Senzo Mchunu initiates automation of police stations as key anti-crime tool

Police minister Senzo Mchunu, a month shy of a year in the job, intends implementing automation of police stations as a key tool to improve anti-crime services.

The automation will be piloted at five stations in several provinces, Mchunu said on Friday.  

This comes after the policing summit he convened in April where he discussed initiatives in partnership with Business Against Crime SA.

Mchunu is advocating for the adoption and improvement of technology to:

• enhance the police service's ability to detect, respond to and analyse crime;
• strengthen crime intelligence "so we can move from reactive to proactive policing";
• expand forensic services; and
• ensure additional resources for detectives.

"This will allow for clearer mandates, improved focus and more agile responses to the complex crime challenges SA faces," he said.

Legal professionals have been placed on site to assist with case development, statement taking and advisory support at the Grassy Park police station in the Western Cape as part of a pilot project between the SA Police Service with the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organised Crime organisation, he said.

"The project has yielded promising results and serves as a critical turning point in our fight against organised crime and gang violence."

National police commissioner Gen Fannie Masemola told the briefing staff and resources were being restructured to boost investigative capacity and crime scene management skills. The service is also seeking to retain its top talent through additional financial incentives and promotions.

Mchunu said the detective and forensic services unit will be split into two distinct divisions.

The visible policing division has also been restructured. Visible policing will focus on frontline service delivery while operational response services will be responsible for specialised operations including border and national security. A new divisional commissioner will be hired for the latter unit.

On police officials' morale, Mchunu said engagements had been held with management and unions "to optimise how our personnel works and how they are motivated and incentivised".

"We intend to develop a promotion system (vertically and horizontally) as incentives to recognise the service and dedication of police officers with motivation in mind. The backlog experienced in the promotion of members is also being addressed."

Mchunu said the changes are intended to improve policing.

“We are committed to protecting our communities. Most of all, we are committed to ensuring every South African feels safe.”

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