Nearly 350 security firms to help state rollout elections security plan

JOHANNESBURG - About 350 private security companies across the country will assist the state in its rollout of the general elections security plan. 

On Sunday, the Justice, Crime Prevention and Security Cluster announced a plan was put in place to monitor high-risk areas during elections. 

The plan was compiled by the national joint operational and intelligence structure, based on a threat and crime pattern analysis.

Business Against Crime South Africa executive project manager, Fouché Burgers, said the collaboration between private security and police ahead of elections was vital. 

"It is extremely important, this whole collaboration and partnership with the police and we are really in the hands of police to request assistance and they constantly do."

Part of the work private security will undertake is to be deployed to areas of concern to carry out patrols and be visible in hotspot areas. 

Information will then be fed to police, should things turn volatile and arrests need to be carried out. 

Police claim that out of the almost 24,000 voting stations, 500 have been identified as high risk.