DA LAUNCHES NEW POLICY ON CRIME
Crime is the number one issue among all South Africans across all
communities and must be stopped before it happens.
SHOCKING PRISON CONDITIONS POSE HUGE RISKS
A recent scathing performance audit by the Auditor-General on the
repair and maintenance of prisons has revealed a disturbing situation
in which prison security is severely compromised by poor maintenance.
CURRENT TREATMENT CONDITIONS LEAVE NO HOPE FOR IMPROVEMENT IN TB CURE RATE
Medical care is almost non-existent, even in dedicated MDR treatment centres.
SABC BOARD APPOINTMENT: ANC ABUSING DEMOCRACY
Politics is the motive for the ANC's abuse of democracy in amending
the Broadcasting Act, the Democratic Alliance said last Wednesday.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
"Government's willingness to admit its failures is an encouraging
sign. The tragedy is that, while government has dithered and denied,
so many lives have been lost. We must now look to the future with hope
and resolve. This is not a time to be overwhelmed, it is an
opportunity to change things for the better. If we move forward on
that basis, I am convinced we can win the war on crime."
DA Leader Helen Zille comments on Deputy Justice Minister Johnny de
Lange's admission that South Africa's criminal justice system is
dysfunctional in her weekly online newsletter, SA Today.
DA LAUNCHES NEW POLICY ON CRIME
A truly open opportunity society could never exist in South Africa
until law-abiding citizens felt safe, said DA leader, Helen Zille at
the unveiling last Tuesday of the party's new safety and security
policy 'Conquering fear, commanding hope', a policy which promises to
revolutionise South Africa's entire criminal justice system in an
endeavour to win the war on crime.
The DA's five-point criminal justice plan calls for 60 000 more police
officers, 500 more prosecutors, 30 000 more detectives, ahputting
prisoners to work to earn their keep, using the latest technology to
fight crime, and establishing a Directorate for Victims of Crime.
"Crime is the number one issue among all South Africans across all
communities and must be stopped before it happens," Zille said.
"The more competent and trained police officers we have on the
streets, the better we will be able to prevent crime."
She said the DA would employ 250 000 police officers should it be in
power - in contrast to the government's target of 190 000 - and employ
a further 30 000 detectives.
"The DA will employ police officers purely on the basis of competence,
not quotas, and we will stop top-level political appointments."
She said conviction on a charge of corruption or fraud would result in
instant dismissal and the Independent Complaints Directorate would be
empowered to come down hard on errant officers.
She said the DA would reinstate the Narcotics Bureau, as crime
prevention also required dealing decisively with drug abuse; border
security would be tightened up, and more funds would be devoted to
rehabilitation to keep children safe from drug barons.
As part of the plan, the DA would reduce backlogs at forensic science
laboratories, implement staff retention strategies and set higher
standards of training so that police investigations would no longer be
undermined by poor processing of evidence.
"Specialised units have previously been hugely successful in combating
specific crimes. Almost all have been closed down. They must be
reinstated so that the war on child abuse, narcotics and vehicle
theft, among others, can be strengthened."
She said clear plans to respond to particular problems such as rural
safety, organised crime, domestic and sexual violence, violence in
schools and metal theft would be implemented.
More police would be deployed to crime hotspots and would be given
additional resources and training.
Those charged with crimes would be prosecuted speedily, and there
would be no bail for repeat offenders for certain serious crimes,
including murder, rape and drug dealing.
The DA would create a statutory body called the directorate for
victims of crime, she said. This body would monitor the response of
officials to victims and administer a toll-free helpline for victims.
"Most importantly, this directorate will manage a victims of crime
fund to ensure that victims have access to services and assistance."
The fund would include money from various sources, including
prisoners' earnings and all bail money forfeited to the state.
"Anyone suffering physical, emotional or financial damage as a result
of a crime would be able to claim against it".
To view the full policy, click here >>>
http://www.eyeoncrime.co.za/?q=node/414
SHOCKING PRISON CONDITIONS POSE HUGE RISKS
A recent scathing performance audit by the Auditor-General on the
repair and maintenance of prisons had revealed a disturbing situation
in which prison security was severely compromised by poor maintenance,
the Democratic Alliance said last Wednesday.
DA correctional services spokesperson James Selfe said that
communities around prisons were at risk from contaminated water and
both local and international rules and laws were being violated.
"The DA will be submitting parliamentary questions to the Ministers of
Correctional Services and Public Works asking what actions their
respective departments have taken to address the Auditor-General's
criticisms regarding the repair and maintenance of prison facilities,"
Selfe said.
"These centres were found not to have proper maintenance plans, thus
leading to a virtual collapse in the structure and buildings."
In most cases, centres had failed to comply with water and sewerage
maintenance standards, thus risking contaminating rivers running
adjacent to many prisons, and putting the health of staff and inmates,
as well as the general public in the surrounding areas, in danger.
"At some centres, non-qualified staff had to operate sewerage plants," he said.
Many correctional centres had also failed to maintain their boilers
properly, a contravention of the Occupational Health and Safety Act.
"On one occasion, a boiler had exploded, causing the death of two
Correctional Services staff members, and injuring many others."
"Furthermore, these centres were found not to have fire-fighting
equipment, thereby risking the lives of staff and inmates in the event
of a fire."
In addition, security risks arose as a result of security fences which
were not properly maintained, and several security cameras and doors
which were out of order.
"In 2005 an inmate gained unauthorised access to the hospital area in
the Baviaanspoort Correctional Centre, as these security systems and
cameras were out of order. As a result two nurses were assaulted and
one nurse was raped," he said.
He said that the DA would continue in its campaign to ensure that the
Government was held to account.
CURRENT TREATMENT CONDITIONS LEAVE NO HOPE FOR IMPROVEMENT IN TB CURE RATE
A reply to a DA question had revealed massive disparities in the
service available at TB hospitals around South Africa, making the
treatment TB patients receive effectively a lottery, the party said on
Sunday.
"Moreover, specialised medical care is almost non-existent, even in
dedicated MDR treatment centres," said DA deputy health spokesperson,
Sandy Kalyan.
South Africa's TB cure rate of 57% still fell far behind the World
Health Organisation's target of 80% and, unless a consistent level of
care could be provided to all TB patients across the country, infected
patients would continue to spread the disease and resistant strains
would continue to grow, making an improved cure rate impossible.
"There are 33 hospitals across the country specialising in treating
TB patients, with the best being the King George V hospital in
Ethekwini, which has two specialist doctors and 16 ordinary doctors
caring for 260 patients - a doctor: patient ratio 1:14.
In contrast, the Witbank TB hospital had only one sessional doctor for
226 patients, while the Richmond Chest Hospital in KZN had only two
sessional doctors for 582 patients.
"It would be impossible for these doctors to be able to provide
anything close to acceptable care looking after the needs of this
number of patients on a part time basis," Kalyan said.
"At the Barberton Hospital in Mpumalanga, not a single doctor is
available, not even on a sessional basis, to care for 228 patients,
nor does this hospital have a pharmacist."
"This leaves these patients entirely in the care of nurses, who do not
have the training required to be able to treat these patients properly
or dispense medicines."
SABC BOARD APPOINTMENT: ANC ABUSING DEMOCRACY
Politics is the motive for the ANC's abuse of democracy in amending
the Broadcasting Act, the Democratic Alliance said last Wednesday.
The National Assembly's communications committee earlier approved the
Broadcasting Amendment Bill, which provides, among other things, for
the Assembly to play a major role in removing SABC board members from
office.
Democratic Alliance communications spokesperson Dene Smuts said the
DA would consider petitioning President Thabo Mbeki not to assent to
the bill if Parliament passed it in its current form, but to send it
back to Parliament.
"The ANC has invented an unprecedented 'appointing body' which both
appoints and removes members of the SABC board on the advice of the
National Assembly, which consists of the President acting in
consultation with the Speaker of the National Assembly."
"This is surely antithetical to the constitutional doctrine of the
separation of powers. The President leads the executive authority of
the state, while the Speaker is the executive officer only for
Parliament as an institution, not the Republic," she said.
In the case of every Chapter 9 independent institution on which the
appointment and removal provisions of the SABC board were based, the
president appointed the commissioners or members chosen by Parliament.
He had no discretion in the matter, but was the appointing body
because Parliament had no executive powers.
"He can hardly be asked to perform the purely executive aspects of
this function in consultation with another arm of state," Smuts said.
She explained that, in April 2006, Mbeki sent the Icasa Amendment Bill
back to Parliament because its role was being usurped by the
executive.
This time, it was the role of the executive being usurped by Parliament.
"I also find problematic the absence of any explicit requirement for
due enquiry before the National Assembly adopts a resolution to remove
a member, or to dissolve the entire board.
"Implicit administrative justice is not enough administrative justice
when it is abundantly clear that a purge is being proposed for
political reasons.
"The proposition that the entire board may need to be removed is
offensive and will be seen for what it is: an attempt to get rid of
persons duly appointed prior to the installation of a board compliant
with the new ANC rulers," Smuts said.
DID YOU KNOW?
There are countless cases of the presence of police members within the
South African Police Service (SAPS) who have been found guilty of
offences on active duty, and who are subsequently allowed to return to
duty.
In addition, to date R90m has been spent on suspended SAPS members on
full pay, covering 12,723 working days in total. An example is one
Senior Superintendent (Division: Visible Policing) who has been
suspended for 638 days.
Among the offences listed where, after disciplinary hearings, members
returned to active duty, are:
• 13 cases of murder;
• 4 cases of rape;
• 13 cases of corruption; and,
• 1 case of armed robbery.
EYE ON CRIME
DESIGNER BULLET-PROOF CLOTHING
http://www.eyeoncrime.co.za/?q=node/413
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THE DA UNVEILS ITS CRIMINAL JUSTICE PLAN
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