FUNCTIONALITY OF THE COMMUNITY

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• FUNCTIONALITY OF THE COMMUNITY
• POLICING FORUMS IN CRIME PREVENTION
• IN THE
• FREE STATE PRONVINCE
• CPF PERSPECTIVE
• 28 AUGUST 2008
• Presented by Adv. S.A. MOSHODI
• SENIOR MANAGEMENT CONFERENCE FREE STATE PRONVINCE

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

• Introduction
• Policy Framework CPF Establishment
• Objectives CPFs i.t.o. SAPS Act
• Sector Policing
• Functioning of CPFs
• 5. Successes
• 6. Challenges
• 7. Conclusion

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Introduction
Guiding Principles All governments have the
duty to provide a minimum of community safety
and personal security. (They) do this through
the policing service they provide. The citizens
are the consumers of this service and have a
right to demand that the quality of this service
meets their satisfaction. ANC Policy Document,
1992
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Young people must also be involved in a massive
programme of community policing and safety that
would include night stress patrols and have
stipends paid by government as part of the
National Youth Service to instill the value to
serve and to protect the community and public
property amongst our youth ANC National
Conference Limpopo Resolution, 2007
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Policy Framework CPF Establishment
Legal Framework - The Constitution Act,
1996 - Interim Constitution, 1993 - SAPS Act,
1995 - White Paper for Safety and Security,
1998 - The National Crime Prevention Strategy
(NCPS) - SAPS Interim Regulations, May 2001
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Policy Framework CPF Establishment continues

• Community Policing is a philosophical move from
  policing communities to Policing with
  communities, hence the following objectives as
  contained in the SAPS Act, 1995
• Section 18 (1a f)
• Partnership
• Communication
• Cooperation
• Improving Police Service
• Transparency
• Joint Problem Solving

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• OBJECTIVES OF CPFs i.t.o SAPS ACT
• Section 215 of the Interim Constitution makes a
  provision for SAPS to liaise
• with the community through Community Policing
  Forums (CPF),
• Area Boards and Provincial Community Police
  Boards, with a view to
• Establishing and maintaining a partnership
  between the community and the service
• Promoting communication between the service and
  the community
• Promoting cooperation between the SAPS and the
  community in fulfilling the needs the needs of
  the community regarding policing
• Improving the rendering of police services to the
  community at national, provincial, area and local
  level
• Improving transparency in the service and
  accountability of the service to the community
• Promoting joint problem identification and
  problem solving by the service and the community
  

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SECTOR POLICING Sector Policing is a SAPS crime
Prevention approach (Operational) aimed at
mobilizing and engaging local community in
fighting against crime, through the
establishments of sector crime forums (SCF) It
is a decentralized approach where poling precinct
is divided into smaller managerial sector and
assigned to police officers on a fact time basis,
to regularly patrol them and identify problems as
well as appropriate solutions with members of the
local communities/CPFs
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• FUNCTIONALITY OF CPFs IN CRIME PREVENTION IN THE
  FS PROVINCE
• - A total number of 109 police stations in the
  province have established
• CPFs that are functional
• CPFs convene meetings regularly to report back to
  communities
• Police give at such meetings reports on crime
  trends, successes and
• weaknesses
• CPFs discuss and agree with communities on
  anti-crime campaigns to be mounted in the
  communities
• The functionality of the CPFs have brought about
  successes and
• challenges

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SUCCESSES
There is improved police reception by the
communities To a certain extent ,there is
co-ownership of policing programmes Between CPF,
Department of Public Safety, Security and Liason
as well as SAPS There is synergy between
National, Provincial, Local Social Crime
Prevention activities. The Department and SAPS
are taking maximum advantage of the Provincial
CPF Board by engaging the Board in crime
reduction campaigns and activities Intensive
training has been offered to all CPFs in the
province on community policing.
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SUCCESSES continues There are areas where
policing priorities and plans are jointly
identified between the police and CPFs in the
regular meetings (e.g. Thabong, Welkom, Parkroad,
and Makwane.) In most stations, SAPS accounts to
communities on a monthly basis on progress with
regard to crime prevention, through CPFs . (e.g.
Odendalsrus/Kutlwanong, Thabong, Botshabelo and
Meloding. Integrations of all the relevant role
players in dealing with crime. Co-ordinated and
intergraded social crime prevention activities
assist in the reduction and prevention of
crime. Mobilization of communities in working
closely with SAPS to criminal activities as
substance abuse (e.g. launching of CATs in
Maokeng, Harrismith, Jacobsdal and
Bultfontein.) CPFs have succeeded in
encouraging communities to report crime The MEC
of Public Safety, Security and Liason has
launched Ke na le matla /I have got power
campaign in terms of which ordinary people are
encourged to reclaim their streets from the
criminal elements.
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• SUCCESSES continues
• Existence of dynamic relationship between SAPS,
  CPFs and communities on basis of regular and
  consistent interface
• Effective utilization of CPFs as part of the
  mobilization of communities to play a direct role
  in crime prevention and combating (e.g. projects,
  campaigns, seminars and community meetings)
• CPFs and a key element in fostering food
  community police relations
• Existence of effective community patrollers in
  areas such as Tweespruit, Botshabelo,
  Boithusong, Sasolburg, Thabong, Phuthaditjhaba
  and Makwane

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• CHALLENGES
• Involvement of CPFs in identification in
  communities of committed energetic citizens to
  work with police as reservists or volunteers.
• Resourcing of CPFs
• Flawed CPF regulations to be reviewed
• Varying understanding and commitment of station
  commissioners to the oversight role of CPFs
• Marketing of CPFs within communities need to be
  improved
• Lack of institutional arrangement to address
  cross-cutting issues relating to policing
• Lack of co-operation between CPF and Sector
  policing forums in remains a huge challenge in
  sustaining CPFs social crime prevention and other
  initiatives.
• Involvement of cancellers and municipalities in
  CPFs activities is a key challenge
• Lack of legal prescripts aimed at covering CPF
  community members against injuries sustained
  during their CPF obligations and activities.

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• CONCLUSION
• There are two fundamental pre-requisites to
  successful crime prevention firstly the
  involvement of the community, secondly a
  multi-agency approach.
• Partnerships with the community in the crime
  prevention programs are crucial to the successful
  implementation, and strategies which cut across
  State and other departments often have the best
  chance of success
• By former and late Minister of Justice, Minister
  Dullar Omar

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THANK YOU