| 2018/10/20 |
Media Statement issued by the National Media Centre Pretoria: The South African Police Service (SAPS) is delighted to launch the first of its kind, Community Policing Strategy and Community in Blue Policing Concept under the theme "Towards an integrated and sustainable policing for a safe and secure South Africa". This in line with reaffirming the organisation's commitment to building safer communities through community policing partnerships. The Community Policing Strategy through the Community in Blue programme, aims to operationalise the concept of community policing with a view of stimulating active citizenry and citizen participation in the fight against crime. The Community Policing Strategy is thus a strategic policy platform to get all communities to get involved in the fight against crime. To efficiently reduce crime, it is necessary to transform and reorganise government and facilitate real community participation. This is therefore an approach that focuses on police establishing partnerships and enhancing working relations with members of our communities with a view of ensuring that our men and women in blue inherit a proactive policing approach in addressing public safety concerns. Integrated in the Community Policing Philosophy, is the concept of Sector Policing, which directs that the policing area be divided into smaller manageable sectors. It involves the assignment of police officers to a particular sector which encourages regular patrol and increased interaction with members of local communities. The Community Policing Strategy thus aims to mobilise all communities in the Republic of South Africa (RSA) to join the fight against crime. Furthermore, it also seeks to encourage communities to actively participate in endeavours to prevent, combat and fight crime. This strategy aims: • To build a community that is morally alert through community outreach, education and awareness • To increase resilience to victimisation in sectors of our community through building community resilience to crime • To build interrelation between safety and security stakeholders through a multidisciplinary collaboration of all role players in the JCPS cluster
• To involve and empower all formalised community structures in ensuring public order through Community Policing and Public Order Policing • To acquaint the community about crime fighting initiatives within the SAPS through communication • To capacitate and resource Community Policing Forum structures nationwide With the active participation of all communities across the country, the Community Policing Strategy will be implemented from today onwards with the aim of maximising the involvement of citizens in the fight against crime. The Community in Blue programme which falls under the Community Policing Strategy, further emphasises the importance of involving the community in safety and policing related matters through the assistance of community patrollers. Community in Blue patrollers will be more involved in structured community safety initiatives/structures/projects and into a formal police-community partnership. The Community in Blue patrollers will be utilised in the following capacities: • Participate in the social crime prevention initiatives; • Support crime prevention through environmental design initiatives; • Institutionalise community participation within situational and developmental crime prevention; •Advocate for community involvement in ensuring safety and security needs within the JCPS cluster; • Collaborate with the SAPS in increasing visibility and operational capacity; • As well as enhancing community based intelligence; Through active citizenry we continue to mobilise towards an integrated and sustainable policing for a safe and secure South Africa. The National Commissioner of Police, General Khehla John Sitole explained at the launch that the Community Policing Strategy is embodied in the SAPS’s Turnaround Strategy themed “On a journey to a safer South Africa”. “This is a national launch for South Africa, this strategy will make history by changing the way we do policing. Crime will be reduced automatically when the Communities in Blue close the space that criminals operate within,” said General Sitole. The Deputy Minister of Police, who was the functionary at the launch during his address urged the members of the community and citizens of this country to adopt and rally behind the Community Policing Strategy in order to realise the vision of this country as outlined in the National Development Plan where the people in South Africa are and feel safe. “The Community Policing Strategy has been developed to empower the community to take back their streets. There cannot be the police without the Blue Commandants (Community in Blue patrollers), who are the foot soldiers led by the community policing forums. We are building an army of responsible patriots who will be defending the people of our country”, said the Deputy Minister. -End- Media enquiries: Colonel Brenda Muridili @ 071 686 9425
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