Band of brothers
The of Night Guard give you a taste of crime-busting life on the streets of Joburg.
Night Guard Season 1 Tuesdays FOX Crime 20:30
AA DAY IN THE LIFE
07:00 – BRIEFING
crime is committed every 16 seconds in South Africa. That’s what Crime Stats SA tells us. But as overwhelming as this statistic may be, South Africans aren’t necessarily alone in the fight, as this new local flyon-the-wall reality series reveals. Night guard gives viewers more insight into the dangerous, highstakes world of personal security through the eyes of the three Eblen brothers: no-nonsense Jp (35), joker Zaine (33) and softie Emile (28), who head up family business Night guard Security. tvplus spent a day with the brave brothers to see what they face “in the office”. Even though we only shared a few adrenalinefilled hours with them, it gave us more than enough nail-biting moments. here’s what to expect from the show…
A thorough breakdown of the day’s tasks is given. Today we’re trekking down to the Jukskei river just outside Kyalami, Joburg. “It’s not all about fighting crime,” team leader Jp says. “Summer’s just around the corner and that means flooding – we need to get those people [vagrants] to move.”
08:45 – THE MISSION BEGINS
With the Night guard team armed and ready for action, we head into the veld. It’s a tricky journey with an electric fence on the one side and a steep drop on the other. With just under 60cm of walking space to work with, the danger levels are already high. It soon turns into a messy walk with sewerage leaking from all sides and the dry veld quickly turns into a smelly swamp.
13:00-16:00 – STING LIKE A BEE
With the group having enjoyed biltong, sarmies, chicken kebabs and litres of water for lunch, we head to a nearby petrol station. Time for a sting operation! “We take a simple car (usually one of our own) and leave a laptop bag on the front seat,” Jp explains. “There’s a tiny camera in the bag, the thief will look right into it when he lifts the bag.” While no thief took the bait on the day, the team’s managed to nab a fair number of criminals this way in their 12 years of experience.
CLOWNING AROUND
Life as a Night guard Special Ops member isn’t always serious. They often pull pranks (youngest team member Trevor is mostly the victim) or make crazy bets. “Trevor had his chest waxed last week because he couldn’t catch a chicken,” Zaine says with a smile. “Oh, and he’s getting tasered this week after he lost against me in a bootcamp challenge.” Whether they’re cleaning the streets, helping communities or giving each other grief, they’re passionate about what they do. “We love helping people. It’s the most rewarding part of the job,” says Jp, before rushing to another call-out.
REALITY CHECK
producing a reality show on crimefighting comes with its challenges. With three camera guys following the team night and day, things can get tricky… “The first few days were tough,” Zaine admits. “Also, now we have three extra guys to look out for.” Jp also tells us that they almost lost one of the cameramen while doing a raid in Thembisa, Joburg. “he just wandered off on his own.” But Jp admits that having the cameras there has its advantages. “While the cameras do draw attention to us, suddenly we’re not seen as a threat anymore.”