Strategic Plan 2004/2007 | Foreword by the Minister

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Foreword by the Minister for Safety and Security

In the type of work the South African Police Service do, there is an unending imperative requiring a constant review of how what has to be done is done. The imperative calls for a constant self-searching to ensure we keep abreast of developments and requirements.

If we do not do that the entire South African public is exposed to the vagaries of criminals who want to be always one-up on us in their endeavors.

Every time we do this we have to be aware constantly of the constitutional imperatives doing our work in a manner that ensures that basic human rights are safeguarded and adhered to at all times.

Failing to do this may well defeat even the most ambitious plans we may have in discharging our responsibilities.

As we plan we also need to tailor our suit according to our cloth, i.e. achieve the goals we set ourselves within the limiting parameters of budgets. This, above all, means we need to be conscious at all times that our ambitions are subject to financial realities.

At this stage this strategic plan covers a period of three years, 2004 - 2007.

Government has decreed that this period falls within the five-year-term of delivery from all government departments.

For us service delivery indicators encompass the following:

The quantity, volume or level of outputs or services to be delivered;
The quality at which the outputs are to be delivered;
The terming required for delivery of the outputs; and
The cost of supplying the outputs

In the end, however, our success will be measured on how partnerships we develop with stakeholders- the communities we work in and with evaluate our work.

Until we get co-operation between our men and women in blue and the communities they serve, especially at station level, figures we churn out to prove our success will come to naught.

We may come up with all sorts of strategies and perhaps do very well with some of them, we can only realize our success when recipients of those services see them as we do and only being together as we get along can we expect to get that.

I am confident that the plans put forward can work but they will do so if they are made to work.

Modern technology can give us the edge over criminals but it has to be applied correctly in order to give us that advantage.

The strategy as set out in this document is pretty elaborate and a good launch-pad for a successful service.

We are focusing on various types of crime, each as important as the other and needing varied approaches and skills. How we apply those will make our job easier but that has to be done without cutting corners.

An important area often overlooked, is how we look after our foot soldiers in terms of how those in positions of authority treat the members who give of their best regardless of conditions. A word of appreciation is worth more than its weight in gold.

Kufayayo !

CHARLES NQAKULA
MINISTER FOR SAFETY AND SECURITY