An investigation into the impact of private security companies on national security in Namibia

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Date
2017
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of Namibia
Abstract
The thesis focussed on the role of private security companies (PSCs) in Namibia. Over the last decade, there has been a substantial growth of private security services and companies both at global and national levels. In Namibia, there has been substantial increase in PSCs which are providing security services To some extent the role being played by PSCs at times overlapped with that performed by those providing public policing. The growth of the private security sector in Namibia poses both opportunities for employment and social economic transformation, as well as challenges in security sector services regulation , control and management. The proliferation of both indigenous and multinational PSCs in Namibia would require a coordinated regulatory regime which would allow the public to enjoy the opportunities and benefits of the industry, and safeguard the state against criminal and national security threats. The study revealed that PSCs offer a broad of range services to government and the public. The majority of private security service consumers are commercial entities whose business line is in retail trading industries. One of the major finding of the study is that there has been a steady increase in the PSC particularly in the protection of person and properties. The major challenges of PSCs role in Namibia are to do with a weak regulation regime for the control of the sector. Regulation and control of PSCs training, recruitment and operation are of paramount important for the preservation of national security. A porous regulatory regime provides the opportunity of criminal infiltration and thriving of terror groups within the ranks of PSCs. Based on the results of this study, it is recommended that there is a now need for the enactment of Act of parliament to regulate and monitor the activities of PSCs in Namibia.
Description
A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts (Security and Strategic Studies)
Keywords
National security, Security companies
Citation