Community Safety has made inroads in the fight against crime

JOHANNESBURG – The Gauteng Department of Community Safety is mandated to ensure that the province is safe and secure.

This is realized through conducting of oversight over the South African Police Service and Metro Police Departments.

Admittedly the road travelled since the dawn of democracy has not been easy in undoing the evils of the past created over centuries in just over a 20 year period.   Nevertheless we are proud of what South Africa is today and indeed continue to be on the right path in the realisation of a better place to live in.

Key to fighting the escalating scourge of crime particularly violence against women and children, business and house robberies, road safety, the Executive Council of Gauteng took a bold decision to adopt the Gauteng Safety Strategy.  Central to the strategy is the emphasis on pillar four being community mobilisation out of the realisation that police cannot be at every corner but needed a paradigm shift in making communities to Take Charge of their safety if Gauteng is to be a safer province.  This was done through the establishment of different safety structures such as Community Policing Forums, Community Safety Forums, Men as Safety Promoters, Women’s desks, street committees all of which has done a lot.

Among achievements that the department has had in the past years   to achieve its mandate is:

•           Since 1994, 141 Community Police Forum (CPF) structures are established with more than 1410 active members, so as to bridge the gap and improve relations between respective communities and SAPS

•           The development of (Violence against Women and Children (VAWAC) Strategy, developed in 2001. This was in response to violence against women and children

•           The establishment of Ikhaya Lethemba, provincial flagship within the Department of Community Safety. This facility is a one stop centre for victim of domestic and sexual violence. The centre ensures that victims are able to access multi disciplinary services, including counselling, medico – legal, prosecutorial and policing services

•           The launch of the “Take Charge” campaign, with aim of community mobilization against criminal activities, social cohesion and moral regeneration to takes its cause in 2006

•           The Patroller Programme that has attracted lot of interest from business as well as other sectors within the community, wherein communities started to volunteer their services due to systems and the link with the SAPS that was created. To date there are 12 000 participants/patrollers

•           Implementation of a civilian oversight model meant that we now have SAPS that accounts to a provincial department. Police station visits and quarterly review sessions were now conducted wherein SAPS account for policing in the province

•           The South African Police Service and Metropolitan Police Departments have over the past year increased their visibility along our major arterial routes in the province thereby improving safety of motorists.

•           To date Men as Safety Promoters (MASP), have trained over 10 000 as volunteers. MASP is an initiative that seek to contribute to the reduction of violence against women and children and the impact that it has on men in order to promote a violence free society for vulnerable groups

•           As preventative measure the department has taken 1 530 pupils were to prison tours to enable young people to understand the effects of substance abuse and crime.

•           A total of 1000 young people have received accredited training on Social Crime Prevention

•           To date 5980 Community Patrollers, so as make our neighbourhood safer have been deployed

•           The department has deployed 4 188 patrollers at 398 schools in the province to deal with theft and vandalism

•           The department has launched the Criminal Justice Co-ordinating Committee, to improve coordination and ensure the effective functioning and integration of the criminal justice system in Gauteng

•           50 green door sites which are found in private homes, churches, community offices or any other point that may be easily accessed by the community members have been established

•           Training of forensic social workers, to assist conducting assessments regarding suspects’ mental competency to understand their behaviour and stand trial; making recommendations concerning child custody, divorce, and the placement of emotionally disturbed or delinquent juveniles; preparing for court presentations as expert witness,  advocating for welfare rights and providing victim support,  mediation and empowerment. This financial year the department has will trained 30 forensic social workers and it will training 30 new forensic social worker annually over the next five years.

•           Substance Abuse (Anti-Nyaope) Campaign was launched in Eersterus in June 29 last year. This campaign also gave birth to the aftercare programme for recovering addicts

•           Following the aftercare programme, since the beginning of this year, 20 beneficiaries have been taken to a cosmetology course, five have been taken to a sound engineering course and a further 20 have undergone computer training. In March this year 30 more were taken on a driver’s licence course and an additional five will undergo a social auxiliary programme

These successes as minor as they may seem in comparison to the future we desire, they have contributed in transition in Gauteng. Social crime prevention programmes continues to play a vital in ensuring that crime preventative measures are in place as an attempt to avoid crime from taking place. Selfless patriots also continue to participate in crime prevention and safety structures to make sure that indeed all people in  are South Africa are and feels safe.

Faith Mazibuko is the MEC for Community Safety in Gauteng