Durban - Community Police Forums (CPFs) in Durban have called for more assistance following the Police Minister Bheki Cele delivering his budget vote presentation this week.
In his presentation, Cele said: “Policing communities and policing with communities remains the backbone of our policing direction going forward. We therefore call upon communities to embrace and throw their full weight behind the police, to turn the tide of crime and create safer communities. To this end, R70 million is allocated to the provinces to support CPFs in terms of resource requirements.”
Cele added that this funding would go towards assisting CPFs with resources such as vehicles, laptops, torches and reflective jackets.
“In addition, R5m is also provided for community interaction in terms of izimbizos, awareness campaigns, summits and conferences. In this regard, the police concluded a three-day CPF policing indaba in Pretoria last week, where a significant way forward and programme of action was adopted to strengthen community participation in the fight against crime.”
EThekwini Cluster CPF chairperson Imtiaz Syed said CPFs had always been given a budget for imbizos and programmes of mobilisation, through the department of Community Safety and Liaison.
“CPFs if funded need to be funded for the purpose of mobilisation. The structure should never be allowed to become a paid-for job as this would attract elements of society who would see this as an opportunity for employment, rather than its function.”
Syed added that CPFs needed government assistance.
“We must move forward with meritocracy, and not populism. The idea of having a chairperson of a CPF structure who is unemployed and does not own a vehicle or a cellphone should really be thought about. Let us speak to attracting those professionals who can self-fund and push forward with socio-economic and finance challenges that the structure currently faces.”
Aidan David, chairperson of the eThekwini district policing board, said the budget allocation was welcome.
“However if you quantify that the number of police stations in our country is in excess of 1 100, for the purposes of what is to be done with the allocated funds, the country will never be able to attain their requirements, because the funds will not be enough.
“If you look at the ministry’s unnecessary expenditure, it far supersedes the budget that is awarded to CPF structures countrywide.”
KwaZulu-Natal violence monitor Mary de Haas said CPFs were important, but only if they had proper community representation.
“Forums have to be empowered enough themselves to monitor policing and ask the right questions, and demand answers. There is a huge problem offering CPFs blanket support like this as people will then join simply for the financial or other benefits.”
Gareth Newham, head of the Justice and Violence Prevention Programme at the Institute for Security Studies, said that CPFs could not replace the police.
“They cannot replace the role or functions of the police. Also, the extent to which CPFs can play a meaningful role to improve public safety is largely determined by the extent that the police function effectively.
“This money is highly unlikely to make much of a difference in a context in which the SAPS solve less than 15% of murders and 10% of armed robberies,” Newman said.