The Minister of Police, Nathi Mthethwa today met with leaders from the Institute for Security Studies, Business against Crime South Africa, AgriSA as well as the South African Banking Risk Information Centre as part of the ministry’s ongoing stakeholder engagement programme in Pretoria.
Due to the dynamic nature of crime in South Africa, the ministry maintains ongoing partnerships with different stakeholders from business, researchers, academics, community policing forums, labour unions, non-governmental organisations to mention but a few. We value these partnerships because in many of our engagements, we constantly receive valuable insights, which have assisted our policy formulations and practical programmes.
“For this reason we needed to interact with these important partners who have helped us in our crime reduction programmes. As the ministry we move from a premise that it is only through strong partnerships that we can create safer environments which enable economic development, growth and attract investments.”
“In fact, our approach as government is not premised along an impression that we are experts who know better, rather see them as equal partners to helping us address the challenge confronting us, which is to ensure that South Africans are and feel safe. In our efforts of creating a police service that is professional, accountable, transparent and responsive, we also shared and discussed the Green Paper on Policing,” stated the Minister.
In broad terms, this policy framework sets out the broad policy thrust for the South African Police Service (SAPS) over the medium to long-term. It aims to position the police service to adapt and respond to a constantly evolving crime landscape while remaining steadfast in its commitment to democratic policing.
The Minister also shared with the partners some of the challenges that the SAPS is currently grappling with, ranging from corruption to some of the police officers who taint the department through their conduct. He also raised the resurgence of police killings and how these partners can assist in dealing with the challenge.
“It should not be a government-only responsibility to tackle crime. We believe our partners’ experiences as the broader fraternity enables them to better grasp and understand some of the key issues faced by police. If one looks at some of skills that may not necessarily be available within police, such as information technology, we could tap into some of these partners’ intellectual database. And from their renewed commitment following our engagements today, we are pleased with about their commitment to support us going forward.”
“We are under no illusion that there are no quick fix solutions to policing challenges in South Africa. We do believe that over the last year we have begun to put in place processes that are not only yielding some successes, but will also become the building blocks for the police service we envisage.”
“As government we appreciate the efforts that have been made by these partners today, as many are involved in programmes which are aimed at assisting government to address various socio-economic challenges, including crime. We recognise that to win the war against crime it is essential that government join hands with communities in forming concrete partnerships,” concluded the Minister.
Going forward, the Minister and the partners agreed to cement these engagements through ongoing interactions, which will include a development of a practical programme with clear time frames, sharing of information and best practices.
For enquiries, please contact:
Zweli Mnisi, Spokesperson to the Minister and Deputy Minister of Police
Cell: 082 045 4024
