As management of the police in this country, we share society's concerns about the crime situation. We have intensified our efforts, which led to a marginal reduction in the rate at which some of the violent crimes were increasing. There is agreement that we need to do more of many of the initiatives that resulted in these slight improvements we reported.First, crimes such as murder and armed robberies increased, but at a reduced rate when compared to last year. This is attributable to the huge efforts by the police to ensure that bail is denied for the many dangerous criminals arrested for violent crimes. The South African Police Service has arrested close to 400 suspects for violent crimes within a short time due to the task teams and special operations we set up.story_article_left1In Nyanga, Western Cape, we introduced special operations to stem the killings - the highest in the country with 300 murders reported. When I look at what we have achieved since April, I'm confident that when we report next year, the situation would have improved yet again.The stubborn nature of these crimes is largely due to the fact that proliferation of firearms continues to be a notable driver of criminality. Multipronged interventions by the police have resulted in substantial collection and destruction of thousands of illegal firearms; however, the availability and supply remain incessant.Second, we believe that we have found the solution to sustained reduction of crime. About three years ago, the Free State was selected as a policing model for the country. Very basic things were done there, such as using resources efficiently and effectively in pursuance of our core business of fighting crime; continually developing and maintaining partnerships with communities, other government departments, NGOs and businesses to earn trust; and focused and structured leadership dialogue and accountability regarding performance management.These may seem basic, but that is exactly what is needed as part of transforming the SAPS and dealing effectively with high levels of crime in our society.The Free State has relentlessly pursued this simple yet difficult-to- implement strategy and the results are evident as crime is consistently being reduced.story_article_right2Third, the SAPS has started a new and challenging objective of ensuring its crime statistics are in line with international best practice. This will be achieved through a memorandum of understanding with Stats SA aimed at enhancing the quality and integrity of the crime statistics. The statistics generated by the SAPS is an important leg in the value chain of the statistics system that informs policy development and planning in the criminal justice system.The collaboration with Stats SA will go a long way to enhance the integrity of the SAPS's crime statistics and ensuring that policymakers have quality data from which they can make decisions.As the management team and all the SAPS personnel, we are working hard to ensure crime in our country is reduced. We are six months into the new financial year and all indications are that next year we will realise yet another decrease in overall crime and a slowdown in the rate of growth in violent crimes. We need all hands on deck.Phiyega is the national police commissioner..