STATE OF THE NATION ADDRESS 2005
More resources for tackling crime
Edwin Tshivhidzo
11 February 2005
The government is to inject more resources into the South African Police Service in order to boost SA's crime-fighting capacity, President Thabo Mbeki said in his State of the Nation Address to Parliament in Cape Town on Friday.
Last October, the government announced an additional R2.3-billion to improve the salaries of members of the SAPS. In addition, an extra 8 000 members and 3 000 support staff have been recruited since May 2004.
Mbeki said the government would continue setting up community courts, with the aim of having at least two in each province.
SA's new charter for victims of crime would be given real life through educating the public about their rights and by reorienting the country's police and justice officials to provide victims with the services they were entitled to.
The government would expand the number of police areas for focused multi-disciplinary interventions from 63 to 69, Mbeki said.
It will also
improve law enforcement and security at SA's ports of entry, improve the monitoring of caseloads to reduce case cycle time, and improve the performance of justice officers through the revitalisation of the Justice College.
The number of children in police and prison custody will also be "rapidly reduced", Mbeki said, especially in Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal and the Western Cape.
By April 2007, the government will have established four new correctional facilities, and introduced a new ethos in the treatment of offenders in order to curb recidivism.
More sexual offences courts will be opened, taking into account that the conviction rate (at 62%) is much higher than in ordinary courts (at 42%), and improve the capacity of all dedicated courts, including those dealing with car hijackings.
The government will also review the Foreign Military Assistance Act in order to discourage those who seek to profit from conflict and human suffering, such as in Iraq.
Mbeki
acknowledged police initiatives in tackling crime, saying that progress was evident in the ongoing reduction in SA's crime rates, especially of the most serious crimes.
The past year saw declines in the rate of crimes such as murder (by 8%), car and motorcycle theft (by 5.4%), common robbery (by 5.9%), cash-in-transit heists (by 48.7%) and bank robberies (by 57.5%).
At the same time, Mbeki acknowledged that there were crimes, such as aggravated robbery and child abuse, that were on the increase.
"Yes, the level of crime, especially violent incidents, remains unacceptable, but we are confident of meeting our target of reducing the rate of contact crimes by 7-10 percent per year", Mbeki said.
For this reason, security agencies had set up task teams to identify, apprehend and convict organised crime leaders and other perpetrators of serious crimes, with 168 of SA's top 200 wanted criminals having been arrested since May 2004.
In last year's State of the
Nation Address, Mbeki said the government would ensure that SA's 200 most wanted would be put behind bars.
"Of those involved in organised crime, 67 out of 96 identified have been arrested", Mbeki added.
Source: BuaNews
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