New minister promises no mercy for criminals

Police will fight fire with fire when they confront violent criminals, says new safety and security minister Nathi Mthethwa. The newly appointed minister of safety and security, Nathi Mthethwa, has vowed to lead the police into a head-to-head battle with criminals.

In a clearest indication yet that the post-President Thabo Mbeki administration will be harsher on criminals, Mthethwa said the government would take “extraordinary’” steps to make the lives of criminals “miserable”.

Mthethwa detailed his anti-crime plan, which includes: Appointing a permanent police commissioner “to ensure stability and certainty” in the command structure of the South African Police Service.

The Sunday Times understands that this could mean;

• the replacement of police commissioner Jackie Selebi, whose contract was extended by Mbeki for a year while the police chief was on leave to fight criminal charges against him;
• Adopting “strong-arm” tactics to deal with violent criminals, encouraging police to fight fire with fire when they respond to ATM bombers and cash-in-transit heists, and communicating the results of this strategy to the public;
• Reviewing legislation that leads criminals to believe they deserve the same treatment as law-abiding citizens;
  
• Involving local communities in devising anti-crime plans, including the setting of crime-reduction targets; and
  
• Ensuring that South Africans become confident about their safety ahead of the 2010 Fifa World Cup.
  

Mthethwa said his plan would change perceptions towards the police, as many people were reluctant to report crime due to perceptions of police ineptitude.

“But, as I have said, we won’t get to a better position if there is no stability. You need a commissioner so that people know there is stability here.”

Asked about the difficulties of employing a new commissioner while Selebi is at the helm, he said: “That would be the nitty-gritty. What is important for me is that this must be done.” He added: “ I don’t see myself executing my job properly if people out there don’t have confidence (in the leadership of the police).

I may not be able to divulge details publicly now, but this is one thing that needs to be done.” Tim Williams has been acting as police commissioner since Selebi was granted leave on full pay to defend himself against criminal charges related to his links with alleged underworld criminals.

Mthethwa said the recent heavy-handed response of the police to cash-in-transit heists, in which several robbers were killed, had led to a reduction in this type of crime. Police, he said, needed to communicate this kind of success to the public, rather than leave the public to believe that the drop in the frequency of such incidents was somehow coincidental.

“We must tell the public [about police successes], but also warn criminals that their days are numbered. “We are going to do everything to make their lives miserable. If we have to adopt strong-arm tactics — which we have to — it will be to prove that we will have no mercy.”

Ahead of the festive season — during which cash-in-transit robberies and ATM bombings usually escalate — Mthethwa has commissioned a plan on how the police will “overpower” criminals. Drastic changes in approach were needed for well known hot-spots, he said.

“We won’t condone killing of people, but we won’t be sweethearts towards criminals. It will be pound-for-pound.” Mthethwa said it was striking that what is usually described as petty crime, such as stealing cellphones or handbags, was actually no longer “petty” because these crimes were accompanied by murder and rape.

“If there is anything within the legislative regime which makes criminals think that they are equal to law-abiding citizens we need to look into this, as we settle in office and answer the question: is everything in place?”

Mthethwa has instructed the police division that deals with visible policing to draft a workable plan for citizen participation in crime-fighting. Such a plan would take into account existing community policing forums, safety and security forums and the recent ANC proposal of street committees. “If (police) say it helps (to involve communities), let’s see what we can do to strengthen such communities and even recognise those who are assisting our people,” he said.

On the government’s target of reducing crime by between 7% and 10% a year, he said that, although targets were important, what mattered most to people was whether they felt that crime had declined.

Communities should be involved in the setting of targets, he said, “because if they aren’t, you may be talking past the community you are supposed to be serving”.

Mthethwa’s remarks come in a week in which the presidency’s 15-year review report pointed to an upward trend in violent crimes, and a below-target pace of decline in serious crimes.

The review also quoted a study by the Institute for Security Studies last year, showing that more community and civil society participation in crime-fighting was needed. Mthethwa said crime-fighting plans would have to be localised and adapted to urban and rural areas, instead of being lofty nationwide plans that were impossible to implement.

He said those who have been critical of government’s anti-crime strategies should not be dismissed: they should be praised. “We commend everybody in South Africa, even those that have been critical of government, because they have been doing this out of frustration. And crime is really frustrating.”

He said South Africans should feel safe well ahead of the 2010 Fifa World Cup. “Visitors should come here knowing first and foremost they are coming to visit citizens who feel they are in a much safer place, so that they themselves can be confident about their own safety. “If there is no confidence (in the police) among our citizens, how can we expect visitors to feel safe?”