National Police Commissioner General Khehla Sitole has described the maiden National Safer City Summit as a success.
The two-day gathering was held on 19 - 20 March in Tshwane under the theme ‘Together innovating sustainable safer city solutions’.
“The summit will serve as a building block in bringing us closer to the shared vision of a safer South Africa for all. Going forward, we expect a summit report in 14 days and in 21 days, we expect the first-of-its-kind National Safer City Framework to be in place, detailing key objectives.
“Integration and collaboration by all stakeholders is key in making this framework a success. This is a concept that is going to revolutionise policing. We will be able to speedily identify root causes of crime and modus operandi, and thereafter be able to decisively deal with crime through a multi-disciplinary and collaborative approach with all stakeholders involved,” Sitole said.
The summit brought together 300 delegates, comprising senior leadership in the South African Police Service from all the nine provinces, the Junior National Commissioner and her deputies, representatives from Metro Police Departments, government departments, institutions of higher learning, and police representatives and chiefs from Angola, Eswatini and Zimbabwe, among others.
Building on the 2016 White Paper on Safety and Security, the summit created a platform for delegates to deliberate on safety as a collective responsibility across all sectors.
The aim was to develop a Safer City Model, in line with the international crime prevention priorities.
Delegates recommended that a technical team, comprising various stakeholders be appointed to develop a National Safer City Framework, followed by an implementation plan that will outline how this process will unfold.
This National Safer City Framework will be piloted in 10 cities including Durban, Cape Town, Johannesburg, Witbank, Port Elizabeth, Rustenburg, Kimberley, Pretoria, Bloemfontein and Polokwane.
The recently appointed Junior National Commissioner was also present and added her views on how the youth can also play a part in contributing to a safe and secure South Africa. – SAnews.gov.za
