Police Minister Mr Bheki Cele has told the National Assembly that his department’s budget for the financial year 2022/23 will help restore public trust and confidence in the South African Police Service (SAPS), as well as re-establish community policing forums (CPFs) to boost the fight against crime.

The Minister made this commitment on Tuesday when he tabled the police’s budget vote together with those of the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) and the Civilian Secretariat for Police Service (CSPS) for debate in a virtual National Assembly (NA) mini-plenary. “This administration is working with agility to improve community relations at all levels of governance. The three-legged pot [SAPS, IPID and CSPS] is hell-bent on restoring the trust deficit that impacts on our overall fight against crime. The organisation has taken up the challenge to rebuild itself and at the same time improve its image and regain the trust in the communities we serve,” the Minister said.

Mr Cele dedicated the budget vote to rebuilding and strengthening community relations in the fight against crime. He also called on CPFs, the business sector and the police to establish and maintain partnerships with communities as well as promote communication between the police and the community.

“We need to promote cooperation and ensure that the police fulfil the needs of the community in respect of policing, improve the service of the police to the community, improve transparency and accountability of the SAPS and promote joint problem-identification and problem solving,” he said.

The Minister further argued that the philosophy of community policing is not new and has shown that the more involved law enforcement is with residents, the more residents can help police achieve their goals of reducing crime.

The unrest that engulfed parts of Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal in July last year called for clear reforms of security services and at the same time exposed the divide between the police and the communities they serve, said the Minister. “The police needed the community and the community needed the police. But it was clear community policing was at its weakest and there was little to no trust between the police and the communities.

“As we roll out plans to rebuild and strengthen community relations in the fight against crime, key to this is to channel adequate and functional resources and manpower to police stations to ensure that the fight against crime is effective and efficient in winning public confidence in policing.”

The Minister also announced that investigations arising out of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) in terms of the Promotion of National Unity and Reconciliation Act 34 of 1995 are receiving the Directorate of Priority Crime Investigation attention. The directorate has since hired investigators on a three-year contract basis and 34 of these investigators have been specifically assigned to investigate these TRC cases.

African National Congress Member of Parliament and the Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Police, Ms Tina Joemat-Pettersson, condemned the high levels of violence against women, mostly perpetrated by intimate partners, which she called “a blight on our national conscious and a betrayal of the country’s constitutional order. “We support the budget vote and welcome plans to prioritise the family violence, child protection and sexual offences (FCS) and the gender-based violence and femicide units. “The police budget is enormous and must be applied effectively to fight violent crime in our country,” she said.

 She also welcomed the state’s focus on restoring police department infrastructure, including police stations.

Democratic Alliance Member of Parliament Mr Andrew Whitfield said South Africa deserves a professional police service characterised by high level of discipline, merit-based appointments and a capable fit for purpose management which inspires confidence through its ranks and in the public by reducing crime.

“A lack of professionalism, broken management systems and deteriorating quality of investigations have all contributed to in taking SAPS to the brink of collapse. The chain of command has been compromised by politics and the promotion of unqualified cadres above qualified, capable police officers giving rise to declining levels of morale, poor performance and even corruption,” he said.

Mr Andries Shembeni of the Economic Freedom Fighters accused the police of lacking a plan to deal with gender-based violence, and for allowing the DNA lab to collapse, placing thousands of cases rape and murder in serious jeopardy.

“You have allowed the firearms registry to collapse, leaving thousands of South African gun owners and prospective gun owners with nowhere to run, whilst exposing guns and ammunition to criminal networks across the country,” he said.

The Inkatha Freedom Party’s Mr Narend Singh said the South African Police Service has a has a long difficult road ahead if it is to achieve the vision of the National Development Plan to build safer communities within the next eight years. “Our people need to be kept safe and in order to do this SAPS needs a well-resourced, properly trained, boots-on-the-ground personnel as well as adequate resources,” he said.

Sakhile Mokoena
25 May 2022