“We do our job, and we do it good,” said Brenden Jacobs of 7Arrows Security from the driver’s seat of a patrol car navigating the night-time streets of Johannesburg.
Jacobs and his colleague Dean (last name omitted) are on a floating patrol across the large swathes of the city, including Waterfall Estate, in which 7Arrows operates. They man three radios blurting information from different control centres, and as reports come in over the airwaves, they join guards on the ground to track or deter perpetrators.
7Arrows is just one of the security companies proliferating across Johannesburg in response to the city’s never-ending struggle against crime. Companies co-operate with each other and police in special operations such as river clean-ups, road blocks and undercover investigations – including 7Arrows’s recent efforts at the smash-and-grab hotspot between Witkoppen and Cambridge roads. The rest of the time, it’s a matter of being the eyes and ears on the ground.
Crime takes two forms, Dean explained. Opportunistic criminals follow victims home or target them leaving their houses, while planned crimes such as housebreaking follow hours spent scouting the area. 7Arrows takes a proactive approach, investigating suspicious activity, and monitors a suburb’s weak points with cameras, booms, and fences.
“It becomes an odds game … you do as much as you can,” said Dean.
With at least one incident occurring daily, patrols involve anything from helping fight house fires and finding lost dogs to chasing down armed robbers.
“They take it personally when there’s crime in their area,” said Jacobs of the guards who become familiar faces in the suburbs – and not only to residents. Many prefer not to live in townships, wary of being recognised and targeted by criminals.
In suburbia, Dean and Jacobs say, it is up to communities to make areas safe for guards and residents alike. They encourage residents to arm and maintain alarms and electric fences, and to use the services of their security provider, reporting suspicious activity before incidents occur.
“You’re only as effective as your community,” warned Dean.
