PSIRA: Private Security Industry Regulatory Authority

SRT employees complete the following training: PSIRA: Private Security Industry Regulatory Authority. All Response Officers, Control Room Personal are required to be registered with PSIRA, which is the governing authority appointed to regulate the Security Industry.

The training requirements are regulated by law and are followed to the rule.

SRT Admin personal is also required to complete this training. This is enforced by the SRT Director. He feels that Admin personal should be aware of the dangers and challenges experienced by the SRT Response Officers.

Medical training

SRT Response Officers are trained in first aid. This gives them the basic medical self help skills. Training includes CPR, handling of gunshot wounds and the treatment of knife wounds.

All SRT response vehicles are equipped with a basic medical kit.

Advanced firearm training

The Director of SRT values this training highly. He has presented firearm training and tactics both locally and internationally. As a member of an elite Police Anti Hijack Unit, he experienced the real trauma that is associated with gunfight survival.

He has testified in court in these serious events and believes his employees should be prepared for such an eventuality.

Muscle memory and perfect training is the answer to surviving a gun fight. Employees are taught to use the handgun, shotgun and assault rifle in an urban environment. This includes tactics in clearing a client’s house safely, vehicle anti-ambush tactics and the use of firearms at night.

The most important tools in surviving a serious attack on our officer’s lives are awareness and prevention skills.

Officers are kept up to date with criminal tactics and are taught to counter these.

Door breaching

Because of the high and violent nature of crime in South Africa, our clients secure their residence with security gates, doors and burglar proofing. This keeps them safe till we can respond to a serious incident. The danger to this is that in an event of a house burning, they can succumb to smoke inhalation and serious burns. Our Response Officers are equipped with break-in tools to enter a house in these events. Tools include crowbars, bolt cutters and hammers. SRT has used these skills in helping our clients, when their houses were on fire.

Climbing Techniques

This skill is used where a client is in duress and needs to be helped urgently. This can happen when a client faces a life threatening situation in a robbery or has a medical emergency. SRT has responded to these serious events. SRT officers are taught how to scale walls, electrical fences and gates, when access to properties is not possible with remotes or keys. This is taught with equipment like ladders, but Response Officers also use this skill without such equipment.

Advanced driving skills

Response Officers utilise vehicles and motorbikes in their daily patrol and response routine. They are taught to drive defensively, identify possible attacks on their vehicle when attending panic alarms and serious crime incidences.

Client liaison

SRT employees have to interact with our clients. Officers have assisted in various situations like domestic disputes, girlfriend and boyfriend fights and verbal disputes between neighbours. Response Officers are taught to be diplomatic and to try to dissolve any such disputes. If matters get out of hand they will ask for Police assistance.

Any complaints received by Response Officers are handed over to SRT Management for further attention.