Scanning your drivers’ licence at the entrances of townhouse complexes, retirement villages and residential estates have become the norm, although it shouldn’t be.
According to Resident Action Group Bedfordview (RAG) chairperson Marina Constas, overzealous security guards and estates may be on the wrong side of the law.
“I do understand unlicensed drivers can gain access and may cause an accident.
“Unsavoury individuals with questionable motives may be watching your home or your vehicle with the intent of stealing.
“On the other hand, the right to privacy is a very real thing,” said Constas.
She said trustees of community schemes must balance the interests on both sides and must understand security officers are not authorised officers in terms of Section 17 of the Identification Act 68 of 1997.
“Only police officers and peace officers are legally entitled to verify a person’s identification,” said Constas.
Constas said the same goes with checking visitors’ vehicle boots, as Section 14 of the Constitution says everyone has the right to privacy.
This includes the right not to have personal property searched.
“In the very same Constitution, those rights can be limited.
“The Criminal Procedure Act is very clear when it stipulates a police officer is only entitled to search a person or a person’s property with a court-issued search warrant,” said Constas.
She said if there is no warrant, then the police officer must have reasonable grounds and a reasonable suspicion the person or property being searched has been involved in a crime.
“The most important piece of legislation for the trustees or directors to consider is the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPI Act).
“This will become effective in the very near future, particularly when it comes to scanning drivers’ licences,” said Constas.
Constas adds a licence yields specific data, such as the name of the driver, his photograph, identity number and date of birth.
The use of data for ill-gotten gains, including identity theft, is on an upward spiral said Constas, which is alarming.
“The POPI Act aims to protect us as much as it can.
“The Act says the collectors of information must stipulate why they want it and what they will use it for.
“They must tell us where they are storing it and when they will destroy it.
“The rules of the housing scheme and information at the entrance of the scheme must cover these questions.
“Trustees and directors need to urgently begin scrutinising their rules and procedures,” said Constas.
