Committee on Police calls for cutting edge strategies to fight crime
12 September 2019
The Portfolio Committee on Police has called for a relook on the way policing is done in South Africa to stop the rising crime statistics. The committee views it as unacceptable that, every year there is a general increase on crime, yet there are no strident and cutting edge strategies in place to fight crime.
“The committee is of the view that the trajectory of crime cannot continue at the current rate and requires a shift in the way we view policing, from being responsive to being more more preventive. This can be achieved through the intensification of collaboration with communities,” said the Chairperson of the committee, Ms Tina Joemat-Pettersson.
The committee has also suggested that the police should look into increasing deployment of police in the communities for the purposes of visible policing on weekends, a period which is highlighted as a period in which more, and dangerous crime is committed.
The police must work hard to recapture their credibility and public trust. This will be achieved by being responsive to the concerns of the communities and remove those that are corrupt among them.