Programme Director,
Premier of the Free State, Hon Ace Magashule,
All MECs present,
Executive Mayor of Mangaung Metro, Councillor Thabo Manyoni,
All Mayors and Councillors present,
Chairperson of SALGA Free State, Councillor B Mzangwa,
All Members of SAPS present here,
House of Traditional Leadership,
All Civil Society Representatives,
All Youth Structures present here,
Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and gentlemen,
I will be failing definitely and dismally so if I do not give deserving accolades to our police officers, who foiled a casino-robbery at the Emperors Palace, Kempton Park, this past Sunday morning. They pulled off a crime intelligence-led operation of the highest efficient and effective strategy and tactic.
But, of course, only one mainstream newspaper carried a positive front-page yesterday morning, giving the SAPS the recognition it deserves (The Star). All other morning national papers were silent (Sowetan, Business Day and The New Age), and one newspaper chose to reduce the success of the police to a mere “casino shoot-out” (The Citizen).
What is of fundamental from this prevented crime at the Casino is probably well captured by the SAPS spokesperson of that day, Lt. Colonel Lungelo Dlamini. He said: “Through a crime intelligence-led operation, police followed information that a gang of 19 men travelling in several vehicles were planning to rob the casino”.
This means, to prevent or foil crime, we need a strong crime intelligence unit, which is inevitably the nerve centre of any policing system. To prevent crime, we also need the citizen to provide information to the police, as crime prevention is the key to reducing crime, which in-turn is everybody’s responsibility.
To prevent crime we also need a strong multi-faceted approach in fighting crime that must connect gangsters/mob to many trends of crimes such as illegal firearms, drug soliciting, and gang violence.
As the Deputy Minister of Police, I thus deem it a great pleasure to associate myself with this Campaign Launch and entire its objectives, as it directly supports the blue print for fighting crime in all its forms as introduced by our President and his entire Cabinet.
For instance, the ANC-led Government manifested in 2009 that, crime cannot be attributed to one single factor, but has a multi-dimensional character. As such, we need the approach of “working together” if real success is to be achieved in the fight against crime.
Secondly, to bring together all the brilliant but scattered or fragmented projects done by different departments to deal with the phenomenon that crime is multi-dimensional, Cabinet then revitalised and strengthened the Inter-Ministerial Committees (IMCs).
I can safely say that the Department of Police now sits in two critical IMCs: the IMC on Substance Abuse established in 2010 and led by the Department of Social Development; and IMC on Gender-Based Violence, also led by the Department of Social Development.
These IMCs work on the fact that, crime is a concern that has become even more germane considering the diverse factors that are impacting our communities today, consequently posing greater challenges to law enforcement agencies.
The establishment and the functioning of these IMCs force us as the Police to definitely do away with traditional counter-measures as they have had only limited and short-term successes.
I think of importance to note and to commend about the Campaign’s theme and related objectives: “Mangaung Our City, Building a Drug-Free Society and a No-Go Area for Gangs, for the Future of Our Children”, is its alignment to the blue print of the IMC on Substance Abuse, which developed a 5-year Anti-Substance Abuse Programme of Action, which seeks to compliment the National Drug Master Plan (2013-2017).
The MMM Campaign’s primary target is youth, schools, and community, exactly the same target as the IMC on Anti-Substance Abuse. If I had earlier said in this speech that, intelligence is a nerve centre of any policing system, then I would also continue and say: the foundation of every community is the education of its young.
There will be no crime prevention if the community, the home and the school, are not involved in crime prevention programmes. Without these three traditional pillars of every society/nation, the Police, and indeed the whole Government at all three tiers, would only be able to deal with the symptoms of criminal activities, and not adequately addressing the underlying causes of crime.
The Department of Police is therefore, zealously active in all the relevant Inter-Ministerial Committees, especially the IMCs on Substance Abuse and Gender-Based Violence. For, we acknowledge that Police cannot be seen as operating within a vacuum as if there are no other structures that make up our society, structures that do have an impact on how a person ends up: perpetrator of crime or a law-abiding citizen.
For instance, it is a fact that parents/family members and teachers/educators are unwittingly “front-line officers” in identifying children/youth who could potentially pose a risk to the peace and order of our community.
It has also been reported by research that, gangsterism is becoming more pronounced and connected to illegal firearms/armed robberies; illegal soliciting of substance/drug trafficking; and pulling teens away from family and school into a life of violence and crime.
As the Ministry of Police, we are therefore very hopeful that this year long Campaign on “Mangaung Our City, Building a Drug-Free Society and a No-Go Area for Gangs, for the Future of Our Children”, will educate parents on how to spot the signs of gang association, so that they are able to recognise if their child is involved in a gang, and be able to seek appropriate intervention.
We invite this Campaign to partner with the SAPS’ own school based safety and prevention programmes such as “Adopt a Cop”. Already, the Department of Police has linked 2250 schools to police stations in the implementation of these programmes.
We encourage a school and law enforcement partnership that is not formed in response to the increase in school crime. Instead, these safety programmes at school must develop a student rather than detect trouble. We encourage creativity and innovation in line with an ever-changing environment.
Lastly, as we have indicated earlier on, there are other agencies such as NGOs/Civil Society that make up our society and therefore also touch the lives of the nation’s young. We encourage synergy and cohesion as we all work together for the same goal with our Government at all three levels: making sure that all people in South Africa are and feel safe, and generating public confidence and safety in our streets. We certainly discourage emotional and cosmetic approaches to reducing crime.
In conclusion, Programme Director, I would like to take this opportunity and thank the Provincial and Local Governments of the Free State for making the electoral manifesto of 2009: working together we can do more, a living manifesto.
This launch is a proof that as a province, we want to tackle the problem of crime from the root, addressing the underlying causes of crime. Tackling the underlying causes may not be as immediately satisfying in terms of quick results. But, focusing on the root problems will in the long-term for sure lead to increment of crime reduction and related successes thereof.
I thank you all.
Enquiries:
Nomsa Hani
Head of Office & Acting Spokesperson: Deputy Minister of Police
Tel: 012 393 4469/ 021 467 7023
Fax: 012 393 4614/ 021 461 4174
Cell: 082 772 2053
E-mail: HaniNomsa@saps.gov.za
