By Alex Eliseev
An anti-crime blueprint for Gauteng has been unveiled following two weeks of "intense engagement" by police top brass.
Community Safety MEC Firoz Cachalia on Tuesday presented the six-month plan to the press - and said he would resign if he felt he wasn't doing his job in fighting crime.
"I will definitely resign if I come to the conclusion there was something I should have done but was not doing. I promise to do my bit."
This is what can be expected from Wednesday:
- More police visibility, including plans to double the number of reservists in the province;
- Improved police response to specific crimes and strategic deployment of officers in problem areas:
- More roadblocks to "disrupt criminal activity" and stronger co-operation between police and the Johannesburg Metro Police (JMPD);
- A crackdown to arrest "most wanted" criminals and a drive to get rid of more illegal firearms;
- Plans to improve crime intelligence gathering, strengthen detective services and improve basic skills such as statement taking;
- Improve the functioning of the 10111 call centres and;
- An attempt to improve relationships between communities and the police charged to protect them.
"This is not a media stunt," Cachalia said. "I promise all the people out there that the police are going on the offensive.
"They have the support of the government, and now need the support of the people."
Cachalia, however, refused to commit to a follow-up media briefing to report back on the plan's success or failure. "Ongoing monitoring" would take place, he said.
"At the end of the year we'll take stock of whether our efforts have been successful. This is a serious attempt we have thought about and planned carefully," Cachalia said.
"Once we agree that crime levels are unacceptable we must start focussing on solutions. The bandits who have no mercy are the enemy."
Violent crime had increased and "we have a problem", he said but refused to discuss statistics, saying they were "irrelevant, because a single crime is too much".
According to the latest South African Police Service statistics, in Gauteng every day an average of 10 people are murdered, 19 hijacked, 33 raped, 153 robbed (with aggravating circumstances) and 205 homes burgled.
Cachalia said he was committed to meeting President Thabo Mbeki's target to decrease crime by between seven percent and 10 percent a year.
"This is an accumulative process and if the targets are met there will be a significant improvement in Gauteng by 2010," he said, acknowledging that Mbeki's target was not met during the first six months of this year.
He added that focus would now fall on reducing house and business robberies, hijackings, cash-in-transit heists, taxi violence and house burglaries - the crimes which have shown an increase this year.
Before announcing the initiative, Cachalia met with police area commissioners, JMPD chief Chris Ngcobo, members of the mayoral committees and various heads of the police's specialised units and detective services.
When asked why the initiative was being launched Cachalia said: "We are going through one of our spikes." Top police officials and politicians have until now denied that a crime wave was sweeping the province.
Cachalia called for communities to mobilise and get more involved in combatting crime - which will not be fixed with a "magic wand or a magic bullet".
He said a "Social Movement Against Crime" programme would be launched to change public attitude to the police and show people they are "not eternal victims".
"At the end of the six months the public will assess the initiative, and this will be the first test."
Crime and justice programme leader at the Institute for Security Studies Boyane Tshehla welcomed the announcement.
"It is about time the public gets some assurance."
"Critical in this matter is that the public gets to see results of what is being promised.
"After this statement, the MEC can be held responsible for those results. I think visibility only is not enough.
"A roadblock only gets the small offenders, while the big fish are committing the robberies. The aggression in the police's approach that is promised is a good thing."
Business Against Crime CEO Kenny Fihla concurs. "Criminals improve their way of approach all the time.
The police should keep up by launching new programmes like this. We need to see the results. We need to see a strong commitment by the government, a downward line in robberies and a clear increase in police visibility.
"I don't think this is an empty, political promise, but it is very naïve, on the other hand, to think all crime problems can be solved in six months," he said.