President Thabo Mbeki promised during his response to the State of the Nation debate that there will be no empty theatrical gestures, no prancing on the stage and no flagellation as the government earnestly gets down to the business of dealing with crime.
Mbeki went on to recite figures that show that the police budget has increased by more than 600% since 1994. But crime rates have not shown a commensurate decline in the same period. In fact, analysts are divided over whether or not crime has actually increased.
The government has argued, for example, that whereas murders stood at 20 000 a year in 1994, in 2006 they were down to 18 000 a year.
But the truth is that crime trends have been inconsistent and statistics have yo-yoed. However, most certainly the steady increase in resources has not been matched by a corresponding steady decrease in overall crime trends.
The main feature of Trevor Manuel’s budget for the security cluster was the allocation of resources to help hire more police officials, prosecutors, magistrates, judges, interpreters and court managers.
An additional R2,4-billion over the next three years will enable the recruitment of an additional 34 000 police personnel with the total force reaching 183 000 in 2008/9. Overall, there will be an increase in safety and security spending from the R35-billion allocated in 2007/8 to almost R43-billion in 2009/10.
It is significant and instructive to note what Manuel said off the cuff in announcing the increase in the number of police officers: it is the number of police patrolling the streets that should increase rather than the number sitting down in police stations.
It is a point which was also conceded by the Minister of Safety and Security, Charles Nqakula, during the state of the nation debate in Parliament. “Good policing is not dependent on huge numbers of police, but better police community relations,” he said.
Nqakula later told journalists that poor management and the absence of effective systems of command and control were at the top of the list of weaknesses in the country’s security programme.
Mbeki himself had emphasised during the State of the Nation address that there had to be better and effective management of available resources.
“Government will ensure that the decisions already taken about strengthening our fight against crime are effectively implemented … What is required is more effective organisation, mobilisation and leadership of the mass of law enforcement, intelligence and corrections officers and functionaries of the justice system.”
Although he did not spell out how much of a salary increase the different police ranks would receive, the promise by the president and Manuel that the salary upgrades of the police will continue has inspired hope in the South African Police Service, which has been haemorrhaging personnel for years. Improved remuneration could counter the loss of skilled personnel to the private security industry.
Manuel’s budget shows that there is a broad strategy to cover all facets of the security cluster. The justice department’s allocation was increased to R8,5-billion from the current R7,2-billion to reduce case backlogs and modernise the administration of justice.
Manuel also announced that the total personnel size of the justice and constitutional development department is expected to increase from 18 893 in 2003/4 to 22 798 in 2009/10. A “large portion of this increase is in the personnel contributing to court services such as prosecutors, judges, magistrates, lay assessors, interpreters and court managers”.
The goal is to attain the assignment of two prosecutors to each court in the next few years. In addition, 39 additional judges and 37 magistrates will be appointed in 2007/8.
In the medium term, correctional services will receive an allocation of 45 000 additional posts to help it implement a 24-hour, seven-day-a-week operation.
In making the point about government not engaging in empty theatrical gestures, Mbeki continued: “From us, from the government, we will issue no words that are lightly spoken.” Judging by the significant commitment of resources made in this latest budget, Mbeki’s words should be taken seriously. It remains to be seen how well the proposed measures are implemented.