CRIMINAL INFESTATION
Richards Bay SAPS Head of Detectives - Sen Supt Mkhize with SAPS Head of Crime Prevention - Sen Supt Calitz look over the list of wanted men, suspected to be working within the security industry
Tanya Waterworth
THE security officer guarding your home or office could well be a wanted criminal.
This startling fact emerged last week when a major investigation into the private security industry was unleashed by police across KZN.
While rogue security officers are not uncommon, the massive scale at which it is taking place - and the links to organised crime - has raised major concern.
At the Community Policing Forum meeting held on Thursday, SAPS Richards Bay confirmed they had received 12 pages of names of suspects currently believed to be working within the security industry in the province, who were either wanted suspects or have previous convictions.
Dubbed 'Operation Onogada', the project is already underway to identify a criminal element using the security industry as a means to carry out crime.
The widespread operation follows a meeting between senior provincial police officers and the Security Industry Alliance (SIA).
The security industry's database was compared to the national data base of wanted suspects, which revealed that a 'large number' of these officials have been circulated as wanted by the police.
SAPS Head of Crime Prevention, Sen Supt Danie Calitz confirmed that the list of suspects' names had already been handed over to the SAPS Richards Bay Detective Unit.
'The investigation to uncover wanted suspects who are working within the security industry in this area has begun,' he said.
Clean-up
The security industry in Zululand welcomed the news on the clean-up operation.
In a quick survey carried out by the Zululand Observer, industry role players confirmed that many of the regions's major security companies only employ security guards who are registered with SIA, which regulates the industry.
Polygraphs are also used prior to employing potential employees.
'We would welcome anything which regulates the industry and keeps it clean,' said one security company director, while another said, 'Being registered with SIA protects the end-user and massive fines are imposed if we are found employing someone who is not registered.'
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