BBQ 109
Building safer communities together
SAFETY
Civilian Secretariat for Police Service Director-General Smike Thulani Sibuyi outlines how the Integrated Crime and Violence Prevention Strategy is bringing government, business, civil society and communities together to address the underlying causes of crime and build a safer South Africa.
The Director-General of the Civilian Secretariat for Police Service contin-ues to champion the imple-mentation of the Integrated Crime and Violence Prevention Strategy (ICVPS) as South Africa witnesses a notable reduction in crime. While the latest crime statistics indicate a decline in certain categories, much more still needs to be done to achieve safer com-munities for all.
The National Development Plan envisions that, by 2030, all people in South Africa should be safe and feel safe at home, at school and within their communities. With only four years remaining to realise this vision, there is in-creasing pressure on government, business, civil society and citizens to work together to make safer communities a reality.
The Civilian Secretariat for Police Service re-mains committed to combating crime through the implementation of the ICVPS. The strategy promotes an inclusive and coordinated ap-proach to addressing crime and violence, recognising that many of the root causes of crime are deeply embedded in South Africa’s historical and socio-economic realities.
The National Development Plan envisions that, by 2030, all people in South Africa should be safe and feel safe at home, at school and within their communities.
It goes beyond effective policing and advoc-ates for a holistic response that tackles key drivers of crime, including poverty, inequality and unemployment. Through a ‘whole-of-government’ and ‘whole-of-society’ approach, the strategy places strong emphasis on mobilising communities, strengthening partnerships and encouraging active citizen participation in crime prevention efforts.
Fighting crime is a shared responsibility. It cannot be the responsibility of the police alone. The strategy is therefore built around six pillars, each highlighting the critical role that different stakeholders must play in cre-ating safer communities.
The six pillars are an effective criminal justice system; early intervention; victim sup-port; effective and integrated service delivery for safety, security and violence prevention; safety through environmental design; and active public and community participation.
Putting the strategy into practice
What does the ICVPS look like in practice? In a community experiencing high levels of youth-related crime around schools, for example, the response could include increased police patrols alongside schools strengthening early-warning and learner-support systems.
In a community experiencing high levels of youth-related crime around schools, for example, the response could include increased police patrols alongside schools strengthening early-warning and learner-support systems.
Relevant government departments can sim-ultaneously provide families with sup-port and psychosocial interventions, while busi-nesses can contribute through youth development initiatives. This coordinated re-sponse demonstrates the principle at the heart of the strategy: preventing crime requires dif-ferent sectors of society to address its causes together rather than relying on policing alone.
For the country to realise the National De-velopment Plan’s 2030 vision, all South Africans need to support the implementation of the ICVPS so that communities can reclaim the safety that every citizen deserves.