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!

Until recently, anyone using any of the vast array of security services and/or products on offer in South Africa were doing so hoping to God that the company or people they engaged with were truly professional and would act accordingly. The truth is, the South African Security Industry is littered with dishonest chancers and even con artists trying to make a quick buck from a population of people and businesses who constantly live in fear of crime.

But now, thanks to the Security Association of South Africa (S.A.S.A.), the public can now know that they are making use of bona fide professional, audited and 100% compliant service and product suppliers.

With the introduction of the S.A.S.A. Gold Class Membership, S.A.S.A. has caused quite a stir. This now means that all service providers wanting S.A.S.A. membership will have to meet
a severe set of requirements and would need to be audited annually to remain a member. I think this is truly fantastic! Well done S.A.S.A.!

For too many years we have simply allowed any Tom, Dick or Harry to get memberships simply by virtue of applying and then using these memberships or “lame duck tokens” to market their “professionalism”. Well, not anymore!

The trick is now to educate consumers that they should be making use of predominantly S.A.S.A. Gold Class members.

In our line of work, I am regularly informed by my investigative teams of how fly-by-night security companies are actually a major contributor to business and residential criminal activity! The reality is that unregistered chancers are underpaying their guards (if at all) and, as a result, their very “guards” are turning to crime.

Don’t even get me started on alarm and CCTV installers – they get full access into a client’s home, business, etc. and, very often, after hours. One can only imagine what they could get up to.

So, although I am encouraged by the initiative born out of S.A.S.A., the challenge now is for all those true professionals out there to spread the word to the public about the absolute
importance of compliance and knowing who they’re actually dealing with.

For anyone wanting to clarify whether their security service provider is a certified Gold Class Member, I suggest visiting S.A.S.A. at www.sasecurity.co.za or e-mail info@sasecurity.co.za.

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?

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.

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.

Growing up and spending my life in a police family, listening to recollections of “classic police” stories from my old man (Declan Condon – CEO of D&K Management Consultants), it was inevitable that I would develop a certain perception of our men and women in blue. A belief, I can say, that these courageous and dedicated individuals would always be there, ready to protect and serve … God knows my old man is!

But, of late, that once proud star in his eye, that strange streak of blue that would appear almost like an aura every time he read of a police success story, has rapidly started to fade. I questioned him about this recently and this is his reply …

“Since leaving the force, I have been a reserve police officer for the past 26 years and I’m extremely disappointed to find that the morale, love for the badge and willingness to put one’s life on the line for a member of the public has dropped dramatically.

• Clerks and messengers 7 years ago are now Captains and higher.
• Police reservists, like myself, with all my experience, get told openly, ‘forget about any further promotion and, if you are not prepared to work with student constables (who have been known to run from gunfire), then resign’.
• Specialised units like the Drug Squad, the Water Wing Unit and members of the Flying Squad, were disbanded by so called commissioners who, I doubt, even know what an occurrence book is meant for.

For over 15 years my Reserve Unit had our own safes and personally issued firearms then, suddenly, a female assistant commissioner (who was probably a school teacher 10 years ago), changes the rules and my firearm must lie in a gun safe for anybody to use if I’m not on duty. I am now expected to face an AK wielding ATM bomber with a pistol that I don’t even know whether the firing-pin is functional or not.

• Serious crime scenes are visited by student constables who haven’t got a clue on how to protect and preserve a crime scene.
• Detectives knock off at 16h00.
• Uniform officers refuse to take a call if it’s a few minutes before shift change, in case they have to work overtime.
• The police senior hierarchy gives non-ministers armed protection, because they’re going to miss their planes.
• Corrupt thugs like ex-Commissioner, Jackie Selebi (even after being found guilty), have police officers opening their car doors and blocking them from the press.

I wonder who and how commissioners are chosen? The new acting commissioner, Major General Nhlanhla Sibusiso Mkwanaza, who came from the local SWAT Team and Riot
Control Units who, rumour has it, didn’t even qualify for all the courses required for those specialised units. Once again, it appears that senior officers with all the correct C.I.D., forensic and station management experience have been overlooked.

I wonder, what answers would be given by the police officers of today to questions such as, have you ever worked under a senior police officer and been taught how to manage a crime scene?  Did you qualify on the shooting range and how often do you practice shooting?  Are you fully bilingual?  Will you enter a squatter camp and protect a xenophobia victim if the mob is trying to burn them?  Why, during the last incidents of strikes and intimidation, did police officers, on the most part, stand and watch, while the rabble assaulted workers arriving for work?

Zuma, if he has the entire population truly at heart, would probably be shaken to his boots with the answers he would get.  The morale of the S.A.P.S., including the remaining reservists, is probably as low as when Mugabe took over Harare and changed the B.S.A.P. name”.

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.

There is definitely a culture that has manifested itself within companies that leans toward a ‘soft’ approach to screening. I have noticed that employers tend to become very uneasy when asked about how rigorous their pre-employment checks are – almost to the point where one gets the impression that HR departments are scared to dig into a candidates past.

Perhaps, this has a lot to do with those very misunderstood buzz words “invasion of privacy”. To me, the potential employer has every right to check and validate all information provided by the candidate and candidates should be informed that this is going to happen.

Qualifications of prospective employees are an area that we at D & K have noticed is largely accepted on face value. This is mostly due to the lack of know-how on behalf of the person responsible for doing the vetting.

Ironically, South Africa lay’s claim to one of the most comprehensive registries of qualifications in the world, thanks to the South African Qualifications Authority. They have developed a National Layman’s Records Database (NLRD), which contains qualifications and unit standards as well as layman achievements. They also provide a qualification verification service.

Employers have the right to screen potential employees, and I personally, would like to see a more dedicated and stringent approach to pre-employment screening. Remember … we owe it to our company, our staff, our shareholders and ourselves to know who we are letting in!

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

Whether your business is small, medium or large, you depend on not only the hard work of your employees but your stock to keep your business alive, your customers happy and ultimately your profit growing. However, you may not be aware that the very reason your monthly profits are taking a slide is due to theft. More importantly, theft happening right in front of your very eyes.

Business investigations are a common occurrence in today’s busy and extremely pressurising business climate. Keeping tabs of stock and theft for that matter is one of the most important processes that any business can exercise. One way of doing this thoroughly is by hiring the professional expertise of Shrinkage Investigators.

Although you may spend thousands on security devices and features, there are many ways that various people who have access in and out of shops, factories etc will get around being caught stealing. Business investigations are one of methods that can be used to find out if theft is the reason as to why profits are dismal.

Shrinkage Investigations are a type of business investigation that assesses a company and its employees for a variety of things.

• Employee theft
• Theft by others (shoplifters can be very creative in their ways)
• Administration errors
• Vendor Fraud

Business investigations will assist a company in pinpointing the cause of their financial loss. However using a reputable shrinkage investigation company is important. If your business is already vulnerable to thieves, you need to ensure that any business investigation company that is hired to assist you is one that you can trust.

With over 15 years experience in the investigations industry, D& K Management Consultants are not only skilled and experienced enough to handle any sized business investigation, they have developed into one of the most successful Corporate Investigations Agencies in Africa.

D& K Management offers a variety of investigative services, all of which are extremely familiar services completed by exceptionally knowledgeable and experienced staff. Business investigations (shrinkage investigations) completed by D& K Management Consultants may include a variety of the services on the services portfolio, depending on the unique case at hand.

• Corporate Investigations
• Blackmail and Bribery Investigations
• Undercover agents
• Fraud Investigations
• Background Checks
• Security Surveys
• Polygraph testing

Protecting the business you worked so hard to get standing on its own two feet, is important. If you suspect foul play of any kind within your business, call 011 824 0334 for enquiries about investigations.

When a person is anxious about lying, they often feel distressed about it, causing various actions such as, breathing, heart rate and blood pressure to increase. When this happens, often the subject will begin to perspire.

When should polygraph testing be used?

Legally, in South Africa, Polygraph tests can be used in various situations where an investigation into a situation needs to be resolved. These scenarios include the following:

• Reasonable suspicion of a person being involved in an incident
• Employees who have access to information or property that is under investigation
• Suspicion of dishonesty in positions where trust is key
• Substance abuse within the business
• Fraudulent behaviour
• Deliberate falsification of documents
• Screening for employment

It is important that when Polygraph Tests are used within a company, that they are done so with caution and not for misleading purposes. True suspicion of a criminal or inappropriate act is the only instance where Polygraph Tests should be conducted.

What to look out for when choosing a Polygraph Testing company

When a company decides to proceed with Polygraph Testing, the action taken should be that of caution in order to ensure that any evidence that arises in the Polygraph Tests is admitted within professional and ordered circumstances. There are a variety of boxes to tick when seeking information from Polygraph Testing. Read more here.

Use a qualified expert, (SAPPA- South African Professional Polygraph Association, or PASA- Polygraph Association of South Africa.) Upon these websites will be contact details of appropriate registered members.

Rules and regulations concerning Polygraph tests

• Person in question MUST be physically and mentally fit
• Subject’s consent must be given prior to testing
• The process needs to be explained to the person
• The Polygraph expert must reveal all information gathered

Polygraph Tests and the accuracy of them is a debatable topic. However, those in favour estimate their accurateness to be at approximately 85%.  Using them in the correct circumstances and going about the procedure the correct way however, remains to be the most important requirement.

For more information on Polygraph Tests or to enquire about booking a test, contact D& K Management on 011 824 0334 or 082 820 5363

Visit www.investigators.co.za