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Introduction

In the last seven months we issued warrants for the arrest of 286 000 criminals. This is not a static figure. It rises and drops as warrants are being issued and arrests made.

At this time we are concentrating on the search for 42 000 who top our list of wanted criminals. These were part of 42 000 warrants that were issued in the past few months. We cancelled 19 541 of the warrants because the suspects have either been arrested or traced to some prison. These people are known to the police and the net is closing on them.

We want to express appreciation to all our people for their assistance they continue to render to the Police, which is also the reason for the arrests we made to reduce the number of criminals on our most wanted lists.

The First Nine Years

From the outset, the major government priority in Safety and Security was to change the public mindset from a militaristic to a civilian approach. Before 1994 the primary focus of national security was to secure and advance the interests of white minority rule and the apartheid regime.

Consequently opposition to that political dispensation was seen as a threat to national security.

The mandates of the apartheid national security departments were often vague and ambiguous, particularly those of the intelligence structures. This led to duplication of functions and the execution of extra-judicial activities that, in turm, resulted in gross violations of human rights and destabilisation, within South Africa and beyond its borders.

The present government has fundamentally transformed the approach to and definition of national security, its conduct and accountability, with a view to creating peace and stability within South Africa, regionally, continentally and the world.

Peace and stability are premised on the provisions of the Constitution, which provides the following as principles that govern national security:

* National security must reflect the resolve of South Africans, as individuals and as a nation, to live as equals, to live in peace and harmony, to be free from fear and want and to seek a better life;

* The resolve to live in peace and harmony precludes any South African from participating in armed conflict, nationally or internationally except as provided for in terms of the Constitution or national legislation;

* National Security must be pursued in compliance with the law, including international law; and

* National Security is subject to the authority of Parliament and the national executive.

Guided by the above principles, the government has expanded the notion of national security and positioned it within the ambit of a human rights security paradigm.

The Constitution and legislation also provide for and emphasise control and oversight on security departments. The police, in particular, are subject to varying degrees of oversight and control by the executive and legislative branches, at national and provincial levels. They are subject further to oversight by the Independent Complaints Directorate (ICD), which investigates complaints regarding misconduct and offences allegedly committed by members of police structures.

Further monitoring of the implementation of policing is done by the National Secretariat for Safety and Security.

Law Enforcement

Our transformation programme has seen the restructuring of police management and structures and functions that relate thereto as well as the restructuring of about 500 specialised units into three multidisciplinary units focussing on Organised Crime, Serious and Violent Crime and Commercial Crime.

The capacity of the police has also improved considerably with the activation of the Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS) improving the investigative and detective capacity, and improving relationship between crime intelligence and the detectives.

The AFIS has enabled SAPS to process cases faster, more effectively and efficiently.

The introduction of AFIS has enabled the police to trace 293 386 previous conviction reports this year compared to a figure of 163 369 last year. A total of 3 481 more identifications of scene of crime fingerprints were made compared to last year. The system allows us to expand services to include palm-print identification.

Over and above the SAPS have:

* Implemented a service delivery programme in all police stations;
* Implemented an integrated case management system;
* Implemented a business, intelligence system, inclusive of a joint cluster-training programme in respect of crime intelligence and analysis;
* Completed a resources utilisation programme in respect of crime intelligence and analysis, and
* Established a service evaluation division, which includes all inspection functions.

This division is meant to support the institutionalisation of the service delivery programme.

SAPS have also established a Protection and Security Services Division responsible for the protection of very important persons (VIPs) and security at strategic National Key Points.

The government is phasing out the commandos so that their previous function of rural security and borderline control will be rationalised within the police who will provide all the services that are defined by government's rural safety programme. More resources are going to be made available for this by way of personnel and finances.

Notwithstanding these interventions there is still a need to improve the capacity of crime intelligence, further, as well as detectives and investigators. These interventions would ensure that greater numbers of arrests are informed by good investigative work.

Bilateral and multilateral partnerships

SAPS have developed bilateral and multilateral partnerships in the quest for democratic transformation. This was done to create higher levels of stability within South Africa and other affected countries in the region.

* Reducing Crime

National Crime Prevention Strategy

The National Crime Prevention Strategy emphasised that crime was not merely a security or law enforcement issue but also a social issue.

Consequently the strategy sought to give equal importance to preventing crime on the one hand and combating it on the other. The NCPS therefore sought to integrate crime into an over-arching socio-economic developmental priority for the country.

It proposed new approaches to crime prevention in four areas:

* Re-engineering the criminal justice system;
* Reducing crime through environmental design measures aimed at improving the built environment;
* Harnessing community participation to develop community values and education and
* Reducing trans-national organised crime.

Seven priority crimes were to be dealt with within these four pillars:

* Crimes involving firearms;
* Organised crime;
* White collar crime;
* Violent crimes against women and children;
* Inter-group conflicts and violence;
* Vehicle theft and hijacking and
* Corruption in the Criminal Justice System.

The above priorities initially did not have corresponding and clear implementation strategies and resources. The implementation of the NCPS was predicated on an assumption of sound co-operation and co-ordination, which at times proved elusive.

Among other problems co-operation across the three tiers of government was uneven.

In spite of this the NCPS has resulted in important projects that have borne good results. Among these are the partnerships with Business Against Crime, the integration of the justice system, the establishment of a Witness Protection Programme as well as a Victim Empowerment Programme.

National Crime Combating Strategy

This was developed as an operational element of the NCPS. It was adopted with a view to reducing crime in the select and priority crime spots that accounted for 50% of all crime (particularly serious and violent crime) in the country. The success of this strategy required good intelligence inputs, an implementation by multidisciplinary task teams, and managerial, human and logistical resources support.

The multidisciplinary teams of the JCPS - the Crime Combating Task Groups - have concluded several high intensity operations in the 145 priority policing areas. This mode of operation has also been employed in respect of other priority crime, such as taxi violence.

As Crime Combating Task Groups worked, the police implemented measures that sought to improve the effectiveness and efficiency in the priority policing areas.

It was intended that once crime had stabilised - expected within a period of three years - in priority policing areas, the other departments would institute measures that would normalise the situation.

This would have been achieved through improving efficiency and effectiveness within the Criminal Justice System and implementing social crime prevention initiative. The police have striven to improve service delivery at the same priority policing areas.

As a result of the NCCS, crime in the high-priority policing areas was stabilised a year ahead of schedule. Several organised crime syndicates had also been identified and neutralised.

* Partnerships

Community Police Forums

One of the important partnerships established relates to Community Police Forums (CPFs). These structures were established to exercise oversight and monitoring and evaluation over the outputs of police work. They also had to improve relationships between the police and communities, particularly in respect to solving problems jointly and thereby improving the quality of service and reduce crime. This would entail community mobilisation against crime and partnership, regarding social crime prevention interventions.

Despite these, CPFs have transformed the manner in which the police approach and interact with communities. They have also entrenched the approach of partnerships in respect of solving common problems and consequently greater trust between the police and the Communities.

The police have also established partnerships with several other community-based role players, including businesses. These links have improved the implementation of crime prevention initiatives - for instance in respect of promoting safety in schools, addressing domestic violence and improving the implementation of the governments anti-rape strategy.

Business Against Crime (BAC)

The partnership with BAC was formed in 1996 and covers a broad area: the Integrated Justice System, the Criminal Justice Strengthening Programme, the Service Delivery Improvement Programme within SAPS, the installation and operation of surveillance systems, organised crime, co-operation in respect of white collar crime and corruption, the Tiisa Thuto Project which teaches school learners non-violent methods of conflict resolution and positive morality, including life skills and personal values.

The BAC has supported the Government as consultants and facilitators by, among others, influencing strategy, policing and priorities, supporting a mutually agreed vision, transferring business skills, developing working solutions that deliver results, and developing the public/private partnership.

One part of the partnership that is relevant is in respect of surveillance systems that were installed in some urban areas. These systems are consistent with international best practice and where they have been put into operation, an 80% decrease in street crime has been achieved while also improving police response time to within a minute. Furthermore video footage of these surveillance systems constitutes admissible evidence in courts of law.

Looking ahead

We are going to improve the indicators used to measure the outcomes of the NCCS so that it does not rely solely on crime statistics, particularly on the basis of reported crimes and the number of people arrested.

More resources will be mobilised to improve the existing forensic laboratory capacity, so that among others the law enforcement agencies can be serviced by the laboratories from services available at those facilities.

Research findings on the profile of crime indicate that the police (and other CJS departments) need to continue improving levels of resources in black areas. Such an exercise will be accompanied by a vigorous implementation of social crime prevention initiatives and developing partnerships with organs of civil society and community based organisations.

* Key Focus Areas

Firearms Control

It is the intention of government to reduce the number of firearms and institute better and efficient regulations regarding ownership and possession. Various initiatives have been implemented in this regard and Operation Sethunya has netted more than 15 000 firearms nationally. The operation continues.

Drugs and substances

While the police have made major inroads in the fight against drug pedalling and confiscated drugs worth more than R500 million, there is much concern about how drugs are made available to the youth and the latter's use in distribution. Also of major concern is alcohol abuse. Most crimes are committed during weekends when more alcohol is abused.

Domestic Violence

There have been shocking revelations in this area and much has been done to equip the unit specifically dealing with this area - Child Protection, Family Violence and Sexual Offences Unit.

Police Killings

This is another priority area in our fight against crime. Any killing of one of our foot soldiers is one too many. We have also been bugged by misunderstanding on the legal position concerning Sect 49 of the Criminal Procedure Act.

We are continuously discussing the matter of the killings with the police unions taking a leading role. Detailed information on this and other important matters in the Police will be addressed by the National Commissioner of the SA Police when he releases the Police Annual Report later this month.

Issued by Ministry of Safety and Security

8 September 2003