Drug abuse, Domestic Violence and Gangsterism requires Combined Interventions

Statement by Dan Plato, Western Cape Minister of Community Safety

This weekend, the Policing Needs and Priorities (PNP) determination workshop for the Worcester cluster showed that the problems of gangs, drugs and domestic abuse needs everyone to play their part in combatting it.

These policing needs and priorities were captured during the workshop and are reflected in the comprehensive draft safety plan developed over the two days to be implemented once approved.

The 2014/15 PNP meetings in the Worcester cluster identified that, despite policing service delivery being rated quite well, only 3% of respondents  indicated, for instance, that they had to wait more than 20 minutes at a Police Station to be assisted while 61% where helped within the first 5 minutes, the majority of the respondents (86%) identified last year that they believe SAPS does not have sufficient resources and the majority (51%) also believed the SAPS do not use the resources they do have efficiently.

I welcome the comprehensive draft Safety Plan drawn up over the two-day consultative workshop, with all stakeholders’ inputs taken into consideration, which has identified 12 objectives necessary to create safer environments where people work, live and move about. Some of these include:

• Rooting out corruption or perceived corruption within the SAPS;
• Addressing police resources and resource inefficiency;
• Tackling drug abuse; domestic violence and gangsterism;
• Professionalising and increasing the efficiency of the Community Policing Forum (CPF);
• Helping create sustainable safe public spaces;
• Ensuring compliance with liquor laws and by-laws;
• Safety awareness; and
• Safety partnerships.

The Draft Safety Plan, once formally adopted by the Cluster CPF, will be closely monitored by both the cluster CPF and the Department of Community Safety. While the CPF is the driving implementer of the Safety Plan – all stakeholders will have to report on their respective interventions.

Safety is everyone’s responsibility and the draft Safety Plan provides a shared ownership, responsibility and accountability to safety, not only for the communities who are served by the plan but between the various safety role players involved as well.