Speech by Mr Velaphi B Ndlovu MP
 

22 May 2007  

Chairperson,

This year's Safety and Security budget increases by R3, 4 billion to a total allocation of R35, 9 billion. The increase will mostly go to the recruitment of more police officers, building new police stations and improving conditions of service. The IFP has consistently called for more police, more police stations and better pay for those members of the SAPS who serve the community with dedication and professionalism. We therefore welcome the increased Safety and Security budget.

Despite official figures indicating that overall crime rates have gone down, it is also true that certain violent crimes have increased, particularly crimes against the person and property. It is for this reason, Hon Minister, that the public feels crime is out of control. Members of the public fear having their homes broken into when they are present; they fear they will be hijacked in their driveways and they fear for the lives of their wives, husbands, children and family and friends in the face of violent criminals who show little or no mercy.

The Hon. Minister can make as many overseas trips as he likes to placate investors and concerned foreign governments, but the perceptions about crime at home will not go away unless the public's confidence in the police is restored.

There are currently more than 155 000 officers in the SAPS with plans to increase this number to 193 000 by 2010. The IFP feels that this is still not enough personnel to effectively combat crime and to improve visible policing. The latter is one way of restoring public confidence. When communities see the police patrolling their streets on a regular basis they obviously will have more confidence in the SAPS and more police on the streets will obviously act as a deterrent to would-be criminals. Effective visible policing requires not only more police, but more vehicles, radios and other crucial equipment to be truly successful.

Another way of restoring public confidence in the police is to improve the public's interaction with the SAPS. In other words, members of the public should be treated in a dignified and caring, professional manner by police officers when they report crimes or when they are in contact with police. For this to occur, training has to be improved. It is simply unacceptable that any police officer should be unable to take down an accurate statement from a complainant or witness, or that police take hours to respond to cries for help or that bumbling officers destroy or contaminate vital evidence at a crime scene.

In addition, public confidence could be boosted if police release crime statistics more regularly. The Hon. Minister has indicated that this would be done and we welcome it, but for these statistics to be meaningful they have to be time-sensitive and accurate. They should provide a detailed picture of crime in a particular area so that station commanders, community policing forums, neighbourhood watches and private security companies can be made aware of crime trends. Station commanders should use this area information to closely involve the community in crime fighting by liasing with all roleplayers.

The IFP believes that the greatest gains in restoring public confidence can be made in decentralising the SAPS to the lowest level possible. The local police station must be a focal point for the community. They must know who is stationed there and that their problems will be responded to immediately. Similarly, local police obviously know local conditions and the community best and the current practise of constant re-deployment between areas must be stopped. It is unacceptable that just as an officer has learnt an area, its people and their problems, that officer is summarily transferred to another area to start the learning process all over again. This practise is not conducive to good, community policing and effective crime-fighting.

Another concern for the IFP is how new recruits are being allocated to the provinces. Are they being allocated to the provinces with the highest crime rates, or the areas with the highest crime rates, or are they being allocated according to the establishment plans set at police headquarters? We certainly believe that new recruits must be allocated to the areas with the biggest crime problems so that they can make an immediate impact in crime-fighting.

Chairperson,

The Independent Complaints Directorate (ICD) receives R80, 8 million in this year's budget which is R14,9 million or 23% more than last year. This large increase will go towards improving the remuneration of investigators and opening two satellite offices.

While the IFP welcomes the ICD's increased budget, we have to raise concern that the ICD is not properly fulfilling its mandate. The mere fact that 423 persons have died as a result of police action over the last year and that allegations of torture against police persist shows that the ICD is failing.

Not all of the ICD's problems and failures can be laid at its door. The limited number of investigators and the failure to retain them obviously play a role, but it is the ICD's uneasy relationship with the police that should be of greatest concern. It is perfectly understandable that there should be tension between the two bodies, but in essence their structural and functional relationship must be blamed. As long as the ICD has to rely heavily on the police for information about deaths in custody and other instances of police misconduct, and as long as it can only make recommendations for further action, it will not be able to carry out its mandate.

The IFP therefore calls on the Hon. Minister to launch an in-depth review of the position of the ICD, its mandate, functioning and relationship with the SAPS. Perhaps the time has come to give the ICD more teeth and to make it truly independent and not so reliant on the police as is currently the case.

Chairperson,

Notwithstanding the IFP's concerns that I have highlighted, we will support the budgets of Safety and Security and of the ICD.

Thank you