Speaker notes by the Deputy Minister of Police Mr Mkongi: Youth Crime Prevention Summit
The National Commissioner of Police,
Deputy National Commissioner,
Senior Officers,
The media,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Good morning to one and all.
It gives me great pleasure to address you on this historic occasion as the South African Police Service is about to host the first of its kind, Youth Crime Prevention Consultative Summit at the St George’s Hotel in Gauteng from the 27th to 29 June 2018.
The aims of the Summit is to increase youth participation in the fight against crime, a call made during the 2018 State of the Nation Address by President Cyril Ramaphosa. During his maiden SONA speech, President Ramaphosa made a clarion call for the development of a Youth Crime Prevention Strategy.
The South African Police Service is heeding to this call by facilitating a platform of this nature where the SAPS is meeting with young people over a three-day period to robustly engage and share ideas on the best practices to involve young people in the quest of our journey to a safer South Africa through youth participation in the fight against crime.
The youth remains one of our greatest assets as the change-makers and innovators of our country.
Participating in this youth summit are 800 young people, from all nine provinces.
We have invited various stakeholders to form part of the consultative summit. These include, delegates from the following organizations, provincial youth crime prevention desks, provincial youth crime prevention steering committees, representatives from The National Youth Development Agency ( NYDA), The South African Youth Council (SAYC), South African Further Education and Training Student Association (SAFETSA), South African Union of Students (SAUS), the South African Police Service Education Trust beneficiaries(SAPSET), junior commissioners and former junior commissioners as well as representatives from DEAFSA. These are but a few of the various stakeholders that will form part of us during these three days.
Over this period, these young people will deliberate on the following six thematic areas concerning the youth of this country:
- Moral regeneration
- Safety within learning institutions
- Substance abuse & Youth in Conflict with the law
- International relations
- Crime prevention through environmental design and
- Human policing capital
Over a period of months, we have noted with concern, various videos circulating on social media networks showing young people brutally attack each other and others witnessing these horrific scenes, with none of them coming to the aid of their peers. As the SAPS, we are saying this is totally unacceptable and will not be tolerated, these heinous acts must be condemned and necessary action be taken against those found to be playing a role in these shocking criminal elements.
The South African Police Service aims to find ways of engaging these young people with the aim of developing their full potential in becoming crime ambassadors and change agents in their communities.
The mobilisation of young people in the fight against crime is one of the SAPS’ strategic objectives and demands of the SAPS to intensify its interaction and consultation with various youth formations and all other stakeholders.
Our collective goal as an organization is to underpin an integrated, holistic and sustainable youth development initiative that can contribute to the growth of a country in which young people and their organisations, not only enjoy and contribute fully to the social, economic and political spheres of life, but also recognise and develop their responsibility to build a better life for all.
The Summit will culminate with the consolidation of inputs from these young people on possible youth crime prevention initiatives and to develop integrated provincial youth crime prevention frameworks, to inculcate a spirit of patriotism among the youth and eradicate crime through a social crime prevention proactive approach.
It is crucial that we develop our young people into productive crime-prevention catalysts, creating a transparent mechanism of service delivery that will, in turn, produce good young role models who will reflect a positive image of South Africa.
The Summit must and will serve as a building block in bringing us closer to the shared vision of a safer South Africa for all.
Enquiries:
Mr Siyabulela Tom -
Cell: 0722073518 and
Spokesperson for the National Commissioner - Brigadier Vishnu Naidoo
Cell: 082 567 4153
