Crossfire over new gun regulations

Lobby welcomes the proposed regulations but security firms and legal experts warned of a spike in violent crime

- Lyse Comins

South Africa’s gun-free lobby has welcomed draft regulations that seek to disarm the private security industry, saying it is a massive sector — four times larger than the police service — which is operating “largely without oversight or control”.

But security businesses and legal experts warned this week the “over-the-top” move would lead to an escalation in violent crime, the closure of businesses and the loss of some of the more than 500000 jobs in the sector.

Gun Free South Africa (GFSA) executive director Stanley Maphosa said, according to the South African Police Service (SAPS) and the Private Security Regulatory Authority’s annual reports for 2023-24, there were 608977 registered, active security officers compared with 150388 SAPS employees in the country.

“Yet it operates largely without oversight or control. Measures to address the issues of poor control and oversight of private security industry companies, guards and guns is long overdue,” Maphosa said.

“While SA’s security industry has been burgeoning, so has crime ... which in and of itself raises questions about how effective the industry has been at addressing crime.

“The publication of these draft regulations creates space for engagement and strengthening of the regulatory framework and should be welcomed by everyone who wants to see a safer and secure South Africa.”

Proposals in the draft amendment to the private security industry regulations under the Private Security Industry Regulations Act that Police Minister Senzo Mchunu gazetted for public comment on 28 March include sweeping changes and have raised concerns businesses will go bankrupt because of the administrative burden and high costs of implementation.

Security firms would only be allowed to use semi-automatic rifles for cash-in-transit services, guarding critical infrastructure and anti-poaching activities and only a “reasonable quantity” of ammunition may be used.