The passing of someone close to you will never be easy and so it shouldn’t! Although, Dave Kruger was not family, he was a colleague and he was a person who I got to know quite well through his involvement within my company. Sadly, I only discovered through his death what a remarkable policeman Dave had been during his former police days. 

Dave had for the past 4 years taken on various projects that we had contracted out to him, which seemed to suit him. Dave was a ‘restless soul’ and anything permanent or too structured was not for him, which we knew and accepted. But, if help was needed or any of my teams required back-up, Dave would jump right in. 

Sadly, I regret not having spent more time in Dave’s company … from what I now hear, I could have learnt a lot from the man and, I’m worse off for having not! 

Dave, you will always be remembered by us as the ‘likeable rogue’. The help you gave us did not go unnoticed and was appreciated! Travel safe, dear friend, and may you find the peace that you deserve.

In looking at the recent disaster on board the Italian cruise ship, Costa Concordia, sailing with over 4 000 passengers, one can only feel a deep sadness for those whose lives were affected by what happened. But, to me, what makes things even more horrific is the fact that there appears to have been little or no contingency plans detailing actions for such an event! And, this will make you sick … it’s now being claimed that those plans that did exist were purposely ignored in lieu of the fact that abandoning the ship would’ve led to a potential compensation payment of $10 000 for every passenger (ie. $40^M in total). This meant that there was strong motivation for the ship’s owners to “find” other solutions. 

From the perspective of all those security/risk managers out there, there are a number of other factors that the post-incident review has brought to light. I must say that the Costa Concordia incident will forever go down as one of those ‘how not to do things’ studies that will rate alongside Boh Pahl, Chernobyl and others and it’s easy to understand why. These disasters all have a common denominator … the general lack of an appropriate crisis management and contingency plan. Have we learnt nothing from our past? 

As we’ve seen in these (and dozens of others) related incidents, the delay in recognising and adequately responding to a major problem can, and generally will, only end in catastrophy. In the case of the Costa Concordia, crew members actually announced to the passengers that ‘there had only been a power blackout and that everything else was in order’! 

It has now also become common knowledge that the crew didn’t have the necessary skills or training to actually manage the Abandon Ship process. Nor did they know how to release the life boats into the water. Who was the security manager responsible for the safety on board the ship and where was he during all of this? This entire incident, to my mind as a person whose company deals daily with risk assessments, can only be described as pure criminal. 

If it’s shown that there were, in fact, discussions about whether or not to abandon the ship due to potential cost-related factors, the captain, crew and owners of the ship should all face charges of culpable homicide! 

Click here for more information on our Risk Assessment Surveys.

Watching my 4-year old daughter playing around on my iPad the other day, I could not help but find myself feeling very uneasy about the dangers that she will have to be aware of as she gets older with regard to social networks and online ‘networking’ sites. The fact that, at 4-years of age, she already knows her way around an iPad and iPhone creates horror film scenes in my mind. 

This begs the question of just how much freedom should we be giving our children with these various gadgets? False Facebook profiles, sick bastards lurking on Mixit … these are real threats! 

Recently, Thomas Bester, known as the ‘Facebook Rapist’, lured his victims via his fake Facebook profile to meet up with him under the pretext that he was a model scout. 

The fact is, the world is what it is, and the requirement for parents to play a more active role in their child’s life is now more important than ever. The challenge is that many of us parents do not know enough about technology and the various social platforms these provide to have any meaningful control over the situation! (I know because I am one of those parents!) 

My advice … stay in the loop and communicate with your child. Talk openly and teach them about the potential dangers and what your expectations are around how they communicate and share online. Don’t be scared to remove their online access should they break your agreement. 

Finally, monitor their status updates. You don’t want people knowing that you may be going away for 2 weeks or that dad has a firearm and so on … Petty, as this may seem, there are endless cases of victims being chosen and targeted as a result of information they shared on their Facebook profile. 

Until next time …

Like a volcano bursting at its seams, spewing out airborn rivers of lava and ash, such has been the impact of mobile technology on us. As a result, we are now witnessing the dawn of the
employee being better technically equipped than the employer … problem?

Consider this, employees hooked on the idea and the need to have the latest and smartest technical equipment are buying up laptops, tablets, smart phones, etc. which are far more advanced than what can be supplied by the employer. This, according to Jenny Reid, director of iFacts, is leading to corporates allowing employees to bring their own devices to work and use them as opposed to company supplied equipment. THE END result being a significant increase in corporate risk levels in relation to information protection and confidential leaks.

My own experience has shown, in more than just a few fraud and other investigations of late, that employees who are permitted to use their own equipment become very difficult to investigate should the need arise. Simply by allowing an employee to use his/her own devices makes it very hard to monitor or check. Remember, the device is now theirs and not common company property.

Furthermore, if an employee is required to download a particular program onto their personal device, the question must now be asked, “Who owns the software?”

My advice to our clients is that careful consideration needs to be given when looking at IT risk factors. Don’t be easily misled by ‘convenience’. Assess the risks thoroughly and then make
firm policies around your findings.

For more information on our investigations, click here!

Here’s a question for you … Why do many of those involved in sports such as ‘cage fighting’ or ‘careers’, such as debt collection, seem to believe that this grants them some form of God-like status or immunity to abiding by the law? Obviously, this does not apply to those athletes and professionals who are true professionals and conduct themselves in a manner befitting of a professional.

I am, though, referring to those individuals who use their extramural activity as a form of intimidation to those that dare cross their paths. I mean really, the fact that a ‘lousy cage
fighter’ who loses more often than he wins can use this as an excuse to try and threaten or scare off people, is a complete joke in my book. No investigator, police or private, who is a true professional and dedicated to his/her calling would be deterred by some fool who, in my experience, battles to string his ABC’s together.

I mention all of this because two of our senior investigators investigating a case of fraud and possession of stolen property had to deal with exactly what I have described above. But, in this instance, the verbally challenged (result of way too many juice shakes) is also a known ‘debt collector’ on the West side of Johannesburg. Who would actually hire a Shrek lookalike with no real IQ to collect outstanding monies in the first place? But, I suppose there are always monkeys for each circus.

Anyway, I digress … to cut a long story short, Mr Tough didn’t turn out to be so tough after all, despite his numerous text message threats (assuming they were threats, they were so poorly
spelt it was often difficult to distinguish if it was a threat or a very descriptive invite to a low budget bachelor party).

Our West rand tough guy could not get into his car fast enough when our two investigators and a member of the Commercial Crimes Unit arrived at his home to arrest him. His sudden change of heart was actually quite amusing and his willingness to hand over all our client’s property was nothing short of amazing. No back kicks, no grappling, no head butts, nothing more than a simple “It is not necessary to harass me” was to be heard!

A couple of days later and I get a one-word text telling me that I am, in his opinion, equal to a specific part of the female anatomy. Tough maybe to those less experienced in dealing with
sub-humans such as our new friend, but to us, he and his ilk are and always will be a pleasure to “harass”!!

More information on our investigations, click here!

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!

It has been a long time coming but it’s finally here. At last, we have an association within the private security industry that has taken a strong stand against dishonest, unprofessional, fly-by-night ‘operators’.

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.

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.