Frequently Asked Questions
What guarding costs and why, how to check a provider's PSIRA registration, what POPIA requires at an estate gate — and what we do not do.
What we do
- Guarding — estates and residential complexes, student accommodation, commercial and industrial sites, business parks, distribution centres, construction sites and vacant land.
- Access control — gate and visitor management, contractor access tied to work orders, and the record that proves who was on site.
- Patrols and site supervision, with verified patrol records rather than a signature in a book.
- Security technology integration — CCTV and access-control systems supplied by others, specified, integrated and monitored by us.
- Criminal record checks, ID verification and risk assessments.
What JBA Security does not do
- We do not provide armed response. We do not operate an armed reaction fleet, and we are not an armed response company.
- We do not install alarm systems, and we do not run an alarm-monitoring centre.
- We do not manufacture or resell cameras or access-control hardware. We integrate and monitor third-party systems.
These are commonly assumed of any security company. We would rather say so plainly than let you find out after signing.
About JBA Security
Is JBA Security PSIRA registered?
Yes. JBA Security is registered with the Private Security Industry Regulatory Authority under number 1685942, and every officer we deploy must hold their own individual PSIRA registration. We will send you a current letter of good standing on request — and you can verify the number yourself with PSIRA rather than take our word for it.
How to verify any security company's PSIRA registration →How long has JBA Security been operating?
Since 2008. The company is led by director Johan Brits, who served 23 years in the South African Police Service before founding it.
About JBA Security →Which areas does JBA Security serve?
The Western Cape — including Cape Town, Brackenfell, Kuils River, Bellville, Stellenbosch and Paarl — and Gauteng. Our head office, management, control room and dispatch are in Brackenfell.
Areas we serve →Where is JBA Security's head office?
38 Platinum Park, Taurus Road, Brackenfell, 7560, Western Cape.
Contact us →Who are JBA Security's clients?
They include Food Lover's Market distribution centres, where we have managed security since 2013; Residentia Trust, a managing agent for which we are the preferred security contractor; and residential and wine estates, student accommodation, business parks and development sites across the Western Cape and Gauteng. Every figure we publish about a client comes from that client's own signed reference letter, and we will send you the letters on request.
Client case studies →Cost and quotations
The most common question we are asked, and the one most often answered badly elsewhere.
How much does a security guard cost in South Africa?
There is no single national price. It depends on the hours of cover, the officer's grade and the magisterial district the site falls in. The officer's minimum wage is set by the sectoral collective agreement and is only part of the figure — a compliant rate must also carry relief staffing, leave, UIF, COIDA, uniforms, supervision, administration and margin. A quote that does not cover those is not cheaper; it is non-compliant.
What lawful guarding actually costs →Why is one security quote much cheaper than the others?
Usually because something lawful has been left out of it. The common omissions are relief cover for leave and sick days, supervision, and the statutory contributions an employer owes. The risk lands on you: under-paid officers rotate constantly, and a provider that is not meeting its obligations is a compliance exposure attached to your site.
What lawful guarding actually costs →How many officers does a post staffed day and night need?
Continuous cover is 168 hours a week, which is more than one person's working week several times over, so a 24-hour post is a team rather than a pair. The exact number depends on shift pattern and the relief needed for leave and absence. Anyone who gives you a figure without seeing your site is guessing.
Security guarding →Will you quote over the phone?
No, and we would be guessing if we did. Post count, shift pattern, access points and whether a technology layer reduces the headcount you need all depend on the site. We do a free assessment first, then quote against what we have actually seen.
Request a free security assessment →What do the PSIRA grades mean?
Grades run from E, which is entry level, to A, which is the highest, and they reflect the training an officer has completed. Grade C is the common standard for access control and static guarding; supervisory roles typically require B or A.
Security guarding →Compliance, POPIA and record-keeping
Do we need consent for fingerprint or facial access control at an estate?
In most cases yes, and it is the compliance point estates most often miss. POPIA treats biometric information as special personal information, which carries a higher bar than an ordinary visitor name. A fingerprint or facial reader is not simply a tidier visitor book, and the obligation sits with the body corporate as the responsible party, not with the provider who installed the reader.
POPIA at estate gates →How long may we keep visitor records and CCTV footage?
POPIA section 14(1) is the governing rule: personal information must not be kept for longer than is necessary for the purpose it was collected for. That means the estate has to decide and document a retention period it can justify, rather than keeping footage indefinitely because the recorder has space.
POPIA at estate gates →Do I need a person's consent to run a criminal record check?
Yes. POPIA treats information about a person's criminal behaviour as special personal information under section 26(b), and section 27(1)(a) permits processing it with the data subject's consent. We require written consent before any check.
Criminal checks and ID verification →Is a private criminal check the same as a SAPS Police Clearance Certificate?
No. These are private screening checks. A SAPS Police Clearance Certificate is an official document applied for through the South African Police Service, and it is a different process with a different turnaround.
Criminal checks and ID verification →Working with us
Can you secure a business park and the individual businesses inside it?
Yes, and we frequently do both at once. At Brackengate Business Park we hold the park-level contract alongside separate contracts with businesses inside the park, so the question of which instruction applies where is one we handle daily rather than discover on site.
Commercial, industrial and development security →Do you guard vacant land before construction starts?
Yes, and it is a distinct discipline rather than a cheaper version of site guarding. With no structures and no staff on site, the real exposures are illegal dumping, unlawful occupation and theft of boundary materials.
Construction site security →Will security technology let us reduce the number of guards?
Sometimes, and we will tell you when it will not. Technology is good at producing evidence and bad at making decisions. It can reduce a post where the work is observation; it cannot replace the person who has to judge whether someone gets through the gate.
Security technology and access control →What should an estate look for when changing security providers?
Ask which sites in your suburb are actually theirs, not which areas they cover. Ask for signed client references and then call those clients. Verify the PSIRA registration yourself. And ask what happens in the first two weeks of handover, which is when continuity is most often lost.
Questions to ask before you sign →More Questions, By Service
Each service page carries its own detailed questions — five apiece, written for that kind of site rather than in general.
Not answered here? Ask us directly — we would rather answer a hard question before you sign than have you discover the answer afterwards.
Is Your Current Security Provider Truly Accountable?
Book a no-obligation site security assessment with JBA Security.