A unified approach comprised of all sectors of the economy and society was needed to fight crime in the country, Deputy President Baleka Mbete said on Monday.

"I believe that in so doing we will leave no space for the criminals to operate based on their thriving on our differences," Mbete told the crime summit 2008 in Midrand.

Mbete said public private partnerships needed to bring about practical initiatives and be harmonised.

Anti-crime intelligence needed to be strengthened and skills development within the intelligence unit should be improved.

Mbete commended the department of safety and security for deploying police officers to stations where crime fighting was actually taking place.

Referring to the 16 days of activism campaign, she said social crime was still a major challenge.

"In this campaign, we urge men and women to name and shame perpetrators."

Mbete said what appeared as simple and anonymous reporting went a long way to fighting crime, because simple and straightforward approaches were needed.

"This country can be on top of the challenge of crime and our justice system will be continuously revamped in the interest of beefing up our efforts in this regard," Mbete said.

There had also been a steady decline in fraud and anti-corruption strategies had to "bite hard" against criminals, however there was a continued feeling that drastic efforts were not being made.

Safety and Security Minister Nathi Mthethwa said corruption and ill-discipline in the police service would not be tolerated.

Mthethwa said police officers involved in corrupt and other criminal activity such as organised crime needed to recuse themselves from the service.

"Ill-discipline together with corruption can lead to people dying in some instances," he said, referring to allegations of deaths in police cells.

"We are up in arms against those who belong to, who are part of the organisation... corruption will not be tolerated," he said.

Addressing corruption was a challenging task. However it needed to be fought.

"Whilst the line between what constitutes corruption and what is merely ill-discipline is often blurred, the results are the same -- that is, the loss of public confidence in the police and an environment where crime is able to flourish."

Mthethwa said there needed to be more synergy in the fight against crime and that communication, co-ordination and accountability were key in strengthening this.

"Having information is not enough, what is important is what we do with this information.

"It is the effective communication of this information that will contribute to the success or failure of our approach."

Mthethwa said if the three fundamentals could be improved then "criminals will without doubt be dealt a severe blow".

Divisional commissioner Arno Lamoer agreed that partnership was essential.

"As members of the SAPS we can be proud that we have come a full 180 degrees when it comes to changes in our country.
"We would not be here today if it were not for our firm belief in partnerships," said Mthethwa.

Mark Lamberti, the chairman of Business Against Crime, said the culture of lawlessness in the country was a direct consequence of government policy.

He said national consciousness about crime and what constituted a crime had been dulled.

This was because there was a lack of respect for the law and that the chances of being caught were low.

"Lawlessness is a direct consequence of government policy - the efficiency of the criminal justice system is simply too low to be a deterrent," he said.

Lamberti said "horrendous crimes" such as the rape of grandmothers and children must have a deeper explanation.

He cited three contributing factors which should be considered and that these were deep-seated socio-pathic tendencies, the strong link between dysfunctional families and crime, and that apartheid had destroyed the fabric of society.

"That it [the consequences of apartheid] can be addressed in 14 years is naïve," said Lamberti.