I just got back from a week long business trip in Cape Town, South Africa. It’s a beautiful city, reminds me much of any US coastal city, but crime is a real problem. In any given year, one in 65 Capetonians will have something stolen from their car, one ins 239 will have their car stolen, and one in 4067 will be carjacked (cf. Crime in South Africa’s Metropolitan Areas, 2001, compiled by Mark Isserow). Compared to the rest of South Africa, a car is considerably more likely to be broken in to, but less likely to be stolen or carjacked. In fact, Cape Town is considered relatively safe with regards to violent crime. Even so, as in the US, it is the perception of crime that effects people’s behavior. (Anyone interested in South Africa and crime should peruse Institute for Security Studies’ SA Crime Quarterly.)
Due to this high crime rate, car guards are ubiquitous at every public parking place. In Cape Town, at least, most wear reflective bibs to for a veneer of professionalism. And, in most cases, the transaction seems extremely professional. They’ll guide you to a parking space (stopping traffic if necessary) and assure you that they’ll take good care of your car. No money is expected until you return. The expectation is that when you do return and see that your car hasn’t been burgled or vandalized you’ll tip them: 3-6 Rand seems typical, or between 50 cents and a dollar US.
I didn’t realize, until returning to the States, that most car guards or refugees from Congo, Zimbabwe, or another country in southern Africa. It’s likely that a car guard has completed secondary school and many attended college. They’ve found an entrepreneurial way to take advantage of their situation and the most abundant local resources: high crime rates and government failure.
This past January 3, 2006, American Public Media’s Marketplace aired a Youth Radio piece on car guards.
