Minister of Police, Mr Mthethwa
MEC's for Community Safety
Executive Mayor of George, Mr Van der Westhuizen
Deputy National Commissioners
The Provincial Commissioner of the Western Cape, our host province, Lt Gen Lamoer
All other Provincial Commissioners present
Members of the Western Cape Community Policing Forums
All senior SAPS members
Members of the news media
Medal recipients
Ladies and gentlemen
Good morning
Many thanks for the warm welcome that we have received from the vibrant and hospitable citizens of George.
The interaction between the police and the communities of George this morning, and the distribution of informative pamphlets, is relevant as we prepare for the year-end holiday season.
It is an unfortunate reality that, during this time when most people are relaxing and celebrating the end of the working year, there is an attendant increase in certain crime trends.
As early as October, we start to see an increase in armed robberies in shopping centres and spaza shops, as well as more frequent attempts at cash in transit heists. For this reason, we begin to take counter measures and commence with our Safer Festive Season operations during October.
In the so-called "empty" provinces, such as Gauteng, we experience an upward trend in housebreakings.
When families are away on their annual vacations, their obviously unoccupied homes become targeted by the ever-opportunistic criminal element.
At holiday destinations we, as the enforcers of the laws of this country, experience other types of problems. As liquor outlets and drug dealers enjoy a boom in business, we experience an upsurge in social contact crimes such as assault, rape, other sexual offences and domestic violence.
In addition, we play many roles besides performing our core responsibilities of crime prevention and detection.
We look for missing children on the beaches, we assist injured motorists and pedestrians, we comfort the families of victims of crime, we retrieve the bodies of people who have drowned in our seas and dams and we tend to injuries caused by fireworks. Not to mention those who decide to do their Christmas shopping without paying for their goods - billions of rands are lost annually as a result of shoplifting.
Yes, ladies and gentlemen, while many industries close down over December, the South African Police Service and our many partners hit our peak period of business.
In advance I want to express our appreciation to our employees for the long hours already being worked, often in stressful circumstances, in order to serve and protect.
We also need to acknowledge and thank those other departments and organisations who partner us in keeping our citizens and visitors to our country safe.
Without partnerships, both formal and informal, we could not achieve the resounding successes over the festive season that we have enjoyed over the past few years.
I am pleased that the Western Cape Community Policing Forum (CPF) is represented here today. Communities are our informal partners in the fight against crime and the CPF's are the vital link between the community and the police. As my management team and I make every endeavour to fundamentally improve our service delivery to our clients, we want input from those clients through the CPF's.
As the 16 Days of Activism falls within the timeframe of our Duty Calls operations, we must all pay special attention to the plight of the vulnerable, especially women and children. We have all noted the spate of terribly violent crimes against children lately.
That is intolerable, ladies and gentlemen, and it is something that each and every one of us can look out for and report to the authorities. Remember that we have a special 24 hour hotline where suspicious activities, including child neglect and abuse, can be reported, even anonymously. Our Crime Stop number, 08600 10111, deals with about 15000 calls.
In conclusion let me congratulate all the recipients of medals on parade today. Having been found to have loyally performed your duties in a service-orientated profession for 10, 20 and even 30 years is an admirable achievement. You have earned those medals, wear them as badges of honour and distinction.
It is now my privilege to introduce the Minister of Police, the Honourable Mr Nathi Mthethwa. Our Minister is a man of action, a gentleman who walks the talk and who supports his team in blue when we succeed and will not hesitate to take us to task when we fail.
Thank you
