Alarm over private security changes proposed in South Africa

Proposed amendments under the Private Security Industry Regulation Act would impose stricter limitations on using firearms by private security companies, effectively giving the state a monopoly over South Africans’ safety, according to portfolio committee on police chair Ian Cameron.

Police minister Senzo Mchunu published the proposed amendments in the Government Gazette on Friday, 28 March 2025. Speaking to Rapport, Cameron described the proposed amendments as “draconian”.

The changes include restricting private security firms’ use of firearms, stun guns, tear gas, water cannons, sponge grenades, rubber bullets, or “any other weapon that could harm civilians”.

These are listed as “prohibited weapons”.

Private security guards can only use semi-automatic assault rifles in efforts to protect high-value targets like cash in transit vehicles and critical infrastructure.

Cameron told Rapport that the amendments feel “political in nature”.

“If the state cannot keep you safe, yet insists on a monopoly, then you’re heading in a very, very dangerous direction and developing a bit of a police state mentality,” he said.

He warned that government must be very careful when considering the proposed amendments, adding that South Africans have a reason to be concerned.

Cameron said the current regulations aren’t bad as long as they are enforced correctly and consistently, which isn’t currently being done.

He warned that the proposals could enable Psira, the regulatory authority for private security in South Africa, to investigate a security company on short notice and immediately suspend its services.

“That’s what the regulations say. You could wake up this morning with certainty, and by tonight, when your alarm goes off, no one comes,” said Cameron.

He believes this is an attempt to gain control over security services in South Africa as the government is afraid that the private security industry has more force than the state. He says they’re probably right to be afraid.

Police exodus in South Africa

South Africa has been losing large numbers of skilled Special Task Force (STF) officers to private security companies as they seek to earn more money.

By working for private security firms as bodyguards or protectors for high-risk business people and taxi bosses, these skilled officers can potentially earn up to triple their salaries.

STF officers earn up to R35,000 per month on average, while they can earn up to R98,000 working in private security.

In December 2023, a senior STF officer revealed that the Task Force loses five to 10 officers each month.

They said the state essentially paid for these officers’ training, only for private security companies to scoop them up.

“If you don’t create opportunities for people to grow, especially for people who specialise, you must have a clear progression plan for those people,” the senior officer said.

Crime experts say the exodus of specialised police forces means the country is becoming ever more vulnerable to crime.

However, Fidelity Services Group CEO Wahl Bartmann disagrees.

He believes the influx of highly skilled officers to private security firms like theirs better equips them to help fight organised crime.

“We’ve seen over the years that a lot of these experts resign and join the private security companies, where we use their expertise to support us and assist in the business that we do,” said Bartmann.