Launch of Training of Community Police Forums

The Minister of Community Safety, Advocate Lennit Max, will over this weekend launch the start of two days of rigorous training in civilian oversight for all 72 Community Police Forums (CPFs) in the City of Cape Town. This training is aimed at strengthening and enabling CPFs to better exercise and keep local police stations accountable to the community.

Premier Zille, during her State of the Province Address, places emphasis on the monitoring of police performance and the need to optimise civilian oversight of the police. The Department of Community safety in line with this call and in keeping with the Provincial mandate to reduce crime, optimises all its efforts towards civilian oversight over the police. In so doing we will support CPFs to assume this responsibility in line with their mandate.

MEC Max says that the core responsibility of CPFs, to keep local police stations accountable in terms of community safety, has for too long been ignored in this Province. The time is now to build an open society based on constitutionalism and the rule of law, where individuals are guaranteed rights and where independent institutions protect these rights.

MEC Max also indicates that civilian oversight training of CPFs will be extended to all CPFs in the Province before the end of this year.