Parliament, Friday, 16 March 2018 – The South African Police Service (SAPS) management should fast-track the distribution of adequate resources to police stations that have been identified as priority stations.
The Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Police, Mr Francois Beukman, said the committee is concerned that the slow implementation of the distribution plan to police stations situated at crime hotspots could hamper efforts to deal effectively with crime.
“The portfolio committee has interacted with police management and civil society organisations this week and impressed on them of the need to further review the current Theoretical Human Resources Requirement (THHR) model. That is imperative,” Mr Beukman said.
To deal effectively with the matter and ensure effective policing in rural areas and in informal settlements, police management should take eight steps:
- Clarity on the criteria for the allocation of staff and other resources to police stations and specialising units;
- Allocation of resources to frontline policing i.e. visible policing and detective units;
- Review of the current top structure of SAPS to ensure that resources are geared at improving policing;
- Critical evaluation of the system of regional and cluster units in terms of impact and value-adding;
- Service delivery at station level, especially in dealing with public complaints, should be prioritised
- Specialised Units should be empowered and adequately resourced;
- Provincial commissioners should be given the necessary authority to shift and direct human and operational resources in line with changing crime patterns;
- The turn-around in crime intelligence and the refocus on pro-active network operations and projects should be evaluated by national management monthly.
In the State of the Nation Address in February, the President emphasised that the key focus for 2018 will be to ensure that capacity and experience is restored to the level at which crime can be combatted effectively.
“The police management should ensure that this national priority is executed timeously and not shifted to the third and final quarter of the financial year. Implementation should be fast-tracked,” Mr Beukman said.
ISSUED BY THE PARLIAMENTARY COMMUNICATION SERVICES ON BEHALF OF THE COMMITTEE CHAIRPERSON, MR FRANCOIS BEUKMAN.
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