Assessing Security Measures at Hotels: a Case Study from Gauteng

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Assessing Security Measures at Hotels: a Case Study from Gauteng ASSESSING SECURITY MEASURES AT HOTELS: A CASE STUDY FROM GAUTENG by NOMSA PRIDE CEBEKHULU submitted in accordance with the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS in the subject CRIMINAL JUSTICE at the UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH AFRICA SUPERVISOR: DR O. J. KOLE SEPTEMBER 2016 COPYRIGHT © Copyright resides in the University of South Africa and Mrs Nomsa Pride Cebekhulu. In terms of the Copyright Act 98 of 1978, no part of this material may be reproduced, be stored in any retrieval system, be transmitted in any form or be published, redistributed or screened by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise) without prior written permission from the University of South Africa and Mrs Nomsa Pride Cebekhulu. However, permission to use in these ways any material in this work that is derived from other sources must be obtained from the original source. For academic and research purposes, original information may be used and referred to so long as it is properly referenced and the source acknowledged as such. © UNISA 2016 i STATEMENT STUDENT NUMBER: 33036535 I, NOMSA PRIDE CEBEKHULU, declare that this dissertation: ASSESSING SECURITY MEASURES AT HOTELS: A CASE STUDY FROM GAUTENG, is my own work and that all the sources that I have used or quoted have been indicated and acknowledged by means of complete references. SIGNATURE:…………………….. DATE:…………………….. (NP Cebekhulu) ii DEDICATION In memory of my grandfather, Mr John Msimang, my father, Mr Edward Yedwa Hogan and my brother Hyacinth Ndyebo Hogan who perceived that one day deliverables will be realised. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank Jehovah God, Almighty for His wisdom, the strength, perseverance and guidance He bestowed upon me throughout the journey in completion of this dissertation. I would like to acknowledge the following individuals who contributed in helping me complete this study: • To my family members, my loving husband Percival ‘Du’, for his enormous support and understanding, my sons Wandile and Gcobani, my daughter Siphesihle, my mother Thandi and my sister Lunga Hogan-Msimang as well as my grandmother Bessie ‘Gogmama’ Msimang; • Dr Olaotse John Kole, my supervisor and academic conscience. I thank him for his encouragement, direction and for believing in me. Most of all, I thank you for your assistance, as an expert in the field of Security Management; • Prof P. Dastile (Chair of the Department), I thank you for the time-offs, inspiration and your continuous advices; and • To all my colleagues in the Department of Criminology and Security Science, thank you for your motivation and support, especially Ms Nyameka Daniel, Mr Lebogang Morodi and Mr Velani Mtshali (Retired) for lending me their ears. iv EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This study is about assessing security measures in the hotel industry in Gauteng Province, South Africa. The researcher divided Gauteng into five regions (Mogale City; Tshwane; Central Johannesburg; Ekurhuleni; and Sedibeng). The researcher adopted the qualitative approach where one-on-one interviews were conducted with the participants. There were 20 hotels that were selected to participate in the study. From the 20 hotels, where only one participant from each was involved, the researcher conducted one-on-one interviews with twenty (20) Security Managers or anybody who was responsible for the security functions at senior level at the hotels. A semi-structured interview schedule with probing questions was used as a guide to obtain comprehensive information about security measures from the participants. Random sampling approach was used in the study. From the population of 70 hotels in Gauteng, where the sample of twenty (20) was derived, was the group within which the researcher was interested in for obtaining data. Since Gauteng Province is huge, the researcher only conducted research within the four metropolitan areas consisting of Johannesburg, Mogale City, Tshwane and Ekurhuleni. The aims and objectives of the research study are as follows: • Outline the nature of business that hotels are engaged in; • Investigate if there are security policies and procedures as part of effective security component; • Examine what important assets need to be protected at hotel facilities; • Uncover the risks facing assets in the hotel facilities; • Determine what incidents of loss took place in the hotel facilities; • Examine what assets are mainly targeted by perpetrators at hotels; • Uncover the profile and modus operandi of hotel perpetrators; • Examine the effectiveness of security measures and systems that are put in place at hotels; • Explore if security systems are integrated at hotels; • Determine the frequency of conducting risk assessment at hotels; • Check if pre and post-employment screening is conducted for security officers at hotels; • Find out if the guests inquire about security measures when making reservations; and • Find out how guests feel about security at the hotel facilities. v The study revealed the following: • Hotels are business entities which attract different types of guests, nationally and internationally. Different services that are offered at the hotels which make hotels the main choice of destination to the guests are: accommodation for sleeping, leisure, and work commitments such as workshops or conferences. The study also revealed that most of the clientele comes from the corporate sector. • There are basic security measures in place in the hotels. These range from security policies, security procedures, physical security (for example, technological security such as Close Circuit Television (CCTV) surveillance system, adequate security lighting, security personnel (contract or in-house), alarm systems, armed response, access control systems and security fence or walls). The security measures were also appeared to be put in place in accordance with the location of the hotel. If the hotel was surrounded by other business areas, the level of security was more focused in the inner security layer. If the hotel was standing alone, the different security layers (the inner security layer, the outer and the middle security layers) were adequately protected. • Hotels are faced with different risks such as theft, prostitution, murder and assault, among others. Theft however was found to be across the board; for example, people were stealing the hoteliers’ property or the guests’ property. • Prostitution was found to be prevalent at hotels. Prominent people from political arena, corporate environment and other guests were interested in the prostitutes. Prostitutes were said to have their own modus operandi of using drugs to their prospective clients and then rob them of their money and belongings thereafter. • Most of the assets which are targeted by hotel perpetrators were found to be: guests/ hotel money, hotel goods, guests’ cars, goods in guests’ cars, televisions, home music systems and mobile devices such as laptops and cell phones. • The profile and modus operandi of hotel perpetrators. • Security assessments are conducted at hotels so as to figure out what security risks are facing the hotels. • Hotels need to be protected at all times against criminality as it tarnishes their image. • Most of the guests do enquire about the safety of the hotel before making a booking. Some of the guests mainly from the corporate sector do send their security specialists to assess the level of security at the hotel prior to making a booking. As the findings on this study were based on aims and objectives, recommendations for crime combating, proactive protection and future research were identified. The recommendations will, hopefully, also improve any inadequate security measures that may have been revealed by the study. Key words Hotel; hotel industry; security; security countermeasures; risk; risk assessment; safety; guests. vi ACRONYMS ASIS: American Security Industries Association ATM: Automated Machine BLS: Bureau of Labour Statistics BSIA: British Security Industries Association CCTV: Close-circuit television CEO: Chief Executive Officer CEP: Criminal Event Perspective CFOI: Census of Fatal Occupation Injuries EFT: Electronic Funds Transfer FBI: Federal Bureau of Investigations FEDHASA: Federated Hospitality Association of Southern Africa FEMA: Federal Emergency Management Agency FM: Frequency modulation GDP: Gross Domestic Product NDPA: National Drowning Prevention Association NFPA: National Fire Prevention Association NQF: National Qualification Framework PSIRA: Private Security Industry Regulatory Authority R & B: Rhythm and Blues SABRIC: South African Bank Risk Information Centre SAMA: South African Music Awards SASA: South African Security Association SAPS: South African Police Service UCR: Uniform Crime Report UNISA: University of South Africa USA: United States of America US IGN: United States of America’s International Gaming News vii TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER ONE: THE OVERVIEW AND MOTIVATION FOR RESEARCH STUDY 1.1 INTRODUCTION 1 1.2 BACKGROUND INFORMATION ABOUT HOTELS 2 1.3 PROBLEM STATEMENT 4 1.4 TYPES OF CRIMES THREATING THE HOTEL INDUSTRY 7 1.5 VULNERABLE ASSETS AT HOTELS 9 1.6 AIMS AND OBJECTIVES OF THE RESEARCH STUDY 10 1.7 RESEARCH QUESTIONS 11 1.8 THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE RESEARCH 12 1.9 THE HOTEL INDUSTRY TERMINOLOGY AND DEFINITIONS 12 1.10 THE LAYOUT OF THE DISSERTATION 14 1.11 CONCLUSION 14 CHAPTER 2: RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY 2.1 INTRODUCTION 15 2.2 RESEARCH DESIGN 16 2.3 POPULATION AND SAMPLING 17 2.3.1 Sampling approach 18 2.3.2 Random Sampling 19 2.3.3 Random Sample Method for the
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