Thank you Programme Director;
eThekwini Metro Mayor, Councillor James Nxumalo;
Provincial Police Commissioner, Lt BM Ngobeni;
Heads of Department in attendance;
Members of the JCPS Cluster;
Leaders of our Social Partners present;
Members of the Media;
Distinguished Guests;
Ladies and Gentlemen.
May I take this opportunity to welcome you and thank you for having honoured our invitation to this historic gathering. I also wish to record my appreciation for such an excellent turn-out. This is despite the fact we have been forced, on a number of occasions, to postpone this event due to other pressing engagements. I wish to apologies for the past delays in us holding this gathering.
However, your show of force here today shows that, indeed, there are many sectors of our community who see a need for us to intensify our partnership against the scourge of crime in the province.
I have referred to this gathering as historic in the sense that it gives us an opportunity to consolidate our fight by putting this significant building block in our united front against crime. Once this council is up and running, it will offer a structured engagement vehicle between the Provincial Government, Civil Society and the national structures in pursuance of all mandates of the department. This will also improve the scope and effectiveness of our programmes.
By the way of background, the Department currently uses the Justice, Crime Prevention and Security Cluster (JCPS), voluntary crime prevention structures, specific forums and ad hoc platforms to form partnerships and drive crime prevention initiatives. These groupings have, and continue to, perform dutifully in our quest to ensure that the people of KwaZulu-Natal live in a safe and secure environment.
However, there are some limitations in the functioning of these platforms in that there is no overall structure that coordinates all these activities province-wide. The JCPS is confined to government departments. On the other hand specific interest group forums are focused narrowly and ad hoc platforms are mostly set up to deal with specific issues and are mostly temporary.
Therefore, the KwaZulu-Natal Cabinet has identified a gap in our system and has correctly seen a need for a permanent platform at a provincial level. This platform could be used as a structured engagement vehicle between the Provincial Government, Civil Society and the national structures in pursuance of all mandates of the department and to improve the scope and effectiveness of our programmes.
In this regard, the KwaZulu-Natal Cabinet has approved the formation of the KwaZulu-Natal Council Against Crime (KZNCAC) to be a platform for the coordination of all province-wide initiatives against crime. The KZNCAC will comprise Religious Leaders, Youth Formations, Provincial Community Police Board, House of Traditional Leaders, Business Leaders, Organised Labour, KZN Community Crime Prevention Association, South African Military Veterans Association and the Transport sector.
The terms of reference of the council would be to:
- Provide strategic advice and guidance on, and assist in the development of safety and crime prevention strategies for the Province of KwaZulu-Natal.
- Guide the implementation of safety and crime prevention strategies for the Province of KwaZulu-Natal.
- Monitor and review progress of safety and crime prevention strategies of the Province of KwaZulu-Natal.
- Facilitate, guide and contribute to safety and crime prevention research and project activities.
- Facilitate support to key government and non-government organisations in the pursuance of their safety and crime prevention strategies.
- Within the context of the safety and crime prevention strategies of the Province of KwaZulu-Natal, to identify, investigate and report on safety and crime prevention challenges and opportunities.
- Initiating and facilitating such working groups as may be necessary to assist in the development, encouragement and promotion of safety, and crime prevention programmes and activities.
- Facilitating, encouraging and promoting broad societal education programmes for people of all ages in KwaZulu-Natal on the prevention of crime in the community.
- Acknowledging the action and activities of individuals and groups who are actively working towards developing and implementing appropriate strategies for safety and crime prevention.
The KZNCAC would meet twice per annum. Participation on the council, in respect of non-governmental organisations or formations, is on a voluntary and non-remunerative basis. In respect of governmental organisations, participation is compulsory.
District Community Safety Coordination
On a district level, the role of the KZNCAC will be fulfilled by District Community Safety Forums (CSFs), which are structures founded on the principles of the National Crime Prevention Strategy. CSFs are multi-agency structures established at a district level to ensure the coordination of community safety efforts by government and civil society to address the specific needs of each district.
The composition and terms of reference of the KZNCAC will be replicated in respect of District CSFs to ensure that they perform the role of coordination centres of district community safety networks and the function of driving the production and implementation of the safety components of Integrated Development Plans (IDPs).
District CSFs will meet once per quarter and will submit reports on their activities to the KZNCAC twice per annum.
Voting District Safety Teams and Ward Safety Committees
As indicated in the preceding paragraph, on a district level the department uses CSFs to form partnerships and drive crime prevention. On a local level, the department uses Community Police Forums (CPFs). However, these platforms have the following challenges:
- The effectiveness of some of these structures has been less than optimal due to the lack of a holistic community liaison framework.
- Some of the representatives do not represent all the constituents in all communities.
- All constituents of communities are therefore not reached through these structures.
- There is no direct link between these structures and constituents at a ward and voting district level;
- Planning at local as well as ward level cannot therefore be done accurately through these structures.
A holistic community safety liaison framework at a district and local level which is directly linked to ward and voting district levels is therefore required to remedy these challenges.
A model framework is proposed whereby the residents in each voting district shall form a safety team of approximately 10 members and elect from among themselves a coordinator.
The terms of reference of the Safety Team would be to:
- Identify community safety needs in the voting district, including needs relating to infrastructure and environmental design to improve safety;
- Identify policing priorities in the voting district;
- Identify crime trends in the voting district;
- Monitor visible policing on the voting district;
- Forming street committees/community crime prevention associations in the voting district to undertake: street, village and hot-spot patrols; receiving reports from residents on suspected criminal and criminal incidents; and managing criminal or suspected criminal incidents encountered whilst on street, village and hot-spot patrols;
- Keeping the Police Service and CPF informed of scheduled street, village and hot-spot patrols;
- Ensuring that reports from residents on suspected criminal and criminal incidents are brought to the attention of the Police Service and the CPF;
- Ensuring that criminal or suspected criminal incidents are managed in accordance with the guidelines attached as Schedule 1;
- For the abovementioned purposes, make available a list of contact details of its members, members of street committees and their areas of operation to the SAPS, CPF and department; and
- Report on its activities to the ward safety committee through the coordinator.
The coordinators of all the safety teams in each ward would constitute a ward safety committee. The safety coordinator designated by the ward committee would coordinate the ward safety committee. The ward safety coordinator would attend the ward war room and ensure that the safety issues raised by the safety teams are tabled at the war room.
The ward safety committee coordinators would form part of the CPF within which boundary they fall and provide input in the decision making processes of the CPF and the development of the Community Safety Plan of the CPF. There are 185 CPFs in the Province.
All the ward safety committee coordinators in a local municipal area would constitute the local municipal safety committee of which the coordinator would be the safety representative of the Exco of the Municipal Council. The local municipal safety committee must contribute to the IDP in respect of community safety matters.
All the local safety committee coordinators would form part of the Cluster Community Police Boards within which area they fall. There are 25 SAPS Clusters in the Province.
In turn, all the safety representatives in a district municipality would constitute a district safety committee. The district safety committee would form part of the district Community Safety Forum where other stakeholders in the criminal justice system are represented.
Similarly all district safety committee coordinators would constitute a provincial safety committee, which would be represented at the KZNCAC.
In conclusion, I wish to submit that through this holistic community liaison framework structured at a provincial, district and local level, the principle of public ownership and involvement advanced by Operation Sukuma Sakhe and supported by “Building A United Front Against Crime” programme, would be entrenched.
Partners in the battle against crime and all social ills, I am convinced that you will agree with me that this new body further strengthens our resolve and our commitment for an even stronger and united front against crime. It is, indeed, a significant and a critical addition in our arsenal of measures deployed to do battle against all criminal elements bent on undermining our fledgling democracy.
Your will be the key components of building this new vehicle. Today will give us an opportunity for each sector to nominate three eminent men and women who will drive this new venture. Each sector will submit three names of people who will seat on this body. These names would be submitted to the KwaZulu-Natal Cabinet, which will study the nominations. And select one name from each of the sectors represented here.
Eminent guests, Ladies and Gentlemen, now the ball is our court and this is the moment which demands of us to demonstrate our resolve to fight crime in a tangible manner by nominating among us the best men and women for the task at hand.
Let, once again, thank you immensely to listening to my input.
