“.. South Africa was the most dangerous country in the world to work in -- ahead of Iraq and Afghanistan..” - Securicor CEO Nick Buckles

“.. South Africa was the most dangerous country in the world to work in -- ahead of Iraq and Afghanistan..”

-- Securicor CEO Nick Buckles, quoted by Reuters, May 24 2009

May 24 2009 - Group 4 Securicor, the world's biggest security firm, will not work at next summer's FIFA football World Cup 2010 tournament in South Africa due to concerns over the tournament's organisation, the group's chief executive told Reuters news agency.

Dutch Daily Published Crime Statistics Map of Fifa World Cup 2010 Venues





Crime fears grow as South Africa readies for football World Cup

Rioting crowds rampage through the Thokoza township of Johannesburg. Photograph: Gallo Images/Getty Images

• Fans' safety doubted as theft and sex offences rise
  
  
• 41,000 security staff promised for tournament

The following correction was printed in the Guardian's Corrections and clarifications column, Saturday 26 September 2009

[In the article below about rising crime in South Africa we reported that business thefts rose by 41% between 2007-08 and 2008-09, and residential burglaries by 27%. In fact, these are the figures for business and residential robberies, which include the direct threat or use of violence by the perpetrator. The comparable figures for burglaries – that is, acts where no direct threat of violence is involved – are an 11.1% rise for businesses and a 3.7% rise for residences.]

Crime is rising in South Africa less than nine months before the country hosts the football World Cup, casting doubt on official promises that the tens of thousands of fans heading there next summer will be welcome and safe.

Despite a 3% drop in the murder rate, police statistics revealed an increase in sex offences, including rape, as well as a dramatic rise in burglaries.

In Rustenburg, tipped to be the England squad's base, cases of sex crimes, assault, robbery with aggravating circumstances and kidnapping all increased on the previous year.

Reported sex crimes also increased in the police precincts of Cape Town central, Durban central, Johannesburg central, Nelspruit, Polokwane, and Pretoria central, which are all certain to receive football supporters from around the world.

South Africa's crime rate is among the highest in the world and remains one of the chief anxieties overshadowing the biggest sporting event to be held on the African continent.

Dianne Kohler Barnard, shadow police minister and an opposition Democratic Alliance MP, said: "With the 2010 World Cup fast approaching, the usual rhetoric and empty promises must once and for all be brought to an end. We need more police, and better training; we need to deal with the backlog of 20,000 forensic laboratory samples; we need the reconstitution of specialised units, and an end to cadre deployment within our police service."

Britain's Foreign Office says there were cases in 2007 and 2008 of foreigners being followed from Johannesburg airport then robbed, often at gunpoint.

Tonight local officials brushed off the figures and insisted visitors would be secure. Rich Mkhondo, a spokesman for the 2010 local organising committee, said the belief was that the government and security forces would reduce the level of crime. "We concentrate on event security … we are going to deploy 41,000 new security officers, who are being trained as we speak. This is in addition to 700 police officers in the vicinity of the stadiums. We maintain and remain confident that the World Cup will be safe."

Last week Nathi Mthethwa, the police minister, signalled that the government was ready to enforce zero tolerance policing. The new national police commissioner, Bheki Cele, has called for officers to have the right to "shoot to kill".

The crime statistics for the 2008-09 financial year, the last to be published before the World Cup, showed that 2.1m serious crimes were recorded. Violent crime in general was down 2.8%, but the overall crime level rose by 0.2%.

While the murder rate fell by 3%, this still represented 18,148 killings a year, one of the worst rates in the world. Street robbery was also down, by 7%, and common assault by 4%. Sexual offences rose by 10%, which the government partly attributes to the inclusion of attacks on men for the first time.

Many football fans are likely to hire vehicles when they get to South Africa. Carjackings, according to the data, show an 8% increase compared with the previous year, with nearly 15,000 incidents recorded nationally.

Mthethwa told parliament in Cape Town that small businesses and informal traders had seen a rise in violent robbery. Overall, business thefts have soared by 41% over the past year. Bank robberies dropped by 29%, and cashpoint attacks by 10%, but residential burglaries climbed by 27%. "It is one of the crimes that are most intrusive," Mthethwa said. "We simply cannot tolerate a situation where people do not feel safe in their homes."

Mthethwa said the police had begun an audit of how they deployed their resources. Critics say a lack of personnel and resources has compromised the police service and justice system, allowing many criminals to evade prosecution, with courts often dismissing cases because of poor police investigations.

Source: Guardian, UK




Security giant G4S to avoid chaotic World Cup


Wed May 20, 2009 6:15pm IST
By John Bowker

LONDON (Reuters) - G4S, the world's biggest security firm, will not work at next summer's soccer World Cup in South Africa due to concerns over the tournament's organisation, the group's chief executive told Reuters.

"We are not going to be involved because we don't think the security is going to be that good -- they are not that well organised yet," Nick Buckles said in an interview.

Picture G4S operates like a private army worldwide – it has nearly 600,000 staff in over 100 countries. It contracts out its services for instance to protect military and government facilities, such as the EU and NATO buildings, the German parliament and a great many United States military installations. Its most vulnerable business in South Africa is the protection and transportation of cash.

He said that for G4S, South Africa was the most dangerous country in the world to work in -- ahead of Iraq and Afghanistan -- with around two staff fatalities every month.

"South Africa ... is a tough, tough place to do business. The whole society is different from anywhere else in the world. We do what we can in terms of protecting the crew, but they get attacked by 16, 17 people at a time sometimes," he said.

He said the situation was compounded by customers looking for the cheapest option for security, rather than the best service, but he did expect things to improve. "People don't really think security is that key and it should be. It will get better ... It's about us educating the market," he said.

South Africa suffers from one of the world's highest crime rates, with around 50 people murdered every day.

G4S has nearly 600,000 staff in over 100 countries. Its most vulnerable business in South Africa is the protection and transportation of cash, although it protects a wide range of products and industries.


Two staff fatalities a month in South Africa

So when the chief executive of this well-experienced security company says that South Africa is the most dangerous place in the world, they do know what they are talking about. "We are not going to be involved (in the WC2010 sports event) because we don't think the security is going to be that good -- they are not that well organised yet," Nick Buckles was quoted as saying in an interview with Reuters..

He was quoted as saying that …….‘ for G4S, South Africa was the most dangerous country in the world to work in -- ahead of Iraq and Afghanistan -- with around two staff fatalities every month.”

90 violent deaths a day in South Africa:

South Africa suffers from one of the world's highest crime rates, with around 50 people murdered and 40 people killed in culpible homicides every day.

Sources: Reuters :: Censor Bug Bear

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