Pretoria - While President Jacob Zuma's commitment to the fight against crime in the State of the Nation Address has been welcomed, some analysts believe the President did not give the issue the attention it deserves.
In the address on Thursday, Zuma said government would continue improving the capacity and effectiveness of police - in particular detective services, forensic analysts and crime intelligence.
Drug peddling, crimes against women and children, and corruption would also receive priority.
Dr Johan Burger, senior researcher in the Crime and Justice Programme at the Institute for Security Studies, expressed some disappointment with Zuma's reference to crime during the speech.
Burger said the President had "skimmed" over the issue.
However, he welcomed Zuma's focus on job creation, saying it would help combat what he described as "economic and property crime."
These types of crime had been on the increase and could be linked to the economic downturn experienced over the past two years, Burger said.
"The focus on job creation is certainly the right kind of thing to do. It will bring about relief in the area of economic and property crime - areas where we need to improve things."
Burger also noted another positive element mentioned in the speech was an increase in the recruitment and training of detectives and forensic specialists.
"But this is nothing new. It has been mentioned time and again by Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa in the past two years," he added.
Mthethwa, on the other hand, was pleased with crime combating commitments made by the President, saying his ministry would work hard to achieve them.
He said the Police Ministry was particularly happy with the commitment Zuma made with regards to capacitating the police and channeling more resources to the force.
"We have taken note of the President's comments on the need to reduce this scourge of crime and I can tell you we are working very hard to ensure that we have the necessary skills needed to combat crime in this country.
"Part of what we doing is focusing on the training of detectives and improving our forensic skills within the police service," Mthethwa said.
National Police Commissioner, General Bheki Cele, conceded that drug smuggling and organised crime remained a major challenge facing the police.
"There are two specific things the President alluded to ... drug abuse and the use of alcohol. We, as the South African Police Service, have taken a very strong stance against the abuse of alcohol and drugs and its and ongoing effort to ensure that we stamp out the practice," he said.
