In tabling the 2024 Police department budget in a mini plenary of the National Assembly, the Minister of Police, Mr Senzo Mchunu, said that the budget expenditure within the South African Police Services will focus on core programmes in the medium term, with visible policing accounting for more than half of the spending.
In addition, the department is looking to recruit additional members to boost police ranks. "Additional police are crucial for addressing the growing demands of communities. That will ensure that SAPS effectively combat crime successfully. We need to enhance police visibility as a priority," he said.
Minister Mchunu identified systems modification as another crucial weapon in the fight against crime, particularly fighting organised crime. An additional focus area for the police in this financial year is the proliferation of firearms. "The proliferation of firearms requires dedicated focus. Most murders are committed using illegal firearms. SAPS needs to improve its own handling of firearms in its possession; this is a worry that SAPS are losing so many firearms and rates are quite high and contributing to proliferation against which we are fighting.
"We understand the critical importance of protecting our economy from criminal activity. Economic infrastructure task teams supported by organised crime investigation capabilities will focus on combating crimes such as illegal mining, infrastructure-related crimes, and extortion in all business sectors particularly in the construction sector."
He said police's specialised capabilities will collaborate with external stakeholders to address these challenges, and that efforts to tackle organised crime, money laundering and terror financing will continue, in line with recommendations from the financial action task force.
"There is an urgent need for a more strategic and consolidated response to organised crime, which poses an existential threat to our economy and democracy. These initiatives will be implemented through the detective services and crime intelligence programmes. There will be an increased effort to identify and neutralize gangs involved in drugs-related crimes. Targeting these criminal networks will cut supply chains of drugs," Minister Mchunu promised.
Representing the African National Congress, committee member Mr Mogodu Moela supported the budget and said the country is still facing serious challenges that require a collective effort.
"Our people are concerned by the levels of crime in their communities. People cannot fully enjoy democracy when they live in fear; cannot walk freely if criminals have taken the streets. The levels of the increase of murder crime warrants an intervention," he said.
Mr Moela said women needed to live freely without any fear of criminals. "We must all put an end to these criminals and their acts of criminality; police alone cannot win the fight against crime."
Also participating in the debate, the Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee of Police, Mr Ian Cameron, said the challenges SAPS faces are immense but not insurmountable. He said: "We must tackle the existing issues head on while ensuring the restoration of the integrity of the SAPS. We must also ensure the protection of whistleblowers. Joining hands with these groups we will foster a more inclusive and supportive environment for the police."
He said the committee is deeply concerned by the continued lack of capacity in the crime intelligence and detective services. "These are critical areas for proactively reducing crime and ensuring successful prosecutions. We cannot allow hardened criminals to get bail arbitrarily when detectives work so hard to make arrests."
Mr Cameron called on South Africans to stand by the many good police officers. In addition, the inadequate wellness programmes within SAPS need to be addressed.
Another committee member Mr David Skosana of Mkhonto Wesizwe Party said the SAPS is flawed and operates without the mandate of communities. "The public has lost faith in the police due to numerous complaints of misconduct, corruption and women rights violations. The police should be the service that truly serves the community rather than a force that instils fear and mistrust," he said.
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Committee member for the Economic Freedom Fighters, Dr Mbuyiseni Ndlozi, said it concerned him that there is no strategy to prevent crime in what the department presented. He lamented that so many people in South Africa die for no reason. "Of the top 30 police stations over the last few years, they repeat themselves. You know where murder is taking place; that means you need a preventative strategy. There is not strategy here to address that." He said this was the same for rape and gender-based violence.
Dr Ndlozi alleged that drugs are embedded within the police and are successfully transported via police vans because they do not get searched. "There is no strategy in this APP to deal with the embeddedness of the law enforcement in the criminal networks in this country. The reason we have the levels of crime we have in this country is because the police themselves are part of the criminal activity," he alleged. Dr Ndlozi said the EFF doesn't support the budget.
Sibongile Maputi
