Department of Community Safety celebrates its 25-year Anniversary

Acting Minister of Community Safety, Anroux Marais and the Head of Department, Advocate Yashina Pillay are proud to announce the 25th Anniversary of the Department of Community Safety.

The Department of Community Safety was established on 1 April 1996 as the Provincial Secretariat for Safety and Security. During this time, the Department launched the very first “Stamp Out Crime” Programme.  The initiative brought together various role players in government, private sector and communities to ensure a safe and secure festive season in the Western Cape.  This initiative served as the blueprint for numerous projects throughout the Western Cape and was recognized at a national level.

In accordance with the shift from a more crime fighting multisectoral approach to policing, the Department was at the forefront of implementing the community policing approach by establishing Community Police Forums (CPFs) at all South African Police stations within the Province and was the first to establish victim support rooms and provide training to its volunteers. 

Additional Highlights:

• Established a Community Safety Information Centre where the performance of all police stations were plotted and categorized.
• Established the Chrysalis Academy.
• Formalised the Community Patrol Officers Scheme (Rent-a-Cop).

The Head of Department Adv Yashina Pillay outlined the priorities of the Department:

• The Department will place additional emphasis on the constitutional oversight role to influence the national South African Police Service (SAPS) policy and allocation of resources to the Western Cape. We will therefore significantly expand the monitoring of police stations across the province, with a focus on gender-based violence and domestic violence responses, police conduct, visible policing, and crime investigating efficiency;
• Rural Safety;
• Exploring the integration of security technology across the Province;
• Continued support towards safety interventions at local municipal level;
• Resourcing accredited Neighbourhood Watch (NHW) structures;
• Overseeing the training and deployment of LEAP officers in priority areas; and
• Amendments to the WCCSA and Western Cape Liquor Act.

In light of the afore-mentioned and shift in policy, the Department will be renamed the Department of Police Oversight and Community Safety. 

Minister Marais said, “Over the years the Department has adapted various strategies to ensure it remained relevant to the needs of society.   With the onset of Covid-19, this became more important, and the Department is currently undergoing a major re-purposing process to ensure that it implements the right strategies to achieve objectives of the safety plan.

One of the aims of the Western Cape Safety Plan is to reduce violent crime by addressing alcohol-related harms, and to improve the regulatory efficiency through the Western Cape Liquor Authority.

NHW structures, CPFs and Municipalities are also critical partners at local level and the Department continues to build and strengthen partnerships in a common pursuit of improved community safety”.

The Department will continue to render its services and impact lives to the best of its ability and is committed to creating a safer province FOR YOU.