This study explores the nature of working conditions and lived experiences of private security guards in Johannesburg. It draws on the conceptions of precariousness developed by Standing (2011), Barchiesi (2011a) and Candeias (2004) to understand precariousness in post-apartheid South Africa. The study is based on a combined approach using 24 in-depth unstructured interviews with security guards and the Gauteng Decent Work Survey of over 1 200 security guards. An analysis of the findings is framed under the nine themes of decent work identified by the International Labour Organization (ILO). The findings indicate that the nine themes do not capture the meaning of being a security guard. This is illustrated by themes such as boredom, the uniform and public perceptions, and the crisis of recognition. Similar to Ally’s (2009:88) argument about domestic workers in post-apartheid South Africa, The study found that outsourced security guards can be regarded as amongst the most exploited, oppressed and vulnerable workers. They experienced work as a precarious activity characterised by tensions, uncertainty, and tremendous insecurity. The findings also illustrate Barchiesi’s (2011a) rejection of the centrality of employment as a way of guaranteeing social inclusion and a decent life. Security guards felt that their participation in the labour market was a main reason for their relative material deprivation and not a way out of poverty. The poor are not only those without work, but also those who earn wages. The findings confirm the radical position on the discourse of decent work whose proponents argue that jobs are utterly precarious and decent work under capitalism is not feasible. The simultaneous reality of insecure work, declining benefits and the escalating costs of social reproduction make the point that security guards in Johannesburg experience work and life as a process of ‘double precariousness’ (Candeias, 2004:1). However, Security guards cannot be regarded as ‘victimized subjects with compromised capacity’ (Ally, 2009:88). Precariousness does not encourage passivity, but has the potential to promote agency and innovative livelihood strategies. These strategies include: walking long distances, occupying deserted buildings to save money, and participating in community-based social protection schemes.

Thesis--PlanB (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Stout, 1998. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis PlanB (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Stout, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references.

Masters in Public Administration - MPA / Globally both public and private businesses are experiencing an enormous number of challenges posed by both the internal and external environment. However, the private security industry is not immune to that as they are facing challenges such as, weak and ineffective regulations and enforcement , long working hours, inconsistent recruitment and selection standards nonexistence of accountability and transparency which makes it easy for leaders to be involved in illegal practices, poorly compensations of security guards with limited or no benefits, low skills because of lack of training often undertaking dangerous jobs in contentious spaces. These challenges and allegations attributed to leaders bring about an increase in stress/workload which in turn can possibly result into loss of trust, and disengagement on part of security guards against their leaders. According to literature, a new breed of authentic leaders should be developed in order to overcome these challenges. Authentic perspective of leadership believed that, this type of leadership display high degree of integrity has a deep a sense of purpose, and committed to their core values. Consequently they promote a more trusting working relationship between them and their employees that can also translate into a motivated and engaged workforce. The objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between authentic leadership of supervisors / managers, trust and work engagement of security guards in a private security firm operating in the Western Cape. A sample of 218 security guards was chosen through the non-probability convenience sampling with the use of the nonexperimental cross sectional design. A composite questionnaire consisted of biographical data section, Authentic Leadership Questionnaire (ALQ), Workplace Trust Survey (UWES) (Trust in the immediate manager sub-scale), and Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES) was used in the present study. The data was analyzed by means of statistical techniques such as factor analysis, Pearson product-moment correlation analysis, and multiple regression analysis.

Trots en markant ökning av vaktpersonal i privat regi under de senaste decennierna finns det inte mycket empirisk forskning om allmänhetens uppfattning av väktare. I detta arbete undersöks malmöbornas tillit till och tillfredställelse med väktare och syftet med studien är att får en inblick i allmänhetens inställning till vaktpersonal. Enkäter delades ut i Malmö med frågor angående upplevd tillit till väktare, tillfredställelse med väktare samt frågor om respondenternas uppfattning av väktares professionalitet, ansvarskyldighet, framställning och artighet. Urvalet bestod av 78 respondenter och resultaten tyder på att den allmänna uppfattningen av vaktpersonal är mer positiv än negativ. Upplevd professionalitet hos väktare påverkade tillit till väktare och upplevd artighet hos väktare påverkade tillfredställelse med väktare. Hur man upplevt väktares beteende vid personlig kontakt visade sig påverka uppfattningen av både tillit till och tillfredställelse med vaktpersonal. Studier om allmänhetens uppfattning av vaktpersonal kan användas i utbildande syfte för vaktbolag för att påverka väktares beteende och agerande mot allmänheten. Ökad kännedom av allmänhetens inställning till vaktpersonal är även relevant för politiker i deras ställningstagande av framtida reglering av den privata säkerhetsindustrin. / Despite the rapid increase in private security guards in recent decades, little is known about citizens’ perception of security guards. In this paper citizens’ trust and satisfaction with security guards is assessed. The aim of the study is to get an insight into citizens’ perception of private security guards in Malmö. Paper and pencil surveys were distributed in Malmö with questions regarding perceived trust and satisfaction with security guards and about security guards’ professionalism, accountability, imagery, and civility. The sample consisted of 78 respondents and the findings suggest that the overall perception of security guards was more positive than negative, however, the results were largely mixed. Perceived professionalism predicted satisfaction with security guards and perceived civility predicted trust in security guards. Also, security guard behavior while interacting with the public was a strong predictor of both trust and satisfaction with security personnel. Results from this study and similar studies can be used by private security organizations to educate staff in order to improve the public perception of security guards. It may also be useful for policy makers in order to make more educated decisions about future regulation of the private security industry.

The high levels of crimes in society have led people to seek assistance outside public law enforcement agencies such as police and the army, to private law enforcement agencies such as the private security industry. Security guards are involved in providing protection to people, properties and their valuables and in South Africa, they intervene in high crime and violence situations, resulting in their working environment being dangerous and unpredictable. The study aimed to understand some of the factors contributing to the work-related challenges encountered by contract security guard officers. The study utilised a qualitative research design in exploring the narrations of 14 contract security guards, identified and selected using a non-probability purposive sampling procedures. For triangulation purposes, two key informants namely: senior supervisor and a site manager were interviewed. Semi-structured interview schedules were conducted, where in-depth one-on-one interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed into verbatim and subsequently analysed using thematic content analysis. The results revealed that economic factors such as poverty and unemployment contribute to one becoming a security guard officer. Furthermore, factors such as low wages, long working hours, lack of respect, safety, lack of water and sanitation facilities were identified as challenges encountered by security guard officer in the industry. The results also showed that the identified challenges impact on the work discipline and work motivation of security guards, their family responsibilities and to their occupational wellbeing. Recommendations emanating from the study included the involvement of occupational social workers in the private security industry, for the developing of interventional programmes in enhancing the effective use of coping strategies by security guards, and the collaboration between security companies and security guards within the contractual service negotiations process with clients.

Le point de départ de cette recherche est la montée en puissance d'une lisibilité ethnique (notamment via le culturalisme) de la déviance déclinée en figures de la délinquance et de la vulnérabilité. Dans ce cadre, les éducateurs et les agents de sécurité issus des populations minoritaires apparaissent comme plus à même d'intervenir sur des populations considérées comme à "leur image". J’interroge dans ce travail ce lien supposé entre ethnicité,compétences professionnelles et public cible de l'action.Il s’agit d’une enquête par entretiens auprès d'éducateurs et d'agents de sécurité issus de minorités ethnicisées, auxquelles s'ajoutent des observations prolongées sur certains terrains d’enquête. Dans une visée comparative et à partir des parcours biographiques et des relations professionnelles, je mets en évidence les normes de référence qui sont au coeur de la construction identitaire et de la culture professionnelle de chaque groupe et leur influence sur différents processus ou phénomènes comme : le mode de dénomination du public cible, la naturalisation des compétences, la mobilisation de l'ethnicité dans les interactions ou encore les éventuelles manifestations de résistances à des assignations à des rôles spécifiques. Le groupe professionnel comme monde institutionnel et interactionnel modèle ces processus. Au delà des distinctions, il apparaît que dans les deux cas l'enjeu de l’ethnicité se situe sur le terrain de la légitimité et de l'autorité concurrençant ainsi une légitimité de statut professionnel. / Not communicated

Uniformed presences are thought to create feelings of safety in people. However, do different uniformed people contribute to the same amount of safety and are there differences dependent on the situation? The present study examined the association between various types of uniformed presence and people’s feelings of safety through a questionnaire among 352 respondents (18-86 years) (49.1 % women). The questionnaire contained pictures of relatively safe and unsafe situations with or without uniformed presence. The respondents estimated how safe they thought they would feel in these situations with and without two police officers, six police officers, a police car, two security guards, or two police volunteers. The results showed that uniformed presence does not increase feelings of safety in an already relatively safe situation, making patrol unnecessary. In relatively unsafe situations however, all types of uniformed presence increase feelings of safety. Foot patrolling police increased feelings of safety the most. Security guards and police volunteers created approximately the same amount of safety; making police volunteers a cost-effective alternative, although some situation, gender and age differences were found. All types of foot patrol were better than vehicle patrol (with some gender differences), making non-police groups an alternative to vehicle patrol.

This research report is submitted to the Faculty of Humanities, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg in partial fulfilment of the degree of Masters of Arts in Social and Psychological Research, 2017 / South Africa has undergone a number of social and geographical changes since the end of apartheid. This has drastically changed urban spaces, where we have seen the proliferation of Gated Communities (GCs). These spaces have come to signify how inequality has evolved from being an issue exclusively bound to race to one that now occurs within races and between classes. Therefore, in order to better understand inequality the current study considered the individuals who occupy spaces of privilege, but are not necessarily part of those spaces – such as security guards. It attempts to provide descriptions of inequality, moving away from a traditional macroeconomic understanding. This is done through a thematic analysis of interviews conducted with security guards from GCs. The analysis outlines the descriptions given by the security guards on their experience of working at GCs. Four superordinate themes were derived: Professionalism; Education and Knowledge; Commodification of Life; and Violence. From these themes it is clear that we cannot only interpret inequality from an income perspective as there are a number of psychosocial factors that are integrated into the construct of inequality. / XL2018

The aim of this study was to determine the current operational skills requirements for Close Protection Operatives (CPOs) in South Africa. Operational skills refer to those skills that are vital in order for a CPO to effectively protect a designated person (this person is referred to as the `Principal'). In order to determine any shortcomings in the Close Protection industry, twenty in-depth interviews were conducted with current operational CPOs. A detailed literature review was also done in order to create a solid platform for the research and to assist in the verification of the information. During the research, it was found that the task of providing Close Protection could be divided into various sub-categories. This was necessary in order to gain a rounded perspective of a CPO's roles and duties. CPO's tasks in their entirety had to be unpacked into their smaller sub-components. In fact there were many ways to subdivide the skills requirements and functions of CPOs. It was, however, found that the actual subdivisions were less important than the gaining of a comprehensive understanding of how all the aspects are interrelated and should function synergistically. The need for regulation of the South African Close Protection industry was identified as a major concern among all interview respondents. In order to determine the relevant factors involved in regulation, the way countries such as the United Kingdom (UK), Australia and Israel regulate their industries, was assessed. It was noted that the industry in South Africa is `partially regulated'. This means that there is some sort of registration process for CPOs but no comprehensive monitoring and enforcement of accepted minimum competency standards. Currently in South Africa private sector CPOs are rated on the same scale as security guards and must be registered as a Grade level C with the Private Security Industry Regulatory Authority (PSIRA). This is not an effective manner to regulate CPOs. CPOs should be viewed as professionals and specialists since their skills far exceed those of a security guard (Grade C). According to South Africa's Skills Development Plan all industries will fall under Sector Education and Training Authorities (SETAs). Close Protection is grouped under the Police, Private Security, Legal, Correctional Services and Justice Sector Education and Training Authority (POSLEC SETA). There is currently a South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) Unit Standard for Close Protection (Protection of Designated Persons, Units Standard number: 11510). However, the research revealed that while the unit standard correctly outlines the operational skills requirements of CPOs there are no assessment guidelines or clearly defined minimum skills requirements. Before the unit standard can be effectively implemented, agreed industry minimum standards for the relevant skills divisions in Close Protection need to be identified and implemented. But currently there is some confusion regarding which body is responsible for, firstly developing acceptable unit standards; secondly, getting the industry as a whole to agree and accept such standards; thirdly, to see to it that training on those standards is provided; and finally the monitoring of these standards in practice. In this study various training related factors were identified and examined in order to assess whether the way CPOs are trained in South Africa is effective or not. Aspects such as the intensity, focus, duration and content were examined. In general it was found that it is important for the following to be implemented: 1. Effective screening and pre-training evaluation of potential trainees. 2. Training should be job orientated and focus on training CPOs for the functions that they will actually have to perform. 3. Training methodologies should focus on an outcomes based approach and utilise the fundamentals of adult based education. 4. Training should simulate reality including the related stress factors that are placed on operational CPOs such as lack of sleep and high levels of activity interspersed with boring waiting periods. 5. Ongoing training and re-training are vital components to a CPO maintaining operational competency. 6. Close Protection instructors need to have both an operational background and training in instructional methodologies before being considered competent. It is important that in the long term international recognition of South African Close Protection qualifications is achieved. This is essential since many South African CPOs operate internationally. Globalisation and improvements in technology have made it easier for international networking to take place. This has meant that clients are using CPOs in different countries and international comparisons are inevitable. If South African CPOs are to be considered `world class' then internationally recognised minimum standards need to be implemented for the South African Close Protection industry. The research indicated and highlighted various trends that may affect the Close Protection industry. The trends identified that seemed most relevant to the South African Close Protection industry were as follows: * Increased public awareness of international terrorism has resulted form acts such as the 9/11 attacks. This has made people more aware of the need for and benefits of security. Use of well trained CPOs is one of the ways that potential clients are able to minimise their exposure to any potential terrorist attack. * A CPO's ability to communicate and liaise with all relevant parties involved in the Close Protection environment is vital to the success of any operation. Therefore it is vital that these aspects receive the relevant focus during training. * The CPO needs to be well trained in use of unarmed combat and alternative weaponry. He/she can no longer rely on the use of a firearm as the primary force option. * A CPO needs to be able to adapt to many different situations. It is important that a CPO is trained to blend in and use the correct protocol in any given situation. The focus of operations should be on operating in a low profile manner to avoid unnecessary attention. * A CPO needs to be well trained in all aspects of planning and avoidance. The skills needed to proactively identify and avoid threats are vital to modern day operations. The CPO also needs to be quick thinking and adaptable in order to function effectively. * A CPO needs to have a working knowledge of all security related aspects that could enhance the safety of his/her Principal (i.e. multi-skilled). In addition to the above mentioned factors, other recommendations emanating from this study focused on minimum competency standards for the identified subdivisions of close protection. Examples of possible assessment guidelines and criteria were identified covering the following broad classifications: * Prior educational qualifications * Physical abilities * CPO skills * Prior experience in guarding * Firearm skills * Unarmed combat * Protective skills * First aid skills * Security knowledge * Advanced driver training * Protocol and etiquette * Management and business skills * Related skills / Criminology / (M.Tech (Security Management))