In a recent report I co-authored, a case was made for tax rebates for private crime-fighting – similar to the current system of tax rebates for private medical expenses. Otherwise, it seems, you can get tax back for keeping yourself healthy, but not for keeping yourself alive.
Figure 1 gives a good sense of the enormous growth in the private security industry over the past ten years. In 2001, there were 194 525 private security officers active and registered with the Private Security Industry Regulatory Authority of South Africa. By 2011, this number has more than doubled to reach 411 109. By contrast, in January 2013 there were only 156 076 police officers with the South African Police Service – outnumbered almost 3:1 by private security officers.
Table D contains crime records from 1994/5 to 2010/11. Note how the total number of recorded crimes start to decline around 2002/3. Unfortunately, I don’t have statistics of the size of the private security industry before 2001, but I would not be surprised to find evidence in support of a thesis that crime is only kept under control because of private crime fighting, rather than any turn-around in or by the SAPS.
Private security expenses are, of course, not limited to private security guard services. It includes things like vehicle tracking, burglar bars, alarm systems, insurance against theft, replacing stolen goods, not going for an evening stroll, etc.
For example, we calculated that a regular suburban household in a metropolitan area could spend around R10 400 per year, just to cover armed response, vehicle tracking for one car and household insurance.
This expense, of course, comes on top of the tax money that was supposed to bring you public order and safety in the first place.
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