The Department of Social Development as a member of the Justice Crime Prevention and Security (JCPS) Cluster will hold a crime awareness day during the crime prevention week on 8 October 2010, at Hankey in the Kouga Local Municipality at 09h00.
Government remains committed to the effort of ensuring that crime levels in general and crime and violence against women and children are reduced, but success in achieving this goal requires a collective effort by all sectors of our society. This Crime Prevention week is aimed at raising issues of crime amongst the youth.
The Humansdorp/Hankey area is characterised amongst other things by an increase in the number of children that commit socio economic and drug related crimes. Children that are not attending school and or school dropouts. Unemployment and lack of recreational facilities of the high numbers of young offenders referred to our probation officers from this area. During the 2008/09 financial year 297 young offenders were referred to our probation officers and this financial year, to date 74 young people have been referred.
The aim of the event is to raise awareness about crime with a view of reducing escalating rate of young people who are involved in criminal activities. The theme for this year’s event is “Empowering Youth and Communities for a Crime Free Society”.
Below is the statistics of children who were in conflict with the law in Hankey’s area office in the 2009/10 financial year and the last two months of the current year:
Year 2009/10
April: 28
May: 30
Jun: 33
Jul: 23
Aug: 45
Sep: 43
Oct: 31
Nov: 37
Dec: 28
Jan: 33
Feb:50
Mar: 31
Year 2010/11
April: 31
May :36
The crime awareness day also seeks to :
- mobilise communities in fighting crime
- form partnerships with local stakeholders in criminal justice
- cluster/ system
- promote re integration of ex offenders
- instil a culture of Human Rights
- highlight achievements of the priority
The department operates a One Stop Youth Justice Centre and Reception, Assessment and Referral Centres in five districts. Last year through a partnership with the Presidential Programme in Grahamstown for provision of skills development programmes in our residential centres such as is Enkuselweni and Erica in the Nelson Mandela Metro, Sikhuselekile in Mthatha, 102 young people were given awards for successfully completing the programme.
The mandate of the department in crime prevention focuses on provision of probation services, developmental programmes preventing and diverting children away from the Criminal Justice system, the reintegration of offenders and provisioning of residential care centres for children awaiting trial, such as Secure Care Centres and Place of Safety.
This financial year 50 Probation Officers and 12 Chief Probation Officers were appointed to effectively implement programmes for children awaiting trial. A further 98 probation services practitioners and child and youth care workers have been appointed for the existing residential care centres. The total budget for crime prevention and support programmes, in line with the newly promulgated Child Justice Act (Act No.75 of 2008) is R81, 163 million.
For more information contact:
Mr Gcobani Maswana
Cell: 082 821 7410
