Anti-Crime Leadership Forum (ACLF)

3August 2007

The Anti-Crime Leadership Forum consisting of the Justice, Crime Prevention and Security (JCPS) cluster Ministers and leaders of Big Business held a scheduled meeting in Pretoria yesterday to review progress being made by the four working groups of the step change initiative in the fight against crime.

Review of the Criminal Justice System (CJS)

The ACLF commended this team for a great piece of work and the co-chair, Minister Nqakula, undertook to process urgently their recommendations through the progressive channels within government. Key amongst these are the following:

* The JCPS cluster is to adopt a single Vision and Mission statement including a single set of objectives for the JCPS cluster to effectively improve alignment of all operations.
* Legislatively establishing a co-ordinating and management structures for the CJS, including national and provincial levels in alignment with the Constitution.
* Establishing an integrated and seamless national CJS database containing all the information relevant for effective management of the CJS, where information will be owned and authenticated by individual departments and agencies.
* Implementation of proposals in priority areas with significant positive impacts on court processes inter alia, improved delivery capacity of South African Police (SAPS) detective services, forensic, crime scene management, prosecution and correctional services to provide an effective, appropriate, people-centred and modernised CJS.

Violent organised crime

This work group which focuses on prevention and combating house robberies, vehicle hijackings and business robberies reported promising achievements for the quarter ended June 2007 together with the current priority actions. It was noted that priority government interventions included visible policing initiatives in seven provinces, which has resulted in crime prevention and reduction in high crime areas and significant breakthroughs in a number of cases.

The latest example being the arrest of thirteen members of a cash-in-transit heist gang suspected of a spate of heists in the Mthatha and surrounding areas of the Eastern Cape. This heist gang is positively linked to eight cash-in-transit robberies while individual members are linked to a variety of other crimes which include vehicle hijacking, armed robbery, possession of unlicensed firearms and escaping from lawful custody.

Business focus includes support to the abovementioned SAPS operations by enhancing information flow from business to the SAPS on hot spots, development of minimum standards for the management of cash and regulation of the cash in transit industry, co-operation and alignment of private security industry with SAPS, video surveillance and suspected criminals. Higher level and broader information sharing between the business sector and government is being explored.

The focus of this working group on the prevention and combating of house robberies, vehicle hijackings and business robberies may be expanded to incidents of murder and rape. The issue of border security and controls and the influx of illegal immigrants into South Africa were raised as a matter of concern. The Forum noted that the necessary management and contingency plans are in place. Reports were also received from the Communication and mobilising Society and Baseline Effectiveness working groups.

The government delegation led by the chair of the JCPS Cluster, Minister for Safety and Security, Charles Nqakula, included the Minister of Home Affairs, Deputy Ministers of Justice, Defence, Correctional Services, Safety and Security, Home Affairs, Foreign Affairs and Social Development as well as senior officials from these departments. The business delegation led by co-chair Derek Cooper from Business Leadership South Africa included both the Chairman and the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Business against Crime (BAC), the CEO of Business leadership SA and a host of CEOs from some of the largest companies in South Africa.

For further information contact:
Siphiwe Nzimande
CEO: Business Against Crime South Africa
Tel: 011 883 1679
Cell: 083 633 8681
E-mail: Siphiwe@bac.org.za

Trevor Bloem
Spokesperson for the Ministry for Safety and Security
Tel: 012 393 1523
Cell: 082 778 3561
E-mail: bloemb@saps.org.za

Issued by: Secretariat of Safety and Security
3 August 2007

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