THE United States has agreed to delegate one of its most senior law enforcers, US attorney general Janet Reno, to head a new binational crime committee with South Africa. The new subcommittee on crime and justice will be launched by US vice-president Al Gore at the seventh meeting of the US-SA Binational Commission in Cape Town next week. The Commission was established after President Nelson Mandela’s state visit to Washington in 1994 and is jointly chaired by Gore and South African deputy president Thabo Mbeki. Reno’s attendance at next week’s meeting is regarded as a significant indication of just how seriously the US considers the problem of crime and instability in South Africa. The committee is expected to look at policing at local and regional level and examine how to improve the administration of the justice system so that cases are processed quickly and effectively.