Programme Directors,
MEC for Community Safety, Mr. Dan Plato,
Acting National Commissioner, Lt. General Mkhwanazi,
Provincial Commissioner, Lt. General Lamoer,
All Deputy Commissioners,
All Divisional Commissioners,
Senior Police Officers,
All Men and Women in Blue,
Religious, Traditional, & Community Leaders,
Representatives of CPF, POPCRU & SAPU,
Youth,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The Constitution of the Republic (Chapter 11) directs that ‘national security must reflect the resolve of South Africans, as individuals and as a nation, to live in peace and harmony, be free from fear and want and to seek a better life.’
Since the beginning of the current term of government, we have undertaken considerable steps to ensure that ‘people are and feel safe.’
In dealing with issues of crime, government proceeds from the premise that a rising quality of life also means improvement in the safety and security of citizens: in their homes, environments where they live, work and engage in extramural activity.
On this special commemorative day, the National Police Day, we as the police leadership want to take a reflection and pay tribute to our heroes.
On an occasion such as this, it feels good be a policeman or policewoman. It also feels good for us Police Leadership to be in audience with our Men and Women in blue simply because, we get to endorse on our great appreciation to you, as you continuously put the security and welfare of all South African inhabitants, before yourselves.
It is a special day where each member of the SAPS must take a moment to reflect on his or her calling. A calling to safeguard the citizens of the Republic. Policing after all, should not be a career but a special calling.
This task includes the improvement of the quality of life of all the people of our country in a manner that will ensure enhanced levels of safety and security. This improvement must within all of us as members of the SAPS.
Being afforded an opportunity to safeguard the Republic is not a task that must be taken lightly, it is an honour. Being tasked with ensuring that society remains safe against criminals, this is a mandate we need to carry with dedication. And we are committed to the daunting task ahead.
As we reflect on some of the notable successes we have achieved in the past twelve months, we could not have done so without the commitment of all our members. When one looks at the 2011/12 festive season, indeed it will rank as one of the most consuming and challenging in terms of policing for the South African Police Service, yet equally as one of the most successful.
The period was challenging at the same time successful within this context that our police officers had a mammoth task of ensuring the safety during the Operation Duty CallsNational Festive Season Crime-Fighting campaign, the 17th Conference of the Parties (COP17) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and a few days ago, the ANC Centenary Celebrations in Mangaung.
The magnitude and importance of these occasions bore enormous importance on the country, from an economic as well as political perspective. One cannot ignore the security perspective because any compromise in security could have negatively tarnished our international reputation.
We could not afford that gamble. Neither could we use previous events experience to adopt a laissez-faire approach and say: we have done it before. Suffice to say both these two major events were safe and secure, that is why South Africa received global accolades.
From the onset, our security plan was thoroughly crafted and it focused from the biggest to the smallest of threats. We left no stone unturned. We planned and executed our safety and policing approach with precision, paying attention to detail because we understood the significance of the events. Some of you worked tirelessly at the COP17 assisted by your counterparts in the security cluster. We are proud of you
We know that some sceptics and analysts amongst us would say, as they said during the 2010 FIFA World Cup, that crime was less because ‘criminals were on festive holiday.’ We will never be side-tracked by such assertions. In fact, through these operations we can safely say police gave the criminals ‘forced and unpaid leave.’ And that is going to be an ongoing philosophy going forward.
The fact of the matter is that such successes were not sporadic acts of luck but achieved because as the police, we planned better, we coordinated and implemented better, we learnt and improved because our philosophy is premised along a notion that, security planning is an ongoing process.
To each and every police member who is upright, upholding the principles of the law and dedicated to the safety of our citizens: you are our pride. We highlight such officers because we are blessed with so many in the Force. You are the shield of the nation and you carry with you immense responsibilities on your shoulder. Protect, serve, empower and excel with excellence.
The country is immensely blessed to have the kind of officers we have. We say with conviction that there are lots of ‘good men and women’ within the Force. On an occasion such as this, it is appropriate to not only recognise their commitment to serve but their selfless dedication to the safety of the Republic.
From the 10th October 2011 to 05th January 2012, we arrested a total of 542241 suspects; theft of motor vehicles 1535, illegal possessions of firearms and ammunition 2147, drug related crime 34187, illegal liquor outlets closed 18912, crimes against women and children (rape, sexual offences, sexual assault, child abuse) there were 6602 arrests made, driving under influence of liquor/drugs 11946, to mention but a few.
Towards the end of last year, both the Minister and myself had begun embarking on various consultative processes both within SAPS service-delivery frontline units, and within communities. The Minister of Police for instance, had met with the practitioners within the Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences (FCS) units throughout the country, as part of our commitment to the eradication of women and children abuse.
I had also complemented this process by rolling out a Provincial Intervention Programme, starting in the Free State, where I had engagement sessions with police officers, to discuss and deal with concerns that they have and face in the working environment. I had also visited a rural school in Koffiefontein, for an intervention programme against children’s molestation within the school and family spheres.
We are encouraged to note that police officers around the country have secured 362 conviction of life sentences with more than 20 000 years of imprisonment on heartless criminals who committed heinous crimes such as rape and abuse against women, children and the elderly in recent period.
This is what must become the epitome of our inroads, by securing more and more convictions with inevitably, will begin to instil confidence in our justice system. We achieved these successes through the active participation of citizenry, who partnered with the police in fighting this scourge.
We shall sustain all these successes in our policing approach in 2012. The first step to achieve this will be through ongoing training, which is crucial in our approach to improving policing, particularly around detective. We are now revising how and what is involved in training.
Our training is now tackling both the content and the manner in which we train, including the calibre of a police officer we recruit.
The transformation of the police must across the country, focus on the type of Police Service we want to see. It must ensure that our Police Service at all levels is reflective of the society it polices and the values we wish to promote within our society.
The current implementation of the White Paper for Safety and Security will therefore guide our approach to the overall transformation of the police. As we indicated on the occasion of the release of the National Crime Statistics, we are making a dent in the fight against crime. Criminals are feeling the pinch. Let us do more to ensure we consolidate the victories.
Improving the police response is an objective that remains a priority for the department. The equitable distribution of police stations is essential in ensuring that the services provided by SAPS in support of safe and secured communities is to be realised by all our people.
Critically, focus must be placed on mobilising society to make life difficult for criminals in our midst. This should include an overhaul of gender and family relations and intolerance of abuse within our own family, the South African Police Service.
For example, as Police Leadership, we are painfully cognaisant that the month of December 2011, particularly, has been devastating for some families of police officers.
In this particular December month alone, we had more than 10 incidents where our police officers either took their own lives, or before doing that, wipe off the whole their family or loved ones before turning the pistol unto him. We even had an incident where a police officer shooting his own colleague in the Karroo, Western Cape.
Of significance, is that, the majority of the December 2011 killing incidents by Police officers were factored by a marital or relationship discord. 90% of the killings were inflicted either, on wives, girlfriends, or children. Meaning, the majority who committed suicide or killed their loved ones, were male police officers, mostly Constables-ranked and black.
For the year 2011, 85 police officers committed suicide. Kwazulu Natal, Gauteng, Northern Cape, Eastern Cape and Free State are said to have high numbers of these incidences, and thus should be primary focus regions in order to reduce the suicide rates.
Lt. General Mkhwanazi, I am raising this gloomy picture on a festive mood like this, just to take home a fact that, the work of a police officer is often exhausting, dangerous and traumatic, as a result of being part of, or witnessing a traumatic act such as murder, rape, brutal assault or remnants of a brutal and unspeakable violent murder.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Today, we are pleading with our police officers to demystify the myth that “men do not cry”. We are pleading with you to open up to your family and share your experiences and frustrations of work and family issues. We are pleading with you to use the resources that have been provided by SAPS Employee Health and Wellness, which has Psychological Services, Spiritual Services, Social Work Services and Quality of Work Life Management.
We are also appealing to family members of the police officers, to understand the fact that, each time a police officer leaves home for work, their lives are immediately put on risk. Their work is about being in touch with extremely painful issues in the community; witnessing horrific circumstances of violent crime and assault; and also being killed in line of duty.
That is why the President. His Excellency Jacob Zuma, made an announcement at the National Commemoration Day on 5 September 2011 that a SAPS Educational Trust Fund will be established to ensure that the families of members who have died in the execution of official duties, and specifically their children’s educational needs, are taken care of.
Progress in preparation for the roll-out is positive, as the Trust is already established, already registered with the Master of the North Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, and SAPS has now begun a phase-like roll out in the form of stationery distribution to school-going children of SAPS members who passed away in line of duty. Thirty-five thousand stationery hampers have already been distributed across all 9 Provinces during the months of November 2011 and December 2011.
This is the first initiative of its kind not only in the SAPS, but in the public sector as a whole, and the SAPS will continue to strive to honour our fallen heroes by engaging in similar programmes and activities in collaboration with the private sector who are eager to assist, amongst others, the SAPS, in complying with their corporate social responsibility towards the well-being of all citizens of this country.
Alongside our operational approaches, as Police Leadership, we will ensure that there is a concerted focus on human resource development from recruitment to retirement, and from duty to fall in line of duty; so as to ensure effectiveness of our service delivery at all levels within the police.
So, to all those detractors of Police Day, who always pose cheap politicking questions as to why the ANC-led Government wasting money to commemorate the good work of serving police officers and to honour those who died in line of duty, we say: the money spent to honour our police officers, will never be enough.
For, the risks facing our police officers in the pursuit of peace, stability and democracy is much more than any monetary value that you can place. Therefore, we will forever look at our men and women in blue with respect and gratitude, and forever understanding the immense debt we owe our Police.
The progress we have made, the victories we continue to score are reflective of the vision of the South African citizens’ commitment and determination to the cause of peace and social progress. This reflection does not mean we are celebrating the victories against crime, but are encouraged.
Enjoy this commemorative and important National Police Day.
I thank you all.
Enquiries:
Zweli Mnisi
Cell: 082 045 4024
Deputy Minister of Police Maggie Sotyu's address at the Western Cape National Police Day celebrations
