Private Security in South Africa Comes at a Cost
There are more than double the number of private security officers than police officers and national military combined in South Africa. This can be helpful to communities who feel underserved by their own countries. But like with any privatization efforts, there are major drawbacks. VICE News looks at the impact in Durban, the starting point of the unrest in SA in 2021.
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WATCH NEXT: Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo has endured 25 years of war, making it the deadliest global conflict since World War II. More than 120 armed groups roam the east terrorizing the civilian population. - kzhead.info/sun/nZqlmaereoWLooU/bejne.html
Western woke media will always find a way even to find racial "injustice" even in some third world country among two already minority races how interesting 😂🤣
Saar Endea is world toilet 🇳🇪🇳🇪🇳🇪 Saar Endea beats everything in crime poverty and inflation saar Endea is best country in the world 🇳🇪🇳🇪🔥
It’s so normal to have private security in South Africa that I even forgot that most of the rest of the world doesn’t live like that.
😂😂dammm
So Is that like police but you call and pay them directly?
Annual expense in $USD?
@@chuckdeezy_313 I want to know that answer too because they look pretty well funded
@@RichieRich7339 Watching the video, I comprehend these people's circumstances, but what is described and picture are the beginnings of a soon failed state. Too much private military might, and it's a matter of time
As a South African, it's very, very easy to paint this a racially motivated episode of our history once again. However the truth is that economic mismanagement, government corruption and mind boggling poverty led to this. It's not racist to say the vast majority of looters and criminals were black South Africans, because they are / have suffering/ suffered the most, by far and thus made up the majority of rioters and looters. Also, something not explained in this video, is the very long story behind the Zuma corruption story, his and security forces involvement, a possible attempted coup, the floods etc etc etc....
Trump supporters stormed the Capitol building to overturn a legitimate election, in Zuma's case how can someone attempt a coup so far from the seat of power??fact of the matter was there wasn't any attempt at all. The tension between the haves and have nots has been building for a long time and Zuma's arrest was nothing more than a catalyst.
Thanks you for highlighting the facts, from my grandparents who live in the homelands and the township that I grew up. It’s real outchea
Yeah the ANC have a lot to answer for...
I dont blame the people.. i blame the government... i hate to say this but these things, as well as load shedding, inflation, almost the whole rail network and most of our old cultural heritage sites have been totally wrecked... this all happened under the ANC... it doesnt seem to happen in Cape Town where the DA runs the show.... and they only seem to interview old people who still have apartheid stuck in their minds... Did they speak to any younger people? There is a whole generation of black youth who went to school with white kids... i have faith in the younger black generation... i am white... and most of my friends have left the country and the rest are trying to get out aswell... they call it white flight.... the white ppl dont want to fight, they want to leave... even farmers are leaving to Zambia and upper Africa...
Zuma cant be corrupt . . . hes black.
I am Indian and living in Durban. We set up roadblocks on the main roads to drive the crowds of hundreds of looters at a time from the asking past our houses. How do we stop a group of 200 at our gate by ourselves? This is nonsense. How do you not even think of this?
Native South Africans are cowards. How can they be oppressed by 10% of the population?
Vice hasn't blocked your comment and your free to give your side of the story😊
Boss shut your mouth we not nys as black people we know what yall done and we will catch yall. MK ALL THE WAY!!!
@@qinisontombela3767 what is wrong with you ?
This is a very very frustrating and poor representation of the riots that went down last year. I'm from Pietermaritzburg and understand the fear that we all faced of having people come into our suburbs to loot or steal. This wasn't a racial war of any kind. I spent a few late nights with community watches that consisted of whites, blacks, Indians, coloureds. This whole thing was communities against idiotic thieves that decided that they'd commit straight up crimes then label it as poverty. You won't steal a fricken TV or couch if you're hungry ne? VICE did a kak job with this one
I don't they will know what kak means :-)
@@mytubex2 😅
agreed they're peddling a kak agenda rather than cover the proper story
This was done extremely poorly. Far below VICE's usual due diligence
I lived in a Majority Black community in Durban KZN, we blocked all main roads into our community and reduced crime by over 80%. By we I include every man and woman from all races, majority Black owned properties. There was a definite fear, a car was hijacked 80m from my house, 200m away from the Police station. This whole episode was made to look like South Africans are racist, when all we care about is our own lives and properties. Very Disappointed in this Vice Episode, and now I have doubts in if Vice is pushing certain narratives..
I was living in Pietermaritzburg at the time of the unrest and let me tell you its terrifying. The police were completely outnumbered and if it wasn't for private security we would have been in deep trouble. I disagree with the race thing. I sat through 12 hour night shifts at a blockade with my neighbours of all races on many nights. If I needed their help they were all there for me. That being said the distribution of races in South Africa is proportionate to what you see in the streets. We have 59.3 million people with 48.6 million being black. Just statistically the majority of the looters would have been black. I am a fan of Vise but I feel like they missed the whole thing by a mile.
Very bad journalism!
Agree. This is so weak from Vice.
Yep, by a country mile. I must say I'm very disappointed with Vice on this one but not surprised. The lefts predominant narrative is that any efforts to enforce or restore law and order are inherently racist regardless of the circumstances. I thought that Vice would be a little bit more balanced than this in their reporting.
Totally in agreement.
Vice is always like poor black people. They just get picked on🙄
This reporter was BEGGING for racism from her interviews but they outclassed and outsmarted her in every situation. this is what passes as "journalism" LOL.
She definitely presented herself as a self loathing biased leftist.
Obviously you're not a black or native S. African. Racist always try to justify their actions and you're living in denial.
the paramedic literally said how he faced racism
@@mooncake387 He's full of crap. The looters are all black and we threatening to kill Indians. What do they expect?
She has to ask that because people will think that.
Dear Vice News: You guys made it very clear in this documentary that you have NO CLUE how things work in South Africa. The looting that happened in Kwazulu Natal had nothing to do with race and ethnicity but a corrupt president and political party that has looted South Africa of BILLIONS since 1994. Our people are tired of hearing the same narrative and our people are sick and tired of a small hand of individuals from every race, ethnicity and religion in this country who are trying to make it out that they're better and above the rest. It's a godforsaken shame that you didn't investigate the fact that there were CEOs of BIG companies who were part of this looting, it's a shame you didn't investigate how the looting destroyed families' incomes, how it destroyed the jobs for families who already sat with basically nothing. But no, make it another narrative for race because it sells. You should be ASHAMED for this piece. The mere fact that you guys come here and try and create more racial segregation that is slowly but surely becoming less of a thing here and people are starting to embrace one another comes to show that you guys do not have any idea what it is to be South African, what our way of life is and how we live our lives. We are not living in the West and we are not coming from the East. We as South Africans, stood up against a major mob that wanted to drive our country into a modern day civil war and prevented our country from erupting into complete unrest. So, please try and take your Western propaganda back to the US, stick it up where the sun doesn't shine and investigate the fact that you have a president that can't even speak 10 words without almost passing out in front of millions of people on live TV...
Try, Trillions. The government stole more than 1.5 trillion Rand from 2014 to 2019, and it's only gotten worse.
Bravo. Well said.
100% bravo. This is the "quality" of so called modern day agenda based journalism. Waste of time
It’s vice ???! What did you expect. Such a lefty news organisation
Exactly
"There were reports that there was a disproportionate targeting black people during that time." Lady, have you seen what was happening and who was looting??
Yeah well everyone was looting, there's video evidence of that. Blacks were racially profiled. If people are even attacking their own black neighbors, people that they live with what do you call that?
not even that but a woman was kidnapped in the start and they brushed it off like "yeah that's normal but man everyone just targets blacks"? there were Indian families who lost loved ones and that was the main reason for the blockades, I remember seeing video's of Indian shops getting looted and the owners being attacked while crowds were running over them and Durban families mourning their fathers and husbands who got attacked while doing nothing in their homes.
ikr, stupid poppie kafer lover lmao
I am South African journalist who was robbed of my gear a few days ago, I can confidently say the crime in this country is too much, no one is safe.
And this is the real tragedy in SA for me - when an upstanding black citizen such as yourself who tries to make a decent and honest living, falls victim to those who don't. And then they will even say that you are the wrong one, because you are "trying to be white" 🤦🏻♂️ haibo!
robbed by your fellow kafers? haha
Not even if u have a gun?
Because of black people
@@chicago4809 White ppl must be in charge of the Country
As usual Vice don't tell the story of what happened, instead they decide on what happened then gather the interviews to support their version of events. As a former journalist I can easily see this story is far more complex and multi-layered than this overly simplistic and one-dimensional presentation by Vice.
glad i read the comments on this video lol, coulda fooled me.
Plus like...why's everyone focused on the whole "blacks are the only ones being targeted"? Like um..look around...the majority of people in the country are black, so it makes sense more blacks would be stopped at checkpoints simply because..there's more of them. Doesn't take a scientist to figure this one out
Thank you for this
Oh yes lets hear your excuses for setting up road blocks on MAIN PUBLIC roads like you own them...
Yep the Africa is a mess narrative
This video presents a grossly biased view of the background to Indian/African relations by starting at the 1949 riots. It completely omits a few fundamental points: 1. Indian indentured labour was introduced to Natal in 1860 as the local African community were economically independent of the colonial economy 2. By the early 20th century, the combined population of African and Indian South Africans outnumbered the colonial settler population. The British government resorted to its tried and trusted tactic of divide and conquer ( eg in Natal, plantation owners employing Africans as overseers of Indian labour). By sowing division and racially motivated tension between the African and Indian population, the 2 would never unite against the British government and its policies (this policy was implemented in the middle east and India - resulting in today's Arab Israeli conflict and the partition of India) 3. The 1949 riots were an expression of African anger at the discriminatory and exclusionary policies implemented by the Durban City Council. Indian traders (a minority of the Indian population) were excluded from conducting business in the (whites only) central business district so they instead expanded into areas designated as "African only". They consequently became the most visible representation of discriminatory policies implemented as a result of lobbying by the predominantly white owned businesses operating in the Durhan CBD at the time (Indian traders had no representation in this process), making them prime targets for outbreaks of violence. 4. While this video mentions the death toll after the riots, they fail to mention that thousands of Indians were displaced as a result of their homes being destroyed in the riots. 5. The majority of the Indian population lived in poverty (like the African population) at the time of the 1949 riots. Indian South Africans (even those born in the country) were not regarded as citizens. Official government policy was repatriation of all Indian South Africans to India. Thus, no provisions for basic amenities were made in residential areas designated for the Indian population (South Africans of Indian ancestry were granted birthright citizenship in 1960 - 100 years after their labour built the economy of the Natal province) 6. Indian South Africans were not regarded as having a higher social status than Africans. As Indians moved out of thr agricultural sector (usually upon the expiration of their term of indenture), they moved into semi skilled industrial jobs and were replaced by African labour within the agricultural sector, creating a gap in the socio-economic opportunities available to the different race groups. 7. This gap widened during the apartheid era when communities of Indian South Africans pooled their resources to open and run local schools. This allowed a small portion of the Indian South African population to move into professional roles outside of agriculture and industry. 8. The Group Areas Act enforced physical segregation between races groups, even in a post apartheid South Africa many of these areas demographics have not changed significantly. Building a mutual understanding and respect between race groups in South Africa (all race groups, not just Indian and African) has been all but impossible due to this physical separation 9. While apartheid may have ended, apartheid era racial designations (white, African, Indian, Coloured) do remain as a means of measuring redress among formerly disadvantaged groups. Thus the prejudices associated with these terms remain with the country despite the fall of apartheid Please note that the term coloured is not considered derogatory in a South African context. It refers to the mixed race descendants of former Dutch settlers, malay slaves and first people's, who are predominant in the Western Cape (the part of South African first colonized by the Dutch) Race relations in South Africa have a long and complex history. This video shows no understanding of any of the subtle nuances that define race relations in a post apartheid South Africa. Instead, it seems to perpetuate some of the deep rooted prejudices that exist in South African society. It vilified Indian South Africans for perceived acts of racial profiling but ignores the social media activity calling for violence against the Indian community (e.g. a Twitter page that was created around the time of the 2021 looting called "Indians must fall" subsequently deactivated by Twitter for its violent and racist content). Wait - how did a video about "private security" turn into a piece on racial profiling in South Africa? Kinda hard to take Vice News seriously after this one.
Stop using "settlers" you racist.
I cannot agree more, the video is biased as hell.
""Indian South Africans were not regarded as having a higher social status than African." That is bogus. I see what your comment is really trying to say. Indian people pulled their recosrces together made smart choices thats why they are better off than black people? Black people were not allowed to pull anything together, any attempt was met with harsh punishment. The entire apartheid government made sure of no prosperity in black communities, so they learnt fight. Indian south africans and there communities were obviously also under attack but differently which allowed them to still build themselves. Black people's only option was to fight, and its not something that will go away just because we can vote now. This video is not biased, your comment is. You are basically saying why dont they stop being poor and violent and do what the indians did, as i stated before they were never allowed to.
'whites-only' town in South Africa is making headlines. Black people cannot live & work in this town, every job is reserved for white people. The residents of the town insist their actions are not racist. Palki Sharma brings you the story of Orania..
@@antoinettemashonga9407 You are right. Indian people in South Africa were given everything by the great white nation . When I was born my parents were given a home and jobs by the white father Christmas. Every year R1 000 000 was deposited into their bank account by the apartheid government to make sure we were doing well.
South african here. Too many people are saying that the police and private security are racist. I would say that 99.75% of looters (criminals) during those 8 days in July, were black. There were only a couple of incidents when non-blacks were caught looting. So when the criminals were rightfully targeted by our forces (police and private), it just so happens that almost all of them were black. Non-black and blacks were treated the same way if they were breaking the law. It just looks racist because nearly all the criminals were black and the heros that risked their lives to uphold the law, were Indians and whites (the majority of SAP officers black, I just want to add). Simple as that
This is poor journalism; all of her questions were loaded and she showed a lack of knowledge of the situation in SA. Of course the majority of fatalities were Black; the country is majority Black.
@Finley Hall and what did you take from this vid? another reason for self-pity or a reason to cry about black people being discriminated against? Well, it's a Black country, so people do that to themselves, no more White guys to oppress them. It's hard to face the reality, easier to continue complaining about someone else.
@Finley Hall I have no respect for the hunter gatherer mentality of some folks.
@yourmanwatson @finleyhall are you familiar with the politics and socioeconomic issues in SA? There is so much more behind this than this reporting presents. Very much loaded questions without additional context.
Exactly. And an overwhelming number of the looters were black. As in 99.9% of them. Including some police who were also looting instead of protecting - which i saw with my own eyes.
As a South African, I agree with this statement.
SA seems like a wild place where the rule of law has fallen so badly that the private sector has taken over.
it honestly depends on where you are, there are parts of the country that are beautiful and still fairly safe, definitely not any more dangerous than several US cities. I haven't been back in a minute though but the ppl I know who live there still have told me basically the same thing which is that it still just depends on where you live. Durban has always been sketchy af IMO
@@nikkigriffin08 where ANC, their cronies and old white ruling class live those places are good.
@@hermanhoppe3773 seems like the ANC needs more competent politicians who can help mend the effects of apartheid.
Everyone in SA has private security no one calls the police
Private sector and civil society has taken over most of government responsibilities
Indians are some of the most productive people in SA. A real asset to SA, and their homes were attacked unprovoked, way before any blockades were put up, and the police ran out of bullets, so the police could not protect anybody. I recall how the Zulus reportedly went to their witch doctors for muti (medicine) to protect them against bullets, but when the muti failed to work, they teary-eyed claim they were "brutalized". Really? They executed a premeditated attack on the people they're now accusing of brutalizing them. WTF!?! And this reporter laps up their BS because it fits the narrative she's trying to promote.
Native South Africans are cowards. How can they be oppressed by 10% of the population?
Are you an Indian huh?
Saar Endea is world toilet 🇳🇪🇳🇪🇳🇪 Saar Endea beats everything in crime poverty and inflation saar Endea is best country in the world 🇳🇪🇳🇪🔥
We have all the right to protect our community and business.Indian community is the most peaceful community in the world.They are patriots protecting there community and country from these ruthless goons and savages.
The corruption is so bad that our local police station, the police officers had to service the police vehicles with their own money
Instead of with the money of the citizens? That's a shock.
Corruption will turn South Africa into a failed state. No law and order and a lack of rule of law contributes to a failed state
Ul be surprised these days our own police stations are guarded by private security.. If police stations need private security wat about the safety of the ordinary man on the streets?
@@setlogolo_sa_Hunadi so what does that say about South Africa? Is it becoming a Failed State
It's means our goverment ministers are doing nothing to fight crime.. They are interested in yearly crime stats that all..to act like they are doing something about it After a ever 5 years a new minister is then appointed to the position.. And still theyl be no change. As for a failed state I can't realy put a stamp on such a statement.. We still have much room for improvement.
I love how they go and investigate and target the private security companies for standing up against the looters but play down the fact that the real problem is the people who caused a billion dollars in damages, that end up affecting the whole nation.
Plus like... obviously the majority of people "targeted" at checkpoints are black.. because...SA is literally a black majority nation, lmao. Like, all these things are so stupid when you realise the majority of people in the country are black
But you can't ignore the damage caused by covid, I don't think we would've had looting if there was no lockdown and people losing their income whether it's formal or informal employment
@@mthokongubane8123 That’s not a valid excuse simply because majority of people in South African went through the exact same struggle of losing their jobs during Covid and not having employment to support their families yet they didn’t use it as an excuse to loot.
Seems like you missed the point of the video, privately owned police are NOT a good long term solution.
The problem is a poorly run government and garbage economy that leaves people with no choice but crime or starving. Not the Damage done to the super wealthy.
Im a controller working for a private security company and my husband is an tactical response officer and I've experienced first hand what our officers are capable of their dedicated caring and quick to respond they truly care about their clients and non clients responding and assisting where ever they can they are more reliable than the police it's also very dangerous for them but the passion they have is truly amazing but just the fact the the salaries being paid to them and controllers is so sad and ridiculous that some of the companies don't have regular officers or controllers working for them at least for more than a few years its rarely that you get someone who works for a longer period of time cause they would always go and find where or which company will pay them properly for their services
In south Africa the security guards are like cops, and the police are like security guards.
Absolutely!!! 👏
The South African police failed to protect their citizens. That is why the private security stepped in. It did not help that the vast majority of looters were black.
@@didntwantahandle Got the notification fast, and didn't notice the mistake.
The whole country is failed
the vast majority of private security personel are black too, so the story that VICE is trying to spin makes no sense at all.
@@ishitrealbad3039 Well, when you try to put US standards to SA
💯💯💯💯
this piece would've been better if it investigated the actual state of public policing in South Africa, and why private security is deemed necessary. instead they view this severe problem via an identity politics lens, which is unproductive and irrelevant, especially for this specific issue.
Agree. And I think anyone watching it can see this. I want to know what you wrote , but the piece dragged on with no info
Disagree. Racism in private security is an issue that needs attention brought to it
Correct. What a shallow marrow piece. It seems tailor made to carry on the narrative of blacks as victims and the rest of the world as their oppressors when the true story is so much more complex.
@@Nyceboy1234 why do you deny racism
@josh berkin, how do you think security works, exactly? Do you think security guards are supposed to treat criminals gently and nicely like soft little babies? 👶
I live through the riots in a neighbourhood in the middle of it. It was horrific and terrifying. I STILL feel traumatised from the experience. This does not correctly explain the situation as it happened on the ground. I had white, black and Indian neighbours and we all stood side by side to protect our neighbourhoods and the threat was REAL. There were no police - they were out on the frontlines dealing with the hoards who were stealing and destroying businesses, shopping malls and even police arms supplies. There was no army because the president decided that it was not politically in his favour to action support from the army until it was all basically over. We were abandoned by government and just left to fend for ourselves. It felt very very close to civil war. This was not racially motivated - that’s far too simplistic.
I'm from Pinetown, Durban and also remember it being very scary stuff. All the problems with our country could be fixed by removing ANC.
@@KurtLesterishere i heard the organized crime in South Africa runs mostly by foreighners
@@volk779 that may be, and it wouldn't surprise me if it were true. That being said, it still does not shift the blame from our government and their lack of ability to prevent or mitigate what happened.
Native South Africans are cowards. How can they be oppressed by 10% of the population? This would never happen in India or China
" if you loot I will shoot " ...that was a banger 🤣❤️love sa Owen's 😭one of a kind
This is more an effect rather than a cause. if you have a bad public service, and your constitution allows it, private corporations will take its place.
Sadly the Constitution does make provisions for it. The current South African government just uses it mostly for toilet paper.
Not rly lol. See, roads, trains etc, privatising something makes it worse most of the time. The case with the police is that they were a private security force, but their securing rich people property, so they’re over stretched d this is just police but more expensive
Technically South African constitution doesn't allow for private militaries and contractors, these security companies are borderline of illegal and legal...
@@sj-bg4up how do you figure this? Privatization of most industries has been proven time and time to be more efficient, effective and equitable than state owned industries. If privatization didn’t work, there wouldn’t be a need or want for it.
@@Morningstar_Actual Well in germany the state-owned train service got privatized a few decades ago and it reallly reeeeaaaaallllyyy really sucks now There are some public services that should be state owned
Protect yourself or your property in SA and you'll be called a racist.
Other minorities ARE rasict in SA. The black man will always be scapegoat in their native country!
Even though most checkpoints were manned by law abiding citizens trying to protect their families and property we cannot ignore some of the racially motivated attacks that took place.
Weren’t they taking land away from white farmers n handing it over to black folks n killing white dolls down there just because they are white?
Obviously you aren't native S. African. The native people need to protect their ancestorial land and you're trass passing.
You can protect it without being a racist and attacking random people and other people's cars in the street and burning them
Ive experienced crime at least twice in South Africa. I had to learn self defense. I had to learn to cross the road when i see any man of any race approaching. I am Black and I have been acted against by Black people. I think the issue is class, government corruption and a lot of PTSD from apartheid as well as lack of personal accountability across all groups.
Mara are you from South Africa? Or did you just visit?
Native South Africans are cowards. How can they be oppressed by 10% of the population?
Weird how whites and Indians have reconciled so much compared to blacks and any other race
Well the police have failed us so miserably, that we rely on private security. The community pays for its own cctv and vehicle licence plate recognition cameras. We have loads of private security, and i stay in a very nice area.
It's not the police who have failed us, but national govt who is underfunding the police, resulting in the under resourcing of police stations.
@@grantzax go to a local police station and report something, see how helpful they are. It is even worse in the townships. They just not interested.
@@mrjohnocon Well because their afraid, and nobody trusts the police so they cant be assured they wont be shot at.
"Seems a good and positive development for SA. Since the government lacks the capacity to project power across the entire country, gated communities and private police can help to fill in the security gaps. And those too poor can still rely on the State security as a final last resort."
But why pay taxes for the police then? At least the South Africa Police Service is subject to use of force guidelines, but security guards have no such restriction and can thus cause harm without repercussion.
4:51 (Regarding the 2021 riots which cause over a billion dollars of damage as they say at 4:39) "The vast majority of deaths were black south Africans" Who were the vast majority of rioters?
Not the vast majority, ALL of them were black. Period. Let's be frank about the elephant in the room.
blacks who were the vast majority of security personel; blacks who were the vast majority of police; blacks VICE saying that this is a white/indi on white hate crime is fucking crazy.
@@ishitrealbad3039 Precisely. One sided BULLSHIT from a famously LEFTIST media outlet.
visited SA, Durban, back in 2010, was a little kid back then so maybe i couldn't openly see the flaws over there but it just hits so different seeing the country's state right now, and don't get me wrong, i'm not talking sh#t about y'all i just wanna wish y'all the best, you have a beautiful country
The reported is incredibly ignorant and has already constructed her narrative and is now trying to make the reporting fit rather than doing actual investigative reproting.
so true. this is so under investigated. dissapointed in vice, lapho i watch it all the time.
Typical vice reporting
It's racism, open your eyes.
Random dude says "racism". Reporter goes "yup, it must be racism".
They are Marxist activists. They are not reporters. They had one goal and that was portray black people as victims and whites as evil. Which is about 95% of their content. Look into who owns and runs VICE. Then you'll get your answer.
Terrible reporting Vice ... The fact is that people had to set up check points to prevent looters from targeting their neighborhoods and this was done by black, white, coloured and Indian South Africans alike. There seems to be an agenda to draw unfounded racial parallels when the fact on the ground is that people wanted to protect their neighborhoods, properties and arguably their lives. Also the person who was interviewed was not credible ... I mean he claimed that private security was responsible for torching cars, when this was evidenced to be done by the Looters. I enjoy watching Vice but now I question how credible they are.
Like all the others, there is an underlying narrative to any of their stories, where it can be applied.
Most definitely. Vice's coverage has been getting more cringeworthy by the day. Leftist media will always be BS.
It's good to always question the credibility of all reporting.
VICE was already not trustworthy since 2014.
@@ishitrealbad3039 Yeah, I take everything they portray with a pinch of salt.
As a person who was in a small town where there the police were ordered to stay in their station to protect their property. We the civilians had to step up. Black white colored and Indian came together to fight against the unrest. Our small town survived but alot of other towns were burnt to the ground and for what. On those same people that took part in the looting and unrest are suffering as their towns have no shops.
Private security is the only way to defeat the mobs. Great job to the militias protecting their communities 🙏
As a South African this reporting and journalism on that event was truly poor, the journalist really came into this with a narrative in her head and came with loaded questions. Why not talk about the corruption or the the attempted coup that set the riots in motion or go talk to the communities the rioters came from, there is more to the rioting than race, there were black South Africans who also took part in protecting their communities but I guess that does not fit the agenda. I really enjoy Vice but now that I have seen how they report and showcase certain aspects, I really question if they are as reliable as they profess.
Vice has already been hammered because at one point they were worse than CNN. But its common sense to always take what any New media says with a pinch of salt. If they lie about a coutry, the people there will mostly like call out their bullshit for all to see, this comment section being exactly that.
Whataboutism?
Combined@ more than army and police combined!!! More private security than army and police combined!! And here gentleman says SHE HAS A NARRATIVE😂 If unfortunately you are South Africann---- RUNNNNNN
Now this is true. It wasn't about race it was people who didn't vmhave economic opportunities looking for a reason to loot.
This may not be a popular comment, but some saffa friends explained to me that there are racial quotas on a lot of government positions. When apartheid ended, they basically fired all the white police and replaced them with black police, regardless of ability or skill. Things went from one stupid racist extreme to the other. As a result, most of the ex-white police went into private security, and the guys who took over the police force struggled because they'd basically tore up the previous system and tried to start again from scratch. I can understand the excitement of ending the apartheid regime, but destroying all its systems (including the ones which worked) doesn't seem to have worked. The reporter likes her loaded comments. "The vast majority of deaths were black South Africans". She's making it sound like this is a disproportionate quantity. However, surely it makes sense for the black community to have a higher proportion of deaths given that 77% of South Africans are black. Sure, if they were in the vast minority, having a higher death count would certainly be worrying. Does Vice suggest that more Indians should have died when they make up just 2% of the population?
The truth is that Black-run ANC has been driving SA down the sh*tter since 1994. Yes, white-on-black systemic racism got better. But the Boers ran the country better, and the blacks are slowly & steadily running it into the ground. Just like Zimbabwe, which was functioning much better as Rhodesia with good roads etc. Now it’s a corrupt shthole like the rest
It is also important to not that the system you claimed worked were for built to protect the apartheid regime and to protect it( The police during that time were thought that all is not equal before the law and blacks are definitely subhuman and should be treated as such) so it was necessary to tear down the old system . It is also important to also note that non of those who were responsible for apartheid crimes did join private security and none of them were ever brought to justice . they were just "forgiven " all in the name of peace and reconciliation.
Unfortunately, revolution tends to take many generations to sort itself out, even a 'bloodless' version like apartheid ending. You are essentially starting over, and it can take centuries for social structures to establish fully.
@@yongamamb2766 thaaaank you for enlightening the clueless
@@yongamamb2766 A fair point. Thank you for sharing.
I live on the north-western section of Johannesburg near the outskirts of the greater metro area in what is a relatively affluent, quiet, leafy suburb. We have many suburbs just like ours, just as we have many slums because we are the most unequal country in the world. I am one of the lucky ones that can afford to live where I live and I'm very grateful. However, even in this area, where crime is relatively low, we live in a gated cul-de-sac; which means the residents came together in this street and pitched in to privately install the gate, which is electric, has an intercom system that calls the cell phone of the person the visitor is trying to reach and spiked palisades 10 or 12 feet tall. We pay monthly to the resident's association for its upkeep. When you enter the cul-de-sac you'll notice that every single house has 6 to 10 foot walls, with additional electric fences or spiked palisades on top, or both. We also all have electric gates and intercoms for visitors to enter our homes after we have screened them at the main gate. Many people also have CCTV to monitor their properties. Finally, we ALL have private security whose control rooms are connected to our home alarm systems and remote panic buttons. If the alarm goes off, or I press the panic button, I will have a call within seconds and will be required to provide a password if it's a false alarm. In the case I don't answer or don't give a the password, security will be dispatched immediately and they will be here in minutes. The security company also provides medical and fire services so, in essence, we have bypassed the public emergency services entirely. The private security fee is around $23 a month. If you are unlucky enough to experience a home invasion and try to call the South African Police Service (SAPS) expecting it to be like 911, think again. You may as well kiss your goods goodbye and possibly your life. They will either show up very late or not at all. This is why private security is necessary. Our police are not effective.
Bro, I live in the USA I would leave. That is not normal. That police response is unsat and people are now making it a racial issue. I would leave....
@@thewatchfuleye8401 I lived in the US for 10 years. Totally different worlds. But I must say we live a peaceful life here and for the most part it's chilled. It sounds bad, but these are the precautions you have to take when the murder rate is almost 40 per 100,000. Africa: where you are more free than most places but it comes at a cost.
Wow I always wondered how people could afford these security services, but $23 a month explains a lot (I imagine you pay more in the event of a home invasion but cheap nonetheless). Even with the high rates of crime and all, it seems like many upper middle class South Africans have a better standard of living considering the low costs of domestic help, food, etc.
The only cost I'm worried about is the money we waste on funding SAPS. Without private security, this country would be as lawless as Somalia by now.
it seemed private security was the only option for these people once the police decided to join in on the chaos. they aren’t bad people, they were actually trying to help. i love vice, but the narrative you’re portraying seems a tad distorted.
Im from Durban, SA, and I fought against the looters as a civilian. And so did everyone else, along with private security, because yes you are right it was our only option. The police werent ready and their are a failed entity in this country now. This narrative is very distorted, especially on the racial issues.
Its not distorted. Its racist non black people targeting black people.
@@francoissmith2295 Are you saying there are no racial issues?
The reporting was very fair since everyone was given a chance to respond.
Where African people are oppressed it, always seem to be denial that Africans are being targeted intentionally. Colonialism is a cancer!!
British here, spent a lot of time in SA through the festival scene doing promotional and media contracts, I've seen and experienced first hand how unsafe it can be, like anywhere, but SA just has that edge. At the same time, it's only through the poor decisions of government bodies and representatives that the affects on the nation have taken over and become what we see today. I remember the first time I visited, I threw my backpack (with laptop, hard drives, camera) into the back seat of the rental only to abruptly hear "No no, don't put that there, hide it in the boot" I couldn't believe how many precautions take place to simply drive from point a to point b... even more so when a couple girls I was riding with drove through not one, not two but four red lights during the night, they said "we don't have to stop in case we get robbed or held at gunpoint"
Kiwi here who's spent time in SA and completely agree. The place has an edge to it that you don't really experience anywhere else, especially so in Jburg/Pretoria.
Yikes. It sounds like hell. Looks beautiful on pictures, tho.
@@oliviariley781 haha yeah it really is that bad, stay far away please ;)
@@oliviariley781 if you listen to the precautions given by your travel guide you will be safe, don't listen to the doomsday sayers.
Goes to show, White and Asian countries are the best. You couldn't pay me enough to live in any country in Africa.
I volunteered as a private security personnel during that time, it was very scary fur us all over the country! Thank you for covering this Vice!
Vice is trying to paint you as a violent, racist problem. Why thank them?
Seems a good and positive development for SA. Since the government lacks the capacity to project power across the entire country, gated communities and private police can help to fill in the security gaps. And those too poor can still rely on the State security as a final last resort.
Planning to move there ?
@@dmitripogosian5084 Nah. I am rich
It was incredible to see how our local communities came together to set up 24hr watches for around a week straight. They were done at key roads to prevent people getting to the houses as it would be too late for you if the marauders were that close.
marauders? what mad max version of south Africa are u living in? not the durban i saw.
Yeah, imagine if it was white dudes doing the same?
@@grhyservondub why does it matter what race the perpetrators were? Looting and wanton destruction of property is still unacceptable.
I wonder how many Native S. Africans have your "local communityies" harassed and physically abused, simply because of their race?
@@thomas11156 🥱
That was the wildest thing about visiting Africa. When I was there as a tourist in ZA was the first time I noticed all the private security and it was just normal. When I was there as a performer in Lagos, working for a corporation, we had our own private army following us around with machine guns and no one batted an eyelash. Would that make it a libertarian paradise if they weren’t also paying taxes for public services they weren’t getting?
Where in Africa?
@@IxNOvaSNipezxI Cape Town in ZA the first time then Lagos in Nigeria the next.
Come to Botswana, there is nothing like that
@@Sync-fp3dj I had a wonderful experience. Nicest people and the food was great. I’d love to see Botswana. Maybe that’ll be my next trip!
@@BairMendoza come to NK is more safer.
I was on safari in South Africa last July during the riots. They were in a level 4 lockdown. The whole experience was just bizarre to say the least.
Just to set the context of this story straight. Apartheid ended in 1994 when Mandela took power. From then until 2007 the ruling party (ANC) took the country out of poverty and improved the lives of most South Africans at an annual growth rate of about 5-7%. From 2008 until today, various anc leaders have moved toward a more Marxist approach of governance mixed with financial corruption and state capture. Living standards have started to decline, as has the support for the party. We are currently experiencing a massive change where people are protesting for a new South Africa full of opportunity and growth. The governments continues its promises but doesn't deliver, hence the power cuts, waning police force, non functioning military. New and old parties are forming coalitions in hope of reviving free market capitalism.
If this isn't the Genesis of a cyberpunk style policing, idk what it is
if im not mistaken some of the shots from the newer judge dredd film were of south Africa. the guys in the van at the beginning of the film were definitely from za.
@@chloegrobler4275 Yeah, it was in Joburg
"The vast majority of deaths were black South Africans". I mean yeah.... that makes sense in a country where the large majority are black south africans? This video and her questions doesn´t seem very objective.
They turn the simple logic, I bet, the vast majority in China who die in car accidents are Chinese, but this can be read as "racist"
I agree
Yes, but there is a myth amongst neo Nazis that white people are the only victims of crime in South Africa
The Objective perspective would be, what were the majority of looters ? apply that statistic to the amount of deaths and then the population. if majority of looters were "purple", the majority of deaths would be "purple" and the majority of those racially profiled, 'purlpe''.
@@ryanjmccarthy8868 it’s THEIR LAND
Danki voor documentaire! Yes true everything..
South African here. The police completely abandoned us and we were all scared. They were nowhere to be seen. What would you have us do? It was NOT racially motivated and complete anarchy. The government must get their act together.
Rest in Peace philani ngidi My brother killed in Phoenix , beat, shot and burnt in his car. A father, a brother and a friend. Still picture my brother's smile till this day. I hope you found peace.
That’s horrible, I’m so sorry for your loss.
@@ChuckRage thank you 🙏
Do more on South Africa 🇿🇦
Africa in general
Ok
@@_blakep South Africans don't like the rest of Africa though. Lets stay on SA.
@@pietrojenkins6901 says who
@@pietrojenkins6901 sounds like you have an attitude towards South Africa the local people are warmer then you think its just that the leshoto Zimbabwe and Nigeria people have a reputation for doing crime and South Africans are tired of allowing it to happen beyond that we have great relations with Africa
Our history as a South African myself is a painful and bloody struggle
Damn😂 she sounds like that lady that does the text to voice on Windows😂😂😂
As a South African, I think I need to clarify something- Private security does not mean private policing. It is normal to have a security company fit your home or business with an alarm system and provide armed response if there is a perimeter breach. It is absolutely NOT normal to have private security companies take on Public Policing as shown in this video. Furthermore, the paramilitary cosplaying is limited to minority groups who shall we say have radicalized themselves with their own fear of the majority. I have lived here all my life in circumstances both humble and privileged and I can honestly say I have never feared for my life or felt I was in any danger.
This is a very straightforward explanation of what's normal re: Private Security in SA versus what we see in this video, which almost all of the other comments fail to shed light on. Most often in my experience, private security draws a hard line between "monitoring your home" for incidents, and what they do when those incidents occur. Most often, while private security is the one to show up when your alarm goes off, by the time the issue is being dealt with it's usually the case to see BOTH police and security outside the residence. In fact I don't recall a case where I've lived where I've not seen both cars at an incident.
You're certainly the opposite of EVERY OTHER S. African commenter here. Every single one.
@@josephgriffin2388 The comments section always attracts views that aren't very nuanced.
I couldn't have said it better myself.
Dude...private security in my area do all that: they do detective work, they manage traffic at traffic accidents, they go and arrest drug dealers etc...
"If you are lootin, we are shootin" 😂
Moeni kak aan vang nie...dus dit
Great T-shirt Idea 🤣
Fair enough. First let's start with the people who looted the country. Please White S. Africans move in front of the firing squad, followed by the Gupta brothers, and other Indian business owners. Lastly the ANC leaders and the people who looted local businesses recently.
It madness if you ask me and he is not even African but is saying that in an African country.
No truer words have been said by a charou ekse
Private security officers outnumber the police and the military? Practically the definition of a failed state.
This security company RUSA, is almost weekly in the tabloid 4 der bravery, professionals, nd assistance in the community. Dey r da best, doing wat local police cant. Big salute 2 RUSA.
This video was more about racism than it was about the private sector… good job…
VICE is as liberal as liberal gets so yes im not surprised
Idk why they do that 😂
Black people were the ones looting (look at the footage). When indians, whites and coloreds protected themselves they are called racist 🤣
Because vice is nothing but liberal propaganda 🤷🏽♂️
@@MatorLite 😂😂😂
Our current government is terrible. Tax citizens and have zero service delivery. No ambulance or police, private EMS and private security fills the void. If infrastructure needs to be built or maintained private sector steps in yet again. The South African government is beyond incompetent and needs to be replaced with capable people. Sad thing is us tax payers pay and get nothing in return. Talk about being taken for a ride. On the point the gentleman was making on plenty of black people were harassed/killed, they are the majority in RSA 🇿🇦 so statically they would be majority of the harrassed/deceased. As for racism most South Africans are not racist. I love all my South African brothers and sisters regardless of their race. Why we still mandate to classify each other by apartheid legislation (Black, Coloured, Indian, White etc.) is part of the problem.
ANC just became what they fought.
That’s usually what happens when whites aren’t in power
What does the term coloured refer to in the South African context?
@@excitedaboutlearning1639 it means if you're from mixed heritage. Eg. White father + Black mother or Chinease father + German mother.
@@excitedaboutlearning1639 its mixed race people regarded as a racial group on the own think Indonesian Indian European black mixing pot a rather confused bunch when it comes to historical identity but an interesting bunch non the less. Majority are afrikaans speaking located within the Cape provinces
The guy asking why main roads were checkpoints during the riots and not main gates is because it’s impossible to gather that much man power and tactically unsound to try to defend each property. It would have been impossible.
The banging background noise alone would stop criminals
Welcome to South Africa, where at least 70% of us aren't racist 👍
we want more about South Africa
@Mzansi Indian I agree
@Mzansi Indian I hate that people always talk about race in SA.
That's a shockingly bad representation of a biased sided documentary. Vice news is supposed to report not take sides.
Yeah we al have private security for our homes. And trackers for the cars
would love to see what the interviewer would have said had she seen looters running into her neighbourhood and looting all the foods and businesses in the community
You looted the entire country from the native people. So who's the criminal?
saw armed security at my local Florida grocery store during the day. its the "cheaper" store too but they're using the cheaper company
At this point, the DA should take over South Africa. The ANC is pathetic
Or the EFF
This is quite biased, the reason Black people are targeted is because thy are unfortunately the majority group for such violent acts (i.e. the people who voted for the ANC), and now they are suffering due the government failing them in providing proper education and law and order in the suburbs. Its not racial profiling, its security companies taking preventative measures as the only viable option.
Well done Vice News on missing the point on what was actually going on in the provence of KwaZulu-Natal and the country at that moment.
Please make more videos of private security companies in South Africa, very interesting! How they operate in the daily life of crime on the streets to protect the community's.
Agree , this seems like a video game not the real fucking world.
I would watch that.
@@timowayne6993 there was a channel in SA of a security company in Johannesburg doing their rounds, just youtube car chases in SA or security in SA you'll see the truth
In general PS has done far more good than governments... When PS retook control over an oil plant in Africa some decades back World gov and media put extreme pressure and hatred for PS being so powerful... The ban of PS in rawanda area is what helped lead to the genocide
lol it's a position for people who couldn't make it through SAPS
Its not racial profiling its because all the looters were black. Who's fault is that?
Dear VICE, I was excited to learn something about private security companies in SA and how the whole system works, why it exists, who pays for it, etc. Instead, the reporter spent the whole time trying to dig up some racism stories. Next time title the video more accurately; this is insane. I'm disappointed because the world of private security/special police units in SA is super interesting. For those who want to learn more, I wholeheartedly recommend watching 20+ years old documentary uploaded on youtube titled South African Special Task Force. And afterwards, if you decide to research what happened to the unit, you'll learn that they lowered the admission criteria so that they could make the Special Task Force more "diverse", thereby essentially disbanding it.
“We make the decision that makes us sleep at night”, my fav part 9:48
Well done to security companies!
Futsek
Mgodoy
@@xhangaxhanga193 Aww did someone hurt your feewings? Cry us a river
@@xhangaxhanga193 won't even guess it but were you the guy with the forklift who drove away with 6 plasma tv's?
@@xhangaxhanga193 Niemand wil nie befok kafers.
Bless them...they are needed...
It's amazing how ignorant these vice reporters are
No one knows what it's like to live in South Africa's crime riddled towns and cities.
South Africans do
If you’re middle class, it’s okay, anything below or above makes you extremely vulnerable, or puts a big target on your head.
The real story is the mismanagement of a nation capable of providing for ALL of its people , these are symptoms of people who have been traumatised ,lied to and cheated.
What an incredibly poorly researched and surface-level story. Not worth the watch.
The private security industry will continue to be profitable and thrive because of the high crime rates in South Africa and with high youth unemployment it will most likely get worse in the near future. These private security not only protect homes and suburbs but farms, plantations, private businesses such as malls and small business from criminals.
wtf this whole thing had nothing to do with race... if theres people looting you have mos the right to defend your business, home and family. doesnt matter if theyre black, brown or purple
I'm curious how much vice paid that guy to say he was harrased for his skin color
I'm mexican but I will tell my fellow people from South Africa this at first it starts off as protection but they will evolve into a cartel.
There are already signs of this in South Africa
Honestly cartels would be better governance then the ANC
This documentary was very concerning in how you victimised the criminals and yet those that were protecting the innocent you criminalised them!!!! If those looters did not take others livelihoods then I doubt this would have happened.
It's quite evident that the native people of S. Africa are being treated as 2nd class citizens in their country by the non-native people. Who's the victim?
@@thomas11156 he is trying to justify his racist views and hatred for black people.
As a Armed Security Officer, I give credits for those guys dealing those situations.
Don't lie
@@carguynewb7856 ok? Are you one
They're racist
@@carguynewb7856 dude, they take anyone who can write their own name and is big and strong
Vice is so out of touch is embarrassing
Getting this in the U.S. too which is awesome.
So we are living with it ... The reality of a South African
Twisted narrative as usual. Thank you Vice. You never fail
As one of the S/O that worked tirelessly for that period, this report is not the full story. I am sorry for the Paramedic Biyela's experience and others similar to his that occurred. My town Empangeni was nearly destroyed by the looters, the SAPS tried their best but ultimately the looters were being transported into town by bus and by taxi. And it was majority black people that looted, our Community Policing Forum (the hardest members of the CPF were ironically the black members of the CPF), the major security companies and other roleplayers kept the town from being wiped off the map. Fun little story that happened, during the looting an extremely elderly lady was rushed to hospital she had collapsed from heat exhaustion and dehydration, she was admitted and she bounced back, she then escaped from hospital called her children to come to her and fetch her, she continued to loot the whole night and in the morning the nurses were looking for her, she then drove into the parking lot with all the stolen goods on her vehicle and then reported to the front desk for her medication. We Private Security members work our behinds off to make SAPS life easier to deal with crime. We put on a uniform, we go out there to protect and serve as best we can, but in the end we are not private police, some of us do this because it's just a job, for others there is pride in serving our customers and community.
Love your work Vice but share correct information. "The indigenous Zulu people of Durban" Zulu people are not indigenous of Durban.
2.5 million private security 😳😳😳😳.....I'm sure here in the USA we are not far behind
You have to protect yourself and those around you full stop. Worry about being called names later
Right.
100%
Yup
The native S. Africans need to protect their ancestorial land and their families first and foremost. Then they can worry about the immigration status of the non-native people.
@@thomas11156 only natives are the khoi san and coloured people
As a South African I can conform that this is what our country has become, and yet there are safer areas to grow up in south africa I was lucky to be one of those people with a great education in private schools.
What do you think of the race baiting in the video and the comments
@@tbphillips9649 The racism and other things in south africa is a regular occurrence unfortunately, I don't experience such hate thankfully but it is there. Don't get me wrong there are good people most of the time at least with my experience.
@@Kyle-ym6lu as a saffa, I honestly think xenophobia is more of a problem in ZA than racism is
@@user-im1jq3lw2l racism is a big thing in SA. The reason you say that is because you're not Black
As a South African I can tell you dude, you've been living in a bubble, if you truly believe this video, then you might as well not have been born here
I am an officer in the SAPS, started in the so called apartheid regime and is stil in the Police 29 years on, I really wish people will stop politicizing plain and simple criminality, I have worked as a first responder in black, coloured and white presincts and I can truly say that crime outweighs politics during contact related issues, it is a very few empty cans, that make a lot of noise who scares the innosent uninformed masses, and if social media is not a big enough culprit, mainstream media is also jumping on the bandwagon of blowing incidents out of perportion, everybody need to take a step back and start looking at the whole forest instead of staring at the bark of one tree...I repeat, I am a white SAPS officer standing proud in my uniform and loving my country to the max...my heart breaks at what human beings do to each other!!!
Thank you to all South Africans who took to the street to protect their community during the looting. At the end of the day let us not forget that the Zuma cadre is under investigation for inciting these violent riots.