MEC: Human Settlement, Safety &Liaison, Ms Helen August-Sauls
Deputy Chairperson House of Traditional Leaders, Prince Ncamashe
Provincial Commissioner of Easter Cape, Lieutenant Binta
All South African Police Service (SAPS) Lieutenant Generals and Senior Officers present
Director of Public Prosecutions E.C DPP High Court, Adv Mahlati
Representatives from Business present
Representatives from South African Police Union (SAPU) and Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union (POPCRU) present
Community of Cradock and surrounding areas
Distinguished Guests
Members of the Media
Ladies and Gentlemen
Sithanda ukubulisa abahlali bonke base Cradock neziphaluka. Silapha namhlanje njengezithunywa zenu. Silapha namhlanje singabaholi bamapolisa sizonikezela nge police station kuni.
Futhi sisebenzisa elithuba ukucebisana nokumalela izimvo zenu njengabahlali base Kaladokwe. Kaloku kubalulekile ukuba sibambisane koludaba lokulwisa ubukrelemca.
The construction of the Cradock police station makes a categorical statement that no longer would we allow this community to walk long distances to lodge a complaint or report any criminal activity.
This is not a police station that belongs to the Minister of Police or the management of police. It is a property of the people of Cradock. It is in your hands. The success or failure of this structure is dependent upon all law-abiding citizens of this community.
It must become a beacon of hope to those who have been affected by crime. What we have ahead of us is a protracted war that would not only result in the defeat of crime and criminals. It is also in the eradication of its legacy of fear, pain, and uncertainty of coming back home alive when you left for work, school or involved in recreational activities.
To the management of the police in this province, our message as the leadership of police is simple: deliver. Serve these communities with respect, respond to their calls on time and ensure that you become a pain to the criminals.
The Cradock police station must become the face of our policing effort as we seek to improve and ensure the safety of all law-abiding citizens. The treatment we give to people who visit police stations in search of some help leaves lasting impressions not only about the particular station, but about the South African Police Service (SAPS) as a whole.
Therefore, the police station we are handing over today must be a model of excellence. We also need to emphasise that this is not a SAPS police station but a valuable resource that we place under the hands of the people of Cradock. Its success and failure in dealing a blow to crime in Cradock will be dependent in your hands,
As the residents, keep an eye on the performance of the police officers here. By so saying we do not imply that you must destructively criticise them, where they are lacking in service delivery, please feel free to bring this to the office of the Minister. You can do this directly with me. Equally, in areas where they are performing well, we would expect you to give them a pat on the back and do tell these successes.
As police leadership, we have been consistent in our expectation from our police officers. We expect nothing but excellence from them. We shall also ensure that we continue to drive the transformation agenda of the SAPS, which encompasses the whole HR value-chain; from recruitment to retirement.
We must ensure that we are able to recruit the right kind of people and then to train and develop these people into the kind of police officer we want to see and that our country deserves. This approach to transformation must talk to the type of police service we want to create.
As part of this transformation process we must constantly emphasis the need to entrench the development of community-orientated police officers and feel that feedback from communities is an important means of assists us in evaluating what is working and what work still needs to be done.
To the criminals who have been terrorising the Cradock community: the party is over now. I have instructed the police to ensure that they harden their approach in their fight against criminals because we do not negotiate with criminals, the only language we can engage them in, is through arrest and punishment. But arresting criminals is not enough; we now want more convictions and prosecutions.
As part of the improvement in the performance of police, we shall work towards ensuring that we strengthen the overall capacity of the SAPS, starting here in Cradock. We are aware of some of the challenges faced by the Cradock community, including increase of crime levels, which are more accompanied by high levels of violent crime, domestic violence, women abuse and hijackings. The proliferation of illegal firearms also contributes to the escalating incidents of crime.
We know that amongst some of the challenges facing this community is murder, stock theft particularly for emerging farmers, assaults emanating from the abuse of liquor, particularly with the youth and those who are under age. Let the opening of this police bring an end to these sorts of crimes.
Furthermore, when it comes to these issues, we know that many of the criminals who terrorise you are known to this community. There is also a lot of frustration among you about the ability of these criminals who continue to harass and attack residents; and the subsequent impression nothing is being done by the authorities. The first step in ensuring the arrest of these criminals is for members of society to report the heartless criminals to police.
Umgaqo siseko welilizwe nawo uyayibethelela into yokuba ukhuseleko lwabantu kufuneka liqinisekisiwe. Ndingakabhekeliphi ndithanda ukubalula imiba embalwa kwinqubo karhulumente yokulwa nobugewu.Ukukhawulelana okanye ukufezekisa ezinjongo zekhankanywe apha ngentla urhulumente olawulayo uye waveza cebo limbi.
Impumelelo kwidabi lethu lokulwa nobugewu lixhomekeke ekubeni thina singabahlali simanyane kwaye sizimanye namaqumrhu akhoyo ekuhlani afana ne Community Police Forum (CPF s). Le yeyona ndlela apho khona igalelo lethu singalenza khona. Umanyano lwe CPFs ngundoqo ekulweni nobugewu.
We also urge and warn young people to refrain from idolising crooks and criminals because their fame is temporary. As police we have demonstrated in all communities across the country that all bling, booze and shoddy businesses do not flourish.
As you may be aware, government has now passed the Second Hand Goods Act which criminalises the buyer and the seller of stolen goods. We therefore call upon all law-abiding citizens to desist from buying stolen goods. Particularly in townships such as Cradock, police will increase search and seizures; and arrest those who are found in possession of such.
Again we also need to advocate that society must not take the law into their hands. No matter your anger, we will not tolerate kangaroo courts. Your task is to report these thugs to the police and in turn they must apprehend these scoundrels. As the SAPS, we are also tightening our cooperation with all sectors of society, business, CPFs and youth formations.
Eradication of women and child abuse is central to the fight against crime. To address this, we require deliberate programmes of education and other measures to transform gender and family relations. We are also beginning to improve the close coordination between police, justice and correctional services to ensure that in the end, the perpetrators suffer and not law-abiding citizens.
As government, we understand the centrality of mobilising society to make life difficult for criminals in our midst. It is widely acknowledged that crime prevention is not simply the business of government; the role of civil society is equally important.
The success of any police operation that we mount depends in the active participation of the ordinary citizens of our country. It is indeed a duty of every citizen of Cradock to report any criminal activity including the illegal possession and dealing in firearms.
Crime affects all the people of our country across class and colour. It is our common enemy. For this reason, we remain firmly committed to strengthening partnerships with the people, to ensure the attainment of the goal of peace, security, and comfort for all.
Protecting our communities against heartless criminals is not a matter of should we or should we not, rather a matter of doing it now. We have an onerous responsibility to ensure that criminals fail in their plans of self-enrichment at the expense of law-abiding citizens. We dare not fail.
Over the past two years, as the police leadership we have been criss-crossing the country, interacting with different communities on the issues of crime. The common commitment we derived from these communities, is their willingness to work with police in creating safer streets, schools, hospitals, shopping centres and homes.
We particularly call upon organised civic organisations, youth organisations of all persuasion, the faith based community and the business fraternity to work with us. All these stakeholders most of whom are present here are central in our efforts to realise the objectives of the moral regeneration of our communities.
The days of police of taking hours to respond to victims of crime must end. The days of police not having sufficient vehicles must end now.
The Cradock society looks upon us to fight the evil deeds of crime and corruption. To succeed in this work, we must ourselves be upright. We therefore have a responsibility to examine and audit our all-round performance.
We must ensure that our performance is beyond reproach for us to win the confidence of the people we serve. With these words, I now declare the Cradock police station officially opened. As the residents and police of Cradock, it is now in your hands, make effective use of it.
I thank you.
