Together building safer communities

Before 1994, the function of the criminal justice system was to defend apartheid. Since the dawn of democracy, its role has been transformed to protect and serve all South Africans.

Working together, we have made progress in a number of areas. We have reduced political violence and achieved a stable society. We have made important strides against organised crime, dismantling 730 drug laboratories and neutralising over 700 criminal syndicates. We have seen a steady reduction in levels of most serious crimes.

But there is still a lot that needs to be done. Many South Africans still live in fear of crime. Levels of violence and property crimes remain unacceptably high. Women and children are still vulnerable to abuse. Corruption is still prevalent across the public and private sectors.

While there has been gradual progress, we now need decisive action against crime and corruption. We need to build on what has already been done, but to intensify our efforts on all fronts.

The ANC has a clear plan to tackle crime and corruption, which will:

* establish a new modernised, efficient and transformed criminal justice system to enhance crime fighting capacity and improve coordination among the police, judiciary and correctional services;

* increase the capacity of the SAPS through recruitment, rigorous training, better remuneration, equipping and increasing the capacity of especially the detective services and forensics;

* establish and strengthen the new unit to fight organised crime, which was formed following the incorporation of the Scorpions into the SAPS;

* strengthen the fight against gender-related violence by increasing the capacity of the criminal justice system to deal with such violence;

* mobilise communities to participate in combating crime through establishing street committees and community courts;

* step up measures in the fight against corruption within the state and private sector, including measures to review the tendering system to ensure politicians do not take part in the adjudication of tenders.

The challenge of crime and corruption will not be overcome unless all South Africans work in partnership to tackle both crime and the causes of crime.

Working together we can do more.

Source: ANC