Police, DPCI Budget and New Policing Structures under Scrutiny
The Portfolio Committee on Police will next week focus on the R80 billion budget the South African Police Service (SAPS) and the Directorate for Priority Crimes (DPCI) have been allocated towards the 2016/17 crime prevention efforts.
The hearings will commence on Wednesday until Friday where different programme heads will appear before the Committee.
The Chairperson of the Committee, Mr Francois Beukman, said the Committee would particularly look at the new top management structure of SAPS and implementation progress of the back to basics campaign which was launched by the Acting National Police Commissioner. Steps by the current management to increase the professionalism of the police will also be evaluated. “The Committee needs a clear indication on the status of the action plan to implement the recommendations of the National Development Plan,” said Mr Beukman.
“We need to ensure that the Visible Policing Programme continues to be more effective and that the public gets appropriate and timeous responses in case of crime emergencies. Training of first-time responders will also be under the spotlight in light of recent incidents where members of the public were killed in cases of mistaken identity. Equally, follow-ups will be done with regard to steps taken towards curbing the killing of police officers by criminals.”
Allocation of resources to different police stations will also be a major focus during this week. The Committee says there is a need to get assurances from police management that necessary resources and human capital will be made available to ensure that historic imbalances are addressed. Appropriate resource allocation should also ensure that new settlements that are fast growing get the necessary policing attention. Constant evaluation of demographic trends and timeous shifting of resources need to be addressed.
The need to turn around the Detective Services and the project to address the case backlog will also be interrogated. The current state of funding of the DPCI (Hawks) will be addressed on Friday as well as measures implemented to ensure continuous operational independence of DPCI. Progress with regard to the implementation of a separate budget programme for the DPCI will also be discussed.
For media enquiries or interviews with the Chairperson, please contact:
Temba Gubula
Tel: 021 403 8307
Cell: 078 735 8809 / 081 402 3531
Email: tgubula@parliament.gov.za
