Thank you very much for inviting me. I find it very rewarding to engage directly with members of the public on issues of crime and policing in our country.
Generally, these issues weren't openly discussed in the past. So most people, including non-governmental organisations (NGOs) working in the security sector and so-called security experts, do not have a detailed understanding of the work we do. I therefore wish to commend the organisers of this event. Each day, the majority of our committed members preoccupy themselves with ensuring that they remain true to our Code of Conduct. The code talks to our constitutionally enshrined roles and responsibilities.
The police must ensure that there is law and order, peace and stability in our country. Upon on enlistment into the police, each member reads the code out loud and, under oath, commit themselves to abiding by it. Law and order is the bedrock of any functioning democracy and prosperous economy.
Nompumelelo Runji, as the convenor of this session, and taking note of the detailed invitation you published in today’s edition of the Sowetan, I’m sure you won’t let me out of this venue if I don’t talk about a certain colleague of mine. You switch on the radio, his name comes up. You pick up the newspaper, his name is mentioned. So, I realised that I need to deal with this matter as it requires special attention. It is the Crime Intelligence Unit. Contrary to popular belief, this unit still delivers on its mandate, although there is room for improvement.
As a result, I am giving it my personal attention. There is no doubt that leadership is the differentiator and there is a need to stabilise top management of the Unit. On the matter of Lieutenant General Mdluli, it is perhaps relevant for me to indicate that when I joined the South African Police Service (SAPS) more than 15 months ago, he was already on suspension.
There were court and internal processes underway including charges and withdrawal of those charges. Freedom Under Law then obtained a court interdict, which prohibited the department from assigning any police function to Lieutenant General Mdluli. The external and internal processes are intricately intertwined.
As I stand here today, this matter has developed a life of its own which as an organisation we are doing our best to manage. I have studied Judge Murphy's judgement and am in the process of obtaining legal advice regarding the way forward. It is our sincere desire as an organisation to have this matters finalised. Now, the question whether SAPS at this time needs rebuilding is very apt. And if SAPS needs to be rebuilt, how does one go about it? The response to the first question is very easy: It is a simple 'yes'.
However, we are not demolishing everything and starting afresh. The foundation and the majority of the walls are present and strong. But some need to be refurbished and some need to be started anew. The 'how to' part of the question is easier said than done.
Let me elaborate. The SAPS has a credibility gap. This is caused by many issues which can be grouped into broad categories: inadequate discipline management; sub-optimal service delivery, insufficient focus on integrity and stalled integration into one organisation with a common culture.
Given time constraints, I am not going to delve too much into these issues because I would like to believe there is consensus in the room about the credibility gap and its causes. You might say "add police brutality on to that list" but I have left it out deliberately because that is a huge topic on its own. We will require another session of this nature to discuss it.
Firstly, discipline is fundamental to the work we do, particularly at police station level. If officers are not disciplined nor do not take heed of instructions and guidance, then you will find wrong judgement calls being made most of the time. Where there is poor discipline you will find that there is weak command and control. In other words, the commanders are not leading by example and members are not living up to the SAPS Code of Conduct. You will also find that at those stations, crime levels are high.
This past Monday, I issued an instruction that, effective immediately, I want us to ensure that during every shift-change, morning and evening, inspection parades are held at all our police stations. Members must arrive at work 15 minutes before their shift begins and they must attend the parade for commanders to ensure that members are properly briefed, properly dressed, properly equipped and are of a sound and sober mind. The same should apply at the end of their shifts. I want to receive a monthly report in this regard.
We find that police stations which are disciplined keep the building and offices tidy, members wear bullet proof vests, absenteeism is low and members attend to public's complaints promptly. Another characteristic of a disciplined police station is the existence of a well-functioning Community Policing Forum and good relations with the community. In other words, the horrific Mido Macia incident, which showed inexcusable and deplorable conduct by police officers, is unlikely to happen at a police station where there is discipline.
Further, together with the leadership team, I have been drawing lessons from the successes at SARS and Home Affairs. To entrench discipline within SAPS, we need to appoint an integrity manager to run the anti-corruption unit. This is to deal with corruption within SAPS and other issues, such as declarations of business interests. We must also establish a discipline management unit so as to ensure that there is consistent application of disciplinary measures across all the stations.
I will be signing a mandatory sanctioning guideline document next week, outlining what sanctions to be meted out for misconduct. This is to avoid situations where members are found guilty of the same offence, such as rape, and yet there is no consistency in disciplinary enforcement.
But we cannot rely upon the stick alone: we must also provide the carrot! The primary means of correcting the situation lies in addressing effective career management and planning. It should not just be about promotions. We also give monetary and non-monetary awards.
I am engaging our newly appointed Deputy National Commissioner, Lieutenant General Mbekela, to say that we need to urgently revisit our reward and recognition policies with a view of augmenting what we do.
Secondly, inadequate service levels continue to be experienced at some stations. To address this, we must ensure that police stations are properly resourced. The SAPS is, overall, a well-resourced organisation. However, these resources must be effectively and efficiently managed.
As you may have heard, we are trimming down head office and I expect provincial offices to do the same so that we can send much-needed resources to the police stations. This is where they are needed the most. Also, we will soon be appointing deputy station commanders. They will focus on the administrative side of our operations so that the station commander can be left to deal with crime. To support their efforts, we will also appoint a customer service head.
This person will ensure that each member of the public who comes into to any of our stations is professionally attended to. For example, no police station should ever refuse to render policing service to anyone. We are also working hard to increase the 'victim friendly' rooms so that complainants, especially of crimes such as rape and domestic violence, can raise their issues in private and with a properly trained and professional officer.
Thirdly, integrity is something that is very close to my heart. I have drawn a line in the sand and have made it very clear to everyone that I expect them to measure up to the highest level of integrity. Those that don't measure up will find themselves without jobs or sitting in jail. There is no room for them within SAPS.
We have just completed an audit on members who are in the employ of SAPS but have criminal records. We are busy with a process whereby, in terms of section 34 and 36 of the Police Act, they have to appear before a board of fitness to make representation as to why they believe they are still fit to be employees.
Furthermore, an instruction has been issued to make it compulsory for members to regularly declare when they are facing criminal investigation. We are now busy with the verification of members' academic qualifications. Members' whose academic records differ from what they have declared to SAPS will be dealt with in accordance with our disciplinary code and may be investigated criminally depending on the circumstances.
My plea to the members of the public is that they should not be alarmed when they hear that someone has been suspended, arrested or decided to resign. I am serious about cleaning up SAPS and I will not hesitate to show people the door if they do not comply with our code of conduct.
Fourthly, the SAPS are an agglomeration of eleven different police organisations plus non-statutory forces of the ANC, PAC and Azapo. Somewhere along the way, and almost inevitably, transformation and integration fell off the priority list. We need to reverse this and build a common culture.
In conclusion, as we rebuild and reposition, we need to become better at communicating effectively with the public so that there is improved appreciation of the work that we are doing and the direction in which SAPS is headed. All these solutions mentioned above and the many others we have on the table will not happen overnight. It will take time. I see my role as that of laying a foundation for a new SAPS. New leadership will come and hopefully take this further.
As I have said before, we welcome feedback from the public and appreciate that everyone in South Africa cares deeply about the work we do. I have embarked on this tough and thankless journey of transforming this well-resourced organisation which has so many committed men and women. Along the path there will be bumps; I may trip but I want to assure all South Africans that nothing, absolutely nothing, will deter me and my team from accomplishing the mission we have set for ourselves.
I appeal to everyone to give me and all the loyal men and women in blue a chance to reform the SAPS. With a force of 200 000 it won’t happen overnight, but with everyone’s support, the road can be smoothed and the journey shortened.
Media enquiries:
Lieutenant General Solomon Makgale
Cell: 082 778 3718
