Regaining Trust Between Communities and Police Central to Effective Policing

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The Portfolio Committee on Police has reiterated that regaining trust between the police and communities will encourage increased reporting of crimes. The committee received a detailed briefing on the Victims of Crime 2023/24 survey from Statistics South Africa and the overwhelming view was that the survey gives a different perspective, from the eyes of the victims of crime, and will enhance the response from the South African Police Service (SAPS).

The committee highlighted aspects such as the police responsiveness rate, the availability of resources such as vehicles, and the adequacy of investigations as central to resolving the question of trust. “The deficiencies currently with regards to the 10111 call centre and lack of vehicles directly impacts on the ability of SAPS to respond to acts of crime quickly. If the SAPS address these deficiencies, it will be a step in the right direction to resolving the question of trust,” said Mr Ian Cameron, the Chairperson of the committee.

It was also emphasised that the lack of trust in the police has led to an increase in vigilantism. The committee highlighted that vigilantes are inherently problematic as communities operate outside the boundary of the law and in many cases has led to innocent people being victimised.

In line with this, the SAPS must incrementally investigate and remove corrupt members of the SAPS among its ranks. “We commend the arrest of seven members of SAPS in Durban in connection with allegations they attempted to extort R100 000 from a Phoenix businessman. The commitment we have witnessed by the Minister of Police and SAPS management to arrest corrupt and criminal elements within its ranks will greatly assist in rebuilding trust,” Mr Cameron emphasised.

The committee highlighted, though, that an element that undermines trust in the crime fighting effort is the efficacy of the entire justice system value chain. The committee’s view is that currently the SAPS arrest many criminals, but the disjuncture is the inability to effectively prosecute those cases. “Operation Shanela is a case in point, where the police have arrested in excess of 800 000 suspects, but the prosecution rate cannot be measured. The entire justice crime prevention and security cluster must work in tandem to ensure effectiveness that will build confidence and might lead to an increase in reporting of crime,” Mr Cameron said.

Meanwhile, the committee highlighted concern with the increase with violent crime against women and children and underscored the inadequacy with the response to protecting vulnerable groups within our communities. “It is unsurprising to learn that 45% of women felt unsafe walking alone in their neighbourhood. The recent murder of Nomsa Jass highlights the vulnerabilities that women in our country continue to face and requires concerted efforts to remedy. Police visibility has largely been inadequate, and criminals are able to terrorise communities at a whim,” Mr Cameron said.

The committee emphasised the need for enhanced collaboration with other government departments such as the Department of Social Development to enhance counselling for victims of crime. According to the committee, it is unacceptable that 92.6% of victims of crime did not receive counselling after an incident, which perpetuates trauma. “We are however hopeful that the discussions between the SAPS and the DSD will yield the necessary intervention required, such as availing social workers at police stations to help victims of crime and alleviate the burden from police officials,” Mr Cameron said.

Regarding gang violence, the committee reiterated its concern that there remains a need to find workable solution to the escalating gang violence. “In Atlantis alone this past weekend there were reported six deaths as a result of gang violence, which continue to escalate at an alarming rate. Despite this, we welcome the intention by the Minister of Correctional Services to stop the movement of crime-related communication from prisons that lead to murders on our streets,” Mr Cameron said.

The committee acknowledged that the statistics give a framework on what trends of crime must be focused on. But most importantly, the committee highlighted the effective functioning of the justice crime prevention and security cluster in the effort to fight crime.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Republic of South Africa: The Parliament.