Over the past fortnight Senzo Mchunu, the new police minister, has undergone a baptism of fire at the hands of crime analysts, the media and his colleagues in parliament. Still, it could have been worse.
A month after he replaced Bheki Cele, Mchunu, formerly a water & sanitation minister, has had the unenviable task of having to release the crime statistics for the first quarter of the current financial year — from April to June.
It is important to contextualise the numbers. First, his predecessor was running the show over the period in question; second, they also cover a period of unusually heavy policing backed up by the army ahead of the May 29 general elections; and third — and importantly — ministers are politicians and do not necessarily fight crime themselves.
However, as political heads, ministers set the tone and create space for career officers such as police commissioner Gen Fanie Masemola to do the job of fighting crime. The statistics themselves contained few surprises. They are as awful as before. The number of murders grew moderately (by 30) compared with the first quarter of the previous financial year.
Also hardly surprising was the revelation that 73% of all crimes in the country are committed in Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, the Eastern Cape and the Western Cape. That Cape Town stations are under siege is also little surprise.
Amid the gloom and the sense of hopelessness, several factors are in Mchunu’s favour and augur well for the future.
First, there seems to be a new sense of urgency in the government. The message from voters, who are tired of relentless crime, is that ministerial motorcades and an army of protectors will not protect politicians from being voted out.
It will be tempting for Mchunu to focus his attention on headline-grabbing crimes such as kidnappings and extortions, which are comparatively new focuses of concern, and which worry businesses and wealthy people. Necessarily, they attract a lot of media attention.
They do require tackling by the police. But the way to achieve this is to focus on fixing the police from inside; building partnerships with key stakeholders; adequately resourcing the police (money for more and better intelligence); tackling corruption within the service; ensuring proper training; and focusing on making sure the boots on the ground are properly trained, armed and resourced.
Ironically, the Western Cape is better governed than most provinces — its municipalities score clean audits for themselves and their entities — yet the fight against crime by Cape Town, its capital, is proving ineffectual. As Cele observed before his departure, KwaZulu-Natal is awash with illegal weapons and continues to supply hitmen for most contract murders in Gauteng.
Mchunu has a lot to work with and he does not have to reinvent the wheel. For a start, the police service is one of a number of portfolios under the ANC’s full control. He inherits Masemola from Cele. Masemola, a low-key SAPS lifer, has largely stayed out of the limelight and focused on the job.
Last week, Mchunu announced the addition of 1,000 new detectives. This is welcome, but still falls far short of what is required in this branch of policing.
Also still lacking is a professional crime intelligence service. This critical capability was hollowed out even before state capture became fashionable in SA. Rebuilding it has proven harder than anticipated.
The work of diligent, committed police officers has been continuously undermined by corrupt elements inside the service. Some use unjustifiably excessive force to eliminate suspects, and others are just plainly corrupt: they steal from taxpayers and make dockets disappear.
All this malfeasance causes the public to lose confidence in working with the police. Communities, with valuable information about crime and criminals, find it hard to co-operate with the police when they know officers are working with criminals.
Mchunu, who ran KwaZulu-Natal as premier before being ejected by the Jacob Zuma faction of the ANC, has shown an open mind. He appreciates the limits of what police, on their own, can achieve.
He should rebuild partnerships and trust with community police forums, ensure crucial leadership is not captured in any way and work with communities, the private security industry and, lately, the army which is increasingly being called on to back up police inside the country.
Importantly, Mchunu needs to accept the helping hand of the private sector where it is appropriate for such resources to help. Under the auspices of the Business for SA platform, two respected business leaders, Jannie Durand and Neal Froneman, are leading business’ efforts to partner with the government in fighting crime and corruption.
Mchunu has made an encouraging start. He needs to keep going.
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