'You risk your life every day': CIT guard speaks out ahead of festive season

It’s a job with high risks and the fear of never seeing your loved ones again.

Chester “Gummy” Malow, a crew member from iziCash, told TimesLIVE that driving a cash van is “extremely terrifying”.

“You risk your life every single day. You as a driver are the first one to get hurt and get shot at and most of the time the drivers are the first ones that die. We got families and children and have responsibilities.

“They sacrifice a lot for me to be here today. For them knowing we are out on the road doing this type of job, all they can do is pray,” Malow said.

Malow said the guards work long hours with minimal time spent with family.

“We work 14-16 hours a day. I leave in the morning and they (children) are asleep when I get home at night they are sleeping,” he said.

On Thursday afternoon, iziCash Solutions, a cash logistics and cash management company, announced a partnership with Fleetcam, which provides live vehicle camera systems.

According to Grant Clark from the CIT Association of SA (CITASA) there were 260 cash-in-transit incidents in 2020, compared with 244 in 2019.

Clark said 19 crew members were killed.

“It is extremely concerning, because one life lost is one life too many. Those members have families and they are breadwinners in their families. There are tough times in SA with the unemployment and these guys go out every day and risk their lives,” said Clark.

According to iziCash CEO Albert Erasmus, Fleetcam fitted their fleet of vehicles with surveillance and intelligent guard tracking systems to prevent or mitigate most cash crime attacks.

Erasmus said their vehicles now have 360 degree views, and control rooms where live footage is monitored.

“Our control rooms track and monitor in real time the entire fleet of armoured CIT vehicles, all movement and activity within the vehicles and every step our security personnel take in the execution of their duties.

“We can monitor our vehicles anywhere they drive. All of that audio and footage is incredible value from a criminal investigation point of view.”

Erasmus said the evidence helps the police and prosecutors investigate heists.

Erasmus said they had integrated the Transtrack software system into their entire cash logistics process to ensure that their customers’ cash is tracked “every step of the way”.

“We have to do our utmost to curb these violent attacks on one of the sectors in which some of our most vulnerable fellow citizens earn their living,” he said.

Fleetcam CEO Mark Rousseau said: “It is unfortunate that our cash-in-transit industry had to suffer so many losses, both in terms of assets and insurance costs to recover clients’ losses. We are proud to partner with iziCash, a company that is progressive in its approach to ensure absolute precision when it comes to customer security.”

TimesLIVE