Security guards far outnumber police

There are almost three private security guards for every police officer in South Africa - a ratio the South African Institute of Race Relations says is widening. The figures, published in the institute's annual South Africa Survey, show a 150 percent increase in the number of private security guards since 1997. Police numbers declined by more than two percent since then. Researcher Kerwin Lebone says the figures indicate that the police service does not have the numbers to deal with the high rates of violent crime. Lebone says there are approximately six police officers per murder in South Africa as opposed to 146 in the United Kingdom.