Issued by: Ministry for Safety and Security
The government wishes to acknowledge the Nedcor group's valuable initiative in the form of the Nedcor Project on Crime, Violence and Investment.
The Government considers this project to be a significant and well-reasoned analysis of the severe crime problem affecting all South Africans. Where the report is critical of the Government, we receive that criticism in the clear spirit intended - as a constructive contribution towards improving the admitted inadequacies in the past approach to the crime problem.
Government's Two-Pronged Approach
In many aspects, your work confirms our strategic analysis of the problems we face, and I am pleased to note that many of the report's conclusions are in alignment with our current two-pronged attack on the crime problem.
First, the report correctly emphasises the complementary nature of the Nedcor project with the short-term Police Plan, which is to be released by the National Commissioner of Police this week. The police plan is the first attempt by the police service to develop an integrated set of priorities to guide its work over the 12 months of the budget year. This planning process is required under the 1995 Police Act, and will form the backbone of the annual police programmes in the years ahead.
Secondly, the Nedcor project complements the longer-term National Crime Prevention Strategy, which was approved by Cabinet in May. This strategy encompasses the government's overall medium- to long-term approach to achieving a safe and secure environment.
The Police Plan appropriately focuses on what the police can do to reduce crime on their own and in partnership with civil society. The Crime Prevention Strategy concentrates on the critical interface between police, prosecutors, prisons and the many other players in the longer-term war which we are fighting.
The list of players includes the business community, which has become involved in a range of substantial ways to improve the government's capacity to combat crime. Nedcor's heavy investment of money, time and energy on this project represents an excellent example of this kind of public-private partnership.
Indeed, the work done by the Nedcor project team already is having an impact. The preliminary data compiled by the researchers, which was forwarded to the police and to the ministry, has been used by our own strategists in developing both the Police Plan and the National Crime Prevention Strategy.
Let me make a few points on specific aspects of the report:
-The statistics reported in the Nedcor document offer a stark confirmation of the seriousness of the crisis we face. The government has no illusions about the scale of the challenge. The collation of independent figures in the form of the Nedcor household survey is a particularly welcome addition to our information sources on the nature of the problems we are confronting.
-Without seeking to undermine the significance of the findings, it is appropriate to point out that any discussion of crime statistics in South Africa needs to factor in the reality that reporting of crime, especially in black areas, was woefully inadequate in years past. The transition to democracy and the concurrent improvement in police-community relations has led to a clear increase in the reporting of crime - which may not always correlate to an equivalent increase in the actual levels of crime. Furthermore, the recent history of Eastern Europe underscores the fact that political transition almost inevitably leads to a rise in crime as authoritarian regimes are dismantled and new systems are constructed that operate within the principles of democracy.
-With initiatives like Business Against Crime and this Nedcor project, the business community has begun to look seriously for ways in which it can assist government in the fight against crime. Another role player also contributes in a very positive fashion: the non-governmental organisations. For years, the NGOs have been providing research capacity and training programmes for community police forum members, police officers and private citizens. These initiatives deserve encouragement and support from the business sector, and represent a potentially significant avenue for business to broaden its contribution to the anti-crime war.
-The report shows a key strength of business: its skill in using both the hardware and software of modern technology. The government has lagged behind the private sector in this area of expertise, and we will need help as we move toward more sophisticated data analysis, fingerprinting and identity documents.
-The government applauds the report's recommendation that business needs to put its own house in order with a business-led campaign to reduce white-collar crime.
-One specific criticism of the Nedcor project: the Nedcor report inaccurately states that the National Crime Prevention Strategy concentrates on the rights of perpetrators of crimes rather than the rights of victims. In fact the NCPS emphasises the critical need for improved services for crime victims. The needs of victims are integrated into every single pillar of the NCPS, which signals a major change in our approach to crime in South Africa.
-Yes, we are firmly committed to our Bill of Rights: at the same time, we know from the example set by the German police that respect for civil rights does not imply being soft or inefficient. And in light of our new emphasis on community policing, we know that we cannot afford to use tactics that will alienate the very community we are now relying on to improve our crime intelligence at a grass-roots level.
-An important conclusion is the finding that crime is not a major deterrent to foreign companies that are considering whether to invest in South Africa, whereas relatively low levels of industrial or political conflict do have an impact on foreign investor decisions. But let us not be lulled into believing that crime is not an important factor in economic decisions. No one should take lightly the destructive impact of crime on the economic and social fabric of South Africa.
I am pleased to note that most of your conclusions are contained in the specific action plans of the new Police Plan and the National Crime Prevention Strategy. In short, we are thinking along the same lines.
The Nedcor report suggests that coordination of the crime prevention strategy should be located in the office of the president. Our approach differs somewhat: we have opted for a coordinated effort driven by the Ministry of Safety and Security. The ministry has been designated the lead department responsible for ensuring that all the government agencies who have a role in the National Crime Prevention Strategy will carry out their assigned tasks. The Cabinet therefore has given Safety and Security overall authority to coordinate the strategy. All the directors-general from the involved government departments sit on a committee that is overseeing the implementation of the NCPS. We believe this approach gives the strategy the required focus and absolute top priority status without removing it from the realm of the operational ministries and departments.
We look forward to taking this partnership and the broader partnership with business further in the months and years ahead. We want this partnership to include both the short-term initiatives highlighted in the Police Plan as well as the longer-term efforts of the National Crime Prevention Strategy.
We congratulate Nedcor for its investment in the fight against crime. And we are confident that the return from this investment will have justified the risk.
JOE MATTHEWS Deputy Minister Safety and Security
Issued: 11 June 1996
Contact Person: Maxwell Mulaudzi (021) 457 400 or (012) 323 8880