House Chairperson,
The ACDP would like to congratulate the new Minister and his deputies, and wish them well in their portfolios, as we do the new Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee.
Now, we know the budget of SAPS is R113,597 billion, the Civilian Secretariat for Police receives R155 million and IPID R370 million, yet, in our view, government is still failing to protect its citizens.
It is the central role of government to protect its citizens, yet people do not feel safe in their homes, at work and in public places, and our communities are ravaged by crime, drug abuse and gender-based violence. Yet we’ve seen a R50 billion increase in the Police budget over 10 years.
So, what is the most efficient deterrent to crime? The most efficient deterrent to crime is the sure knowledge that a perpetrator will be apprehended, successfully prosecuted and sentenced to a lengthy period of imprisonment. Yet, sadly, most criminals get away with it and, in fact, some would say ‘crime does pay’. And if apprehended, they are in the main not successfully prosecuted.
What is needed is more efficient policing and more efficient detective services.
We heard of 1.5 million police dockets that have been returned by the NPA. Clearly that is the starting point of our criminal justice system and we need to improve our detective capacity.
What is also concerning is that poorly-trained SAPS officials cost the taxpayer a staggering R2.2 billion in civil claims. Just think of that — that is money that is wasted. That is more than the entire budget for the forensic science laboratories. It’s almost a third of the budget for crime intelligence operations and nearly a quarter of the budget for border security that is being paid out as compensation for civil claims.
Clearly far more needs to be done to improve law enforcement and our criminal justice system to ensure the safety and protection of our citizens.
Lastly, the ACDP calls on the Minister, the Ministry and even the portfolio committee to engage faith-based organisations in South Africa in the fight against crime.
Consider the question: how many policemen do we need in our nation? 250,000? 400,000? We need 61 million policemen! Every single citizen needs to be a policeman and it starts with self-control. Once you have self-control, then you have respect for other people, for their lives and for their property.
I would urge the Minister to engage those faith-based organisations who foster and promote self-governance in the fight against crime.
I thank you.
