AfriForum steps up for police reservists

Civil rights group asks minister of police to address problems in reserve force to aid communities in the battle against crime

AfriForum, the civil rights group, has asked Nathi Mthethwa , minister of police, to reinvigorate the South African Police Service Reservists, a move it says will help reduce declining crime levels even further.

Cornelius Jansen van Rensburg, spokesman for AfriForum, said at the launch of the group’s "Stand Firm Against Crime" initiative in Centurion, Gauteng, on Monday that it had developed a strategy for communities to mobilise against crime, crafted by Nantes Kelder, head of investigations at AfriForum, and Rudolph Zinn, professor at the University of South Africa’s College of Law.

According to the latest statistics, overall crime levels have dropped in South Africa over the past year, but AfriForum said levels were still high.

The latest South African Police Service (SAPS) annual report showed there were 64360 reservists at the end of March this year, and 1245 reservists were appointed as permanent members.

Police reservists have been plagued by the intermittent payment of wages (which led to the service being classified as voluntary), an unclear definition of the difference between their role and that of the SAPS, and the police service’s insistence on unique uniforms for reservists.

The SAPS is finalising new regulations on police reservists, aimed at clearing all uncertainty.

AfriForum’s request to the minister of police is a "suggestion" at the moment, said Prof Zinn, "but we will take it further with the police on November 18 at the presidential task-team meeting on violent crime in South Africa and what can be done".

He added: "What we’ve found was, even though on paper the reservist system was still available, people who had applied to become members would wait three or four years, never getting a reply from the police. So there seems to be a problem with the system itself."

Dr Johan Burger, senior researcher at the Institute for Security Studies, said that when the new regulations were approved by the police ministry, it would end the uncertainty surrounding reservists’ role in fighting crime.

"Potential police reservists can help in the fight against crime," he said. "The police will have to make certain that when they recruit people into the reserve service that those recruits meet the standard."

Dr Burger added: "I don’t think the reservists were treated well over the past couple of years. They were messed around with to a large degree and it created a lot of confusion and uncertainty."

 

Source :  businessday.co.za ; SBU MJIKELISO - 2011/11/15

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