BEWARE IMPOSTERS
In a bid to curb crime and stay protected, some Batswana invite thieves into their homes thinking they are hiring private security personnel.
Chairperson of Security Sector at Business Botswana Gaolape Modongo says in Botswana, there are over 4 000 registered security companies but only 200 are operating legally.
The sector pleads with Batswana to be careful when hiring private security companies.
“Many people call themselves security personnel but are not even licenced. Fly-by-night companies do not keep criminals away but only escalate crime," he said, adding that one way to identify fake security companies is by their low and unreasonable pricing.
Fake companies also hire employees without even screening them. This is risky because the ‘supposed employees’ then turn around and rob the people they are supposed to be protecting.
Mike Modise of Block 10 in Gaborone has observed that most neighbourhood watch groups resort to hiring private security and that is where criminals strike.
He observed how such companies were busy at work during the festive season and all was fine.
“But I can guarantee you that in the next coming weeks, house breaking cases will be high because security companies did not screen their employees.
“They were just after money during the festive season and after cheap labour.
“You will find that those companies did not even have uniform for their employees. You will meet some of their staff members wearing caps that face backward and other clothing that makes it hard to identify them,” he said.
Modise explained that with such employees, it gets difficult to differentiate between security personnel and thieves during patrols because they all look the same as criminals.
“Let us hire trusted security companies which are accredited, they should have uniform, have a place of operation for easy identification,” he advised. Assistant Superintendent Mosetsanagape Baitsadi of Sir Seretse Khama International Airport Police advises that before hiring, security companies should take prospective employees to the police station for fingerprint screening to check if they have any criminal records.
She also advised that Batswana should desist from hiring foreigners for security jobs before ensuring that they are in the country legally.
"If you hire them carelessly, they turn around and rob homes. They then travel across the border making it hard for police to track them down," she said.