Crime Stoppers Conference announces heavyweight speakers
It’s all systems go for the 35th annual Crime Stoppers International (CSI) conference which is to be hosted by Crime Line and the South African Police Service (SAPS) in Cape Town next week.
The conference, which will take place at the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC) from 12 to 15 October, will attract hundreds of local and foreign delegates. It’s being hosted for the first time on the African continent.
National Police Commissioner, General Riah Phiyega, said it was important to bring “the various partners in the fight against crime together and to strengthen the partnerships at all levels.”
Head of Crime Line and chairman of the conference organising committee, Yusuf Abramjee, said registrations are still open and he appealed to “anyone who wanted to create a safer South Africa and a safer world to join the global movement and register for the conference.”
Registrations close on Thursday.
The conference will see some 60 top local and foreign speakers cover a variety of topics. These include World Trafficking; Crimes Against Economies; Environmental Crimes; Corruption; Associated Crimes and Skills Development.
National Police Minister, Nkosinathi Nhleko and General Phiyega will officially open the conference on Monday morning together with the President of CSI, Alex MacDonald, from Bermuda.
The Regional Head of Interpol, Dr Chilika Simfukwe will join Dr Diana Buttu from Canada who is an international peace activist and Dr Gilbert Lawrence, HOD for the Western Cape Department of Community Safety as speakers at the conference opening ceremony.
Michael Burgin from the US Secret Service will talk about “The Evolution of Cyber Crime.” The Dutch National Rapporteur on Trafficking of Human Beings and Sexual Violence Against Children will address the global problem of human trafficking and Stanley Jacobs from the London Community Rehabilitation Company (UK Probation Service) will address “Integrated Offender Management.”
Environmental Affairs Minister, Edna Molewa, Sport and Recreation Minister, Fikile Mbalula, Deputy Police Minister, Magdalene Sotyu, the Public Protector Advocate Thuli Madonsela, Head of the Special Investigation Unit (SIU), Adv Vas Soni and the the recently appointed commissioner for SARS, Tom Moyane will also address delegates.
The #CrimeCon offers a variety of speakers that will address a range of crimes that are globally relevant:
- SAPS officials from the Hawks; Organised Crime Unit; Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences Unit; Motor Vehicle Theft Unit; the Disaster Victim Identification Centre; the Investigative Psychology Unit and Detective Services.
- The conference will also host a panel on business and crime, facilitated by Cape Talk presenter Kieno Kammies. Panelists include SA Tourism CEO, Thulani Nzima; Proudly SA CEO, Advocate Leslie Sedibe; South African Banking Risk and Information Centre (SABRIC) CEO, Kalyani Pillay; Corruption Watch Executive Director, Dr David Lewis and Business Against Crime South Africa (BACSA) National Programme Manager, Billy Graham.
- Representatives from Greenpeace Africa, the South Africa Insurance Crime Bureau, South African Banking Risk and Information Centre (SABRIC), Southern African Federation Against Copyright Theft (SAFACT), Matla a Bana, Corruption Watch, Brand SA, Cyanre, Zonke Unicode, Data Dot, Institute for Security Studies, Afriforum and the City of Cape Town.
- Further international highlights include, Lieutenant Matthew Zucker from the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LAVMPD) will make a presentation on the Mexican drug cartels and Lauren Book, the founder of the US-based children’s organisation, Lauren’s Kids, will share her own story of surviving child sexual abuse.
General Phiyega said: “We also want to use the conference to network and to share our experiences and expertise. We all need to work together to fight crime.”
Abramjee said “it was necessary for everyone to join hands and to take the fight against crime to the next level. Please join us and register before the Thursday deadline. We have a special rate of R3850 for local delegates.”
A special Scholarship Programme has also been established for the conference. It will see about 100 civilian crime fighters attending the conference - thanks to the generous support from companies. The scholarship programme is assisting law enforcement, including representatives from community policing forums and NGOs to attend the conference.
For conference and registration details, visit www.crimestoppers-conference2014.com.
Note to Editors: Please see attached the application form for conference accreditation. If there are also any television/radio outside broadcast requirements, please specify.
Enquiries:
Lt Gen Solomon Makgale
Cell: 082 781 8863
Marisa Oosthuizen
Cell: 071 475 4414
