Democratic Alliance to table community safety bill in 8 provinces
8 April 2019
The Democratic Alliance (DA) will announce its intention to introduce and table Community Safety Bills in all provincial legislatures as a matter of the utmost urgency.
The envisaged Community Safety Bills will be introduced in all provinces, with the exception of the Western Cape, which saw the first provincial Community Safety Act being enacted into law in 2013.
It has become abundantly clear that the ANC-led national government is incapable of ensuring the effective functioning of the South African Police Service (SAPS). The institutional ineptitude that plagues the SAPS has found its way deep into its provincial structures and years of inaction has sent a very clear message – the ANC government is unwilling to intervene to stop the rot.
The DA in provincial legislatures has now been left with no alternative other than to take the burden of resolving the safety issues that plague communities upon itself by introducing provincial legislation to ensure the effective and efficient functioning of the SAPS at provincial level.
The ground-breaking Community Safety Act has a proven track record of improving the effectiveness of policing at provincial level in the Western Cape and is an indication of what can be achieved by a willing legislature and a capable DA-led government.
The tabling of the Community Safety Bill across the remaining eight legislatures will see the functions of the MEC for safety strengthened. The Bill will provide for new ways of monitoring, oversight and assessment of policing at provincial level, and to this end, a Provincial Police Ombudsman will be created in every province.
The Bill will provide provincial-specific directives for the establishment of Community Policing Forums and Boards, and provide support to Neighbourhood Watches. Community safety can only be served by effective community policing, which requires thorough and participatory integration of community-based policing structures. To this end, an integrated information system between the SAPS and the provincial government will be established to best quip both parties to combat crime.
The Bill will further increase the accountability of the SAPS by requiring that provincial commissioners report to their relevant MECs and legislatures on the state of safety in their province. A mechanism will also be provided for instances in which there is a loss of confidence in the provincial commissioner. Further reporting requirements on the executive heads of any municipal police services in a province will further increase oversight over police functions at provincial level, which will ensure that the police are held responsible for the safety of the communities that they serve.
Communities in the DA-governed Western Cape have already reaped the rewards of the province’s Community Safety Act. It is time that other provinces get a taste of what a DA government will do for them, their safety and that of their families.
The DA is committed to improving the lives of all South Africans and the introduction of this bill will do just that.
Issued by John Steenhuisen, Chief Whip of the Official Opposition, 8 April 2019
