bouncers and the law
5 November 2007

Naudè de Klerk, director of the associate firm Erasmus de Klerk Inc, recently appeared on the legal talk show, Rights & Recourse on SABC 3, to discuss the topic of bouncers and how the law relates to them.

The private security industry is regulated by the [a56y2001]Private Security Industry Regulation Act 56 of 2001 (“the Act”), the Private Security Industry Regulatory Authority and various regulations. Bouncers fall within the scope of the definition of ‘security officer’ in the Act.

The Minister for Safety and Security prescribed a Code of Conduct (“the Code”) that is legally binding on all security service providers, irrespective of whether they are registered with the Private Security Industry Regulatory Authority or not and a security service provider who contravenes or fails to comply with a provision of the Act or the Code, is guilty of improper conduct and on conviction liable to any penalty. Any person who commits improper conduct in terms of the Code, is guilty of an offence and on conviction liable to a fine or to imprisonment for a period not exceeding 24 months, or to both a fine and such imprisonment.

For more information on this subject, kindly contact the Knowledge Centre or Naudè de Klerk.