Members of the media,
Ladies and gentlemen.
Re-launching take charge campaign, the Premier of the Gauteng province, the Honourable Nomvula Mokonyane, delivered the State of the Province Address to the Gauteng Legislature on 10 February 2013. She made mention of a number of public safety related commitments. We are here today to provide progress on the implementation of those commitments.
Members of the media will remember that the department has relaunched the Take Charge campaign in February in Loate on the 28th February 2013 as we recognise that the crime challenges facing our province could only be overcome through determined efforts of mobilising communities. The campaign first was launched in 2007 at the Walter Sisulu Square of Remembrance and has resonated with Gauteng communities.
The vision of the strategy is as follows:
‘A globally competitive Gauteng City-Region characterised by confident people, households and communities enjoying a high quality of life because they live, work, and travel in a law-governed society free from fear, violence and crime.”
The strategy contains the following pillars:
- Improving the Quality of Policing through enhancing oversight
- Promoting social crime prevention initiatives throughout all government departments
-
Improving the institutional arrangements for government to better
understand, respond to and coordinate crime prevention initiatives -
Mobilising and supporting increased community participation
against crime.
In order to realise a proper consultation and participation, the department conducted various summits with over 150 representatives of organisations involved in the following sectors:
- Youth
- Labour
- Business
- Gender
- Community Police Forums
- Hostel dwellers
- Faith based organisation
- Celebrities
- Non-governmental organisations.
Working together inter-sectorally, there are gains to be proud of, such as the reduction of drugs particularly nyaope in Hammanskraal to name a few. A total of 17 young ex addicts are now doing meaningful projects within the deployment in the National Youth Development Fund.
During this financial year, the department will expand the work piloted in Hammanskraal by launching a province wide NYAOPE campaign to deal decisively with this scourge.
Violence against women and children
Gender based violence remains one of the key priorities of the Gauteng Provincial Government. On a daily basis we are inundated by reports of rapes in most cases, people known to the victim such as step fathers, uncles, and brothers. These are the people who are supposed to be the protectors not the perpetrators.
Crime and violence perpetrated against women and children remains a challenge not only in Gauteng but in South Africa as whole, draining government resources and creating feelings of a lack of safety. It will be befitting to applaud the selflessness of the safety volunteers who open not only their hearts but their doors to victims of gender based violence.
This demonstrates the zeal to work closely with government in ensuring that levels of safety is maintained in our communities. Indeed ‘Mme o tshwara thipa ka fa bogaleng”. Even in the emancipation of women and the hard won struggle for liberation, there countless number of women who took the centre stage, to realise the freedom we all enjoy today.
A total of 24 green doors have been launched to date in areas such as 13 at police station level (Tarlton, Meyerton, Etwatwa, Benoni, Putfontein, Daveyton, Katlehong, Tokoza, Heidelberg, De Barrage, Springs, Brakpan, Duduza) 10 in Hillbrow, Atteridgeville, Elsburg, and Dube, Kagiso, Sokhulumi and Ekangala.
This brings a total of 31 Green doors located at ward level to relieve long distance travel to a local police station by a woman in distress. Indirectly, the distance will create secondary victimization and often expose her to humiliation.
In these Green doors a woman will receive counselling and accommodation for a period of 3 – 4 hours whilst the department will be looking for a placement in safe houses such as Ikhaya Lethemba, a one stop centre for abused women and children offering accommodation, medico-legal assistance such as court preparation etc.
It is our firm belief that we are in the right path to realise the establishment of green door in all the 508 wards of Gauteng. In as much as green doors are established, I urge women to make use of them, refrain from negotiating settlements with perpetrators.
These Green doors must be seen in the light of many other initiatives of the Violence Against Women and Children (VAWAC) prevention strategy such as Women desks, Women safety workshops, and Men as Safety Promoters which has recorded to date training of 1 800 volunteers in the 64 areas of Gauteng (Diepsloot, Johannesburg Central, Sophiatown, Brixton, Mondeor, Fairlands, Primrose, Alberton, Benoni, Brackendowns, Actonville, Crystal Park, Daveyton, Putfontein, Langlaagte, Booysens, Kempton Park, Norken Park, Edenvale, Sebenza, Loate, Dube, Mabopane, Zonkezizwe, Katlehong, Tembisa, Olifantsfontein, Ivory Park, Nelmaphius, Springs, Devon, Dunnotor, Duduza, Nigel, Kwa-Thema, Ratanda, Vereeniging, De Deur, Roodepoort, Tshepisong, Plot 8, Mathole, Bedfordview, Sandringham, Heidelberg, Kliprivier, Sharpville, Evaton, Sandton, Randburg, Germiston, Elsberg, Bramley, Alexandra, Yeoville, Ennerdale, Jeppe, Brakpan, Tsakane, Meyerton, Carltonville, Fochville, Wedela).
Activate Civilian Secretariat Act
The department will implement fully the new Civilian Secretariat Act by June 2013. The department has been allocated R3,156 million for the Provincial Secretariat. Monitoring and evaluating police performance in the province An additional R19 million has been allocated to strengthen oversight over law enforcement agencies in the province.
We will thus undertake the following activities:
- Monitor SAPS implementation of the Minister\MECs directives
- Monitor police performance in relation to priority crimes
- Monitor and evaluate compliance with the Domestic Violence Act by the SAPS
- Monitor collaboration amongst the agencies of the Criminal Justice System
- Monitor and evaluate the efficiency and effectiveness of the Specialised Units
- Monitor compliance with the Regulations for Municipal Police Services 1999 by Metropolitan Police Departments
- Monitor utilisation of the police budget
- Monitor the implementation of resolutions adopted by the quarterly review sessions with Law Enforcement Agencies Improved forensic capacity
In order to improve forensic capacity in the province, the department through the Forensic Science Task Team identified a Forensic Officers Course as a means to increase forensic capacity.
I am pleased to announce that inroads have been made thus far to identify an institution to offer such a course, being the University of Cape Town. A total of 20 students have been identified and are ready to commence with their studies in Forensic Social Workers in June 2013 through a bursary scheme, partnership between the Departments of Community Safety, Social Development, Education, and G.C.R.A.
These efforts will go a long way to alleviate the forensics and investigative capacity backlogs. Moreover, bursaries will also be offered to medical school graduates to pursue careers as Forensic Pathologists. The department together with Department of Social Development and the SAPS will take joint responsibility for placing the trainees.
The department will assist the family violence, child abuse and sexual offence unit with capacity building. In this regard there will be a basic two week sex offender course for all (FCS) members. In addition, there will also be a basic computer training course and a domestic violence training course for all members of the FCS unit which will be jointly funded between SAPS and the Department of Community Safety.
Safety summit
We remain resolute in discharging our oversight mandate. The recent police brutality incident that happened in Daveyton, has left the community losing trust and confidence in the police. This necessitated the department to zoom into the area, hold various community engagement sessions that will culminate in a safety summit taking place this Thursday, 25 April 2013 in Daveyton.
The declaration that will be signed by all parties including the Taxi Associations, Community structures, will outline how communities envisage partnering with all law enforcement agencies to normalise policing in the area.
Media contact person:
Thapelo Moiloa
Cell: 084 805 2247
Tel: 011 689 3826
