New police minister Senzo Mchunu. (Photo by Brenton Geach/Gallo Images via Getty Images)
New police minister Senzo Mchunu on Tuesday said he would prioritise combating organised crime and drug cartels by strengthening the police’s crime intelligence and detective services.
“Targeting these criminal networks will disrupt the supply chains and operations that fuel violence and instability,” Mchunu said in his maiden budget vote speech in parliament.
Detective services would have a budget of R71.3 billion and crime intelligence R15.1 billion over the medium term.
“Enhanced intelligence gathering, dedicated task forces and collaborative operations with other law-enforcement agencies will strengthen the [South African Police Service]’s ability to combat organised crime effectively,” Mchunu said. By prioritising these efforts, the SAPS can significantly reduce drug-related incidents and protect vulnerable populations.”
But, in the debate on his speech, MPs questioned whether the figures and the stated focus would translate into a meaningful impact, including on visible policing which Mchunu listed as another priority.
He said visible policing would receive R189 billion, or 52% of the police budget, over three years, and would allow the police to take in 10 000 trainees in the current financial year.
“This strategic expansion is crucial for addressing the growing demands of our communities and ensuring that we can effectively combat crime across the country.”
United Democratic Movement MP Nqabayomzi Kwankwa said, despite the seemingly large increases in police funding in recent years, the budget for detective services and crime intelligence had in real terms only increased by 2% and 3%, respectively.
“What we are not getting is a sense then of how that is going to impact your ability to discharge your mandate and to make sure that police is actually not under-resourced as it is currently.”
Kwankwa said more investment in crime intelligence was needed because the police were still mainly responding to crime, rather than preventing it.
“When we react to it, we are not solving or addressing the problem, and the fact that crime intelligence services receive less than 5% of the budget is a problem and it needs to be looked at.”
The result was that communities were living in fear of criminals.
Kwankwa said it was striking how unevenly police were distributed between wealthy and poorer areas and pointed out that this allowed crime to spiral unchecked in hotspots.
“Visible policing is a problem. You will see a lot of police here in the CBD area, but once you go to the townships, you are lucky to see one police officer on site, even in areas that you would consider to be hotspot areas for crime. And that is something we have to change.”
Kwankwa referred to his experience of being kidnapped in Khayelitsha, in Cape Town, last month, noting that he had been abducted by gunmen in front of bystanders on a busy street.
“Everything happened in full view of the public — in the middle of the road,” he said.
“Even when I was taken to this place where I was supposed to be killed, the same thing happened. There were people passing behind me, and I counted five different footstops of people who were told not to pay attention, to mind their own business.”
Rise Mzansi MP Makashule Gana voiced similar concerns. He said money was lavished on VIP protection — R2 billion according to the police’s annual performance plan — while poor communities were told the police were unable to attend to crimes they reported.
“If there is one line item that does not reduce, it is the protection of politicians. Why? Surely, you have just come in now, you should be asking your colleagues: ‘Do you need so many bodyguards?’
“You are scared of something but South Africans, when they call the police, they are told that there are no vehicles, but ministers, deputy ministers, have got vehicles. You are actually saying that politicians are more equal than ordinary South Africans.”