It is accused of being either unregulated or under-regulated<\/a>. Above all the industry has been charged with perpetuating inequalities in security provision, as only those who can afford it will benefit from it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The future of private security is beset by two main challenges. The first is a conceptual one: is it a public or a private good? Is private security seen as a relevant player in policing?. And the second challenge is a regulatory one. What forms of regulation would be required to align private security with the public interest?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Private security is involved in a broad range of activities across the continent centred on protecting space, people, and assets. Their activities range from safeguarding communities to protecting ships at sea.<\/p>\n\n\n\nContested terrain<\/h2>\n\n\n\n