The Private Security Industry Regulatory Authority (PSiRA) has condemned incidents of brutality allegedly meted by security officers.
This comes after videos recently went viral in various social media platforms.
In a statement, the authority said it had in the past two weeks received several reports of security officers allegedly killing and/or brutally assaulting members of the public.
“Amongst the incidents that were reported in the mainstream media and on social media platforms were of a 52-year-old woman in the Cape Winelands, Witzenberg Local Municipality,” reads the statement.
In Johannesburg, two people were also allegedly beaten by security officers.
There were further reports of two separate incidents, one in Somerset West, Western Cape and another in KwaZulu-Natal where security officers allegedly shot and killed members of the public.
“The Authority strongly condemns these incidents of brutality allegedly committed by security officers. What makes it worse is that such senseless acts are not only against the industry’s Code of Conduct for Security Officers and values, but, they also go against our people’s constitutional rights as enshrined in the Bill of Rights,” said PSiRA Chief Executive Manabela Sam Chauke.
In the statement, Chauke vowed that PSiRA would leave no stone unturned in ensuring that those who are behind these acts of criminality face the full might of the law. “In collaboration with other Law Enforcement Agencies, our investigations are underway and action will be taken against the implicated security officers who shall be found to have contravened the Code of Conduct for Security Officers,” he said.