Address by Minister for Safety and Security MP Charles Nqakula at The Star and Safmarine breakfast meeting, Johannesburg

An editorial in The Star newspaper the other day picked up the conviction and sentencing by magistrate Norman Makhubela of Richard Modungwa, one of the smash-and-grab criminals in Johannesburg. The Star has become one of the leading media in South Africa in the fight against crime, exposing the scourge wherever it has been occurring. The newspaper has been running a series of exposes on the smash-and-grab criminal syndicates, apart from other very good work it has done to expose crime.

The part of the editorial I want to lift up is where the editor made the following observation:

"The magistrate was particularly impressed that Modungwa had been caught by members of the public after breaking into a 53-year-old woman's car in Industria a month ago. This entire episode is testimony to what can be achieved when we all work together to fight crime."

There should be national consensus around the matter of united action by all of us who love our country; who love peace and are law-abiding citizens, against all forms of crime. All media houses in the country should be at the forefront of the effort to mobilise our countrymen and -women actively to participate in the anti-crime project.

The law enforcement agencies are the primary tool that must investigate crime and arrest criminals. They are the primary tool that must create, in a highly professional and dedicated manner, conditions for safety and security in the country. But, no police force in the world, however big and strong it is, can defeat crime and criminality if it does not enjoy the support and confidence of the general population it is mandated to protect.

The role of the population is to provide the police with information relevant to the investigations that are under way. The various communities will always have within their ranks some people who would be aware of who does what crime, who would know where the criminals are hiding. The partnership between the communities and the police is the best weapon to deploy against criminals.

We want properly to define and consolidate that partnership in our country so that, in a practical way, the great majority of our people become crime fighters. We are revamping the Community Policing Forums so that they become the co-ordinators of a durable relationship between the communities and the police.

At this point, allow me Programme Director, once more to pay tribute to the Star newspaper, which has designed a programme to assist the Gauteng Community Police Forums in the work that they do. It is my wish that the contribution the Star is making in the fight against crime will be emulated by the other media in the country.

The question of partnerships has been a vehicle that the African National Congress (ANC) has used over many years in its struggle for the liberation of South Africa. It mobilised the world against apartheid and sought partners in the country after it was unbanned in 1990, to ensure victory in the 1994 democratic election.

Crime was among issues the ANC discussed before 1994 as part of its policy choices under the future democratic dispensation. In 1992 the Movement discussed the situation of violence and other serious crimes that characterised the period from the mid-80s to 1992 and the culpability in those crimes, through commission or omission, of the security forces.

The discussions considered not only the past and the present but also defined strategies and tactics in the policing of the future democratic South Africa. The question of a partnership with the communities was raised and the following formulation went into the policy document:

"The ANC's vision of policing, set out at its policy conference, is in line with developments that have taken place in policing elsewhere in the world. In brief, police forces everywhere have begun to stress 'community' or 'consensus' policing as the most viable model for the 1990's.

"This philosophy is not new but grounded in the original principles of modern policing. Community policing is not 'soft' policing. Community policing has now been recognised as more effective because it understands that it is not the police alone who combat and prevent crime. It is the community who are largely responsible for criminal prosecutions. They lay charges, make statements, testify in court and assist the police in the performance of their functions. Without this co-operation no police force can discharge its duties.

"Above all, the police must be accountable to the people whom they serve. Unless the police are rooted in and accountable to the communities in whose name they police, they will not enjoy the support of these communities. Without the support of the people no police force can perform its task of preventing and combating crime. The police must establish its policing priorities in consultation with local communities and be subject to such communities' evaluation and control. The police, in short, must work with communities, not against them."

Many of the elements of that document became part of the country's Constitution and became the kernel of the South African Police Service Act. One of the early partners of the government in crime fighting was the business sector. Big business established Business against Crime (BAC) in 1996 as a partner with the police in the fight against crime. BAC designed a number of projects to deal with street crime, where they installed surveillance systems. They also contributed high technology tools in the fight against vehicle crime. The technology includes micro-dotting which helps to trace stolen vehicles. BAC widened its scope to include assistance to the entire Integrated Justice System where they helped to improve the necessary infrastructure and systems. To enhance their input, they also seconded some of their members to the various projects run by the Integrated Justice System (IJS).

BAC is also in partnership with the Department of Education to create safety and security for the school environment, relating to the protection of both educators and learners. The role of BAC has been raised to a higher level with the new partnership between the Presidential Big Business Working Group and government's Justice, Crime Prevention and Security (JCPS) cluster that is comprised of the ministries for Correctional Services, Defence, Foreign Affairs, Home Affairs, Intelligence, Justice, Safety and Security and Social Development.

The JCPS cluster has been holding discussions with the labour movement, especially the three federations, Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu), National Council of Trade Unions (Nactu) and Federation of Unions of South Africa (Fedusa), with a view to finalise a clearly-defined programme of action in the fight against crime. Discussions have been held also with the National Religious Leaders Forum en route to the articulation of a partnership with the religious sector.

There are some communities where the partnership with the police has been introduced. In such areas, crime levels have dipped significantly. Where that is happening will always be found vibrant Community Policing Forums. The CPFs, in terms of our new strategy, will be located at the centre of community policing, as the co-ordinators of better relations between the communities and the police. Their functions will be:

* to help root the police among the people and build, in the circumstances, confidence and trust in the police
* to identify within the relevant communities capable residents who will be recruited as reservists and trained in basic policing by the police to be a force multiplier against crime
* to persuade various skilled people, including professionals, to contribute time and energy, on a voluntary basis, to help in specialist fields in police work like counselling for trauma victims, especially women and children; flying police aircraft (helicopters and fixed wing) in the various police operations, or assisting in the Forensic Science Laboratories.

The CPFs will do that work in close collaboration with the communities and the police. They will also monitor police work and, together with the police, articulate policing priorities for the various communities. The CPFs will also have the necessary authority to ask the police to do regular briefing sessions for the communities on crime trends in the various areas and be available to answer questions by the communities.

When media organisations like the Star newspaper help the CPFs they are contributing to a strategy that must help us improve tremendously the way that we do policing in South Africa. They will know, therefore, that the contribution they made was to the greater national interest of our country.

When businesses contribute resources, especially high technology, to the fight against crime, they are helping us better to build the South Africa that so many of our people sacrificed so much to achieve, including even laying down their lives in the pursuit of a South Africa that is truly free, democratic and prosperous, which embraces high moral values, including peace, justice, stability and security.

A South Africa of that kind will not be designed by government alone. All our people must contribute in the building of such a country as dependable partners of government. We have already made gains that can take us to a better future. There are some serious challenges in the way, including crime. But, we defeated apartheid, which was described by the United Nations as a crime against humanity. We can defeat crime now, especially serious and violent crime.

Partnerships is the way to go to deal with all the enemies that still stalk us, be they the many diseases that our people suffer from, like HIV and AIDS, tuberculosis and cancer, or homelessness, poverty and illiteracy. We surely have the will and resources to tackle all the problems we have but only if we work together, united as a nation and a people and guided by a deep sense of national consensus.

Issued by: Secretariat of Safety and Security
21 September 2007