Growing crime rate in South Africa bolster private security sector

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00:00South Africa has the biggest private security industry in the world with three times more

00:04staff than the police force. The sector is negotiating a partnership with the police

00:09to deal with rampant crime like here in the Cape Flats. Tuwane takes us to a high-risk township

00:16in Philippi East. Here even the police are at risk of being robbed or killed for their weapons.

00:23You need to be brave. The kind of criminals we have in South Africa need you. They force you to

00:31be brave. They force you because they have no respect for life. They will do anything to kill

00:37you. So you have to be brave. You have to put in a good fight. As a show of force, Tuwane makes a

00:44stop at a client's business that has repeatedly been extorted by gangs. This is where we respond

00:51should they get problems from the office or from wherever we were. This is where we come to.

00:57Very much risky. Very much risky. You can lose your life here. There are 16,000 private security

01:04companies in South Africa but 20 kilometres away in Bokap, members of the Neighbourhood Watch

01:09say they have had negative experiences with some security companies using excessive force.

01:15The vigilante group walks around the neighbourhood and communicates with kids on the street.

01:20Ibrahim checks a local isn't up to no good.

01:25They must have respect to the residents as well. It mustn't be

01:30like they are a private security company and they want to show who they are. You will never

01:36make a change like that because people will hate you for that. Because we have a very,

01:42the residents within Bokap, the community is very laid back people. They're very friendly. So if

01:47you're going to act in that manner to them, they will react to you.

01:50While violent crime has risen over the last decade, the police force has dropped by about 10%.

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