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Make no mistake, Australia's security industry is big business. For instance, did you realise that the annual turnover for the industry at the end of the 1998/99 financial year was $1.395 billion? Or that there are presently 31,752 people employed in an industry with 1,714 registered security businesses? And just in case you are wondering, those figures do not include electronic security suppliers, locksmiths, or any other indirectly related businesses.

In fact, the security industry is estimated to have been the second fastest growing industry in Australia between the 1970's to the 1980's, second only to the booming tourism industry.

Recent trends indicate that the majority of industry growth pertains to large organisations through aggressive corporate acquisitions. Of the 1,714 businesses in the industry, only 19 businesses employed more than 100 persons. These few companies also accounted for 54% of total industry employment and 63% of total industry income.

We're not the only nation to experience this phenomenal growth either, in countries such as South Africa and the USA, security are primary industries in their respective economies. Although this is not surprising when you consider that the average crime rate in Johannesburg, South Africa is more than double the rate recorded in the most crime affected suburbs of Australia.

Some analysts are already asking the question, "Can the (security) industry possibly cope with so much growth?" It is feared that the quality of service from security companies will simply diminish due to having put on inexperienced staff to cope with excessive workloads. There is evidence to suggest that security personnel are increasingly placed with more responsibilities yet endowed with less training.

Having witnessed a succession of gradual annual growth, the Australian security industry is far from becoming stagnant. With added demand from a growing number of customers, and not having adequate numbers of quality security personnel to meet the need, the industry faces some serious staff competency issues. The obvious resolution to this potential fiasco is to increase compulsory training standards, but regulators stalled the decision due to cost restraints. However, having reached $1.395 billion of annual revenue and received an average operating profit of 6.5%, one could argue that the regulators don't have a leg to stand on.