Security Charles Nqakula, MP, Ministry for Safety and Security, National
Assembly
22 May 2007
Madam Speaker
Honourable Members of the Extended Parliamentary Committee
Introduction
Africa Day
In the next three days many countries of the African Continent will
celebrate Africa Day in commemoration of the founding of the Organisation of
African Unity (OAU). Established in Addis Ababa on 25 May 1963, the OAU had as
its central tasks the promotion of peace, unity and co-operation across the
national borders of the Continent.
Some of the key elements of the principles of that unity were picked up by
President Thabo Mbeki in his opening address at the launch in Durban, on 9 July
2002, of the African Union (AU) the successor of the OAU. He said, among other
things:
"As Africans we have come to understand that there can be no sustainable
development without peace, without security and without stability. We must end
the senseless conflicts and wars on our continent which have caused so much
pain and suffering to our people and turned many of them into refugees and
displaced and forced others into exile. We must accept that dialogue and
peaceful resolution of conflicts are the only way to guarantee enduring peace
and stability for our people."
One of the key pillars of peace and stability is safety and security that
all law abiding citizens of our country must design so that within that
environment of security we can, as a nation, create conditions for a better
life for all.
Community Policing
An important aspect of the work of the Ministry and the South African Police
Service during the current Financial Year relates to pronouncements made
earlier this year by President Mbeki. The President, in his State of the Nation
Address to this House on Friday, 9 February 2007, pointed out that:
"I am certain that we shall all agree that working together to achieve the
happiness that comes with freedom applies equally to the challenge of dealing
with crime. In addition to the many ongoing programmes that we have been
implementing, government will this year improve our analysis of crime trends to
improve our performance with regard both to crime prevention and crime
combating. In this regard, we must respond to the cold reality that, as in
other countries, the overwhelming majority of violent crimes against the person
occur in the most socio-economically deprived areas of our country and require
strong and sustained community interventions focused on crime prevention."
"As we have already said, these and other measures will succeed only if we
build an enduring partnership in actual practice within our communities and
between the communities and the police, to make life more difficult for the
criminals. Government will play its part to ensure that these partnership
actually work and that we all act together to discharge the responsibility to
protect our citizens."
The President's theme was lifted up by the Minister of Finance when, in his
Budget Speech, he said: "Our government recognises the seriousness of the crime
situation and will continue to provide leadership in the fight against crime.
But, effective crime fighting depends on partnerships between our law
enforcement agencies and communities."
The marching orders were quite clear: Build partnerships with relevant
stakeholders in crime prevention and combating to reduce the levels of crime in
South Africa. The President's remarks were informed by his appreciation of the
principle that no police force or service can deal effectively with crime if it
does not enjoy the support of the masses in the communities they police. In the
end, it is not the size of the police service that will guarantee success in
the fight against crime but the ability of the police to forge a viable
relationship with the people to prevent and combat crime.
Those are the principles that will guide us as we implement our philosophy
of community policing. There are different ways in which community policing has
been defined by various commentators and experts. I personally like the way
that Anneke Osse looks at the matter. Osse works for Amnesty International. She
worked for many years as a trainer and management consultant for the Dutch
police in the field of ethics, corruption prevention and human rights. Her
definition is: "Community policing is in fact geographic policing where police
officers have a 24-hour responsibility for policing their locality. Often
community policing means maximal policing in that it assumes a greater
responsibility for the police than mere crime fighting. Indeed, police are
expected to support overall community well-being and residents' quality of
life."
It requires a deliberate rooting of the police among the people for them to
be able to work in the communities in the way that is described by Osse. It
requires a deliberate programme of co-ordination to establish a viable
partnership between the people and the police. In the early years of our
democracy, it was difficult to build confidence between the people and the
police. Things are much better now. However, we need to build a strong
partnership that will raise the level of trust between the people and the
police.
Partnerships
Community policing as an appropriate policing philosophy for South Africa
has been discussed with several stakeholders and has been endorsed. We have
discussed the matter with the labour movement. Meetings have been held with the
Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu), National Council of Trade
Unions (Nactu) and Federation of Unions of South Africa (Fedusa), the three
labour federations that mobilise workers in our country. We have also
interacted with the two unions that work in the police, the South African
Police Union (SAPU) and Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union (Popcru).
We appreciate the interest shown and the commitment by the labour movement
to the project. We believe, therefore, that the partnership with them will
buttress our effort to curb crime in our country. We have also interacted with
religious leaders, especially at the level of the National Religious Leaders
Forum, as part of the programme to mobilise our people in all our communities
to be part of law enforcement to create conditions for security and stability
in South Africa.
Our relationship with the business sector under the leadership of the
Presidential Big Business Working Group is getting stronger and stronger. We
have regular sessions where we strategise and decisions we have taken
collectively have already made a dent against crime and criminality in certain
areas.
One of the important sections of business, the private security industry,
has come into the loop of partners in the fight against crime. We have been
holding talks with them to determine how, working together in partnership, we
can share information and resources. The talks are progressing well. The matter
of private security was among key issues the President raised in his State of
the Nation Address. He said: "the increase in the incidence of particular
crimes during the security workers' strike should have brought home to all of
us the fact that the security industry cannot be handled simply as a private
affair of the private sector. Quite clearly the regulatory system that we have
in place is inadequate. This applies to such issues as wage levels, personnel
vetting systems, enforcement of guidelines on cash-delivery vehicles, and so
on."
"This is a matter that we shall review during the course of the year so
that, in addition to improving the work of the police, we can together with the
private security industry create an environment in which the security
expectations of the public, in which huge resources are expended, are actually
met."
The partnership we have with some of our communities deserves special
mention. In the many communities where the people work together with the police
the levels of crime have gone down. Apart from patrolling their streets, the
people have also established networks to generate and share information. That
information has been given to the police and has helped to enhance
investigations.
The experience of good partnerships between the people and the police has
become a feature in the communities of Alexandra, Sebokeng, Orange Farm,
Orlando and Jabulani in the Gauteng province, Gugulethu, Maitland and
Khayelitsha, in the Western Cape, Fernie and Kwaggafontein, in Mpumalanga,
Tumahole, in the Free State, Tsolo and Queenstown, in the Eastern Cape,
Kuruman, in Northern Cape, Ezibayeni, Osizweni and Kokstad, in KwaZulu-Natal,
Giyani, in Limpopo, just to mention a small sample.
The Community Policing Forum (CPF) has a special task to co-ordinate the
relationship between the communities and the police. We are discussing,
together with them, how we can raise their profile so that they can play the
role that attaches to their functions.
The new arrangement will allow the CPFs, acting on behalf of the
communities, to discuss with the police the policing priorities of the relevant
communities and put together a policing programme that will be co-owned by the
communities and the police. The police will regularly go back to the
communities and report on the crime trends in their areas and to what extent
they are succeeding to deal with crime. The communities, in that arrangement,
will assess police performance on the basis of the policing priorities and
targets that are set in the implementation of the policing programme.
Legal implications
The project to introduce community policing will require some changes to our
law. In the first instance, we need to look at how we define the relationship
between the South African Police Service (SAPS) and the municipal police
services. In that regard, I want to indicate that it is not our intention to
change the administrative relationship and, therefore, legal links, between the
municipal police services and their municipalities.
We are only looking at crime prevention and the alignment of all forces that
participate therein, including municipal police structures. The alignment is
meant for better command and control.
The establishment and location of the CPFs is part of the South African
Police Service Act. The responsibility to establish and resource the CPFs is
given to the police. It is quite clear that, if the CPFs, for all intents and
purposes, are a form of oversight they should not be defined in the way they
are currently. They should, by definition and action, be a structure that is
representative of the communities and speak on their behalf. To get to that
point, we must amend the SAPS Act.
Crime prevention and combating
Resource Allocation
The project to prevent and combat crime has resulted, since 1995 when the
South African Police Service was formed, in the allocation of increased numbers
of human and material resources. Particular attention over the years has also
been paid to the revision of conditions of service for members for better
packages in remuneration and other benefits.
Our budget allocation in the 2003/04 Financial Year was R22,7 billion which
went up in 2004/05 (R25,4 billion), 2005/06 (R29,3 billion) and 2006/07 (R32,5
billion). The current allocation is R35,9 billion and three years down the
line, it will be R43,6 billion.
The personnel numbers in the service also rose from 140 560 in 2003/04 to
149 060 (2004/05), 156 060 (2005/06) and 163 060 (2006/07). By the end of the
2009/10 Financial Year the numbers will be 193 240. The expansion of the
service, therefore, has been by 44 060 members since the 2002/03. Replacement
personnel during that period was 20 000 bringing the figure, therefore, to 64
060.
Challenges
There are many challenges we face in the fight against crime. They are huge
magnified by, among other things, the long list of victims of crime; people we
sympathise with in every respect of the word and the sole reason we have to
find answers quickly in our effort effectively to deal with crime and
criminality in our country. To that extent we have to get the police to perform
optimally by giving them the best training available for policing in the
globalised environment of crime fighting, especially in the fields of
management (administrative and operationally) and investigation and arrests, as
well as in crime intelligence.
We have put processes in place to deal with all the matters I have raised
and consistent and regular implementation will help us attain the goals we have
set for ourselves. One of the matters we are dealing with is the violent nature
of crime in South Africa. The question has been popping up now and again why
some of the crimes are accompanied by such a high degree of violence.
Firearms are used in many instances where serious and violent crime happens.
In more than 50% cases where people were murdered, firearms were used. A study
of the last ten years also indicates that firearms were used in 77,6% cases of
attempted murder and 81,5% of aggravated robbery.
We appointed last year, in an effort to get an answer to the high volumes of
violence in crime in South Africa, the Centre for the Study of Violence and
Reconciliation (CSVR) to interrogate the question. The overall project is
intended to assist government to understand the phenomenon so that we can
prevent and combat it.
The project consists of six components which are to be staggered over the
next 18 months. The final report will be available in December 2008. The first
component of the project is a concept paper on the violent nature of crime in
our country and is due for submission to the Minister for Safety and Security
by the end of this month. The paper discusses the main forms of violence,
especially social violence which accounts for much of the violent crime in the
country.
The study will also be an analysis of the socio-economic factors that
contribute to violent crime and case studies on perpetrators of violent crime.
The Deputy Minister for Safety and Security, Ms Susan Shabangu, is going to
deal with some aspects of social crime and the violence that relates to it.
Budget overview
The core function of the police is to stop crime from happening. It is a
proactive function where visible policing is the key. Visible policing is
divided into crime prevention, borderline security and specialised
interventions. The biggest slice of the R15,5 billion that goes to visible
policing is for crime prevention (R13,7 billion). This signifies a 92% growth
in the budget from 2003/04 to 2009/10.
Personnel expenditure continues to be the biggest portion of the budget at
R25,2 billion from R35,9 billion during the current Financial Year. The wage
bill (salary, pension, bonus, etc) recognises that the personnel numbers shall
have reached 173 120 by the end of the Financial Year.
We need to indicate that over the past three Financial Years the allocated
budget for policing has increased by 43%. Expenditure for other material
resources in the policing environment such as buildings, machinery and
equipment has also seen significant increases. More money was invested in the
further expansion of the vehicle fleet, radio communication, information
technology, firearms and the 2010 Fifa Soccer World Cup. Expenditure on capital
assets, therefore, has increased by 33% over the past three years and will rise
by 75% over the next three years.
To enhance our command and control systems we are going to invest in the
next three years in mobile command vehicles and helicopters that will be fitted
with modern technology. We will buy three such vehicles in the current
Financial Year at a cost of R13,5 million as well as four helicopters for R20,2
million. In the next Financial Year (2008/09) we will buy five mobile command
vehicles and seven helicopters for R22,5 million and R36 million, respectively
and, in the outer Financial Year (2009/10) we will buy two mobile command
vehicles for R9 million. We will add to that, for R90 million, three
surveillance aircraft. We will also buy in the current Financial Year 200
mobile circuit camera television CCTV systems.
Supply chain management
The budget allocation in respect of capital works, maintenance, property
rates, municipal services and property leases was R1,627 billion in 2006/2007
but stands at R2,045 billion for the current period. The SAPS currently has 1
115 fully fledged police station and 186 satellites. The 27 stations that are
in a poor state of repair will be refurbished and upgraded during the current
Financial Year. We upgraded 19 in the last Financial Year. During 2006/07 we
built 11 police stations. Four more will be built during 2007/08 while an
additional three will be built in the next Financial Year.
Twelve new police stations were opened in the last quarter of 2006/07.
During the current period 15 more will be opened. The building of the R300
million Forensic Science Laboratory in Parow will commence during this
Financial Year. A new Digital Trunk Radio Network for Gauteng province,
incorporating the Tetra System, at a cost of R600 million, has been
established. It will be switched on during October this year. The facility,
which will provide overall coverage throughout the province, will facilitate
better communications for users on all roads, sports stadia, shopping centres
and government installations.
The system is comprised of secure communication and automated vehicle
location (AVL) elements. It is a sophisticated mechanism for operational
purposes. It creates accurate and real time command and control to response
vehicles and other information channels. The AVL will provide SAPS dispatching
officials with location and positioning updates that are transmitted in real
time to geo-spatial mapping facilities so that more informed decisions can be
made about deployments to scenes of crime.
The vehicle fleet of the SAPS has been modernised and increased. In 2003
SAPS had 27 055 vehicles. The figure currently is 37 617. Police stations that
have been built in the recent period have victim friendly facilities for the
victims of sexual offences. There are at present 594 such facilities across the
country. The personnel who render services there are mostly volunteers from the
various levels of medical care and social services in South Africa. They are
doing a wonderful job.
Reorganisation for better delivery
Last year we invoked the principle of pushing more and better resources to
the local police station to arm those at the coal-face in the fight against
crime with the requisite capacity to be able to do their work.
In the circumstances, experienced operational managers and personnel from
forty-three area offices in the nine provinces as well as from the national and
provincial offices, where necessary, were redeployed to police stations to
boost the administrative and operational managerial ability of the stations and
increase the staff complement.
In the past the specialised investigative capability of SAPS was not based
at police stations. The members were based at area offices and travelled long
distances at times to reach stations where relevant crimes were reported. The
response times, therefore, were very slow. Those members have been redeployed
to police stations to reduce the response times and create the possibility of
better service delivery.
The majority of members attached to the former Area Crime-Combating Units
(ACCUs) have been shifted to police stations. The upshot has been a real
increase in the crime-combating capacity of police stations. A programme is in
place to train on a continuous basis members at police stations to improve
their ability to perform crime-combating functions in their respective station
precincts.
The restructuring provided for the clustering of police stations for
improved command, control and co-ordination. Cluster police stations will be
able to unite in joint projects to deal with cross-station precinct crimes and
threats. The biggest station in the cluster is the accounting police station.
The support structures at these stations will also replace the previous area
support offices. In the end there will be 198 accounting police stations. A
computerised performance measurement system was introduced within the SAPS to
assess and evaluate police performance.
New technology to fight crime
Over the past five years, the department has focused on the modernisation
and expansion of its response service, command and control, hosting
capabilities and network infrastructure. Among other things we managed to
achieve the following:
1. Accessibility to information systems was enhanced by approximately 120%,
from 19 000 desktop workstations in 1995/96 to 42 000 in 2007.
2. Satellite capabilities were established at police stations situated in the
rural areas.
3. A Crime Intelligence and Information Analysis Solution was procured to boost
the police crime intelligence capabilities and assist investigators to
identify, analyse, consolidate and understand complex sets of seemingly
unrelated data. The system has helped to facilitate intelligence processing,
criminal investigations and preparations for court appearances.
4. In co-operation with other government departments the Ports of Entry
Technology Committee has implemented a strategy aimed at aligning all
information processes to the dictates of the Minimum Information Security
Standard. To give effect to that objective, 29 integrated information
technology rooms were established in 2006/07.
5. A Genetic Sample-processing System has been installed in the Forensic
Science Laboratory. That system, together with the DNA manual system, is used
to perform DNA examinations.
6. A comprehensive but cost-effective Electronic Content Management Solution
(ECMS), known as Documentum, was purchased to facilitate the creation of
electronic dockets (e-Docket), among other things. The system enables the
scanning of dockets, which will prevent the loss of information due to docket
losses. A pilot e-docket project was launched successfully at the Cullinan
Police Station. Other stations are earmarked for the further testing of the
system during the current Financial Year.
7. A Biometric Identification and Enhancement Solutions capability was
established within the Criminal Record Centre, to deal with biometrics. It will
be easier, using the system, to identify criminals.
Hi-Tech project centre
We established at the end of last year a Hi-Tech Project Centre, to satisfy
the need for a better co-ordinated approach to crime information and the
utilisation of available skills and technology. The consequence of that
approach is the easy access by investigators to all relevant information which
they have used successfully to oppose bail, identify suspects, apprehend wanted
persons, know the status of suspects (whether in custody or not) and link cases
to one another.
The centre has been used as a platform to test new technologies such as the
Layered Voice Analysis (a stress analysis of verbal communications similar to
the traditional polygraph test) and a pilot project on facial recognition,
where images of suspects and crime scenes are analysed with a view positively
to identify wanted persons.
We have used the centre in recent times on organised aggravated robberies,
including cash-in-transit heists, bank robberies, break-ins at financial
institutes, Automatic Teller Machine (ATM) explosions, aggravated robberies at
shopping malls, petroleum stations, casinos, pension pay-out points and the
hi-jacking of trucks with freight. We are also paying special attention to
house and business robberies and vehicle hijacking.
In the relatively short period that we have been using the centre a number
of successes have been achieved, including the following:
* Linkages to outstanding warrants of arrest for the 'Mtubatuba 26,'
arrested in KwaZulu-Natal at a toll-gate after committing two cash-in-transit
heists at the end of 2006.
* linking to outstanding cases the 21 suspects who were apprehended in
Inyibiba, Eastern Cape, in February this year and charged with conspiracy to
commit robbery. They were found in possession of AK 47 rifles, other firearms,
grenades, documentation, maps and entry codes indicating that they were
planning to rob a cash-in-transit armoured vehicle. This case is currently
before court. The suspects were denied bail.
* The arrest of nine suspects in Villa Nora, Limpopo, where four security
guards were burnt to death in their armoured vehicle.
* Using the Layered Voice Analysis System during the interrogation of the
suspect in the recent murder case of Sheldean Human, seven, in Pretoria.
Operations and successes on contact crimes
In the endeavours of the South African Police Service to address the scourge
of serious and violent crime, various integrated strategies were adopted. In
July 2006, a specific strategy was adopted for all provinces. The emphasis was
on arresting perpetrators wanted for murder, attempted murder, rape, aggravated
(armed) robberies and vehicle hijacking. The strategy included executing
warrants of arrest for repeat offenders and suspects identified from crime
scene investigations, connected to three or more cases.
Competent tracing teams were established to focus on the wanted suspects.
Subsequently, 8 536 suspects were arrested, involved in 10 292 serious and
violent criminal cases.
Other serious crime
We have established a dedicated permanent capacity in the police, referred
to as the Investigative Psychology Unit, to address other serious contact
crimes like serial murder and rape cases. The unit has a world-renowned record
in profiling and solving such cases.
Cases that were taken to trial include the case of the RDP strangler, for
four murders in Limpopo, the Highwayman case, for five murders in Pretoria, the
Johannesburg Mine Dump murder of seven, and the arrests of the Philippi Serial
Murderer, in Cape Town, where 16 people were killed while four others were
raped, the Spider Valley serial murderer who killed three people in
Vereeniging, the Siloam Serial Murderer, responsible for 12 deaths in Limpopo,
the Barberton Serial Murderer who killed five people, the Mhluzi serial
murderer who killed five people in Middelburg, the Knysna Serial Murderer
responsible for two deaths, the Tonga serial murderer of five, the Volksrust
Serial Murderer of three, the Quarry Serial Murderer of 16 in Centurion, and
the Moffat Park serial murderer who had five murder victims in
Johannesburg.
Crime intelligence
The Crime Intelligence Division of the South African Police Service
continues to enjoy a high degree of respect within the world's intelligence
community. This has to do with its ability to generate respectable intelligence
that has been shared with other intelligence agencies in the world. Significant
successes have been achieved against narcotics trafficking, with increases in
seizures and arrests both within communities and at Ports of Entry.
The challenge to combat better the increasing internationalisation of
narcotics trafficking between the continents of South America, Europe, Asia and
Africa is also being successfully addressed through better trans-national
intelligence projects.
Cyberspace crime or "e-crime", as it is often called, has become a big
challenge. The crime is globalised and has the potential to undermine in a
massive way the economies of many countries. It has been placed within the
sights of the SAPS Crime Intelligence.
Firearms Control
The loss of firearms continues to be a serious problem in our country.
Between 1 July 2004 and 31 March this year, 40 197 firearms were reported lost
or stolen in South Africa. That is an average of more than 13 000 firearms lost
every year in the past three years.
The Firearms Control legislation is an important framework to deal with
firearms given their contribution to serious and violent crime in South Africa.
Between 1 July 2004, and 31 March this year, a total of 103 541 licensed
firearms were handed in voluntarily to the police together with 1 468 840
rounds of ammunition. During the same period, the police confiscated illegal
firearms and ammunition to the tune of 73 132 and 1 125 666, respectively.
Between 2002 and last year 415 351 firearms were destroyed by the police.
Meanwhile the following has happened with respect to the implementation of
the Firearms Control Act:
* a total of 13 sports-shooting organisations, five hunting associations, 14
collectors' associations, 292 businesses in hunting (outfitters and
professional hunters, 439 training providers and a total of 298 shooting ranges
countrywide have been licensed.
* a total of 286 094 competency certificate applications and 408 114 renewal
applications were received and are being processed. The South African Police
Service has already finalised 120 121 competency certificates and a total of 84
885 renewal firearm licences have already been issued.
Training and skilling
The development and training of all employees within the South African
Police Service will continue to remain a priority to ensure and enhance police
capacity and effectiveness. As part of the ongoing expansion of the police
service, 11 360 learners will enter Basic Training Institutions across the
country during this financial year. They will be trained in the National
Certificate in Policing, which covers the basic fundamentals of policing.
This year 1 500 investigators will be trained in the Detective Learning
Programme. Some of the 125 detective commanders from Gauteng will be trained in
the new Detective Commanders' course which will enhance the managerial skills
of those commanders. The Intelligence Trade Craft Learning Programme, which was
developed in co-operation with all intelligence agencies, is set to equip
members at grassroots level to act on information gathered and to initiate
intelligence-driven operations to support crime combating.
Training in the Street Survival and Techniques course continues to provide
functional members with the required skills to perform their duties in a safe
and efficient manner. Already a total number of 15 500 members have been
trained. Management courses, focusing on police-specific subjects, are being
presented for junior, middle and executive employees within the organisation.
This year will see the implementation of our Succession Planning process and an
Executive Development Programme for provincial commissioners.
Performance management
The Performance Management System continues to be an important tool for
managing individual and organisational performance. All employees and managers
undergo the performance management process. We have largely succeeded in
institutionalising a performance culture within the South African Police
Service. An individual's ability to advance in a career and the level of
remuneration is determined by individual performance. Strong emphasis has had
to be placed on the fair and consistent application of the performance
management process. A remuneration strategy for the SAPS was developed to
exercise control over the implementation of pay policies and budgets.
With effect from 1 April 2006 a new broadband salary structure was
implemented for employees appointed in terms of the SAPS Act. In terms of this
new salary structure all the previous salary notches from salary levels 4 to 12
have been revised and replaced by five salary bands. In terms of this
dispensation the annual 1% pay progression system has been replaced by a four
percent pay progression system every three years. The performance-based
increase will be effected on the 1st of July of every year.
The salary structure addresses a revised framework for pay progression,
based on performance, career pathing, broad banding and competency
certification as criteria before a person is promoted to the next higher level.
The pay structure importantly allows for progression for production workers and
keeps them in the production levels for longer periods. This is crucial in the
SAPS, as the core function of the production worker is to combat crime and
ensure public safety.
Scarce skills
Retaining personnel in the scarce skills environment (including pilots,
forensic analysts, radio technical staff, etc) remains a challenge. As a
retention strategy we introduced a Scarce Skills Allowance which is payable to
identified employees performing a specialised function in a scarce skills
environment. The scarce skills allowance is revised annually.
Oversight
Independent Complaints Directorate
The 1st of April marked the tenth anniversary of the existence of the
Independent Complaints Directorate (ICD). That body will commemorate many more
anniversaries in future as we continuously strengthen it so that it can
discharge successfully the mandate it has to keep the police in check and
accountable.
We have made an arrangement with the United Kingdom's Independent Police
Complaints Commission (IPCC) to help us train some of the members of the ICD in
the various aspects that relate to the ICD's mandate, including investigations
of police misconduct. The ICD started with a complement of 36 employees
nationally in 1997, with a budget of R17 million. Today, the personnel figure
stands at 248, with a budget of R80,8 million.
The problem of access to the ICD is receiving special attention. The matter
is going to be addressed through the establishment of additional offices and
more investigators. The satellite offices at Richard's Bay (KZN) and Mthatha
(Eastern Cape) will be opened during the current Financial Year.
The restructuring of the ICD has seen the establishment in that body of the
Integrity Strengthening Unit and the Anti-Corruption Command (ACC). The ACC
will be established in all the provinces in future. The ICD was able to
influence the creation of oversight mechanisms in a number of African
countries. The ICD is the secretariat of the African Policing Oversight
Forum.
Secretariat
The Secretariat during the current Financial Year will assist the CPFs in
the programme to revamp them. It is envisaged that the reorganisation of the
CPFs will be completed by the end of this year.
In fulfilling their mandate, the Secretariat, working together with the CPFs
will arrange meetings with the various communities to inform them about the
changes that will be effected and the crucial role the communities will play in
the establishment of the CPFs and the strengthening of the partnership with the
police.
The communities will be asked to identify suitable residents who can be
recruited into the police reservists to work together with the police in
patrolling their areas, setting up roadblocks and mounting cordon and search
operations. The Secretariat will also lead the process of reviewing some of our
legislation for purposes of amendments.
Key in that exercise will be legislation that relates to the municipal
police services and all matters relevant to community policing, including the
restructuring of the CPFs. It is hoped that those legislative changes will
serve before Parliament early next year.
Issued by: Secretariat of Safety and Security
22 May 2007