The private security industry is growing exponentially due to a variety of reasons, including high crime rates and the steady growth of the economy.
State agencies alone are unable to combat rising levels of crime. Unlike state security, private security providers are driven by profit, and render service to those who can pay for it.
Dakar is increasingly proving to be a transit zone in international drug trafficking. This brings about interactions between organized crime and public institutions.
The private security sector has grown at an exponential rate.
As agriculture becomes more strategically important in the world, large-scale land acquisition - or "land grabbing" - is a growing concern for West Africa.
The private security sector is increasingly performing duties and activities which were traditionally the purview of public security agents.
Crime prevention in southern Africa is largely based on the principle of community policing, that is, partnerships between the community and the national or public police.
Results of the assessment demonstrated an overwhelming need for support particularly in Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Mali and Sierra Leone.