Chairperson, the ACDP supports this Bill, as the secretariat will function independently of the Police Service and report directly to the Minister. This is unlike the current Secretariat for Safety and Security, which is regulated in terms of the South African Police Service Act, the Saps Act.
As one of the functions of the civilian secretariat is to monitor the performance of the Police Service, I hereby request that the performance of the police at the Hillbrow Police Station be prioritised and, specifically, that the secretariat looks at the way the police deal with drug trafficking in the area. The secretariat should also review the policy that restricts police officers' responsibilities to their prescribed areas of jurisdiction.
The ACDP believes that the police should be empowered to arrest criminals throughout the country so that they do not have a place to hide. What is reported to have happened in Hillbrow a few days ago, where Hillbrow police officers arrested police officers from Johannesburg while they were trying to arrest drug dealers is totally unacceptable and should not be allowed to happen again.
The Police Service should co-operate in order to stamp out crime throughout the country. I thank you.