Commuter safety on track

Rail transport and private security companies



Millions of South African commuters rely on a public transport system that is less than reliable and offers little protection from crime and violence. Long delays, muggings and assaults are but some of the hazards faced by commuters. The Airports Company of South Africa, MetroRail, Spoornet and the taxi industry have employed private security companies at airports, stations and taxi ranks; however, the capacity of these security officials to protect commuters (and the property of their clients in situations of crowd violence) is limited. Although the new Security Industry Regulation Bill is a positive step, it is not clear that it will enhance commuter safety.

In the first months of this year several incidents, in particular vandalism, assault and murder, highlighted the lack of security at Gauteng railway stations. A security officer was shot dead by two armed men when security officers asked to see their tickets.

In another incident a man jumped from a moving train to escape an attack by armed robbers. Following that, seven people were killed and scores injured during a stampede at the Johannesburg station. The deaths are believed to have occurred when passengers rushed to catch a Mafikeng-bound train due to depart within ten minutes. It is alleged that the gates to the platform were closed early, causing panic among passengers. However, it later emerged that security guards at the station were blamed for the stampede. Their excessive use of force and inability to manage large crowds allegedly caused the stampede.

This latest incident led to MetroRail requesting a police service with powers of arrest. Throughout South Africa, rail transport and airports have been employing private security companies. At railway stations in particular, these security companies were employed as a result of huge costs incurred due to theft and vandalism of carriages and other structures.

The security companies do not appear to have any role as regards commuter safety. This is problematic since millions of South Africans who use railways are constantly subjected to muggings, robbery, assault and even murder. They have very little or no security at all. An incident in Springs in which a security officer was murdered and another injured illustrates this shortcoming. If security officers can be murdered, who will protect commuters?

Private security capacity

Several hundred security officers have been deployed at MetroRail stations throughout South Africa, mainly for the protection of property. MetroRail has contracted four security companies. Hlanganani Security Services is the major contractor, holding 33% of the contract.

In South Africa security officers are placed according to their training and grading. Below are five categories of grading and minimum training standards as laid out by the Security Officers Interim Board (SOB). The guards deployed by the private security companies contracted by MetroRail rank from grade D to grade A (Table 1).

Table 1 Categories for grading and training of private security

Grade E
Grade D
Grade C
General appearance
Public
relations
Self defence 2
Basic
occupational safety
Self defence 1 and minimum force
Written reports
Basic public relations
Basic fire fighting
Occupational safety
Bombs, explosive devices and firearms
Radio communication
The threat
(The risk)
Discipline
Legal
aspects 1
Bomb threats
Basic
self-defence
Access control
Protection
information
Observation
Searching
procedure and
techniques
Role in
emergency
Guarding and patrolling
Pocket books
Fire
prevention and
protection
Use of
fire extinguisher
Basic
occupational safety
Legal aspects 2
Basic radio / telephone communication
Revision previous grade
Basic legal aspects

Grade B
Grade A
Physical
security and technology
Basic
principles of investigation
Planned inspections
Action at the scene of an incident
Role in
emergency
Questioning of witnesses
Statements
Principles of giving
evidence
Communications
Court and court
procedures
Orders/
instructions
Human
behaviour
On-the-job training
Motivation and gaining
co-operation
Supervision
Report writing
Group
relations
Registers
Handling parades
Interaction

Grade E is the lowest grade. Security guards in this category are used largely for unarmed guarding and patrolling, and patrol dog handling. Grades D to A include security guards in specified areas including banking halls, retail and shopping centres, at controlled access points, and for armed guarding. They also act as instructors and supervisors for grade E.

An examination of the categories in Table 1 suggests that public order training is not sufficient in any of the grades. This is problematic if guards are deployed in enclosed environments used by large numbers of people, such as airports and railway stations. The recent incidents in Pretoria, Springs, Park Station and Mamelodi, involving extensive injury and loss of life, indicate that security officers could not control the situation.

Apart from their lack of public order training it is also likely that there were not enough guards with the necessary equipment deployed in these stations. Weak access control (which in this context means that commuters can carry weapons on to trains and board illegally, leading to overcrowding) exacerbated the situation.

In addition to the lack of public order training, it is also problematic that the private security company and the client make the decisions on the kind of security required. These decisions are usually based on the needs of the client — in MetroRail’s case, protecting its fixed assets at an affordable rate. The broader security requirements in a train station, including the protection of commuters, appear to have been overlooked.

Security Industry Regulation Bill

Stakeholders in the private security industry have identified several problems regarding the regulation and legislation of private security activities (See Crime Index Volume 4 Number 3). This resulted in the drafting of new legislation for the industry.

The new Security Industry Regulation Bill (February 2001) was recently tabled in parliament before the safety and security portfolio committee. Among other things, the Bill aims to extend the scope of regulation of the industry. The Bill makes provision for the establishment of a Security Industry Regulatory Authority as a vehicle for regulation, replacing the present Board.

The object of regulating the industry is to ensure:
  • The protection of the public interest and the interests of the state.
  • That a proper quality service is rendered to consumers.
  • The protection of the rights of employee security officers.
  • The promotion and protection of the status of the occupation of security officers; and
  • The collection of accurate information on security officers and the security industry in general.
The Bill will also look at covering other security services such as in-house security, car-watchers, electronic security and private intelligence, provided these are registered. Properly regulated, private security companies will enhance and strengthen the capacity of the security sector, and ensure protection of property and persons without endangering public safety in a country where crime has become a lucrative enterprise.

Despite these positive developments in the private security industry, the new Bill is unlikely to improve commuter safety. This is because private security officials are currently employed to protect the property of the transport providers. They do not appear to have any mandate to provide protection to commuters or to their property while in transit.

Makubetse Sekhonyane
Institute for Security Studies