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SA: Francois Beukman: Address by Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Police, during the budget vote on Police, Parliament, Cape Town (23/05/2017)

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SA: Francois Beukman: Address by Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Police, during the budget vote on Police, Parliament, Cape Town (23/05/2017)

SA: Francois Beukman: Address by Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Police, during the budget vote on Police, Parliament, Cape Town (23/05/2017)

24th May 2017

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House Chairperson
Minister of Police Hon F Mbalula and Deputy Minister Hon B Mkonki
Members of Cabinet Deputy Ministers
MECs of the nine provinces
Honourable Members
The Accounting Officers of the South African Police Service (SAPS), IPID, the Civilian Secretariat and the Director of the Private Security Industry Regulatory Authority (PSIRA)
Fellow South Africans

The Portfolio Committee on Police received briefings from the SAPS on its 2017/18 budget and performance plan on 2, 3 and 4 May 2017. The DPCI briefed the Committee on 4 May 2017. Briefings were also received from the Independent Police Investigation Directorate (IPID) and the Civilian Secretariat for the Police Service on 5 May 2017. National Treasury and civil society also gave input on the Budget Vote, including the South African Police Union and police expert, Mr Eldred De Klerk.

The reports dealing respectively with the three entities were adopted by the Portfolio Committee on Wednesday, 17 May 2017 and published in the ATC on the same date.

In the findings and observations the Committee specifically focussed on the professionalisation and demilitarisation of the police; ethical leadership and more stringent vetting requirements; the importance of technology in the fight against crime; the importance of comprehensive training for station and cluster commanders; prioritising cybercrime; special attention to the detective services with regard to performance management; the strengthening of crime intelligence and the maximising of its geographical spread; optimising the conditions of service for SAPS members; and the re-positioning of the Civilian Secretariat as an oversight and policy advisory institution.

In the case of the SAPS, 28 recommendations were made; with relation to IPID 13 recommendations, and in the case of the Civilian Secretariat 20 recommendations.

The implementation of the recommendations will be monitored by the Committee in the coming months. I want to thank all members of the Committee for their contributions during the process.

STATE OF THE NATION ADDRESS
During the 2017 State of the Nation Address, the President placed the fight against crime as one of government’s apex priorities. He noted that increased police visibility should become a priority, building on the Safer Festive Season Programme. The Tactical Response Teams and the National Intervention Unit should be used to deal with high crime areas and those areas where communities experience hijackings and robberies. He also called for communities to build partnerships with the police to fight crime.

The President noted that the establishment of specialised units must assist with drugs, and taxi and fire-arm violence.

On page 391 of the National Development Plan (NDP), the following statement is made:
Re-establish specialised units staffed with highly trained and professional police officers, to respond to changing crime trends such as narcotics, cybercrime, human trafficking, crimes against women and children, and international crime syndicates.

Chairperson, we agree and strongly endorse the view that the new policing environment necessitates specialisation and well-trained members to deal with a multitude of crime challenges.

BUDGET
The SAPS received a main appropriation of R87 billion for the 2017/18 financial year, the IPID R255 million and the Civilian Secretariat R124 million. Similar to the previous financial year, the SAPS receives the second largest individual Vote, which is 11.34 per cent (appropriations only) of the total national budget.

A total of R2.5 billion is allocated over the medium-term economic framework (MTEF) period to the administration programme to build, upgrade and maintain police stations. The department plans to build 63 additional police stations over the period at an estimated cost of R588 million.

The Committee highlighted again this year the following recommendation:
The Committee recommends that the policing model should make provision for equity of policing services in urban, rural and deep rural areas and geographic divides. This includes clear provision of police resources to historically disadvantaged areas that does not discriminate against areas that have disproportionally high crime rates or are economically disadvantaged.

We have seen in the past few years a delay in the completion of police stations due to various factors. Projects take too long and cost overrun is the order of the day. The net effect is that service delivery is severely hampered.

We have requested SAPS management to provide Parliament with a full report on the building environment, including the top 10 building projects for each province with expected start and completion dates.

The answer to fighting crime does not only lie with new standalone brick-and-mortar police stations, but also includes shared service points with other departments, multi-purpose centres, e-policing solutions, cooperation with private-sector initiatives and with the private security industry, and most importantly sustainable cooperation with the community at large.

LEADERSHIP AT STATION AND CLUSTER LEVEL/BACK TO BASICS
During last year’s Budget Debate, the Committee highlighted the importance of leadership at station and cluster level. We also emphasised the important role of the Management Intervention Division in tackling these challenges. We have since then witnessed various visits by the President to police stations around the country. We also noted his comments last week in Elsie’s River in the Western Cape.

The Committee wants to emphasise this once again. We need a more hands-on approach, with non-performing police stations and units as the primary focus. Turn-around times for dealing with station management failures and dealing with resource allocation challenges to units should improve drastically. Part of transforming the police service and the back-to-basics campaign is to ensure better frontline service delivery and to improve the professional conduct of police officers.

The pilot project, as envisaged on page 429 of the Estimates of National Expenditure that will see standardised signage and branding introduced, police facilities refurbished, and basic police machinery and equipment acquired, should be fast-tracked.

During the recent constituency period, I visited police stations in Paarl, Wellington, Saron and Gouda and I was impressed with the dedication of the station commanders I interacted with. We want to thank those station commanders and cluster commanders throughout the country who are willing the walk the extra mile and are indeed contributing to the ideal of a SAPS that is trusted by the people.

The Portfolio Committee on Police will at the end of June crisscross KwaZulu-Natal making announced and unannounced visits to police stations and units to secure service delivery.

CIVILIAN SECRETARIAT - CIVILIAN OVERSIGHT
The Civilian Secretariat is one of the important institutions provided for in the Constitution to promote oversight over the police and to act as an advisory body to the Minister of Police. We support the Minister’s intention to reprioritise the Secretariat as the Department of Police.
The Civilian Secretariat should set the pace for police reform in South Africa and the Committee has recommended that the Civilian Secretariat delivers on the NDP with respect to demilitarisation, professionalisation and the institution of the National Police Board.

The NDP is very clear on page 390 and I quote.
“A national policing board should be established with multi-sectoral and multi-disciplinary expertise. It should set standards for recruiting, selecting, appointing and promoting police officials and police officers. The board should also develop a code of ethics and analyse the professional standing of policing, based on international norms and standards.”

The Committee welcomes the commitment by the Secretariat to embark on a State of Policing report for the Republic of South Africa in the 2017/18 financial year. This will be a first for our country. The Portfolio Committee sees the State of Policing report as an important measurement tool than can provide an assessment of the efficiency and effectiveness of policing in South Africa on an annual basis.

Two matters that need the urgent attention of the Civilian Secretariat are the development of a policy proposal and a study on e-policing and digital policing. The Portfolio Committee has included this as a recommendation. The law enforcement environment is a fast-changing and evolving area. Criminals have adapted to and embraced the technological advances of the 21st century. The South African Banking Risk Information Centre estimates that the country loses R2.2 billion to internet fraud and phishing attacks annually. That is about R 5.5 million a day.

According to the Norton Cybersecurity Insights Report, over 8.8 million South Africans were the target of online or cybercrime in 2016. Unless e-policing and digital policing become part of the law and order lexicon, the police services will be left behind and society will suffer the unintended consequences.

DPCI
Chairperson, we have seen over the last 10 years the development of international crime syndicates that traffic people, drugs, illegal tobacco imports and arms smuggling, amongst others. The DPCI, better known as the Hawks, is the unit in the SAPS that is legally mandated to deal with national priority offences, organised crime syndicates, serious commercial crime and corruption. The Committee recommends that the DPCI focuses on levels 4 and 5 to fight organised crime as part of the criminal value chain.

Furthermore, the Committee recommends that the DPCI completes its organisational design assessment on the assessment of the Illegal Firearms Unit and the Narcotics Unit within six months. The Committee further recommends that the DPCI compiles a budget for the DPCI and the two new units, and make a submission through the accounting officer to National Treasury and Parliament.

From an international perspective, over the next 10 years cybercrime will be the most significant crime threat. The DPCI must prioritise during this financial year the establishment, capacity and training of staff for the Cyber-Crime Centre.

POLICE KILLINGS
The safety of our men and women in blue must receive the highest priority from the Executive Authority. Apart from operational and tactical measures we need more innovation.

The Portfolio Committee on Police has made two specific budget recommendations to SAPS management is this regard, namely:
CCTV cameras should be installed in community service centres at all police stations in the Republic;
SAPS should implement body cams for frontline service staff.

This is in line with the ministerial priority to use technology to the maximum in the fight against crime.
Minister, you should not accommodate bureaucratic excuses, such as it is too difficult or we do not have the capacity to store the information. Other countries and jurisdictions are implementing these measures with success. These measures should be implemented as a matter of priority.

The Committee wants to pay tribute to those members of the SAPS who died in the line of duty since the last Budget Vote debate. We honour their contribution in the fight against crime and keep our communities safe. Our prayers and thoughts are with their families and loved ones.

NEW LEGISLATIVE FRAMEWORK
The White Paper on Policing and the White Paper on Safety and Security have now been completed. It is necessary that the next phase in the police reform process be implemented. The tabling of the SAPS Amendment Act is long overdue. The Committee has recommended that the Secretariat should prioritise the Bill in this current financial year. The proposals of the NDP with regard to police reform should be included in the SAPS Amendment Bill.

Many of the matters that are in the public domain with regard to the management and competing mandates of institutions in the Peace and Stability Cluster could be solved by a proper overhaul of the SAPS Act. The same applies to the Secretariat and IPID.

Matters of governance, reporting lines, institutional arrangements and oversight should be clear and simple. The legislative framework should empower the state to intervene more effectively in dealing with crime. The core business should always be fighting crime, effective policing and community participation in ensuring safer communities.

In conclusion, our goal is a safe and prosperous country with a stable and democratic government. Crime has a massive impact on safety in communities and more must be done to reduce it dramatically. Let us all play our part in dealing with crime in our communities.
Finally, let me extend a word of thanks to the Committee Content Advisor Mr Irvin Kinnes, Researcher Ms Nicolette van Zyl-Gous, Committee Secretaries Ms Babalwa Mbengo and Mr Pilate Gwebu, the Committee Assistant, Mr Lobi, and Mr Temba Gubula, our media liaison, for their professionalism and hard word.

I thank you.

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