June 2008 – Issue 17
In this issue:
INTRODUCTORY LETTER:
DA PROPOSES FIVE STEPS TO TURN AROUND THE FIGHT AGAINST CRIME
DA TO TAKE UP FIGHT FOR SCORPIONS IN PARLIAMENT
SAPS DISCIPLINE IS CAUSE FOR SERIOUS CONCERN
DA CALLS FOR AUDIT OF THE 10111 EMERGENCY RESPONSE SYSTEMS
THE OPEN OPPORTUNITY SOCIETY IN ACTION: SUCCESS OF RAILWAY POLICE
SHOWS THE VALUE OF SPECIALISED SAPS UNITS
BRING THE SANDF BACK TO OUR BORDERS
EYE ON CRIME HIGHLIGHTS
INTRODUCTORY LETTER
'Safety and Security in South Africa' is an oxymoron if ever there was one.
The Safety and Security Budget Vote Debate was the toughest debate
this year. It was nearly shut down by the Chairperson a number of
times, and the ANC was forced to retract a number of gross insults
thrown at various members of the DA during the process.
Year after year we, as the Official Opposition, have had to face the
unsavoury task of pointing out to the Ministry that over fifty
citizens are murdered every day, hundreds are raped or the victims of
armed robberies, and that the overall crime rate is utterly
unacceptable. It is with profound weariness that I found myself having
to do it yet again.
In my speech, I focussed on two issues. Firstly, where Minister
Charles Nqakula has failed, and secondly, where the Democratic
Alliance has offered solutions on the crime crisis.
I gave a quick overview of what it is that the Minister had achieved,
and indeed that was not an edifying exercise.
Has our Minister of Safety and Security taken the fears and concerns
of the nation to heart and attempted to address them? No. Instead, he
has berated the citizens of SA saying we were 'moaners who should
leave the country'.
Then came the Minister's rather bizarre remark which questioned the
figure that one in three South African children is abused daily. "Is
that realistic?" he asked, "I have more than three children at home,
and yesterday not one was abused".
Well, let us hope that while they were safe yesterday, they are still
safe tomorrow, unlike the vast numbers of the children in our country.
One can but ask, after such a facile and uncaring remark, if the fact
that his children were safe led him to give in when Selebi decided to
close down the Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences
units. Or was it the Minister's idea to destroy what works, as he did
when he announced that he intended to do away with the Scorpions?
Crime continues to constitute a national emergency, and it's causing
untold pain and suffering in the lives of millions of South Africans -
despite the fact that the Minister and his children are safe. In
closing, I thanked the brave men and women of the SAPS who work
tirelessly to keep us safe. They do a spectacular job despite an
almost total vacuum in leadership.
Read Kohler Barnard's Budget Speech…please click here >>>
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DA PROPOSES FIVE STEPS TO TURN AROUND THE FIGHT AGAINST CRIME
In May, the Democratic Alliance released a discussion document
proposing five action steps that could bring about a substantial
reduction in the levels of crime in South Africa in the short to
medium term.
"The DA believes that crime can be brought under control by targeting
the key weaknesses of the government's current approach. If properly
implemented within the next three to six months, the DA strongly
believes these steps hold the hope of bringing down the rate of
crime," said DA spokesperson on safety and security Dianne Kohler
Barnard.
The DA called for the reinstatement and expansion of specialised SAPS
units, saying that specialist police units, such as the Narcotics
Bureau and Child Abuse units, are essential in the fight against crime
because they allow for specialist experts to be nurtured and retained.
Kohler Barnard called for improved collaboration and cooperation
between private security and the SAPS, proposing that the role and
powers of the Private Security Industry Regulatory Authority (PSIRA)
should be reviewed.
"The government has largely ignored the private security sector's
potential contribution towards managing crime. By bringing the private
security sector to work effectively with the SAPS, human resources in
the fight against crime can be more than doubled," said Kohler
Barnard.
The DA's third proposed step was to focus attention on SAPS Stations
and Forensic Science Laboratories (FSLs), calling for an increase in
the SAPS' detective corps by an additional 30,000 detectives, and a
quarterly stock-take of all equipment and resources, such as
bullet-proof vests, weapons, vehicles, etc. - at every police station.
"Well-functioning and efficient FSLs are a critical component of the
fight against crime," said Kohler Barnard.
The DA also called for the release of regular crime statistics,
calling for the implementation of a real-time crime statistics
information management system, which would enable communities to
access the latest crime trends in their area.
Finally, the DA called for a concentrated focus on the relationship
between substance abuse and crime.
"The war on drugs is low down on the government's priority list. All
national, provincial and grassroots activities from the public and
civil sector that target substance abuse and related criminal
activities must be identified, assessed and integrated so that we can
develop a more coherent response," she said.
Read the DA document "Five steps to turn around the fight against
crime…please click here >>>
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DA TO TAKE UP FIGHT FOR SCORPIONS IN PARLIAMENT
While the Democratic Alliance is disappointed in the outcome of Hugh
Glenister's High Court bid to save the Scorpions, we respect the
ruling, and will continue to fight against the possible closure of the
Scorpions in Parliament, said the party in May.
"We will continue to represent the interests of the 100 000 people who
signed the Save Our Scorpions petition, as well as the vast majority
of South Africans who oppose the unit's closure. It is clear that the
Scorpions must remain and the DA will do everything in its power to
save a unit that is a critical part of the fight against crime," said
DA spokesperson on safety and security Dianne Kohler Barnard.
"The General Law Amendment Bill (GLAB) as it currently stands will
dramatically undermine the fight against crime - and against organised
crime in particular. In addition, if the GLAB is left unamended, it
will violate key constitutional principles such as the separation of
powers, opening the door to future abuses of power by the SAPS," she
said.
Kohler Barnard said that the myriad flaws contained in the proposed
legislation illustrates just how ill-conceived the decision to disband
the Scorpions is.
"The only way to target sophisticated crimes and criminals effectively
without undermining the due processes of the law and the Constitution
is to retain the Scorpions in their current form – precisely as Judge
Khampepe has recommended to the government," she said.
Read some of our recent statements on the disbandment of the scorpions:
Scorpions draft bill gives the police powers that are reminiscent of
apartheid-era
Draft Scorpions Bill blatantly sidelines the public
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SAPS DISCIPLINE IS CAUSE FOR SERIOUS CONCERN
In June, the Democratic Alliance was shocked to learn that, over the
past 24 months, less than 50% of all South African Police Service
(SAPS) members charged with serious offences had been dismissed.
"Only 28% of police officers who were charged with murder, 27% of
those charged with rape, 24% charged with corruption and 31% charged
with armed robbery during this time were ultimately dismissed," said
DA spokesperson on safety and security Dianne Kohler Barnard.
Kohler Barnard said that it was equally disturbing to learn that, over
the past two years, 206 officers were charged with corruption, 59 with
armed robbery, 92 with rape and 95 with murder.
"What this indicates is that the SAPS needs seriously to revise its
recruitment and testing methods, as the bad candidates are clearly not
being sifted out from the good," she said.
"The behaviour of a few is thus allowed to taint the reputation of the
many – a factor which is behind the massive drop in public confidence
in the SAPS: from 45% to 39%. If the Police Service is not seen to
take firm action against those accused of serious offences, this will
be a disincentive to the public to report such offences in future,"
said Kohler Barnard.
Kohler Barnard has written to the Minister of Safety and Security
asking for full details on all cases for the past 24 months in respect
of the investigative outcomes and reasons for the disciplinary
rulings.
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DA CALLS FOR AUDIT OF THE 10111 EMERGENCY RESPONSE SYSTEMS
In June, the DA wrote to the Auditor-General to request a full audit
of the 10111 emergency response systems used by the South African
Police Service (SAPS).
"The DA believes that such an audit is imperative given the amount of
public money spent on the systems and the surfacing complaints from
various members of the public, as well as SAPS members," said DA
spokesperson on safety and security Dianne Kohler Barnard.
Kohler Barnard said that some of the complaints that had surfaced
indicate that emergency calls go unanswered; telephone operators
cannot take down details correctly; callers are placed on hold when
making an emergency call; and police vehicles are not all equipped
with radios, and must communicate with the 10111 system using their
personal cellphones.
"In order to ensure not only that the money has been well spent, but
also that whatever systems are in place function as they are meant to,
we have asked that the Auditor-General conduct a full and independent
audit of the 10111 systems," she said.
"The SAPS recently spent in the region of R600m on the Gauteng 10111
system and it remains to be seen whether the systems in the provinces
function as they are expected to. Certainly, anecdotal information
seems to reveal that there are major challenges with the 10111 systems
in various areas," said Kohler Barnard.
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THE OPEN OPPORTUNITY SOCIETY IN ACTION: SUCCESS OF RAILWAY POLICE
SHOWS THE VALUE OF SPECIALISED SAPS UNITS
The success of the Western Cape Railway Police is a perfect example of
an Open Opportunity Society in action and how specialised police units
can have a direct and substantial impact on crime, said the Democratic
Alliance in May.
In their first year of operation, the Railway Police reduced crime by
60% and over the past four years, crime has decreased despite the
number of commuters increasing by 12%.
"What the success of the Western Cape Railway Police shows us is that
specialist units can have a direct impact on crime. The DA applauds
the Western Cape Railway Police for their success to date and wishes
them well for the future," said DA spokesperson on safety and security
Dianne Kohler Barnard.
"Proof of the need for specialist units at local level lies in the
fact that the Railway Police have only recently been re-instated.
Prior to that the Railway Police resided within the South African
Transport Services, but were absorbed into the SAPS and subsequently
disbanded. The resulting rise in railway crimes caused the SAPS to
re-instate the units," she said.
Kohler Barnard said specialist units allow for the development of
expertise, the maintenance of institutional knowledge and the pooling
of resources in a targeted approach to deal with specific crimes.
"The possible closure of the Scorpions is another example of how,
instead of replicating the success of the unit across the country, the
government prefers to shut it down - breaking up the investigative
teams and redesigning the replacement unit in such a way as to exclude
most of the key factors that made the Scorpions successful in the
first place."
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BRING THE SANDF BACK TO OUR BORDERS
The 2003 Cabinet decision to pull the South African Defence Force
(SANDF) off our borders must be reversed with immediate effect, said
the Democratic Alliance in May.
"The Border Control Operational Coordinating Committee (BCOCC) has had
five years to seal off our porous borders, but has achieved absolutely
nothing. The Auditor General's report is damning in the extreme – and
the entities that this organisation was supposed to pull together, are
in utter chaos," said DA spokesperson on safety and security Dianne
Kohler Barnard.
Kohler Barnard said the BCOCC admitted at a joint sitting of
committees in Parliament that security at our borders was 'poor' and
that, in the past few years, they had launched a few new initiatives,
but that 'the beneficial impact was coincidental'.
"One of the most serious issues raised was that there was no
integrated anti-corruption strategy to protect us against our own
officials and their corruption, fraud, misappropriation of state
funds, aiding and abetting illegal foreigners, and the illegal issuing
of documents or goods. The BCOCC said corruption had penetrated the
police, customs, immigration, cleaners and security contractors," said
Kohler Barnard.
Kohler Barnard said the BCOCC still had no complete overall strategic
plan relating to borderline policing, nor a divisional policy relating
to borderline operations. There was also no specialised operational
support structure for borderline crime intelligence; no examination of
border fences; a 71% under-capacity rate for land borders; sea
borderline operations had a 96% under-capacity rate and air borderline
operations had no permanent staff.
"Above all, there are no centrally collected and analysed statistics
relating to border crimes, illegal foreigners, repatriated illegal
immigrants and criminal syndicates connected with trafficking in
people, goods and weapons. This absence makes a mockery of any attempt
to combat cross-border crime," she said.
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Read this month's most popular stories:
HOME SECURITY ALERT!
DO YOU THINK COPS SHOULD HAVE TWO JOBS?
LESSON LEARNT? I DOUBT IT.
HIJACKED, PARALYSED, AND THEN THROWN IN JAIL
CORRUPT COP CAUGHT FOR HANDING OUT POLICE UNIFORMS TO CRIMINALS
WHAT HAS BECOME OF OUR NATION AND ITS PEOPLE?
JUDGE PRESIDENT HLOPHE IN THE HOTSEAT....AGAIN
DID YOU KNOW?
• Almost two thirds of South Africans do not feel safe enough to walk
alone in the streets after dark – a 148% increase from 1998 levels.
• Less than half the population believes that the police are doing as
good a job as they had done before – a drop from 52% (2003) to 49%.
• Since 2005, the number of police officers declared unfit for duty
due to health problems has increased by 146%, and the number declared
unfit for stress reasons, by 100%.
• In 2007, 204 police officers were boarded for health reasons,
compared to 83 in 2005.
• In 2007, 76 police officers were declared unfit for duty because of
stress, compared to 38 in 2005.
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