Security news & advice

A practical report from an Onguard OG-66 training session at a working security site, covering radio setup, patrol verification, alerts, GPS, control-room response and reporting.

Secure estates continue to appeal to homeowners and businesses because they combine controlled access, strong safeguards, and a more predictable environment for day-to-day life.

Security operations rely on people making quick and accurate decisions every day. From controlling access points to recording visitor details and monitoring patrols, even small mistakes can create serious risks. Human error has always been one of the biggest challenges in the security industry, but modern technology is helping reduce these risks significantly.

Security has become a major priority for estates, businesses, office parks, and residential communities across South Africa. While protecting people and property remains the primary goal, compliance is now just as important. Failing to follow the correct security and data handling procedures can expose organisations to serious legal, operational, and reputational risks. One of the

Security operations have changed dramatically over the last few years. Clients no longer just want guards on-site. They want proof that patrols are happening, incidents are being handled correctly, and control rooms have full visibility of what is happening in real time. That is why modern guard monitoring systems are becoming essential for

In the security industry, visibility is everything. Clients trust security companies to protect people, property, and assets, often without ever seeing what happens behind the scenes. When guard monitoring is weak or inconsistent, that trust is quietly put at risk. Poor guard monitoring is not always obvious at first. Guards may still be on site,

As security guards across the country threaten to down tools in all sectors, now is a good time to re-evaluate your business, or home, security setup. While Onguard is committed to supplying the industry with top of the range products equipped with the very latest technology, it helps to have a few of our other

Push to talk (PTT) technology is a communication system that allows users to transmit audio by pressing a button on their device, rather than continuously holding down a microphone button like in a traditional phone call. This technology has gained widespread adoption in the security industry due to its efficiency, reliability, and cost-effectiveness. In this

The criminal mind is always thinking up the next way to rob a hapless victim and in South Africa, we have no choice but to be constantly aware of new tactics and trends. Recently, the South African Police Service (SAPS) released a new list of warnings for South African motorists. Hijacking is every driver’s worst

In recent weeks, crime has been on every South African’s mind, as protests broke out all over the country following yet another attention-grabbing act of violence. Crime seems to be here to stay, and you need to make sure that you have done everything possible to ensure that you, your family and your business stay

The lone worker is a term synonymous with many of those working within the security industry. Security guards are often left on their own to work in this high pressure, often dangerous industry, and it is important that as a security company, you equip them with the necessary equipment that will keep them safe from danger. Security

Push to talk, walkie talkie, two-way radio; this amazing technology has many names while being a wonderful device that has a place in all kinds of industries as well as having everyday use. These devices have come a long way and through all of the developments, they remain as popular and as useful as ever!

Security with scanners A while ago you might remember that when you wanted to enter an estate that you had to fill out a book and then sign it and they would let you in, these days services like Identiscan are used in estates, as they are much more useful than a piece of paper, and they

With the rise of crime in South Africa, companies need to be more vigilant when it comes to allowing visitor or staff member into a complex, with more criminals trying to gain access to properties these days with more intricate methods, it can be important to have better ways of managing entry and exit points

Stay-Awake in yourOG-66 Patrol Radios Stay-Awake functionality now comes built-in with any of your OG-66 patrol radios that use PTT. Schedule your stay-awake events directly in the radio's patrol schedule, merging seamlessly with patrols at regular intervals. fully flexible schedule Adjustable timeouts Alerts for missed stay-awakes Schedule directly in the patrol calendar How It Works

Technology is advancing at a rapid pace, no longer is it futuristic to consider that video technology could alert you to an impending robbery or burglary. CCTV systems presently can recognise suspicious behaviour. They can pick out criminals faces in a crowd. They will detect firearms and automatically inform authorities of a hold up in

Volatile situations require a focussed and targeted response to threats and a measured plan of action going forward. The private security industry in South Africa is among the largest in the world, tripling the numbers of the national South African Police Force. Recently, the South African security response was further strengthened by President Cyril Ramaphosa’s decision to deploy 70 000

As if driving on South Africa’s roads was not hair raising enough, what with the taxis and other wild drivers who own the road, South Africans also need to be extra vigilant when it comes to crime. South Africa’s dangerous roads hit the headlines again not so long ago, when a young couple was brutally

The need for estate security Estates these days are becoming more and more popular, and as they are opening up for business, they need security and especially access control systems, something that needs to be made as fluid as possible so that the residents and guests can access the estate in an easy and convenient

Guard management utilising GSM rugged devices and Bluetooth beacons Its estimated that between 15 000 to 20 000 new members join the private security industry each month making guard management an essential area of focus for key strategies such as automation and tracking. Using GSM rugged devices and Bluetooth technology, employee productivity is increased and multiple

In the current state of the world right now with Covid19, it can be very easy to get distracted with managing things within a business to make sure it is running smoothly, and a part of most security or even estates is guarding. So how does one make sure they are working, while you have

Just in time for the festive season, the newly launched Onguard Mobi Patrol and Visitor Management System delivers improved features and functionality for security patrolling and emergency responsiveness set to beef up event and retail security staff effectiveness at a time when retail malls and venues will see an increase of foot traffic, together with

Chaos descended on South Africa in July 2021 when the imprisonment of formerpresident Jacob Zumba sparked the vandalising and looting of business properties andretail centers in Johannesburg and Durban, leaving in its aftermath at least 72 peopledead and an estimated R72billion in business losses. As South Africans, already hard-hit by the effects of the global

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has declared that it is important that industry does not come to a standstill during the Covid-19 lock down. Some businesses are expected to see a surge in demand within certain industries; together with a decline of certain business resulting in those companies facing economic distress. In all cases, now

Maintaining safety and security operations during these uncertain times is key. With increased risk, reliable security services are required within communities now more than ever; with additional vigilance necessary against an invisible virus. Security staff especially, are tasked with carrying out their traditional duties with the added responsibility of managing new health strategies, security tactics

Homeowners, especially those who’ve just moved, are at risk of being robbed at all times of the year, even though the winter months are often quieter than the rest of the year. Becoming familiar with the weaker points around your home is the first step towards making sure that your home is properly secured. When

A fully automated method which can be used to recognise a person by identifying either behavioural or physical traits, systems like these are often used in the security industry can completely change the way that you approach access control systems. Biometrics are amazing in every way. They have evolved over the years to encompass more features

Well, RFID stands for “radio-frequency identification” and is part of a technology which reads digital data which was encoded on an RFID tag, or smart labels, these signals are captured via radio waves emitted from the tag/label. It is very similar to a barcode scanner, except instead of the scanner has to see the barcode

Do you need antivirus software? In the world of today with all this new technology from both mac and windows, do we need to have antivirus software on our computers, or is it perfectly fine to go with the default that is given to us? Viruses v.s Malware You must remember there is a difference

Is crime predictable? Not always but we can have crime prevention in place to detect crimes as they happen. Video is a core essential in a quality security plan providing real time visibility of crimes as they take place to ensure more prepared responses and crime prevention accountability, data collection and predictive analytics. Today’s cutting-edge

Upholding our constitutional right to individual privacy, the Protection of PersonalInformation Act 4 of 2013 (POPIA) is a crime prevention blueprint put in place to protectagainst crimes of identity theft, fraud, cybercrime, spamming and information theft andits related offenses. The purpose of the Act, enables compliance by South African businesses on how togain access to

In areas of high crime, access security becomes the number one deterrent in crime prevention. Protecting the lives and assets of people and their businesses means taking control of access points; resident and visitor admittance and monitoring; data capturing, technical compliance and 24/7 emergency response. In South Africa, the rise of gated and security monitored estates has

Push-to-talk technology improves communication, response times, and accountability for security teams working across busy sites and large areas.