Chairperson, Ministers here present today, the Deputy Minister of Police, Ms Sotyu, the chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Police, Ms Chikunga, the National Commissioner of Police, Gen Bheki Cele, the SA Police Service management present, hon members, distinguished guests and ladies and gentlemen, 2011, as declared by the President of the Republic, His Excellency Jacob Zuma, on the occasion of the state of the nation address, is the year of job creation. He said:
Our goal is clear. We want to have a country where millions more South Africans have decent employment opportunities, which has a modern infrastructure and a vibrant economy and where the quality of life is high. Everyone must think of how they can contribute to the jobs campaign through creating opportunities for themselves and others.
Section 205(3) of the Constitution of the Republic enjoins the SA Police Service -
to prevent, combat and investigate crime, to maintain public order, to protect and secure the inhabitants of the Republic and their property, and to uphold and enforce the law.
The police are the institutional expression of the resolve by South Africans, as individuals and as a nation, to realise safety and security. The police are, and always must be, subject to the will of the people they serve. The challenge confronting all of us is to transform South Africa and make her a place of hope, security and human fulfilment.
We are emphasising this aspect of the Constitution deliberately because all our actions must be guided by this highest law in the land. From effecting an arrest to securing convictions, we premise our actions on the letter and spirit of the Constitution. We therefore approach these tasks with all the seriousness they require.
Co-operation with the Police Service in the region and further afield will be intensified, whilst border control will be tightened continually. In introducing these measures, we proceed from the premise that crime is a scourge that does not respect borders, with syndicates that have made the entire globe the theatre of their evil operations.
The eradication of women and children abuse is central to the fight against crime. This requires deliberate programmes of education and other measures to transform gender and family relations, the retraining of justice administrators, the police and the provision of the necessary resources to ensure the safety of, and restore dignity to, the victims. In brief, our programme in this financial year consists of achieving better policing, a better trained and efficient criminal justice system and the involvement of all in our society in the fight against crime.
Let us look at what different sections of the police have done, starting with the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation, DPCI, otherwise known as the Hawks. In tackling commercial crime, the Hawks made 8 294 arrests and secured 5 267 convictions between 1 April 2010 and 31 March 2011. When it comes to organised crime, they arrested a further 2 439 people and secured 532 convictions.
During the period under review, the directorate profiled and pursued the 50 most-wanted suspects for armed robberies, ATM bombings, cash-in-transit heists and bank robberies, and apprehended 49 suspects. Only one suspect is still at large and the police are in hot pursuit of him. Other notable successes relate to intensifying the war on corruption.
The directorate has established an anti-corruption unit that deals with corruption within the Justice, Crime Prevention and security cluster. Amongst the many high-level cases, was the arrest of two senior public officials, a chief director and a director from the Department of Home Affairs, who were arrested after accepting a R200 000 payment as a bribe from a company executive officer who wanted to secure a R19 million tender from that department.
Of particular note should be the work of the Hawks in fighting drugs and the proliferation thereof. Some of their significant successes include but are not limited to the following. A trans-shipment container worth R83 million, which was destined for Zimbabwe from Paraguay, was intercepted in the Eastern Cape and a bust was made of 166,3 kilograms of cocaine on 25 August 2010, and that culminated in the arrest of several members of an international drug-trafficking organisation. On 10 December 2010 a ship was intercepted in Knysna harbour carrying 1,7 tons of cocaine valued at R510 million, which resulted in arrests.
The Hawks, together with the United Arab Emirates, British Serious Organised Crime Agency and the Dutch National Crime Squad, conducted a joint operation targeting an international drug-trafficking organisation. In December 2010, a controlled delivery was executed that culminated in the seizure of cocaine and Mandrax, valued at approximately R100 million. The list is long; suffice to say that the Hawks are active, as we said they would be when we launched them.
In conjunction with the Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs, the directorate became involved in a probe into municipalities under the banner of Operation Clean Audit, and to that effect there are statistics in support of that.
A dedicated capacity was created in the provinces to investigate and combat corruption within local government. All in all, 60 public officials and 29 members of the public were convicted in that process. We now turn to "Operation Duty Calls Festive Season". This is becoming part and parcel of the identity of the police. When everyone is out there enjoying life's pleasures, the police get indigestion because they have to work. There was a total of 321 013 arrests during the operation; 4 509 firearms were seized and seizures included, inter alia, 3 638 vehicles. As I said earlier, the list is very long.
With regard to the forensics backlog, we have placed more focus on addressing some of the challenges that faced this unit in the past. The overall backlog within the Forensic Science Laboratory, FSL, declined significantly by 66% from 1 April 2010 to 31 March 2011. We are happy to announce to the nation, at this point in time, that we do not have a backlog with regard to forensic DNA, and those matters that we have on record fit within the prescribed 35-day turnaround time. In fact, the FSL, this time around, is giving itself a 28-day turnaround period from 35 days, which is an improvement.
This success will go a long way in helping the police reduce crime and, importantly, to secure convictions. In the main, while the issue of successful convictions lies with the courts, on our part as the police, this kind of investigation coupled with forensic analysis will have an important impact.
Regarding the discovery of arms caches, the recent discovery of arms caches across the country was not a random occurrence or pure coincidence. These successes were achieved through co-ordinated efforts. We plan properly. We execute those plans with precision and smartness. We are succeeding because we have the resolve and support of the communities.
On the issue of legislation, we have reported in the past that we needed to tighten the legislation, particularly on civilian oversight. Legislation on both the Independent Complaints Directorate, the ICD, and the Civilian Secretariat of Police has been put before Parliament.
On the issue of a single Police Service, as we reported last year, the work is going on and we have now developed a document which emanated from the feasibility study, and we are going to be proceeding with this, as we will also be proceeding with the review of the SAPS Act and the White Paper on Safety and Security.
We have noted the Constitutional Court ruling on the Hawks, or the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation, and we are committed to correcting what the court said should be corrected. I must say, at this point, that two issues, one, the consultation - which was also a challenge - and two, the placement of the Hawks within the police, were not challenged and were, in fact, in favour of the state.
We are also still committed to ensuring that this year we introduce the Private Security Industry Regulatory Authority Bill to ensure that the private security industry is regulated accordingly.
One of our priorities is the implementation of the rural safety strategy. Dedicated focus is being given to the practical implementation of the rural safety strategy. In this regard, particular attention is being given to cross-border crimes and stock theft. I must say that since we launched the strategy last year, together with stakeholders, especially the unions: the Food and Allied Workers' Union and AgriSA, we are seeing the results of co- operation and getting down to where people are. We started in Gauteng last year, and last week we were in KwaZulu-Natal, dealing with the very same issue.
On the matter of the local government elections, our police are ready for them. I know that no one would dare challenge them when I say this because we have experience of them. We said the same thing when we were preparing for the World Cup. Doomsayers and naysayers were left humbled.
Another priority area of ours is the family violence and specialised units. During last year's Budget Vote, we announced that the Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences units had to be re-established by 31 March 2011. This has been done, and we continue to strengthen this prioritised area of our work.
We also want to take this opportunity to honour those hardworking members of the Police Service, all of them generally and specifically those who were involved in the case of the so-called sugar cane killer, a serial rapist who repeatedly raped women in Umzinto, KwaZulu-Natal. He ended up with a sentence of 218 years imprisonment and 13 life sentences. Present amongst us is the team that made this arrest possible: Colonel C M Nyuswa, Captain Crouse, Captain Nyawose, Captain Moller, Warrant Officer Nkabane, Warrant Officer Nzama, Warrant Officer Crouse, Warrant Officer Khuzwayo and Constable Benmohan. We thank them. [Applause.] We say that they are an example to all of their colleagues.
I turn to an issue which is also as important: the rooting out of corruption within the police ranks. The prevention, detection and investigation of corruption within the ranks of the SA Police Service will continue to be a major focus area for 2011-12. Emphasis will be put on the implementation of the SAPS anticorruption strategy aimed at curbing corruption and punishing those members with evil intentions.
The following successes were recorded during the 2009-10 financial year. One hundred and nineteen police members were dismissed following intensive investigations as a result of allegations of fraud and corruption. Forty- four SAPS officials at ports of entry were investigated for various criminal charges. They were additionally charged via the SAPS internal disciplinary procedures.
We also announced last year that one important area is that of firearms and firearms control within the police. We have implemented and we continue to implement the turnaround strategy, for which we have given ourselves a period of nine months, ending on 31 July 2011, to complete.
We must strengthen institutions and practices of popular participation. Our approach must, in practice, be premised on a people-centred and people- driven process of transformation. All of society must take part in this national effort, and effective systems of interaction with all social partners must be established. I must say here that we have had so much support from the public, and we thank them for that. They should continue to give their support.
The crime statistics tell us that we are heading in the right direction. The communities we serve tell us so. Let us not be distracted. Tough as the duty may seem, we remain focused, for the sky is not the limit when it comes to the safety of our citizens.
We must consolidate partnerships across society to strengthen social cohesion and ensure that our nation achieves the values of a caring society, inspired by the traits of human solidarity which informed our struggle against colonialism and apartheid.
As the leadership of the police, we want to emphasise that 2011 is the "Year of the Good Cop". Rise and shine in defence of your nation. This is our clarion call. I thank you. [Applause.]