Private security ‘opens door to crime’: Experts warn about infiltration fears

South Africa’s booming private security industry is creating a potentially lucrative gateway for organised crime, offering criminal networks a legitimate-looking business front. Private security companies can provide access to firearms, trained personnel, surveillance infrastructure, intelligence and proximity to businesses, communities and state institutions. According to experts, the scale of the industry makes the potential threat significant.

Private security industry scale poses potential threat – experts By 31 March, 2025, the Private Security Industry Regulatory Authority (Psira) had registered 22 015 security companies, of which 17 146 were classified as active – with about 637 675 active security officers. This dwarfs the over 180 000 uniformed and civilian employees of the SA Police Service (Saps). Private security companies are routinely hired by the state to guard public infrastructure, hospitals, schools and government buildings.

For criminologist Prof Kholofelo Rakubu, the key concern is not simply whether criminals enter the security industry, but whether legitimate security structures can be part of organised crime. She said security companies operate in an environment which is attractive to criminal networks. They provide protection, access control, surveillance, transportation and information, while their employees routinely work in restricted environments and around sensitive sites.

The attraction, she said, is not the company itself but the operational capacity it can provide. Guns and surveillance infrastructure attractive to organised crime Rakubu said the sector was attractive to organised crime because security companies operate within spaces that criminals themselves value. She said their employees may carry firearms where appropriately licensed, guard strategic sites, respond to incidents, conduct surveillance and develop relationships with police, businesses and communities.

She said this combination of authority, information and access could become valuable to organised crime networks. “A registered security company can provide a lawful corporate identity behind which unlawful activities may potentially be concealed,” Rakubu said. She said a security company captured or infiltrated by criminal interests could provide cover for activities ranging from money laundering and extortion to intimidation and violence.

One of the most worrying lines in this newspaper today is in our lead story about private security companies being plump targets for infiltration by organised crime syndicates. This country has over 17 000 active security companies and 637 000 active private security officers. That latter figure dwarfs the 180 000 employees – uniformed and civilian – in the South African Police Service.