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News – South Africa: Security guards ‘won’t have police powers’

WARNING: This is Version 1 of my old archive, so Photos will NOT work and many links will NOT work. But you can find articles by searching on the Titles. There is a lot of information in this archive. Use the SEARCH BAR at the top right. Prior to December 2012; I was a pro-Christian type of Conservative. I was unaware of the mass of Jewish lies in history, especially the lies regarding WW2 and Hitler. So in here you will find pro-Jewish and pro-Israel material. I was definitely WRONG about the Boeremag and Janusz Walus. They were for real.

Original Post Date: 2008-10-30 Time: 14:00:13  Posted By: Jan

By Thandi Skade

Private security companies and guards enjoy no additional policing powers or policing mandate apart from those contained in the Criminal Procedure Act.

This is according to Honeydew police station commissioner Oswald Reddy, who on Wednesday refuted statements in the Sunday Times.

It reported that private security companies and officers – part of the Private Security Alignment Initiative set up to tackle hijacking and house and business robbery – would get police powers and a mandate to help fight crime.

“I need to set the record straight. This is not true, and is in fact a misrepresentation of the project,” Reddy said.

Rather, security officers were intended to be “force multipliers and extended eyes and ears” for police on the ground.

“They will not be expected to perform any police function or duty outside their company mandate. They will observe, monitor and then inform the police response vehicle and investigators accordingly.”

Reddy was speaking on Wednesday at the Honeydew police station, where police and the Security Industry Alliance, facilitated by Business Against Crime SA (Bacsa), entered into a partnership agreement by signing a memorandum of understanding.

It was signed by 12 of the 60 private security companies operating in the precinct.

The initiative is aimed at improving co-ordination, co-operation and consultation with private security company activities through a specialised communications centre to enhance police effectiveness in handling crime.

The idea, said Reddy, was for security officers to relay information to police relating to suspicious-looking vehicles, people and incidents seen during patrols.

The police in turn would furnish the partner security companies with a list of suspicious-looking and wanted vehicles operating in the precinct.

Information would be shared through a radio network operated independently of the police network.

It would be used by security officers to broadcast an incident, which would then be channelled to an officer who would dispatch police vehicles.

According to Bacsa national project manager Lorinda Nel, this enabled rapid and immediate notification of incidents and a co-ordinated response by SAPS and private security members.

Reddy said security officers would undergo basic training on securing a crime scene, because far too often, guards responded to alarms and panic buttons only to find a real crime scene. Critical evidence was unwittingly destroyed.

“All police-related functions will be carried out by the police. Of utmost importance is the preservation of evidence in cases where the security company arrives at a scene prior to the SAPS.”

    • Source: http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?art_id=vn20081030060155515C512507