The storming of a remote police station in the rural Eastern Cape by villagers frustrated with ‘useless and unreliable’ policing highlights the need for urgent reforms in South Africa’s crime-fighting efforts, says the IRR.
In a statement, the IRR argues that the incident last Sunday in the Peddie district reveals the ‘lacklustre attitude and incompetence of the South African Police Service (SAPS)’.
The ‘frustration over crime, and the government’s perpetual inability to effectively fight back against criminals and make South African communities safe … is shared by millions across the country’.
The IRR points out that its own polling ‘shows that crime-related concerns rank consistently high among South Africans from all backgrounds’.
According to the statement, ‘(it) is precisely because of the reality that communities are more invested in their own safety than a remote government can possibly be that the IRR takes the unequivocal stance that all policing must be community-centred rather than government-centred. Where government failures have cost lives, communities must be empowered to save lives’.
The IRR’s Community Safety Charter empowers South Africans to take control of the safety and security of their communities with the support of government. Instead of having politicians choose station commanders, citizens must be able to elect them, and fire them if they fail to perform. The Charter brings an end to cadre and crony appointments, taking the safety concerns of South Africans seriously enough to not play racial politics with vital appointments. The Charter ensures that the police hire only the best to keep our communities safe. Crucially, the Charter puts in place accountability mechanisms to root out the rot within SAPS once and for all. Says Hermann Pretorius, IRR Head of Strategic Initiatives: ‘While the solutions to winning the fight against crime might not be easy, the fundamental principles to win this fight are simple: empower communities, empower responsible citizens, and make government work for the people. This is what is at the heart of the IRR’s Community Safety Charter. South Africans must take up this challenge to chart a new and better course to fundamentally change government policy. Only if citizens make government listen can we together achieve the change we need.’
[Picture: fsHH from Pixabay]