By Benson Ngqentsu
There has been a debate and discussion within the body politics of the national liberation movement about the establishment of a single police service, which would be headed by a National Police Commissioner.
Despite the fact that this debate became prominent from the 52nd National General Council of the ANC in the lead up to the 2007 National Conference, prior that, the trade union-Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union (Popcru) a Cosatu affiliate was the leading champion of this discourse.
The debate followed a realisation that despite the fact that all law enforcement authorities – SAPS, municipal police, law enforcement and traffic police – have the common objective of combating crime, their approaches and co-ordination have been disjointed and incoherent. In essence, they do not help in the effective and efficient fight against the scourge of crime in our country.
As scholars in the field of criminology also agrees, the present alarming rate of crime in South Africa in general – and no less so in Cape Town – requires well-co-ordinated, integrated and uniform strategies and tactics.
A single police service will contribute towards professionalisation of the police as per the ideals of the National Development Plan-vision 2030.
Therefore, as Provincial Secretary of the South African Communist Party in the Western Cape and ANC’s spokesperson for Police Oversight and Community Safety in the Western Cape Provincial legislature, I warmly welcome the general thrust of the co-operation agreement between Police Minister Senzo Mchunu, Western Cape MEC Anroux Marais and MMC for Community Safety JP Smith.
The agreement, which was signed on Friday August 30, should be recognised as an important building block towards the realisation of the single police service. This move will also uphold the Constitutional provision that there be a single police service.
The agreement’s purpose is to record the co-operation required of the national, provincial and local spheres of government in pursuit of a shared vision for safety and security within the City of Cape Town and ultimately beyond. Encompassing various initiatives, programmes, and strategies aimed at promoting a safe, secure, and conducive environment, it provides for:
- The creation of a shared safer city vision that maximises integrated relationships with all spheres of government and civil society in creating a safe and secure environment;
- The development of programmes, plans, interventions and infrastructure that will seek to reduce the levels of crime.
- The development of an aligned approach to support and enhance economic performance within the province.
- Ensuring that a conducive governance platform is formulated that traverse decision-making levels of all spheres of government and of other relevant stakeholders.
- The building of internal capacity to ensure successful delivery of the project.
- The undertaking of research and developing, procuring and commissioning technological infrastructure where resources are integrated; and
- The alignment of strategies as well as co-ordination of implementation.
Essentially, the co-operation agreement – if effectively handled in the spirit displayed by leaders at the City Hall on Tuesday 27 August 2024 – will ultimately mitigate the many years of tensions and public spats between the national government and provincial and local government.
There is an urgent need for enhanced co-operation between the three spheres of government to address the ongoing and severe challenges of organised crime, such as racketeering and extortion, which are causing pervasive fear in poor working-class communities.
The recent murder of Mrs Nompumelelo Makeleni, an elderly woman in Kraaifontein, starkly illustrates the brazenness of these criminal networks and highlights the necessity for immediate and decisive governmental action. The recently published Victims of Crime Survey brought to the spotlight the persistent and alarming threats to women’s safety.
The report found that psychological violence and sexual offences disproportionately affect women, with weapons frequently used in sexual violence cases. This data highlights a broader crisis of safety, with a significant proportion of women feeling unsafe even in their own neighbourhoods.
The survey showed that while approximately 80 percent of individuals aged 16 and older feel safe walking alone in their neighbourhoods during the day, this sense of safety drastically diminishes after dark, as only 34.9 percent of respondents report feeling safe walking alone at night, with women experiencing a markedly greater sense of insecurity compared to men. The crisis of extortion therefore further compounds the problem.
We hope that these collaborative efforts will not only focus on immediate security measures but will also tackle longstanding causative factors of crime affecting working class communities.
These include the inadequate street lighting in crime hotspot areas, lack of accessibility in squatter camps, and the broader socio-economic factors such as extreme poverty, high unemployment, and pervasive inequalities. Addressing these systemic problems is crucial for creating a safer and more equitable environment for all residents.
* Benson Ngqentsu is the SACP’s Provincial Secretary and the Member of the Western Cape Provincial Legislature responsible for Police Oversight and Community Safety
** The views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of IOL or Independent Media