Crime does pay - for some!

The Democratic Alliance has released a report which states that the South African government spent R269,5m on private security last year with the biggest spender being the justice department with a spend of R137m. This indicates a 78.5% increase over 2005.

It seems that if you are in the private security business and can secure a government contract, you are sitting on a lucrative deal! Those who were ahead of the curve on this one are now smiling all the way to the bank!

Of course the other question to be asked is this: If all this money is being spent on private security (even at police stations) to release our police service to be more actively engaged in street level crime fighting, is it paying dividends? Are we seeing a reduction in crime given that there should now be more policemen and women on patrol? If taxpayers' money is being used to fund this expenditure, are we seeing the benefits?