The Gauteng provincial police service received a cash boost of R500 000 on Wednesday for the specialised training of detectives.
The South African Insurance Association’s deputy executive officer, Refiloe Moletsane, said the unacceptable levels of crime in the country had prompted the association to assist with the funding of the training programme.
”Crime leads to an atmosphere of negativity and has had an impact on our country and citizens. It is for this reason that we have decided to make a contribution towards crime fighting,” said Moletsane, who was speaking at the police headquarters in Parktown, Johannesburg.
”We are not only keen in seeing reduction in terms of our loss as an insurance company, but need to live in a safe environment,” she said.
Provincial Assistant Commissioner Bushy Engelbrecht said a situation where ”45-million people were held ransom by a few thousand thugs” could not be allowed.
”Crime is high, it is unfortunately so. More private companies need to come on board.
”Police successes boost confidence of the public and interventions like these will go a long way in assisting in the fight against violent crimes,” said Engelbrecht.
Business against Crime — also assisting with the training programme — representative Lorinda Nel said the course was different to police training in that it focused on interviewing methods.
”This [the training] will allow police to link suspects to other crimes they might have committed, with ease,” said Nel.
The specialised training would see 500 detectives undergo a week-long programme. — Sapa