T Mhlahlo: Police Forum Indaba

27 February 2007

Let me first take this opportunity to express my sincere gratitude for your
attendance, which clearly demonstrates your commitment to our united front
against crime.

This Indaba takes place at a time when we celebrate the Safety and Security
Month (February).

In his State of the Nation Address earlier this month, President Thabo Mbeki
made a clarion call to all South Africans to embark on an extensive
mobilisation against crime and support the Community Police Forums (CPFs).

The forums' role is to build a working relationship between the Police and
communities and further to overseer the Police Service in relation to carrying
out its mandate of service delivery to its communities.

CPFs have been legislated in an effort to deepen our democracy and culture
of human rights and to mobilise people to realise the objectives of the Freedom
Charter, "The People Shall Govern" and that "there shall be safety and security
for all".

It is within this context that today, we are here to heed this national
call, which reminds us of our collective responsibility to build safer and
stable communities.

Our nation security has been one of the major priorities of the democratic
government and the prevalence of crime in this country is interpreted as a
threat to our freedom and democracy.

The last 13 years of our freedom have taught us that human security remains
a building block for the democratic state to ensure total emancipation of our
people as it assists in preventing conflict, reducing poverty and creating
freedom from fear.

Our strategic goal is to secure a condition where human security is matched
by issues of development, co-operation and peace.

We can all agree that visible and decisive advances have been made by the
democratic state since the promulgation of the South African Police Service
(SAPS) Act of 1995, which provided space for participation of members of the
community in safeguarding peace and stability in our society.

Our main objectives were to:
* deepen democracy, good governance and human rights
* consolidate people's safety and security

The new approach seeks to develop a collaborative security community, which
is founded on common democratic values and observance of human rights.

I would like to take this opportunity to commend all those who responded to
government's call for mass participation in police transformation and crime
prevention initiatives since the inception of CPFs eleven (11) years ago
without expecting any material gain.

I would like to further take this opportunity to congratulate all delegates
and the new Provincial Board for your election and wish you all the best in
your efforts to ensure that we build a crime-free society.

Surely, we can all agree that the process of SAPS transformation is indeed
not an easy one, as we are confronted by numerous challenges, but we remain
determined to ensure that we strengthen our relations.

What have we done/achieved:
1. The adoption of the Constitution in 1996 prescribed clearly the
accountability of SAPS to the people of South Africa and the Parliament. It
further stated that the Police must be under civilian supervision.
2. Accountability mechanisms were established to ensure adherence of SAPS to
the principles of the Constitution. These mechanisms are:
* Secretariat for Safety and Security as a civilian body responsible for
overseeing the Police Service carrying out its Legislative mandates.
* Independents Complaints Directorate, which is responsible for investigating
any death in Police custody or a result of Police actions and further any
complaints against members of the South African Police Service.
* Other key accountability mechanisms are Provincial Executive Councils through
their respective Member of Executive Council (MEC) responsible for Safety and
Security, Standing Committee and Provincial Legislatures.

A major policy and paradigm shift in policing and the Criminal Justice
System in South Africa came into being with the development and the adoption of
the National Crime Prevention Strategy in 1996.

Last year, the Eastern Cape Executive Council adopted the Provincial Crime
Prevention Strategy (PCPS), which recognises that law enforcement is just one
aspect of crime prevention and promotes a multi-agency collaboration based on
active community mobilisation against crime.

It highlights a collective responsibility as various organs of state,
spheres of government, non-governmental organisations–particularly business
sector and community structures.

Our approach derives from the principles of co-operative government and
intergovernmental relations as highlighted in the Constitution of South Africa,
which clearly state that all spheres of government and all organs of state
within each sphere, must preserve the peace, national unity and indivisibility
of the Republic.

Despite these positive steps, there are challenges that frustrate the
progress in building a lasting relationship between members of the community
and the SAPS.

These include:
* building the capacity of the CPFs to deliver on their mandate
* providing resources for CPF members in order to improve their
efficiency
* ensuring that CPFs are able to raise funds for their programmes
* protecting CPF members when they are doing their work
* repositioning CPFs in order to respond promptly to the new social crime
prevention strategies
* providing space for CPFs to interact with other Criminal Justice System
Departments.

The Department of Safety and Liaison has declared 2007 as the "Year of
Extensive Mobilisation Against Crime" with a major focus being the prevention
of abuse of women, children and the disabled people.

Since this is a year of a "massive roll-out" of the PCPS, new pro-active
methods are needed and be largely based on maximum community participation in
crime prevention rather than forceful means.

These methods are encompassing the objectives of the PCPS, which are
to:
* reduce crime in the province, particularly crimes involving interpersonal
violence and corruption, over the coming five-year period
* improve multi-agency collaboration on crime prevention matters, particularly
between government departments, resulting in better service delivery in the
criminal justice system, and improved perceptions of safety in the
province
* provide a clear and well-known policy framework to guide crime prevention
activities and expenditures by government agencies in the province.

This year, CPFs are expected to:
* continue to mobilise our communities, especially the youth, against
crime
* reposition the CPFs in order to respond promptly to the new social crime
prevention strategies, especially now that we are preparing for 2010 FIFA World
Cup
* make inroads in the Local Government sphere through ward committees
* assist in the establishment of street committees as instructed by the State
President
* participate in the Community Safety Forums
* popularise the Sector Policing concept
* embark on a programme to promote Safety and Security in our schools in
response to the Eastern Cape Premier Nosimo Balindlela's announcement through
the State of the Province Address
* embark on a multi-stakeholder mobilisation process targeting the business
sector to support crime prevention programmes.

Already, Foundation for African Business and Consumer Services (FABCOS)
committed itself on Saturday to assist the Department in hosting Boxing Against
Crime tournaments in Duncan Village in June, September and December 2007.

I have personally met the private security industry from the Nelson Mandela
Bay, which expressed interest to work together with the SAPS in the fight
against crime.

This Friday, I will be reconvening a meeting with them together with the
SAPS Provincial Commissioner in a quest to concretise our relationship.

But we need more partners in order to make the envisaged impact.

This year, the department will host a Summit on Safety and Security for 2010
in an effort to mobilise all relevant stakeholders to assist us in our
preparations.

This international football showpiece can only succeed if we collectively
embark on an offensive against crime.

Sport bodies, institutions of higher learning, churches, political
organisations, women's organisations, together with government departments,
must form a united front and act together in solidarity against crime and
insecurity.

It is through joint initiatives that we are able to build a society of
present and future generations that remain committed to strong values, stoical
discipline, high moral stamina, humanity and integrity.

In conclusion,

We all have a duty to ensure that all the time, improvement of the moral
fibre of our society is promoted through an integrated approach and to build
strong community values.

Let us continue to "fight crime together for peace to thrive" in an effort
to build a South Africa that truly belongs to all and make the Eastern Cape a
compelling place to live, work and invest in.

Thank you.

Issued by: Department of Safety and Liaison, Eastern Cape Provincial
Government
27 February 2007