Gauteng police bigwigs, business engage on crime combating plans
“We as the law enforcement cannot afford to be complacent. We will go back and work hard to improve on those areas that have been highlighted.”
The Gauteng police recently met with the Business Against Crime South Africa (BACSA) to increase participation of the business sector in crime combating prevention efforts.
The two entities explored ways to use the expertise, information, processes, and technologies in the business community, towards enhanced crime fighting initiatives in the province, said provincial police spokeswoman Brigadier Mathapelo Peters.
The engagement was led by Gauteng police commissioner Lieutenant-General Elias Mawela accompanied by his deputies responsible for crime detection and for management advisory services, major-generals Johan Ndlovu and Girly Mbele and the provincial heads responsible for the provincial operational command centre, strategic management, technology management services, supply chain and facilities management.
Also in attendance were chief director Thami Mayisela and the Gauteng traffic police and law enforcement agency forum.
Peters said the focus was on the assessment of the status and milestones achieved in relation to the establishment of a state-of-the-art, high-tech integrated command centre.
The centre would serve as a nodal point for the allocation and co-ordination of resources from all stakeholders, to enhance policing and the responsiveness of law enforcement to crime.
“To this end, the SAPS, BACSA and the private security industry are jointly involved in the ‘eyes and ears’ initiative (E2), a crime fighting project premised on a streamlined information sharing model through the provincial command centre.
“Through this initiative, private security also augments the SAPS’ situational awareness through their geographic footprint, further boosting the operational responsiveness to crime hotspot areas, violent crimes, and trio crimes,” said Peters.
Mawela emphasised the importance of creating a comprehensive risk profile of the project to ensure that identified obstacles that have previously stalled the project take-off, were mitigated.
He thanked BACSA for their honesty, defining it as constructive criticism that can only be in the best interest of the SAPS and ultimately the residents of Gauteng to whom police have a responsibility to ensure their safety and security.
“I am excited at the level of honesty and the openness of this engagement as this is what we need to keep us on our toes. We as the law enforcement cannot afford to be complacent. We will go back and work hard to improve on those areas that have been highlighted,” he said.
Mawela urged businesses to safeguard the relationship towards the attainment of the objectives of the 2018 memorandum of understanding, particularly looking at enhancing the alignment of BACSA’s crime combating approach to the strategic objectives of the SAPS.
BACSA, national project manager Fouché Burgers advised that the scope of the project also be extended to include capacity building towards a security-conscious police service and citizenry.
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