Crime in South Africa is rampant. Not many social functions go without a discussion about someone who has been affected by a crime or a horrific crime incident in a nearby area.
This means that South Africans are very security-aware. While there are 180 000 police officers in South Africa, the private security industry is believed to employ over half a million people.
Jenny Reid, CEO of iFacts, has said that whilst this is the country’s sad reality, many are taking advantage of the situation and allegedly providing private security services that can often be meaningless or a pure profit-making exercise without delivering any actual value.
Reid, the first female president of the South African Security Association, said that the association had long been issuing warnings to private companies and individuals that they should not enter into a contract with non-compliant security providers. Still, many did not know what was required of a compliant security company.
Security personnel who carry firearms, need to hold a firearm licence. The Firearms Control Act prohibits the possession of a firearm and ammunition without the required licence, permit, or authorisation thereof. This is a law, and violating it is illegal.
As a company within the security industry, this is not news, however, the importance of ensuring that all your employees hold the necessary licences must be restated. Not only must they be licenced, but they must also be proficient in their ability to operate a firearm safely and successfully.
You as the employer, are responsible for ensuring that all your security personnel are properly licenced and proficient with a firearm. As such, the service provider you partner with for firearm licences and competencies, needs to be compliant with all current laws and regulations. There needs to be a written competency test, a practical demonstration of proficiency, as well as a background check done on an individual before a firearm licence can be achieved.
Failure to ensure employees hold valid firearm licences, results in the organisation or company that employs them, breaking the law. The company is legally required, to verify the firearm licences of employees and certify that only individuals who can legally own and operate a firearm have been hired.
iFacts offers firearm competency and licence verifications for employers in the security industry to ensure that their employees have the necessary training, proficiency and of course, a valid licence.
Ensure your security company is compliant with all relevant laws and regulations with iFacts.
Hire with confidence, hire with iFacts.