Parliament - The Department of Police has declared a war on organised crime and corruption in the public and private sectors.
"We are going to be tough on criminals," Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa said on Thursday, adding that his department will adopt the same approach it did when dealing with possible violent outbreaks at hot spots in the period preceding the recent General Elections.
He was speaking in Parliament on Thursday during the debate on President Jacob Zuma's State of the Nation Address.
He said his department will pay particular attention to combating corruption and fraud in procurement and tender processes, application for drivers' licences, social grants, IDs and theft of police case dockets.
As part of strengthening the social contract against crime, the security cluster will also deepen its interface with labour, churches, business, the private security industry, traditional leaders, and all other stakeholders.
"We believe that crime, and perceptions about it, are such a serious matter in our country that all of us need to give added attention to the issue," he told the National Assembly.
The minister highlighted that an improved capacity to prevent crimes before they occur requires active partnerships between the police and the public.
And as such, government continues to strengthen the structural design aimed at deepening and tightening the interface between communities and their police service.
This design, he mentioned, includes the establishment of Community Safety Forums (CSF), street or village committees, and the strengthening of the current Community Policing Forum establishment programme.
"To this extent, the Ministry is in the process of establishing a section dealing with strategic partnership and popular participation."
Community Safety Forums will help in the monitoring and functional coordination of the criminal justice system at the local or municipal level.
He said the establishment of street and village committees will take crime combating and crime prevention to every corner of the country, commending those communities already actioning this and encouraging others to follow suit.
Yesterday, the president repeated his call on citizens to do their bit in the fight against crime.
"Together we must do more to fight crime," he told Parliament in his first State of the Nation Address, emphasising that everyone had a role to play in the war against crime.
"We must actively participate in Community Policing Forums. We must stop buying stolen goods, which encourages crime.
"We must report crime and assist the police with information to catch wrongdoers. In this way, we will move forward towards a crime-free society," Mr Zuma said.
Government intended to establish a transformed, integrated, modernised, properly-resourced and well-managed criminal justice system.
It was also critically important to improve courts' efficiency and the performance of prosecutors, and to enhance detective, forensic and intelligence services.
The most serious attention would also be given to combating organised crime, as well as crimes against women and children, the president indicated.
Other key initiatives included setting up a Border Management Agency, intensifying efforts against cyber crime and identity theft, and improving systems in jails to reduce repeat offending.
On transformation of the judiciary, President Zuma said it should address key issues such as enhancing judicial independence, entrenching internal systems of judicial accountability, as well as ensuring full access to justice by all.
Responding to this, Mr Mthetwa said specific measures include: steps to ensure speedy finalization of investigations and cases, use of alternative custodial sanction where appropriate, maintaining and safeguarding the identity of citizens and foreign nationals, the maximum and efficient utilization of facilities and infrastructure within the Cluster including integration of IT systems, bringing courts closer to communities, increasing the number of prosecutors and legal-aid practitioners among others.
