There are few things that can be more satisfying than the taking down of a criminal ring. Even more rewarding is when that ring has been operating for many months within a particular client’s company.

I will use this forum to congratulate my Johannesburg branch and, in particular, Mr Vincent Herselman and his colleagues for the excellent work they produced in identifying, trapping and busting the well-organised syndicate that were responsible for manufacturing and distributing counterfeit herbal medication used by many HIV positive individuals.

The original product itself is a combination of various vitamins, herbs and tonics and is taken as a supplement to assist in boosting one’s health. The “knock-off” product, however, contains nothing more than water and colorant, but is made to look exactly like the original with the same packaging of identical bottles and even the same insert information.

Interestingly enough, it was not a scam masterminded and run by a syndicate of experienced con-men, no, it was in actual fact, a group of 7 employees working for the very company that
manufactures and distributes the original product. What they had achieved was to actually go into business in opposition to the very employer who pays them in the first place!

Fortunately though, through their network of informants, Mr Herselman and his team were able to work from a series of tip-offs and then discreet surveillance which paid off!

Over a period of 48 hours, the entire syndicate was rounded up, full confessions were obtained and over 250 boxes of fake product was retrieved!

Well done team!

The following is a letter published in The Citizen, January 23, 2012, written by Declan Condon, the CEO of D&K Management Consultants … food for thought …

I am concerned that Wayne Minnaar, the JMPD spokesman, does not know the law. Where does it say that police officers or traffic cops can open fire on a vehicle because it does not stop at a roadblock?

The two officers who fired a shot at the wrong car 11 months ago and paralysed the victim should, at least, be charged with discharging a firearm in public, or the negligent discharge of a
weapon. Minnaar claims that the officers, and I quote, “did nothing wrong”. If, as I believe, both officers fired shots and neither one is taking responsibility for the round that entered the victim’s vehicle, both officers that night should have been placed behind a desk.

When did these officers last undergo firearm competency training, which, by the way, every member of the public in possession of a firearm has to undergo?

At the rate at which people are posting information (much of it being personal) on the web, it isn’t surprising that social media sites, such as Facebook and Twitter, are being used to gain
valuable insight into the personal profile of potential candidates. Often, this portion of a background check will reveal far more about an individual than what you would have found out through conventional screening methods. Chilling stuff indeed!

I can confirm that within the D&K Management Consultants group, our background investigators and recruiters regularly visit a client’s potential candidate’s personal profile as part of our vetting and screening practice.

Findings from this investigative tactic have resulted in fairly large numbers of candidates being turned down. The reasons vary from negative posts about previous employers, or current, for that matter, displaying poor writing and communication skills, and comments about alcohol and/or drug use.

So, if you’re reading this as a job seeker, you would be well advised to check your posts and sites carefully. On the other hand, if you’re reading this and are someone responsible for hiring,
be sure to incorporate this strategy the next time you need to know a little more about someone!

Click here for more information on our Employee Background Screening Service.

January 13, 2012, author Kyle Condon

December 21, 2012 …. The day the world will end!

For some, this may actually be a blessing – a cataclysmic event to put an end to their long-standing suffering. There are those that have now started to fear the day that the world, as we know it, will finally cease to exist.

But, to the rest of us, December 21, 2012, will mean four (4) more days to Christmas and, along with trying to choose between that bicycle for Johnny or the walking Barbie for Jenny, we will be looking back at a year that our businesses either flourished or suffered in some way.

The fact is, the world may not be at risk – at least not yet – but, your business always will be!

Business today is faced with such profuse risks that realistically only an integrated approach to risk management can provide the best chance to negate and minimise these threats. In my
opinion, one of the major stumbling blocks in successfully creating an integrated security/loss prevention portfolio is the belief that the majority of the threats faced will come from external forces. This is not quite accurate … in today’s world, the greatest threats to businesses across the board, stem from within. As a result, what we then far too often see, is that costly
security features and practices tend to target risks that are far less likely to occur rather than aiming directly at those that may well occur if not occurring already.

This is where my Security Audit teams are providing an invaluable service to clients across the African continent. The scope of a comprehensive security audit is to determine exactly
where and how the company is at risk and to furthermore establish just how probable those risks are.

From here, my teams will move into the broader arena and will consider those risks associated within the environment the company operates in. Through these processes, we are able to
assist our clients to implement a risk management strategy which will provide optimal protection.

This may require deployment of well-placed undercover investigators, restructuring pre-employment screening policies, physical protection installations, etc., all working together to
complete the puzzle that is now their unique risk management programme.

With this in mind, I’m off to go stock up on baked beans, bully beef and mineral water. My bunker is near completion … the world may end on December 21, 2012, but I’ll be ready!

Click here for more information on our Security Audit service.

In my role as a security professional or, more specifically, an investigations consultant, I suppose I have, to a certain degree, developed a fairly healthy level of cynicism and mistrust. Hell, do you blame me? I mean, my company through our very nature of business, confirms on a daily basis just how far our moral fibre has entwined and knotted itself. I’m not just referring to society as a whole but, more specifically, to those who are charged with the responsibility of preventing this decline …. our police force!

It would be completely naïve and foolish of me to believe that our police force (or any other country’s for that matter) is beyond corruption. But to these levels …..? I must ask, ‘ What has become of our police force?’

Quite simply, it is corrupt to the core! To the highest level! Two, not one, TWO consecutive National Police Commissioners have been accused of corrupt dealings, the first found guilty by the courts, the second currently on suspension pending further investigation. Forgive me, but this sounds like a scene from a Columbian underworld film. And, all the while, the government pleads for support for the police, our crime lines offer anonymity and the spin doctors tell us that crime is in a decline …. you decide.

Just as I think I have heard it all, I open the Mail & Guardian (November 11 – 17, 2011 edition) with the headline “Top Cop Fails Polygraph Test Twice”! In short, the article details show Senior Crime Intelligence Co-ordinator, Major General Mark Hankel, had twice returned deceptive results on his pre-employment polygraph test conducted by the SAP Polygraph Unit itself! This was in 2002 and, at the time, police polygraph expert, Lieutenant Colonel Josiah Maponyane was “pressured” into creating an inconclusive finding. As a result, Hankel keeps his security clearance. Interestingly, the failed test question was, “During the past five years have you committed a serious crime?” The instruction to “clear” Hankel came directly from the then head of the polygraph unit, Superintendent Hein Allers.

As it turns out, Hankel appears to have been a close ally of currently suspended Crime Intelligence boss, Richard Mduli. Surprise, surprise, he too has been arrested … for what? Well, murder! It is believed that he used the Crime Intelligence Division to monitor those investigating him.

It is not at all surprising that society has lost confidence in the South African Police Service. It is also no coincidence that the private security industry is fast becoming the preferred
choice of average South Africans when it comes down to honest and professional investigations and protection requirements.

Click here for more information on our Private Investigations service.